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New generation Vineyards; where the excellence of wine production meets the excellence of contemporary design. Innovative, dramatic and advanced architectural design environments that combine wine, taste, technology, art and tourism, with a cutting edge vision of the traditional landscape for a total immersion of the senses.
by Antonia Marmo
When we talk about the wines of Italy we immediately think of a world in which all of our senses are involved and stimulated to the highest level. A unique and diverse alchemy with every colour; smells, tastes and textures that express the richness and excellence which stem from quality wine production in our beautiful country. From north to south, this great variety of wines represent a plethora of regions and landscapes, as well as histories and people, which ultimately offer an exclusive heritage to know and to love. In Italy, where there are vineyards, they mark a territory with secular designed landscapes and a great culture of hospitality.
How to be innovative with cutting edge technology in this traditional context, without denying it or better still maintaining its future value? How to transform the richness in the layers of soil and the senses present in these lands through which the many threads bind the innovation of a winery together with its production and associated activities exist?
More and more vineyards are managing to design and build new architectural complexes for their cellars, which extend far beyond the traditional function and bring to the forefront the growing importance of tourism to the context in which they arise. The challenge is to combine the production of wine with the production of cultural events, to develop new ways of working and experience recreational spaces with advanced design, while continuing to celebrate the happy union that is typically Italian, through the taste and the beauty of the location.
Today, the experience of tasting a fine wine is made all the more enjoyable and complete when we can acquaint ourselves with the underlying characteristics and culture, combining it with the local traditional delicacies; taking the time to observe and travel through the beautiful countryside and small villages, to see a fine art exhibition or listen to a delightful concert or perhaps even stop and stay in total comfort for a few days, all within the confines of the new generation vineyards.
Bealux begins this journey through wine and excellent architecture, recounting how two notable vineyards: the Ceretto in the Langhe (Piemonte) and the Tramin in the Alto Adige, have succeeded in creating this combination of taste and beauty, amid quality and innovation; the exaltation of their philosophy’s.
 Cantina Ceretto
With the magnificent backdrop of the Piedmont hills, the land of Barolo, the Ceretto family has long demonstrated their ability to look to the future whilst promoting original designs with innovative ideas. Convinced that research into wine making and the pleasure of a good bottle of wine are above all a cultural pursuit, Bruno and Marcello have pushed forward with a focus on activities that support architecture, music and art in general, in keeping with the traditions of their predecessors.
The story begins in 1999 when they entrusted the artists David Tremlett and Sol LeWitt, with the task of restoring an old chapel amongst their vineyards, transforming it into a contemporary work of art, including colourful exteriors and an expressional interior.
In 2000 came the time to restore the Ceretto di Bricco Rocche winery in Castiglione Falletto located in the graphical centre of the Barolo region. The expansion project, managed by the architects Luca Turin and Marina Deabate, was carried out from scratch based on the existing Cube but at the same time incorporating high-tech architecture and works of art, stamping a traditional mark and preserving the natural masterpiece; Barolo. The Cube is a metaphor that is derived from Barolo wine: its sharp edges and solid angular base is the birthplace of Barolo, with a sturdy structure and long lasting durability. The use of glass without a frame ensures that there are no obstacles to the field of vision enhancing the surrounding 360 degree landscape. The idea of the project was to create an architectural journey that is in unison with the landscape, in its total transparency which is perched on the surrounding countryside, as well as serving as a reference point; environmentally innovative welcoming a new vision of wine culture. In summary, a monument to the modern Barolo wine.
The latest architectural creation in the Ceretto estate is L’Acino, (The Grape), a challenging and bold innovation, which concludes four years of expansion and renovation work to the Alba family cellars housing the Tenuta Monsordo Bernardina. An ancient farmhouse originating from the 9th century has been transformed into a modern and well equipped headquarters, where there is an unusually large space dedicated to wine tasting, to the sale of wines, to promotional meetings, debates, conferences and cultural events. Here too, the architecture envelops the landscape in a large oval and transparent bubble: a lightweight object resting on a platform of oak, suspended between the vineyards, representing the heart that is beating through the whole production process; the grape.
For the construction, architects Luca and Marina Deabate chose a decidedly innovative material, EFTE (ethyl-tetra-fluoro-ethylene), which can be shaped in liquid form, almost pruinose like the grapes, and transparent allowing nature to come inside the room encapsulating anyone who stops or tastes the wines, sending them into flight over the hills of the Langhe: to taste the wine and at the same time to be tasting the view. The fluidity of the shapes can be found in the interiors looked after by the Arch. Giuseppe Blengini commented on the project like this; “It was a stimulating challenge, an exciting theme. The entire project draws on the fascinating world of wine, the rows of vines, the vineyards, and represents a sort of passage of time in to the reality of the production of this precious nectar; you pass the barrels go across a corridor (where tinted windows hide the vintage historical vaults) up into to the tasting room (500 m²), where huge windows overlook the vineyards. The same mobile display (18 meters long) puts the rows of vines forward again; exhibiting 90 framed labels within a geometric structure, it takes the shape of real paintings”.
Italy B&B was created exclusively based on designs of Blengini, the armchairs, the sofas and the ottomans; objects deliberately designed to augment the soft and sensual "roundness and full-body" of the world famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines. It is an authentic statement from the Ceretto philosophy.
 Cantina Tramin
The Tramin winery, founded at the end of the 9th century in Alto Adige, is a prime example of respect and commitment given the culture of wine. It is a reality that embodies all of the typical characteristics of the land: the magic of nature and its multi-sensory impressions, the accuracy and creative production for a constant quality, the ability to implement a system and to cooperate; the synthesis of traditional processes and innovative solutions. Working together for the composition of wines which always interpret the superb and harmonic richness of the region is what guides the decisions of the company, month after month, year after year.
The production is a direct expression of an infinite culmination of diverse elements and a balance between opposites. Not only the nature, which alternates between Mediterranean and Alpine systems, or the variety of soils, the vineyards and the vines. Even the cultural dimension is double edged, thanks to which the precision and the lucidity typically found in Central Europe blend with the sensitivity and the Italian sunshine, giving life to an innovative combination of both cultures. In this spirit of encounter it is impossible to miss the hospitality and the dissemination of the wine culture expressing thanks to the architecture. Inspired by the grapevine, its forms and the intricate and fascinating designs on the landscape throughout the region, the new base for Tramin in Termeno (Bolzano), designed by the Architect Werner Tscholl has recently opened. A sign that the vine, which originates from the earth through the work of the skilled hands of farmers, unravelling in a thousand lines, has also has been incorporated into the design of the building. Therefore the structure almost becomes a sculpture, a work or art that can indicate the meaning and mission of the vineyard, having a strong appeal but harmonising with the surrounding environment.
The design aims to create a clear division between the activities of the vineyard and the flow of visitors. For both functions it creates separate and dedicated spaces without reciprocal perceptions and appearances. On the lower level, towards the vineyards, is the access for farmers and for the transport of goods which arrive and leave the vineyard, as well as parking for employees. The area which is open to the public and visitors is covered by a platform on top of which the public entrance is situated. The reception foyer has been created from the side of existing vineyard, which represents the tradition of the company and has become the heart of the new building. Leading off the heart are the two new wings, which house the offices on one side while the other contains the state rooms with a small museum, meeting and conference rooms as well as the new wine bar. In an emerald surrounded plot the new buildings are designed as long pronounced transparent sleeves, almost like open arms that invite visitors to enter from outside and then almost catapults you into the splendour of the view.
The interiors are allowed to fully participate with the external landscape which enters into the artificial casing through the lines of vines; at the same time reproducing a fascinating, varied and evocative universe, the knowing use of colour contrasts between warm and cool colours, cut by geometric and decorative lighting, with traditional materials and contemporary technologies. Even the functional and distribution environments, such as the stairs, the hallways, the utility rooms and the facilities offer an evocative experience, with chromatic reflecting finishes and sculpted volumes. The furnishings of the public areas are made to measure, in light wood and also pay tribute to the natural patterns in the design. Yet another wonderful example of how you can perfectly blend nature with the artificial wine culture and culture of hospitality, under the banner of new interpretations of excellence.
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