A wing with a fireplace beckons guests to enjoy wine tastings and mountain views.
On pastureland in Delaplane, Virginia, RdV Vineyards winery melds with its bucolic surroundings. A winner of a 2013 Palladio Award and a Virginia Society AIA award, the 21,400-square-foot, board-and-batten structure was designed by Andrew Lewis of Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects to connect with its farm origins while conveying “an edgy, agricultural look.” Says Lewis, “It settles into the landscape but catches the eye.”
The sloped site was chosen for its unusually arid and rocky soil, which approximates the California terrain where grapes thrive. Nestled amidst the vineyards—planted by owner Rutger de Vink before the design was ever conceived—the winery encompasses three wings: one for fermentation, one for entertaining and one for bottling, labeling and shipping. All are connected by a light-filled central silo with a Kalwall roof. A 5,500-square-foot cave is connected to the main structure and built into the slope. It stores wine barrels in reliably cool, humid conditions.
ARCHITECTURE: ANDREW R. LEWIS, AIA, Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects, Washington, DC, and Middleburg, Virginia. CONTRACTOR: Crenshaw Construction, Culpeper, Virginia. CAVE CONSTRUCTION: B-U Corp., Charleston, South Carolina. PHOTOGRAPHY: GORDON BEALL.