DesignOffice has distilled the brand values of Handpicked Wines to create an urban cellar door that takes customers on a journey of wine and space.
Handpicked Wines offers exactly what its name suggests: handpicked wines and grapes from around Australia and the world that reflect “a supreme sense of place.” Handpicked Wines has opened its flagship cellar door in Chippendale, Sydney, providing an environment in which the brand’s values are distilled into the architecture, design and experience of the space, and similarly reflect a supreme sense of place.
“Handpicked Wines is a contemporary and non-traditional wine brand that makes wines in multiple regions. The aim of the cellar door is to make wine education more accessible for all levels, from wine novice to expert,” explains Mark Simpson who co-founded Melbourne-based studio DesignOffice with Damien Mulvihill.
The new venue is located on a site with a long history in the booze business. Formerly the Carlton & United Brewery, and Kent Brewery or Tooth’s Brewery prior to that, the building complex closed in 2005 and has since undergone some serious adaptive reuse with the likes of the Old Clare Hotel and now Handpicked Cellar Door.
To accommodate a retail space, tasting bar, wine lounge and experiential wine room, DesignOffice took a flexible approach to ensure the successful coexistence of the various components. “We wanted to create a space that allowed customers to craft their own experience and explore the range in way that was not prescriptive. The fluidity in circulation and range of seating options allow customers to explore at their own pace,” Simpson says.
Detailed and rhythmic timber joinery runs the length of the room and serves to define the functional spaces, as well as concealing the mechanical services. The retail space at one end of the space has freestanding modular floor units for storage and display as well as facilitating the integration of digital content for visitors’ wine experience to continue online. Custom tasting tables accommodate wine tasting by day and bar seating by night, and the experiential room adjacent has stainless steel wine tanks that contain unfinished wine samples for customers to delve deeper into the winemaking process.
DesignOffice worked with the fabric of the original brick building to create a space that Simpson describes as “warm, inviting, convivial and welcoming.” The brick walls and high ceilings have been retained for volume, character and texture, and timber linings have been extruded from the walls and backlit to add depth and warmth. The original “No Smoking” signs painted on the walls are left exposed to reveal layers of the past and a palette of natural, raw and tactile materials emphasise the cellar vibe. “The existing timber floor, concrete columns and brick walls have been married with solid oak, granite, cement render, linoleum and galvanised steel to create a rich and tangible palette,” Simpson explains.
Like the process of distillation, DesignOffice has extracted the essence of Handpicked Wines and translated it into a cellar door that takes customers on a journey of wine and space.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
From billowing smoke-filled stacks of replica furniture to glamourous showrooms abuzz with activity, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst set the bar high for a celebration of design at Sydney Indesign 2015. Sophie Davies reports.
Deborah Singerman talks to the founder of Siren Design Group, NAWIC’s Businesswoman of the Year.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Welcome to the year of the Design Effect. This year’s theme aims to showcase the profound ripple effects that exceptional design can have on people, place and planet. Join in shaping this narrative by contributing your perspective before May 3, 2024, and become a part of the Design Effect movement.
Third in the series of boutique hotels under the Lloyd’s Inn brand, Lloyd’s Inn Kuala Lumpur bring the immediacy of nature to the new high-rise hospitality experience in the heart of a bustling city.