The meeting takes place at a café not far from Stockerstrasse. Martin Zuan is in the middle of reinventing his professional life. After eight years at PwC — and stints as a compliance officer at UBS, among other institutions — he is preparing to open a private wine club in the very building where he once worked: the WineBank Zurich is set to launch on June 12.

There is «more passion in this than in auditing,» Zuan says at the outset. The shift is deliberate and well thought through.

From Regulator to Host

Zuan knows the financial industry from the inside: anti-money laundering audits, regulatory oversight, specialist teams. He still sits on supervisory panels in the AML space, including a judicial committee.

The WineBank franchise, originally a German concept, combines wine storage, social gathering, and hospitality — with a dose of business networking on the side. Access is exclusive. Membership is mandatory.

An investment of more than two million Swiss francs, opening June 12. (Image: WineBank Zurich)

That Zuan is returning to Stockerstrasse 64 carries a certain biographical symmetry. «In 2010 I was here in this same tower as a compliance officer,» he says. Today, he is transforming over 1,000 square meters of that space into something quite different.

Club First

The WineBank Zurich spans several floors: roughly 600 square meters of club space above a vault area of some 400 square meters in the basement, the latter licensed for storage with round-the-clock access.

But Zuan is deliberately pushing beyond the storage-first model associated with most WineBanks in Germany. «We want to move away from the pure warehousing idea,» he says. Lounge areas, meeting rooms, and events are meant to animate the space — with intimate rooms for four or eight guests, curated tastings, and a proper espresso machine.

The separation between storage and social space is central to the concept. Renting a locker here buys you more than shelf space — it buys entry into a social ecosystem.

5,000 Francs to Join

The pricing is structured simply. A one-time membership fee of 5,000 Swiss francs — currently sweetened with a wine voucher — sets the entry threshold. Monthly fees range from 250 to 1,700 francs, depending on locker size.

Hosts Anna Amanatidou (r) and Martin Zuan. (Image: WineBank Zurich)

The smallest locker holds around 60 bottles. Larger options are aimed at collectors or members who want to use the space for business purposes, with partner cards included.

Sales opened a few weeks ago, with around 30 members already signed up. The target is roughly 300. «The financial industry will make up a significant share of that,» Zuan says.

Seven Tons of Transformation

Much is still taking shape. The planning and permitting process alone took three years — a classic Zurich conversion story. Former UBS office space is being turned into a club fitted with premium materials, wooden floors, and deliberately calibrated intimacy.

«More than seven tons of material were removed from the building to create a direct connection between the lounge areas on the ground and basement floors,» Zuan says. Staircases were rebuilt, rooms opened up. The total investment is well above two million francs. Zuan credits Swiss Life, the building's owner, for making it possible. «They are enormously forward-thinking real estate managers who understood the value of the concept,» he says.

Wine as Culture

On his own wine preferences, Zuan is expansive: Swiss wines are central, as are new-world regions like Oregon and Patagonia. He also has a place for Bordeaux — «not every day, as it is unfortunately still often at prohibitive price levels.»

But the trend he cares more about is mindful consumption. Events will bring producers and drinkers together, including «Meet the Winemaker» evenings.

A private wine vault with a club character. (Image: WineBank Zurich)

Around ten events are already planned for the opening period around June 12. Germany will feature as a guest country, alongside a range of Swiss producers. Terra Vigna is among the partners. A private bank has also taken up space in the building, just days before the opening.

Breaking New Ground in the Banking Quarter

The WineBank concept is not entirely new to Switzerland, as finews.com reported previously. The Bern franchise is already full and expanding. In Zurich, Zuan is charting new territory.

A private wine vault with a club feel, planted in the heart of the financial center, speaks directly to the audience that works there: wealthy, internationally connected clients with a taste for quality — and a preference for discretion.

Asked about the broader trend of declining wine consumption, Zuan sees his WineBank as part of the pushback. «At our place, you might drink the extra four bottles a month that you no longer order in a restaurant,» he says.

That, in essence, is the model. The WineBank sells wine, yes — but above all, it sells the space to own it, store it, and share it with the right people.