I believe buying new will kick start more friends and groups, resale will just take a little bit longer to be in the same place. As you become involved in outside activities that interest you and the clubs and people who are already engaged, you will migrate your close group of friends to those. So yes an advantage, big, no. However IMHO there is a huge advantage buying resale vs new. There are many threads on here that have that discussion.
As for the wine cellar. I also have a large cellar in my VA home that I keep at 56 degrees. Holds 1200 bottles and I currently have about 900 in there. I have looked at lots of options from building one to buying a self contained cellar. I am in a Gardenia model and have an alcove leaving the kitchen and going toward the master bedroom that is about 18 inches deep and 5 feet wide. I have drawn out plans to build a cellar in that space. I can build one that should hold about 500 bottles which hopefully will be enough space. Or have looked at buying one that holds 450. I also have a space in the garage that I could use to build one that would hold about 800 bottles. My concern with that space is the over work the cooling unit would have to take on as the garage stays very hot in the summer. Have even looked at installing a mini split system for the garage and insulating the door and attic space over the garage to maintain a more constant temperature. So somehow in some space I will have one. Not as large as the current cellar, but large enough.
Here is one under consideration, although I am leaning toward building.
http://www.vintagecellars.com/produc...dcategoryid=10