Anthony von Mandl is the inventor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which has made him rich. But ask him why he created the company, and his answer is, “The winery.” More than 20 years ago, von Mandl, who grew up in Vancouver, decided to turn a hilltop in central British Columbia — part of a wine-growing region known as the Okanagan Valley — into a winery meant to last generations.
See the 7 best high-design wineries >
He named it the Mission Hill Family Estate and began looking for an architect to design buildings that would stand the test of time. Teaming up with Tom Kundig, von Mandl transformed a working winery inside a bland, factory-like structure into a destination for oenophiles and architecture-lovers alike. A massive bell tower in the center of its six large buildings (pictured above) can be seen from much of the surrounding area.
Von Mandl isn’t the only winemaker to use architecture, as much as viticulture, to give his products an edge. All over the world — from Rioja in Spain to New Zealand’s Gibbston Valley — striking design is attracting visitors to wineries that would otherwise get lost amid gorgeous wine-country scenery.
The world’s most celebrated architects have gotten into the act. Norman Foster gave Bodegas Portia in Burgos, Spain, a futuristic look; Juan Carlos Fernandez designed Cade Winery in Angwin, California, to be grand and green; and Santiago Calatrava, known for bridges and train stations, gave Bodegas Ysios in Rioja, Spain, its animated exterior. These buildings are as distinguished as their wineries’ best vintages and all well worth a visit.
More articles from Departures:
- World's Best Wine Resorts
- World's Most Bikeable Wine Regions
- A Wine Tour of Chile
- Best Starchitect-Built Theaters
- Great Golf Courses In California Wine Country
Mission Hill Family Estate, West Kelowna, British Columbia
Founder Anthony von Mandl says it took a lot of earth moving, but he got just the view he wanted from Mission Hill’s Terrace restaurant. Rows of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines seem to extend to the shores of Lake Okanagan, and the view of the restaurant, with a colonnade by architect Tom Kundig, is almost as appealing. Kundig’s buildings tend to be made of rough materials, including poured concrete, but they have the perfect proportions of Greek temples —and have won his firm, Seattle-based Olsen Kundig, countless architectural awards.
1730 Mission Hill Rd.
250-768-6448
Bodegas Portia, Burgos, Spain
Foster + Partners, designers of some of the sleekest buildings in the world, including Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport and Berlin’s renovated Reichstag, gave its first winery (part of the Faustino Group) a memorable form: three leaf-like wings, dedicated to the three stages of the winemaking process, that extend from an “operations core.” A raised public gallery reaches deep into each wing, giving visitors unobstructed views of the production process. (Portia’s capacity is one million bottles a year.) The concrete and glass interior is futuristic, but the exterior surfaces of Cor-Ten (pre-rusted) steel give the building an earthy demeanor. A road leads onto the roof, where harvested grapes are delivered directly into a hopper. Daily tours include tastings.
Antigua Carretera N1
34/947-102700
Dominus Estate, Yountville, California
The architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are known for the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, the condo building at 40 Bond Street in Manhattan and a half dozen of the world’s most beautiful museums, including the de Young in San Francisco and the Tate Modern in London. Their Dominus Estate winery, located an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a much-admired, much-photographed structure made of gabion (chunks of local basalt in steel cages), which the architects employed to exploit the randomness of nature within a well-ordered environment. It also creates stunning effects when light shines through the gaps between the hunks of stone. Dominus isn’t generally open to the public, but occasional architectural tours on weekday mornings offer hardcore buffs a chance to see the structure up close.
2570 Napa Nook Rd.
707-944-8954
See the rest of the story at Business Insider