When Austrian entrepreneur Erich Sattler refocused his family’s business from mixed agriculture to grape growing, he needed headquarters to house the budding wine enterprise. He turned to his architect brother, Kurt, to design a winery capable of production, bottling, and cellaring on the ground-floor wine hall, with guest accommodations, presentation space, and an office in the wine loft above. Though it isn’t the only winery in Tadten—their residential adjacency is common in the region—Kurt explains how its distinctly modern styling sets it apart.

“Computer simulations were used to exploit the effect of the sun on the space and make the most of cross-ventilation. The upper terraces are situated east to west, which maximizes heat absorption in winter and resistance in summer.”

“To keep the ground floor a constant 60 degrees, a four-inch-thick, highly insulated metal panel system was mounted behind the concrete fire walls. The soil’s cool temperature then maintains the ideal environment without the use of air conditioning.”

“The courtyard is formed by the traditional L-shaped residential buildings surrounding the winery.”

“We took cues from the Case Study Houses to create a relatively open plan in the wine hall, with the terraces emphasizing a natural relationship between inside and out.”

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Reign of Terroir