It’s no secret that winemakers take great care in the crafting of their wines, from planting the rows of vines all the way through to bottling the final product. So it came as no surprise that architect Roland Miller selected Tnemec coatings as part of a new 32,000 sq. ft. steel wine cellar designed for the Clos du Bois Winery in Sonoma County.

After reviewing the project plans, Tnemec coating consultants Glen and Wendy Amos recommended Series 158 Bio-Lastic as a key component of the building’s interior coating system. Designed to inhibit microbial growth on the surface of the coating film, this waterborne acrylate was ideal for the ceiling of the wine cellar because of its resistance to a specific fungus that can cause odor in wine, cheese and milk. Primed first with Series 151 Elasto-Grip, a waterborne modified polyamine epoxy, the 62,000 sq.ft. of smooth-faced plywood ceilings then received two coats of Series 158. Bio-Lastic was also the topcoat of choice for the cast iron sprinklers that were first primed with Series 69 Hi-Build Epoxoline II, a polyamidoamine epoxy.

Coating performance was also required on the dense CMU walls, where a system using Series 54-660 Masonry Filler, Series 66 Hi-Build Epoxoline and a durable cycloaliphatic amine epoxy topcoat called Series 83 Ceramlon II was applied. The coating system for the structural steel columns and beams needed to be especially long-lived due to the complexity and cost associated with repainting should it be necessary in the future. Because of this, the steel was first primed with Series 69 and then finished with Series 74 Endura-Shield. This aliphatic polyurethane not only has very good color fastness, but also provides an exceptionally durable film.

The coating systems installed in 1991 are still performing many years later. “We’ve kept in contact with the owners over the years and they are still very happy with the performance of the system,” say the Amos’.