Sustainable renewal of an historic heritage – the “Delas Frères Winery”
Côtes du Rhône // France

The Delas Frères Winery located some 75 kilometres from Lyons in the middle of the Côtes du Rhône wine-growing region was established and built around the year 1830 by the Delas family. It remained in family ownership until 1977, which saw the sale of the company to the owners of Deutz champagne.

With expert support from visionary managers and gifted winemakers, a quantum leap was achieved. What used to be a small winery in the middle of nowhere has been turned into a company producing excellent wines of outstanding elegance and sophistication, unparalleled in their zinginess. In order to increase capacity and create a stronger corporate image, Delas bought an historic manor in Tain l’Hermitage. The estate was refurbished comprehensively and extended by a supporting façade made of natural stone. In 2019, a state-of-the-art production facility featuring a wine cellar and a shop were opened on the premises.

The striking undular new façade was designed digitally. It consists of fine muschelkalk, or shell-bearing limestone (estaillade in French), a natural type of rock with a stratified texture extracted in a nearby mine. The façade – up to eight metres in height including the wine cellar and the shop – surrounds the main building and, quite surprisingly, the garden. A special thermal concept provides for ideal surroundings for storing wine. Visitors are guided through minimalist rooms and the wine production facility on various levels connected by ramps. The rooms are flooded with light coming in through large window openings. A gallery offers spectacular views, free and unobstructed, from the wine cellar towards the vineyard.

Finally, the roof terrace allows for impressive views of the idyllic Rhône valley. The opposite wall to the garden has an opening for an old walnut tree welcoming shop visitors in its cooling shade. The spacious old manor is located right in the middle of the garden. It has been restored to its former beauty and converted into a lodge for overnight guests with a restaurant and wine-tasting bar.

For this project entitled “Moving Mountains”, Carl Frederik Svenstedt Architects received an award in the commercial factories and warehouses category from Architizer+ in 2020.

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Project: Delas Frères Winery
Location: France
Architects: Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect, with Carl Fredrik Svenstedt, Boris Lefevre, Pauline Seguin, Thomas Dauphant, Marion Autuori, Benoit-Joseph Grange
Photographers: Dan Glasser, Sergio Grazia