From cell to cellar: Pentridge Prison wine cellar hits the market for $90k

Pentridge Cellars is a luxury facility for wine lovers in the old D Division, which was once a 200-cell block housing dangerous criminals.

Agents are sending cell 120 at 4 Wardens Walk to auction on May 23, with a guide of $85,000 to $90,000.

The price range reflects its rarity and exclusivity, Raphael Calik-Houston of Ray White Coburg says.

He says it is the first time a cell in the 19th-century building has been publicly listed. Others have traded discreetly through word of mouth.

“It was probably more serious wine people who knew about it before, and not the broader market,” Calik-Houston says.

“We’re going to hopefully get a Guinness World Record as the first agents to auction off an individual prison cell.”

The site’s heritage is a large part of the appeal, along with the opportunity to complete a custom fit-out.

The six-square-metre cell is on the second level, with a timber floor and thick stone walls behind an imposing, reinforced timber door. Wine is one use, but secure storage of valuables, in an impenetrable building, is another.

“Since launching, we have had a decent amount of enquiries,” Calik-Houston says.

“A few people have called up about just using it as storage, because they live locally and want some extra space, particularly those in the apartments surrounding the property.

“We’ve also had wine enthusiasts from all over town enquire about it. You’d feel proud owning something like this.

“It’s like an artwork, or a Rolex watch, it’s something collectable.

“They’re very unique and not many people really know about them in Melbourne. Now, hopefully, it’s a hidden gem that’s getting discovered.”

The auction will be an experience, with a spread of wine and cheese before the auctioneer picks up his gavel. 

Pentridge was established in 1851, and many of the landmark bluestone buildings were constructed between 1858 and 1864.

D Division was a remand centre where executions took place between 1932 and 1967. Mark “Chopper” Read was locked up in D Division, and bushranger Ned Kelly did time there in the 1870s. It was also where Ronald Ryan became the last person to be hanged in Australia.

Pentridge was sold by the state government in 1999, two years after it was closed, and development began more than a decade later on a mixed-use transformation, including residences and retail. Townhouses and apartments have sprung up in and around the prison walls.

The swish Pentridge Cellars opened in 2019. Temperature-controlled cellars, with bespoke, designer layouts and humidifiers, start at $125,000, according to the website.

The business has retained and restored the building’s architectural legacy.

“It’s very nice now, it’s been repainted in heritage colours and there is lots of sunlight streaming in,” Calik-Houston says.

Lounges are scattered throughout so owners can relax and enjoy a drop from their collection, or use one of the boardrooms for a gathering. Secure, all-hours access is available via swipe card.

“It’s the kind of place where, if you’re a law-abiding citizen, you’d never expect to be able to see inside,” Calik-Houston says.