Wine Collectors | A space for wine, stories and shared experiences in the center of Riga

Located at 41/43 Elizabetes Street in Riga, Wine Collectors is a concept destination where a wine boutique merges with a European-style French bistro. The interior was designed by Lelde Ozoliņa and Edgars Kaufmanis, while KRASSKY curated the project management and delivered the finishing solutions, sanitaryware, furniture, textiles, and lighting design.

The wine boutique and bar offer a selection of more than 450 wines. The venue also features a wine tasting zone and a Fine & Rare space, reserved for rare collections of wines. Most wine bottles are delivered to Wine Collectors straight from the wineries. Extensive by-the-glass tasting options are also available, owing to a professional wine serving system that maintains each wine's quality long after the bottle has been opened.

The project reflects KRASSKY's expertise in delivering complex restaurant and hospitality projects where conceptual thinking meets technically precise execution, craftsmanship and premium-quality international brands. The defining strength of KRASSKY is in its ability to work with unconventional, bespoke design solutions. Nearly every key element, such as furniture, lighting, finishes were custom made. The creative contribution of Latvian artists and handmade solutions of local artisans bring a distinctive character and exceptional level of craftsmanship to the project.

The spatial narrative of the Wine Collectors interior is built around the idea of storytelling and its ever-evolving nature. Wine encourages conversation: people exchange impressions, knowledge, memories and personal experiences. Likewise, the interior unfolds like a carefully written story. As visitors move from one space to another, new perspectives, symbols, details and atmospheric accents gradually unfold.

The project is also layered with symbolic references, rooted in universal cultural archetypes. One of its central themes is the Garden of Eden. Symbols of the original sin, the serpent and the tree of knowledge are subtly encoded within the interior through its principal features: an eleven-and-a-half-meter ashwood table and the serpent-shaped light installation winding above it. Both serve as the project's defining visual motif. Meanwhile, the wine shelving evokes the image of a library – bottles encapsulate stories from around the world, each wine becomes a chapter within a larger collection of narratives.

The story of wine is also told through the color palette. Deep bottle greens meet the rich burgundy reds, while the warm sandy tones of natural timber paraphrase white wine and champagne, bringing southern warmth and joie de vivre into space.

The main hall embraces the venue’s lively public character, combining the wine boutique and bistro zone. Wine shelves line the walls, while the entrance zone greets with a mural by Elizabete Slavinska, introducing visitors to the visual and symbolic universe of Wine Collectors. In contrast, the tasting room offers a more intimate atmosphere, defined by subtle lighting and a sense of calm. Meanwhile, Fine & Rare room intentionally creates a surreal atmosphere, dissolving not only spatial boundaries, but also the perception of reality itself. Every surface is finished in the same sandy beige tone, while an oversized mirror creates the illusion of an endless space. Polished stainless-steel furniture legs reflect the floor, giving the weightless, levitating appearance. Vibrantly green upholstery provides a bold contrast to the monochrome interior.

Lighting forms one of the project’s defining elements, helping to balance dual functions of boutique and bistro. Wine displays, artworks and interior details are precisely illuminated while preserving an intimate ambience suited to dining, wine tasting and conversation. KRASSKY’s lighting architect carried out a series of lighting demonstrations in the beginning of the project, allowing every solution to be tested before installation.

The lighting scheme combines solutions by ERCO with the Casambi wireless control system. Multiple automatic and manual lighting regimes adapt to different times of day and interior needs. The main space features built-in ceiling tracks with ERCO Parscan New spotlights. They are equipped with Zoom optics and nine changeable lenses. This flexibility allows to illuminate the room, artworks, wine bottles or small display details with one light fixture and equal precision. The solution is also flexible in case of future changes in furniture or display layout.

One of the main technical challenges was to light up the wine bottles so they maintain their depth and color. This was achieved by using luminaires with high color-rendering index, narrow beam angles and specialized optical lenses that concentrate and direct light precisely onto the objects. The Fine & Rare room features Italian-made DGA Tono and built-in DGA Ariel fixtures. DGA specializes in lighting solutions for museums and concept stores, offering outstanding optical quality and precise light control.

The project also features textiles by Zimmer + Rohde, furniture by Tacchini, Andreu World and Johanson, sanitaryware and finishing materials by CEA, Gessi, Ferm Living, Cielo Ceramica and Inalco. The 11.5-metre ashwood table was created by artists Andris Eglītis and Augusts Eglītis, while the central light piece was designed by sculptor Roberts Bāliņš.