Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/197178
Sokol Blosser's surrounding landscape played a key role in the design of the tasting room's exterior. ing in the Main Room to $30 for the Kitchen Table pairing experience. "We'd built buildings before but they were very utilitarian," said Alison Sokol Blosser. "In our origi- nal facility we had one experience to offer our guests. Today's wine consumer, especially the high-end wine consumer who's looking for that special bottle of pinot noir, Red Mountain AVA 670+ Acres offered in 31 Parcels PuBliC AuCtion: november 23rd at 2pm Parcels from 20 to 40+ Acres Benton City, WA The 4,040 acre Red Mountain appellation is the smallest appellation in Washington State and accounts for less than 2% of the planted vine in state, yet Red Mountain wines occupy 13% of the top 100 Washington State wines according to Seattle Metropolitan Magazine wants to be able to have a customized experience." Add to that the aesthetic experience of being surrounded by eyepleasing angles and design features of smooth-finished cedar, and the surrounding scenery of sloping vineyards, distant snow-capped mountains and the verdant Willamette Valley. The landscape, Cloepfil said, was the key ingredient in his design. Cloepfil grew up nearby, and it was his strong feelings for the land that sold founding partner Susan Sokol Blosser on him. "When we built our original tasting room, we went after one of the top Portland architects, John Storrs," she recalled. "We wanted to do the same thing this time, you know, get somebody who really understood the sense of place." A series of terraces lead up to the low-profile building with roughhewn cedar siding. To the north there's an upper terrace from which the vines rise high into the hills. A rooftop garden makes the structure appear to be a natural addition to the hillside. 'LIVING BUILDING' 509.416.6060 mbauction.com w w w. v w m m e d i a.com Cloepfil also followed the tenets of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a program of the Northwestbased International Living Future Institute, which has the most rigN ov - D ec 2013 | V INE YA RD & W INE RY M A NA G EM EN T 109