Vitini Ltd. is a Latvian based woodworking company, which has been producing furniture for 11 years, next to the oak and pine forests of Latvia. The company specializes in crafting precision made wine cabinets from either antique Baltic pine or Latvian oak. They also produce wine storage systems, wine shelves and wine boxes.
Andris Vitins, the Director, is pleased that they now also offer “bespoke or custom made furniture” for clients in the trade, such as wine bars, hotels and restaurants. An interesting sideline is making café tables and furniture as well as actual service counters and adapting them to accommodate refrigeration cabinets and refrigerators.
I jokingly suggested to Andris that “they should tender for a Starbucks fit–out” in view of the fact that Starbucks, at least in the UK, is now using a lot of “rough hewn” oak. (And in a New York Starbucks I spotted a magnificent communal table carved made from one 6 metre long plank!)
Andris agreed to an interview with Connoisseur Magazine’s editor Axel Ritenis, who himself was interested in having an oak wine storage cupboard made from a 100 year old oak tree cut from his family forest.
Andris said: “the company Vitini has been working in Latvia for eleven years and we have made great progress but still in a middle stage of development. Although our company is quite new we are full of energy and have amassed considerable experience and all manner of wine storage solutions. We measure up and design the job “in situ” and then produce it in Latvia using skilled craftsmen and locally sourced timber from the beautiful and plentiful forests surrounding us.”
Andris mentions nonchalantly that many of his oak wine cabinets would cost twice the price in Germany where Oak timber furniture fetches a premiumand is extremely highly valued.
Andris continues: “We now have considerable experience with the design and crafting of wine cupboards and restaurant furniture. However we can also do tailor made solutions for boardrooms or even wine cellars anywhere in mainland Europe, UK or Sweden. We guarantee quality work and will organize the delivery of our furniture to any location in Europe. Obviously our rates are competitive and the price of such work will be cheaper then that offered in high cost European countries”
Andris and his team of craftsmen draw inspiration from their wealthy cultural and design heritage in Latvia, where green gold pine and birch forests cover some 52% of this small but beautiful Baltic country. Andris is proud of Latvia and pleased to live in this pristine environment. Here are 500 km white, sandy coastline of Baltic Sea and thousands of lakes, which are full of Pike perch and trout.
“We take inspiration from Latvia and you can see it in our furniture.”
Andris is close to the timber and even goes into the forest to participate in felling some of the beautiful pines or oak that are then seasoned for use in his furniture plant. In Latvia, woodcarving traditions have been preserved and it is possible to have a craftsman carve a Germanic style design e.g. a bunch of grapes on a pine cabinet or an oak door. These designs can be added to give the furniture some additional soul and character. Highly qualified and experienced Gatis Frīdenbergs makes woodcarvings that are 100% handmade and unique.
They have exported products worldwide and are capable and ready to meet the various demands from each market and produce furniture according to the client’s needs or requirements.
The principal Andris Vitins, a highly talented and skilled wood craftsmen and cabinetmaker, became particularly interested in wine cupboards and furniture some 5 years ago when he struck up a friendship with several Sommeliers in Latvia. He began to study the various designs and the construction of existing wine storage solutions products in different parts of Europe and embarked on a “crash course” to develop his own designs and style using existing practice as a basis.
You can see some of their works here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.208144255890242.50504.203107879727213
In the premises of a former art gallery in Tallinn, Estonia, they helped the business owners develop the wine restaurant AlterEgo.
The owners of this wine bar have a wine list which is mainly composed by wines rated with 90 points or more by the most prestigious wine critics and wine publications worldwide and are served in Michelin-star and 5 star hotels and resorts worldwide.
Their wine selection features some of the best sparkling wines in the world, the best selection of sherries, some of the finest Rioja old vintages too and much more. Last but not least, all their wines slowly age in their temperature controlled all-glass walk-in wine cellar, where the temperature is constantly monitored and kept between 14 and 16 degrees celsius.
“For new wine bar Alter Ego we made a number of built-in wine cabinets, taking into account the special needs of this restaurant, calculating the quantity of wine cabinets and racks for wine.”
The Alter Ego Wine Bar Project is now one of the most popular wine restaurants in Tallinn, which is inspired by Spanish culture and offers an exquisite Mediterranean menu. It’s European and New World wines (not to mention Spanish) are beautifully displayed in the shelving and cabinets for the benefit of the bar’s sophisticated clientele.
For them, wine should be the central part of a good meal, “popping a fine bottle of wine” at Alter Ego is a special event in a stylish atmosphere. It gives the place a terrific atmosphere and creates the right impression.
Recommendations:
“Thank you very much for the creative solution in the interior of our wine cellar! VitWine really works in a very professional manner with an individual approach for every customer.”
Peteris Dambis, restaurant owner, Latvia.
Vitini Latvia Ltd.
Andris Vitins
e-mail: info@vitwine.com, a-vitins@inbox.lv
Article written by Axel Ritenis, Editor, Connoisseur Magazine
