Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/299589
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m M a y - J u n e 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 8 5 w m w v w w w w v w he importance of designing wineries and tasting rooms to please visitors has never been so clear. Wine tour- ism is booming and the wineries that provide the most enjoyable visitor experiences are benefitting most from tourist dollars. Further- more, direct-to-consumer sales of wine are accounting for greater rev- enues; it stands to reason that win- eries bringing consumers through their tasting-room doors and giving them reasons to linger are the ones racking up the sales. To learn about the latest architec- tural design trends and to get a look at some of the features wineries are adding to new projects, we talk- ed to architects in California, Ore- gon, Washington state and Ohio. In San Francisco, Calif., Douglas Thornley of Gould Evans Architec- ture works mostly with Napa Val- ley and Sonoma County wineries, although one of the firm's newest projects is to build the first tasting room in Tucson, Ariz. In Eugene, Ore., Richard Shugar of 2fORM Architecture recently completed his first Willamette Valley winery project, Saffron Fields, outside of Yamhill. In Seattle, Wash., Joe only contributed to the project's sustainability, but provided a link to the winery's history. Shugar said he was faced with the presence of an old barn that had Chauncey, co-founder of Boxwood Designs, has projects in the state, as well as in British Columbia and Arizona. And in Fairlawn, Ohio, Mel- anie Friedman of FMD Architects has projects in her home state. All agreed that the days of faux Tuscan villas overlooking American vineyards are gone. The point now is to express the winery's unique identity and location, to tell a story through design that will resonate with visitors who seek an emo- tional connection with the land and the wine. A s a n e x a m p l e , T h o r n l e y described a rammed-earth wall built at a winery site, for which soil from the property was used – the same soil in which the grapes grow. The soil gave the wall its distinctive color and added a visual element that helped tell the winery's story. "While a winery is essentially an industrial use for the production of wine," Thornley explained, "we have found that the owners want the hospitality areas to reflect the brand image of the winery. It's like their home." INCORPORATING HISTORY Another way to do that is to i n c o r p o r a t e b u i l d i n g s t h a t a r e already part of the landscape. At Cuvaison Estate Wines in Napa Valley, Thornley integrated an old winemaker's office and lab into the new tasting room. Doing so not + Wine tourism is booming and producers who provide the best visitor experiences stand to reap the most ben- efits. + The days of building faux French chateaux and Tus- can villas in the U.S. are over; instead, vintners want their buildings to be authen- tic to their regions. + Multiple hospitality areas are being created to pro- vide different types of expe- riences. + Many new winery designs include kitchens for food and wine pairings. AT A GLANCE This rammed-earth wall was made from soil at the winery site.