The Great American Wine Collector

Bill Koch was inducted into the U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018. He is also a bit of collector. His America’s Cup display includes scale models of every boat that has sailed in the Cup from 1851 until the present day, but it is his private wine collection that is making headlines.

Underneath his Palm Beach estate is a wine cellar unlike any other in the United States — and arguably the world. It resembles a climate-controlled cathedral with vaulted stone ceilings. It’s an architectural marvel, echoing the style of an old European cellar, and constructed by a team of artisanal stone masons from Austria who brought over the materials from Europe and assembled the cellar brick by brick.

But one man can have only so much wine, so auctioneer Christie’s will present a historic three-day sale, The Cellar of William I. Koch: The Great American Collector, at its Rockefeller Center headquarters. On June 12-14, nearly 8,000 bottles will be offered from his cellar, with a combined low estimate of $15,000,000. – Full report