Wine cellars, and the wine to go in them, give a big boost to Wine.com

Adding high-ticket wine cellars to its accessories department helped Wine.com by eVineyard have a profitable holiday. The revamped online wine site sold 30 cellars with prices ranging from $530 to $3,250, Brett Lauter, vice president and chief marketing officer, tells InternetRetailer.com. The price of the wine cellars, from Avanit & Haier and Transtherms, includes shipping costs and shelving.

Adding to the benefit of selling the wine storage units is the fact that buyers must then stock them--which many did at wine.com while they were buying the units. “It’s a double good deal for us when customers buy the wine to fill the cellars," Lauter says. The wine cellars hold 24 to 190 bottles.

Wine.com reported a sales increase that was 400% over its initial holiday season estimates and six times what they were the year before.