Workers have broken ground on an apartment building in Tokyo designed especially for wine lovers, complete with an on-site sommelier, a ground-floor wine bar and a bistro.

It’s a luxurious concept for serious oenophiles. The 10-story building, which is scheduled to be finished in September next year, will house 18 units, mostly in the 40-square-meter range, according to a report by Japan Property Central.

Homes in the Shibuya Shinsen Wine Apartment Project, located in the fashionable Shibuya area of Tokyo, will be available only for rent. The building will have an exclusive sommelier on site, whose duties will include caring for a wine cellar capable of holding 10,000 bottles.

The sommelier will be at the beck and call of residents for the sole purpose of serving wine in their apartments, as well as arranging wine dinner parties and other events. Wine glasses and decanters will be available for hire. 

Helmed by the Japanese branch of the Bordeaux Wine Bank, the building has been designed by architect Keiji Ashizawa. One of Japan's top sommeliers, Hiroshi Ishida – a past finalist in the "World's Best Sommelier" competition – has worked as a consultant on the project. 

Ashizawa is the winner of a Japanese Good Design Award, as well as a 2010 Australian international architecture award for a house he designed in Shizuoka in conjunction with Australian architect Peter Stutchbury.