Hospitality Design - December 2013 - 88

now

design-forward wineries

In 1978, Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser
debuted their first vintage of Pinot Noir at
a brand new Dundee winery in Oregon's
Willamette Valley. Thirty-five years later,
the tasting room well-known architect John
Storrs crafted has been beautifully reimagined.
"Sokol Blosser was the first Oregon winery to
create significant architecture, and we were
inspired to continue that tradition with the new
commission," says Brad Cloepfil, founder and
lead architect of Portland-based Allied Works
Architecture. "We began the design process by
marking the land, cutting a series of gardens,
terraces, and paths into the face of the hill. On
an upper terrace, the building lifts from the
earth. The stereotypical tasting room often
references Tuscan villas or generic French
châteaux, which are completely unrelated.
We created a building that both celebrates the
bounty of and is deeply connected to its place."
Inspired by the tradition of wooden rural
buildings in the area, the materials palette
features a wood rain screen, decking, and
interior paneling on floors, walls, and ceilings.
"This treatment creates a seamless, monolithic
effect; the building reads as a single mass that
has been carved away to define the spaces,"
says Cloepfil. Given Oregon's predilection for
green, the 5,700-square-foot building also teems
with sustainable features such as a roof that
aids in building thermal performance, reduces
runoff, and visually ties back to the landscape.
Passive and low-energy systems, like highefficiency glazing and a cantilevered overhang to
reduce glare and direct solar heat gain, also aid
performance. "Ample daylight throughout the
building reduces electrical loads and the need
for unnecessary fixtures, while creating warm
and inviting interiors," Cloepfil notes.
Looks are just as important in St. Helena,
California, where Hall Wines' new visitor center
attempts to stand out from its Napa Valley
neighbors with a slew of organic materials
and textures like wood, stone, plaster, polished
steel, cast concrete, and raw plywood. "They
provide a neutral canvas for Hall's expansive
art collection, and also emphasize the amazing
views of the hillsides and wine country. The
view steals the show-as it should," says
interior designer Nicole Hollis of her namesake
San Francisco-based firm. "I was inspired by
the Halls' deep appreciation for art and design.
To honor this legacy, we were drawn to forms
and materials in artworks such as Richard
Serra's monumental steel sculptures, Donald
Judd's plywood furniture and concrete cubes,
and Anish Kapoor's polished steel 'cloud gate.'"
These visions translate to elements like a

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December 2013 hospitalitydesign.com

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1. A rendering of the
forthcoming ecologydriven Scribe Winery.
2. A rendering of Hall
Wines' new visitor
center.

3. Sustainability
permeates Sokol
Blosser's new tasting
room.

mirror-polished steel bar, an all-red bathroom,
and the 43-foot-long engineered log dining
table. The building itself, the brainchild of local
firm Signum Architecture, features structural
glazing that is unfamiliar to Napa Valley. "First,
we designed a stone and steel structure that
references the historic landmark building
that is adjacent to it, and the Hall campus'
stunning setting on the valley floor between the
Mayacamas and Howell mountains," explains
partner Jarrod Denton. "Then we encased it in
a transparent glass curtain which, depending
on the time of day, either reveals warm and
intimate interiors or reflects the beauty of the
landscape. Our goal was to choreograph an
architectural experience that is as sensually
stimulating, personal, and lasting as a fine,
subtly layered wine."
Nearby in Sonoma, San Francisco firm
Aidlin Darling Design is handling the revamp
of the celebrated Scribe Winery. Principal David
Darling says, "We wanted to create something
that was at once an extension of the landscape,
a frame of reference to the past, and a dynamic
interactive hub for the community." To do this,
the team started with what already existed to
uncover "the latent spirit of the place." Several
old turkey barns were removed to restore the
original, contiguous "Rhinefarm" vineyard. The
barns' lumber and concrete were repurposed,
stone was extracted from the land for walls
and landscape features, and an "iconic, historic
hacienda" has been resurrected as a focal point.

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"We are exploiting existing micro-ecologies
to create an interactive experience for guests.
Existing riparian byways are developed as
dynamic flowering insect 'super-highways' that
both enhance the active guest experience and
reduce the dependence on pesticides for the
vineyards. The winery and the visitor's center-
the Barrel Pavilion, where a planted roof
reconstitutes native plant species-utilize
the earth for geothermal climatic control,"
Darling explains.

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