It’s fair to say the nightly SRO crowd enjoying their elite meal at Nassau’s Graycliff rarely realizes they’re quite literally sitting on (or at least over) about $10 million worth of the world’s finest wine.
Owned by restaurateur, hotelier, gourmet and raconteur Enrico Garzaroli, Graycliff Hotel is an elite destination in the Bahamas. With only 20 rooms set in a location removed from the fuss of beachfront resorts, Graycliff is a favorite for heads of state, musicians, actors and other international celebs.
Also: Graycliff Cigars: Smoking a Nassau, Bahamas Classic
The joint’s star attraction would have to be Garzaroli’s wine collection — the third largest in the world. It holds more than 275,000 bottles and is valued at north of that $10 million mark. The stone walls that serve as Graycliff’s wine cellar started life as the fortress of the dread pirate John Graysmith in the 1700s before becoming a private residence and then a hotel in the following centuries.
The jewel of the wine cellar is the Rüdesheimer Apostelwein – the oldest bottle of wine in the world. Garzaroli acquired the 1727 German dessert wine at a London auction, and it sits waiting on the Graycliff wine list for $200,000.
You can take your own tour through the exclusive wine cellar in the gallery below.
Photos by John Scott Lewinski
Graycliff Wine Collection: Nassau, Bahamas
The wine collection at the Graycliff resort in Nassau, Bahamas is the third largest on the planet and holds the world's oldest bottle of wine.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
The Graycliff Hotel and its wine cellar sit behind thick walls that once served as a pirate's fortress.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
The Graycliff wine collection holds more than 275,000 bottles and much of it is on the restaurant's wine list for sale.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
The total estimated value of Graycliff's ever-growing wine connection is now more than $10 million.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
A wine collection requires precise temperature control, and the Graycliff pirate dungeon provides the right conditions.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
Visitors to the Graycliff Hotel's restaurant can reserve the formal dining table deep within the wine cellar.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
An extensive labeling storage system is kept at Graycliff to keep track of its more than 275,000 wine bottles.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
The Graycliff wine cellar packs more red than white wines generally as the reds will keep much longer in storage.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
Magnums of champagne costing thousands of dollars stand by in the Graycliff wine cellar if you've got the cash.
-
Graycliff Wine Collection
Behold the oldest bottle of wine in the world from inside the Graycliff Cellar: the 1727 Rüdesheimer Apostelwein. You can order it for $200,000.
