Tasting room design I feel has much to do with the over all acceptance of that winery in the community. Who wants to go and see a place that is also the place that the wine is made in? If I’m on a tour the answer is yes I would love to see the winemakers workplace. Often however people are out tasting for the atmosphere and if anything is learned about winery design I hope that the lesson isn’t to little to late.
When opening a winery it is absolutely necessary that a good looking tasting room also be designed. Something removed although not far removed from the large stainless steel vats in which the wine that you are enjoying is made.
In Oregon I’ve been to a couple of winery’s built into the side of the hill that have the grape processing room viewable through some glass structure wise offering a great view of the processing room, its machinery and steel drums often used for white wines neatly organized even when in use.
Summer Wood winery in west Paso Robles offers the same type of view on the winemaking room, though not quite a much of a birds eye. It’s tasting rooms like these that combine the experience of the making and the tasting of the wine that have it right. Wine is an art not a science, lets have a space to celebrate the art instead of looking at the science of all the drums and vats that are used.