Three Graces Vineyards
Fiddletown, CaliforniaArchitecture and wine-making have much in common in that they are both an art form and express the quality of the components used in the creative process. The building designed for Three Graces Vineyards is no exception. Our clients approached us after spending many years literally toiling in the fields of Fiddletown to sculpt a vineyard out of a sloping site with views of adjacent meadows and the Sierras beyond. Their desire was for a winery building that was modern to reflect their taste in architecture.
Envision an elongated rectangle sliding out from the land. Along the natural grade, the solid façade of the building splits from the land with a line of glass that increases in height as the building continues down the slope. From Tyler Road, passers-by see a sky blue solid wedge set in the meadow. Traveling onto the site, the two story glass front façade then reveals itself. Overall, the building is small, under 5,000 square feet, but a lot is packed into the space due to the efficient design. The ground floor space houses the public Tasting Room, a private office, restroom, and case goods storage. A door through the case goods space leads directly into the two-story high barrel room. By sliding the building into the land, a thermally temperate space with retaining walls on three sides has been created to store the barrels during the fermenting process. While one side of the rectangle is married to the natural landscape, the other side is carved out to create a covered crush pad for the tanks and wine equipment. Visitors to the winery are able to see this working part of the winery as they make their way to the Tasting room.
After parking, guests step onto the Tasting Deck which springs from the front of the building and offers a place to experience wine outdoors. Built-in seating wraps two sides of the deck, while the third side is bound by a trellised wall. This wall conceals a private staircase which leads to the second story balcony and into the private apartment above. The studio apartment offers fantastic views for our clients of the Sierra mountains in the distance and a place to retreat after a long day of work in the vineyard. A portion of the floor of the studio space is carved out and wrapped with frosted glass walls to create a light well to the lower Tasting room, flooding the Tasting bar with a glow of natural light while keeping the studio space completely private and separate from the public space below.
The material palette planned for the project is deliberately simple to let the volumes and shapes speak for themselves. The exterior walls will be clad in painted fiber cement panels spaced slightly to create a horizontal reveal pattern. The storefront system will be a clear anodized aluminum finish to reflect the colors of the sky. Floors will be polished natural concrete. Inside, tones will be muted and shapes will be linear to create a gallery-like feeling. The result is a soothing space where both the wine and the landscape become the works of art experienced in a jewel box building set in the land.