A master tailor, known for dressing opera star Luciano Pavarotti, has been ordered to pay £110,000 after a judge determined he was responsible for the ruin of his own million-pound wine collection. The tailor, Tom Reimer, had sued a kitchen fitting company for £550,000, alleging that faulty refrigerators in his London flat caused his collection to become moldy.
However, a judge dismissed his case, finding that Reimer repeatedly switched off the power to his custom-designed wine wall. His reason for doing so was neighbor complaints about the refrigerators causing "noise" and "vibrations" in their adjoining apartment. Reimer's collection included prized Bordeaux 'first growths' and expensive bottles from the Rhône Valley, such as 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which can sell for over £1,500, and 2012 Chateau Petrus Pomerol, valued between £2,500 and £3,600.
Reimer claimed that a one-centimeter gap between the fridge doors allowed air in, leading to the mold. The kitchen fitting company, International Food Services Equipment, countered that the gap was minimal, described as a "hairline," and that the fridges were installed to industry standards. The company's legal team argued that any damage to the wine likely resulted from Reimer himself turning off the fridges due to the noise complaints. This was reportedly due to "considerable pressure" from his landlord and neighbors.
While Reimer admitted to turning off the fridges twice, Judge Sarah Ellington found evidence that this occurred significantly more often. The judge ruled that it was unreasonable for Reimer to turn off the units without first notifying the suppliers or moving the wine to an alternative storage location. The disposal of the cooler units before the court case made it impossible to verify Reimer's claim about the gap size. The judge also stated that even if a 1cm gap existed, it would not have significantly impacted the system's operation, and there was no evidence the coolers were unsuitable for commercial installation.
Reimer, whose family is of German origin, established a successful tailoring business in Hamburg. In the 1990s, his company created a white silk tailcoat for Pavarotti, a departure from the singer's usual black attire. Reimer had a collection of approximately 20,000 bottles of wine stored at his residences in London and Germany. The refrigerated wine wall in his London flat, which cost him around £23,000 to install in 2021, was part of a refurbishment of his £8 million apartment.