The Andis Wines project is situated on a 25 acre site on the east side of Shenandoah Road in Amador County. At just under 17,000 square feet, including the 4,000 square foot covered Crush Pad, the building itself is a prefabricated metal building with large canopy overhangs. The building is designed to “grow from the land”, with the eastern end set lower in the landscape, and the western public end rising out of the vineyard and clearly visible from Shenandoah Road. Modern in its aesthetic, the design emphasizes the more industrial aspects of a winery production facility, and yet makes visitors feel welcome with its connection to the land and warm use of materials inside. In addition, surrounding the building, visitors are offered a variety of places to gather, from the covered walkways, to grassy picnic areas on both the western and southern sides of the building. Large shade sails provide additional shade in the summer months.
The vertical corrugated siding is white and all other elements are silver in color to keep the building pristine in its appearance, and in striking contrast visually to the lush green of the grape vines that surround it. The signature element of the design is a large accent screen wall on the north side of the building that is completely fabricated from recycled wine barrel staves, stacked horizontally. The stacked staves, stained in a soft gray, create a textured woven effect. At night, landscape lighting grazes the surface of the screen walls further enhancing the textural quality. Names of the Founder’s club are etched on barrel staves by the front entry.
Interior public spaces emphasize unique materials such as the twenty-six foot long tasting bar fabricated from sustainably harvested Lyptus wood, topped with a concrete countertop. This bar is the feature element of the Tasting Room. The barrel vault ceiling of the Private Tasting Room is clad in the same Lyptus wood to bring a warm intimate feeling to the space for special gatherings.
Andis Wines through its careful design exceeded California’s stringent Title 24 Energy Compliance requirements by over 15%. This was accomplished by a combination of design elements; the building’s siting on the land and its shape, the use of prefabricated composite panels for the building walls with a high insulative value, windows that were strategically placed to avoid solar heat gain, and the storefront with thermally insulated Low E glass. Even the decorative screen wall helps to shade the north side of the building from the early morning and late afternoon sun in the summer months. Equipment – from the HVAC units, to the toilet fixtures and light fixtures were all selected for their high energy ratings. Careful consideration was made throughout the design process to successfully merge design and energy efficiency.
While the modern design of Andis Wines is different from surrounding wineries, it is a welcome addition to the Shenandoah Valley’s growing wine industry.
Contractor: Sunseri Associates, Inc.
Photography: Sage Architecture, Inc.
