Austin- and San Antonio-based architecture and design firm Clayton Korte has revealed its simple-yet-sexy design for a new winery in Medina, Texas. Spread across nearly 7,300 square feet, the Medina Winery will incorporate the masonry walls of an existing barn and goat shed to yield a range of diverse spaces under one gabled roof.
“The winery was designed with flexibility in mind, much like the utility that a barn has for a rancher,” says Clayton Korte principal Brian Korte. “It is, in essence, a workshop, and for small-lot winemaking there needs to be space for exploration and experimentation, with the ability to change your mind. Building in malleability provides the winemaker with a venue for this creative expression with limited risk.”
Existing masonry walls will enclose an entry courtyard and shallow reflecting pool directly linked to the double-height fermentation room and tasting room. Flooded with natural light via clerestory windows, interiors will be further bonded with the outdoors thanks to views of the vineyard and onsite oak trees. A 2,085-square-foot covered crush/bottling deck will also provide an open, flexible space for harvest activities and storage. “Barrel storage is burrowed into the rising hillside opposite the crush pad,” Korte adds. “Shouldered by a large concrete bulkhead, the resulting portal leads to an insulated cave, tempered by the rocky earth above. These types of spaces in winery projects are most often the sexiest.”