Designing wine cellars for the pacific northwest and worldwide since 1990.

Rhino Wine Cellar’s founder and chief design architect, Doug Smith, has been designing custom wine cellars on the global stage for over 30 years. 

Beginning in 1990 as the founder of the original Apex Wine Cellars Company, Doug designed and managed the installation of over 20,000 wine cellars and cooling systems. Under his guidance, Apex expanded to over 18 locations and 250 employees to serve architects, builders and homeowners across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Doug then served as the Director of Product Development for WhisperKool Corp, lending his history of experience to create innovative climate control systems that cater to the specific nuances and needs of wine cellars.

In 2012, Doug returned to the Pacific Northwest and founded Rhino Wine Cellars and Cooling Systems. With an unwavering commitment to create unique wine cellars that exceed his client’s expectations, Doug personally designs and guides projects from initial concepts to finished cellars worthy of your wine collection.

Rhino team

Doug Smith
Founder & Lead Designer

Luellen Smith
Director of Marketing

Trevor Smith
Product Manager

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