Building and renovating a wine cellars with an architect: guide and advice
Wine cellars - Build a wine cellar that reflects your values and traditions.
Whether in Burgundy, Provence or the Bordeaux region, we'll share our expertise with you when it comes to renovating or building your wine storehouse.
Wine tourism is on the increase, and more and more people are interested in discovering the world of wine.
That's why today's wineries need to be sufficiently attractive to offer visitors a worthy welcome, while at the same time beingefficient and respectful of the environment.
Contents – Construction and renovation of wine cellars:
Foremost, why call on an architect to renovate your winery ?
Essential expertise
The architect will not only make your winery an attractive, aesthetic building.
He’ll build you a specific, high-quality winery that reflects you, your image, your traditions and your uniqueness.
Indeed, the appearance of the winery will become a real marketing asset, helping you to stand out from your competitors.
Because your customers aren’t just buying your wine, they’re buying your identity, your image.
The architect will be able to understand this challenge, your expectations and your personality, so as to turn your winery into the building you’ve always dreamed of.
For a renovation, the architect will also be able to diagnose the building’s condition correctly, and then devise solutions to the problems identified.
How we helped the Rothschild family renovate and extend their winery: Château Lafite Rothschild .
Discover the projectIsn't it only the big estates that can afford to call in an architect ?
Renovating a winery is worth the cost
First and foremost, the total renovation, and even more so the construction , of a winery or wine estate represents a certain cost.
For this reason, calling in an architect often means extending your budget.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean doubling or tripling your budget.
On the other hand, thearchitect will be able to turn your investment into a profitable project. He’ll help you add features that make all the difference.
The architect doesn’t have to propose an extravagant, offbeat project, but will respect your wishes and desires.
Above all, he’ll adapt to your budget.
Finally, the architect’sexpertise is essential to optimize space, organization and technical aspects.
He will know which materials to use to maintain the ideal temperature, and how to orientate your winery to take advantage of the perfect amount of sunshine.
All of which will benefit your business in the long term.
What should I bear in mind when building or renovating my winery?
Not to be overlooked
First and foremost, orientation is an important issue: the winery must be oriented according to the path of the sun in summer and winter, in order to regulate temperature.
Next, materials are also important for temperature: brick, wood fiber and stone provide the right temperature for ideal vinification.
Thelayout of your vat room is also very important.
You’ll need to adapt it to your working methods, and size it according to your production volume.
You also need to choose the shape of your vats.
That’s why an architect will be able to guide you.
You can also find inspiration from some of the greatest projects of recent years.
See our article on the top 10 most beautiful wine cellars.
What's the point of building an eco-chai?
Responsible construction
Building or renovating an eco-chai requires the use of environmentally-friendly techniques and materials.
It may be smaller in surface area, but an architect will be able to optimize it for you with a suitable layout.
What’s more, smaller surface areas also mean fewer distances to travel for fluids, wine and must, and therefore lower process costs.
To maximize the eco-friendliness of theeco-winery, we can also imagine green roofs to retain humidity, or photovoltaic roofs to optimize energy consumption.
Eco-cellars are also built using environmentally-friendly materials such as wood, stone and straw, all of which provide excellent insulation for your cellar.
You’ll also need toanalyze the terrain, the climate, the sun’s path and itsorientation, to make your winery as eco-friendly as possible!
Why hold an architectural competition to renovate a winery?
BAM organizes turnkey architectural competitions for private clients seeking architectural quality and environmental performance.
- STIMULATE architectural creation: the competition encourages teams to surpass themselves in the design of innovative, high-quality architecture.
All within a defined budget and in line with the client’s expectations. - DEVELOP a genuine ecological approach: By working with BAM, you’ll be able to make ecology an essential part of your project.
- DISCOVER new architectural talent: Choosing the competition means giving talented young agencies that you may not have identified the opportunity to propose a new and unexpected vision of your project.
- COMMUNICATE with your community: The competition is a fantastic opportunity to communicate about your current projects.
And to involve your community (employees, customers, local authorities, etc.) throughout the project. - MAXIMIZE your return on investment: The competition saves time and money.
Putting the overall cost of a building’s life into perspective with the benefits of a well thought-out project (well-being, flexibility, image, operation) gives you a glimpse of the added value that a competition can generate.
Are you planning to build or renovate a wine cellars ?
Our winery projects,
Find out more about our current projects and the stories of the clients we’ve worked with on their winery construction or renovation projects.
Château Lafite Rothschild: Renovation and extension of a winery
Delivery in 2025
Château de Nalys: Renovation and extension
Delivery in may 2026
