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Okay … Ready?

Close your eyes. Picture a Sub-Zero.

Humor me.

… Now open them.

Whatca come up with? Something like this?

Now, do it again.

Come on – noone’s gonna stick a wet finger in your ear. Ready? … this time, a Wolf.

… And you came up with something like this.  … Right?

Poggenpohl!

I mean – close your eyes. And try in again. Try to imagine a Poggenpohl kitchen.

Did you see something like this?

Good.

Now, just as a matter of note I’ll mention that that 48in. Sub-Zero Built-in Side by Side in Stainless with Internal Dispenser has an MSRP = $11,260. That Wolf 60” Gas Range, an MSRP = $13,130. Both “top-of-the-line”. Poggenpohl … well frankly, I have no idea how much that kitchen would cost, but I do know it is out of their +SEGMENTO series. Their most popular line.

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“Why the little exercise jb?”

Well, trying to make a point I guess, and the storyline, you’ll find, seems to be running somewhat parallel for both companies. First, Poggenpohl is the world’s leading luxury kitchen cabinet brand. Sub-Zero Wolf is nothing less than the Porsche of both cooking and refrigeration products. Sure, I am juxtaposing some of Poggenpohl’s German roots onto the American appliance maker, but both have long storied histories, both are acclaimed, and both are often seen as the absolute pinnacle of style and luxury, each in their respective category.

“Attainable?”

Well, wait! Hang tight.

The Penthouses of the Residences at Mandarin Oriental

They knew what they were doing.  Penthouse units at the Residences at Mandarin Oriental. Backdrop for good food and fine wine. Poggenpohl and Sub-Zero Wolf, the perfect complement, our hosts for a night of refined design … at the heart of CityCenter Las Vegas, and high above the Las Vegas Strip.

According to Anne Kramer of Poggenpohl, the point – “… Showcase three kitchens from three distinct style groups: traditional, contemporary and transitional. Each individually suited for an owner, but all maximized for entertaining, for cooking, for storage, and for lifestyle.”

Read: much, much more than we, in the BlogTour Vegas group, could ever expect to “see” on a trade show floor, or even at a well-endowed local showroom.  It was a side-trip of sorts from our doings at KBIS.

* The traditional unit featured a Poggenpohl Classic +EDITION kitchen – matte lacquer, pebble gray. This was an open concept room in which we dined, farm-hand style, while mingling and … get this, catching a magic show. I couldn’t really get a good look at the Wolf Next Generation gas cooktop (newly released) … because it was blurred by the heavy traffic of a busy kitchen.

But looking to my left, I sure as heck spotted some of those signature red dials.

A sleek M-Series double wall oven … set on what I’ll call “an appliance wall” and partnered with a Sub-Zero Built-in “Over-Under” unit. It appeared slimmer than what I’d usually expect with Sub-Zero, but the glass door seemed in-line with their usual Wow! It featured Dual Refrigeration – the ability to assign either portion of the unit as a frig, or as a freezer, then back. Later, I learned of its state-of-the-art air filtration system, said to keep foods longer at the peak of freshness.

Supersizing the wine storage, Sub-Zero filled out this wall by showing off their largest cooler, holding an impressive 147 bottles of wine. (Just out of frame @ left above.)

* The contemporary unit featured Poggenpohl’s +SEGMENTO concept in a high gloss, brilliant polar white lacquer (again, one of their most popular sellers). For me, it reads – Poggenpohl, but a little pop of surprise, when I pulled out drawers revealing a new aluminum drawer design. Customizable inserts allow the homeowner to arrange and re-arrange over time.

A Wolf “no-frame” induction cooktop and a New Generation M-Series, handless wall oven also played in this space. But wait…Wait! Did someone say “handleless”? An attribute commonly associated with Poggenpohl. Here, the wall oven only helped unify acting an extension of Poggenpohl’s sleek lines for a truly well-balanced kitchen.

The biggest draw in space was perhaps Wolf’s first-ever built-in coffee system. Tucked in a corner, it was hard to even get in to get a good look.

I call this composition “Blogger’s Dream”

* The transitional unit featured, well, the biggest thing I remember about this space was the countertop that designer Bruce Anderson selected (though I couldn’t, at this moment, tell you the brand name).

The fired granite overhung another example of Poggenpohl’s Classic +EDITION cabinet, this time in a matte lacquer, sand gray finish. It was topped with an modern L-style cabinet … grip. Wait! … Okay.

via Chasen West for Modenus

This space was fitted, like the more traditional unit above, with some of Sub-Zero’s slimmer offerings. The Wolf drawer-style, under-counter mounted microwave caught my eye.

 

So … to sum up …

… While I had visited both brands briefly (their showrooms that is) in Luxe Home at the Mercantile Mart, Chicago a years back, this was by far the best, most intimate opportunity I’ve had to, well, learn about them.

I learned, for one, that Martin Gill, Poppenpohl’s Director of Global Sales likes to stand on things …

Martin Gill via Chasen West for Modenus

… as well as in things …

Ha! No, and I don’t know, I learned, and maybe it’s me – my shoddy memory – I couldn’t help but feel in some way that both Poppenpohl and Sub-Zero Wolf had spent the last few years, well, evolving.

“What do you mean, jb?”

“Attainable.”

Poggenpohl goldreif & Sub-Zero Wolf New Generation

Poggenpohl’s big news on the KBIS floor was the release of a new line called goldreif. As Gill put it, and yes, ironically from atop a Cosentino countertop. “goldreif offers inspirational choices and excellence, at an attainable price.”

From the supporting press release – “The aim with goldreif is to increase market share in the mid market to premium segment, to complement Poggenpohl’s luxury market position,” states Neil Bailey, president of Poggenpohl U.S. “Our showrooms are thrilled to offer goldreif as an accessible entry point to the Poggenpohl brand.”

Attainability, too, I think is something that Sub-Zero Wolf must have been mindful of with their release last year of the “Next Generation” grouping of appliances. If not targeting specifically a more modest price point, the breadth of offering with a broader array of sizings are simply more accommodating to budget and style.

From the supporting press release – “During the last several years, our company has invested resources into the research and development of products that build on what we’ve successfully brought to market in the past,” said Jim Bakke, president and CEO of Sub-Zero and Wolf. “We didn’t let the recession stop us – quite the opposite, in fact. We wanted our brands to be ready for the turnaround, and to deliver more integration and more exciting features that wow consumers and the design community alike.”

Continuing – “Sub-Zero’s refrigeration and Wolf’s cooking equipment have set the standard in performance for kitchen appliances, and now we’ve raised the bar again with products that feature performance optimizing technology and design styles that can be incorporated into even more kitchens,” said Michele Bedard, vice president of marketing for Sub-Zero and Wolf. “The design possibilities are massively increased with New Generation products, with flexible and well-designed trim kits that seamlessly integrate our built-in cooking products.”

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A third-generation family-owned company, Sub-Zero and Wolf has proved that quality and innovative product manufacturing are alive and well in America. Products are manufactured in the United States using only premium-quality materials that are proven to stand the test of time. Additionally, the company’s extensive testing process helps guarantee peak performance. Testing takes place throughout the manufacturing process and every single unit is tested before leaving the factory.

In 2013, the company announced the introduction of the New Generation, a new series of products from Sub-Zero and Wolf featuring more than 60 appliances engineered to excel in both performance and design.

Poggenpohl is the world’s leading luxury kitchen cabinet brand with 35 kitchen design showrooms across the United States. Poggenpohl presents the latest trends in European kitchen design in contemporary and classic styles, including creative solutions for maximizing space and ergonomically-designed kitchens. Poggenpohl offers over 70 cabinet fronts in a variety of finishes, such as: wood veneers, laminates, lacquers, acrylics, glass, metals and custom RAL colors. Established in 1892, Poggenpohl manufactures custom made cabinetry in its factory in Herford, Germany.

In 2014, they release goldreif. Featuring three cabinet ranges, 113 door styles and 44 color/finishes, goldreif kitchens can harmonize with any style of décor.

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 @SubZeroWolf as well as @PoggenpohlUS were sponsors of BlogTour Vegas, of which I was a part.

Martin Gill, again via Chasen West for Modenus

Design and remodeling enthusiasts can follow BlogTour Vegas on Twitter using hashtag #BlogTourVegas and view all the latest posts on Modenus.com. Information about the entire group of bloggers can be found here.

BlogTour Las Vegas was sponsored by: KBIS, Blanco, Poggenpohl, Sub-Zero, Cosentino, Mr Steam, Top Knobs, Wood-Mode, Formica Group, Walker Zanger and TOTO USA. Cheers. ~jb

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That’s it, ‘cept one thing … Handles! & out!