Winerist is the leading wine and food travel marketplace, with over 1,000 experiences in 75 destinations. Here, they share with us 15 architectural masterpieces of the wine world.
Wineries have been around for thousands of years, and over time some have embraced more avant-garde architectural styles while others have sought to preserve tradition. From South America to Australia, with some stops in the Old World, we’ve made a list of the 15 masterpieces of the architectural wine world, including out-of-this-world wineries, luxury wine hotels and wine museums.
1. Boschendal Winery in South Africa
This magnificent winery is situated in the picturesque Groot Drakenstein Valley, at the gateway to Franschhoek. Dating back to 1812, the historic Cape Vernacular Manor House is one of only a few original Cape farmhouses to have been restored and furnished. It’s a typical H-shaped house with yellowwood ceilings and doors set in teak frames.
2. Bodega Otazu, Navarra, Spain
Bodega Otazu was the first French style winery built in 1840 in Navarra. Its spectacular barrel room consists of nine concrete vaults and is designed like a cathedral – in this case, a wine cathedral. Bodega Otazu also includes an amazing feudal estate from the Middle Ages: Señorío de Otazu, where some period buildings have defied the passing of time.
3. Marqués de Riscal, Rioja, Spain, designed by Canadian architect Frank O. Geh
Photo credit: http://www.hotel-marquesderiscal.com/
Marqués de Riscal is one of the most impressive modern wonders of the wine world. It’s a must-see if you’re traveling to Rioja. Traditional Spanish elements are joined with modern design to create an extraordinary architectural wonder. And if you’re visiting on holiday, give the luxury hotel a try.
4. Wine Museum in Lavaux, Switzerland, designed by Mauro Turin Architectes
Photo credit: Mauro Turin Architectes
The planned wine museum here has yet to be built, but there’s still plenty to look at. The site’s historic vineyard terraces date back to the eleventh century and step down the side of the stunning Lavaux landscape (a UNESCO World Heritage site), with amazing views of Lake Geneva.
5. La Rocca Winery, Gavorrano, Italy
Photo credit: www.archilovers.com
Situated among the Tuscan hills and surrounded by beautiful vineyards, La Rocca revisits traditional forms of Tuscan architecture within an innovative structure, with an open piazza, a glass pavilion, and a wine cellar that is the heart of the project. It was designed by Renzo Piano, the celebrated Italian architect who designed London’s The Shard.
6. O. Fournier Winery
Photo credit: www.decanter.com
This winery in Mendoza City, Argentina, sits in a plain with breathtaking views of the Andes Mountains. It’s definitely a modern architecture masterpiece!
7. Museo Provincial del Vino, Penafiel, Spain
Photo credit: www.arquitecturacinco.blogspot.com
This is one of the most visited wine museums in Spain, as much for the architectural wonders of this medieval castle (look at the photo – can you say “Game of Thrones”?) as for the cultural value of its museum exhibits. This beautiful castle has positioned itself as a “place of pilgrimage” for wine lovers.
8. Bodegas Sommos, Spain
Photo credit: www.noticiashuesca.com
Uniqueness of shape and strength of the steel and glass materials are some of the elements that characterize Bodegas Sommos. Surrounded by vineyards, it maintains harmony in which traditional winemaking inspires superb modern architecture.
9. Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux, designed by Christian de Portzamparc
Photo credit: http://www.portzamparc.com/
Inspired by the concrete fermentation vats used by the world-famous château, the architect designed an amazing structure topped with a white concrete canopy, which appears to float weightlessly atop the vineyards. The barrel cellar below is described as “like a crypt,” surrounded by perforated brick walls to allow natural ventilation.
10. Ysios Winery, Rioja, Spain, by Santiago Calatrava
Photo credit: http://buildipedia.com/
In one of the most beautiful parts of the Rioja wine region rises the imposing silhouette of this unique winery. The architect was inspired by the rows of casks used to age wines. The same can be said about its interior architecture, which is also avant-garde in style.
11. Ceretto Winery Monsordo Bernardina, Alba, Piedmont, Italy
Photo credit: http://www.doyouwine.com/
This winery’s highlight is the futuristic, spaceship-like observation deck that juts out over the vineyards, offering you a panoramic view of the estate. It’s hard to tell what is more impressive, the winery or the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage Landscape.
12. Bodega R. López de Heredia, Spain, designed by Zaha Hadid
Photo credit: Lopez Heredia Winery
Located in the stunning Haro’s Barrio la Estacion, R. Lopez de Heredia is one of Spain’s most historic wineries, and undoubtedly one of the most representative of the Rioja Alta wine region. Its stainless steel tasting room annex and its avant-garde pavilion, a fusion of 19th century and modern architecture, are the first things you’ll notice. Impressed by its external architecture? Just wait until you visit its underground cellars and its old railroad that connected the winery directly to Bordeaux in the 19th century.
13. Waterkloof Winery, South Africa
Photo credit: http://www.waterkloofwines.co.za/
This splendid building is a beacon of architectural excellence atop the magnificent Schapenberg Hills. Enclosed in a modern glass and concrete sphere, its “Cellar in the Sky” encompasses a “state-of-the-art” gravitational cellar, an innovative wine-tasting room and a glass-box restaurant for fine dining (and for admiring view of the uninterrupted hills)
14. Castel Mimi Winery, Moldova, designed by Arnaldo Tranti
This gorgeous French Chateau-style winery has been undergoing ambitious renovation for years. Founded in 1893 by the last governor of Bessarabia, Constantin Mimi, it is becoming the biggest and most impressive winery in Moldova.
15. Yering Station, Yarra Valley, Australia, designed by architect Robert Conti
Photo credit: http://www.yering.com/
The sophisticated architectural forms of the Yering Station Wine Bar Restaurant open out to magnificent views extending across the Yarra Valley. The structure sits harmoniously within the undulating natural environment. The underground barrel cellar was inspired by the style of a French monastery. This awesome combination of contrasting styles transmits tradition while creating innovative spaces.
