Saxum Winery

Tucked into a steep hillside in Paso Robles, the Saxum Winery facility draws from a minimalist approach. The new tasting room facility is completely subterranean, minimizing its presence in the vineyard and from a neighboring residence. Floating between the two working portals, a green-roof, steel-framed pavilion houses private offices, a laboratory, kitchen and lounge areas, which open to caves lined with barrels for crushing, fermenting and storing wine. Through the caves, visitors can access the adjacent 71 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards.

Outstanding in its elegant use of understated materials and integration into the site. It is unique in that it has a down to earth restrained palette on both the interior and the exterior. Jury

AIA San Antonio Awards

Floating outside the steel-clad shoring wall, a broad-roofed pavilion connects the vineyard and caves and provides shade for 2 flanking portals into the winery, where the winemaking process begins at harvest and ends with bottling. Centered between portals, the steel-framed pavilion houses work areas, a lab/kitchen, lounge and restrooms serving as day-to-day operations and hospitality space for private tasting events.

Cueing on the minimalist approach that Saxum takes with its vineyards and in the cellar, the new winery production facility is completely subterranean. Using the earth as a natural insulator, temperatures in the cave remain stable with only fresh air intake and exhaust circulation maintaining its 60 degree target.