Close the heavy door behind you. Candlelight on old stone, the smell of oak, rows of bottles waiting for their moment. Wine Cellar makes you a sommelier with a particular client and eight rounds to stock their cellar. Designed by Andrew Stiles, illustrated by Vincent Dutrait and published by 25th Century Games in 2025, it seats up to eight players and pours out in about twenty minutes. Each round, everyone secretly picks a card from their hand as a bid; the highest bidder chooses first from the wines on display, and the cards you bid become the next round’s offer. Every bottle you win joins your cellar’s timeline — only at the front or the back — and its place decides what it is worth. Read your client’s taste in wine and country, and bid like you mean it.
🎶 The Soundtrack — Jazz by Candlelight
Three long pieces, about forty minutes together, pour slowly through the room — warm, elegant lounge jazz and acoustic textures with a gentle rhythm, made for low light, quiet talk and the soft click of cards on wood.
- Under the Vaulted Stone — The hush before the first bid. Soft piano drifts through ambient lounge jazz, each note lingering in a deep, cellar-like reverb as if the old walls were humming back. Dim, patient and unhurried — bottles resting in their racks, candles barely flickering.
- Sun-Warmed Vintages — A warmer breeze from sunnier vineyards. Spanish guitar weaves over a chill downtempo groove and soft percussion, relaxed but quietly purposeful — like a sommelier circling the display, already sure which bottle is worth a high bid.
- The Last Pour of the Evening — Warm acoustic jazz at its most intimate: a soft double bass and brushed drums, close enough to touch. It is the late corner of the night — the timeline set, the cards counted, and one more glass poured before the scores are read.
🎨 The Art — Candlelight and Old Stone
The AI-generated artwork glows in amber, honey and burgundy. Vaulted brick arches recede into the dark, lined with wine racks, oak barrels and wrought-iron lanterns, while candles in glass holders throw warm pools of light across a weathered wooden table. On that table sits the game itself: rows of tall, vividly coloured bottle cards with big bid numbers in their corners, each set against a painted vineyard in violet, orange, green or sky blue. Behind them stand real bottles with hand-drawn château labels; around them, bunches of purple and green grapes, a crystal decanter, corks, a corkscrew and a waiting score pad. In one scene, players’ hands reach across the table with fanned cards, caught mid-auction. Rich, rustic and softly lit — a game night held after the cellar has closed to visitors.
🎬 Watch & Listen
Dim the lights, strike a match, and let the music of Wine Cellar fill the room while you bid. Lay down your card, choose your bottle, decide what to open soon and what to leave for later — some things, after all, only get better with time.