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Designer wineries are dazzling us. In Spain’s Rioja region, Frank Gehry’s Marqués de Riscal and Zaha Hadid’s Rafael López de Heredia Tondonia Winery have set a new bar for beautiful winemaking spaces. French vintners heard the call, with the family JM Cazes adding some design touches to their Château Cordeillan-Bages in the Haut-Médoc region of Bordeaux. But now the Aussies are getting in on this action, hiring their own set of cool architects and designers to create distinctive places for wine tasting and relaxing.
One of the newest editions to the designer wineries of Australia is the Rubik's Cube–inspired d'Arenberg Cube, opened this November. The unusual winery is in South Australia’s famed McLaren Vale wine region, and the five-story multi-use building is set among Mourvèdre vines and overlooks the rolling hills of Willunga. Plus, Michelin-starred chef Brendan Wessels is leading the culinary program there.
Aussie architect Kerstin Thompson has also weighed in on a winery space, creating a subterranean cellar at Australia's TarraWarra Estate. The Cellar Door, a moody hideout for wine, is part of a vineyard covering 400 acres of farmland in the Yarra Valley, roughly an hour east of Melbourne. Perfect for a day trip.
Right in Victoria province’s pristine Mornington Peninsula, Pt. Leo Estate has assembled a sculpture garden—with an ever-evolving selection of works—and recently unveiled a restaurant as part of their winery. The estate is nestled between the seaside villages of Merricks Beach and Shoreham on the Peninsula’s eastern side. Designed by Melbourne-based architectural and interior design firm Jolson, the semicircular Cellar Door and restaurant is set on the highest point of the property, with unrivaled panoramic vistas across the 10-year-old vineyards right over the Western Port Bay.
In the same renowned wine area, the luxury hotel and wine concept Jackalope opened earlier this year. Clad in dark zinc with charred timber and black metal detailing, the property is just an hour from Melbourne. Invented by the Carr Design Group, this moody project awaits the wine lover who wants to taste and also stay. Planted in 1989, the vineyard is known for its cool-climate chardonnay and pinot noir by head winemaker Geraldine McFaul—so lingering longer is well rewarded.
In the south of the country, the design agency Studio-Gram was challenged to create the most luxurious, high-end winery ever. And so St Hugo, in the Barossa Valley northeast of Adelaide, is now home to this wood-on-wood magnificence. The cellar incorporates a large teardrop-shaped solid timber table and joinery, where you will find St Hugo’s private collection.