GAEC les Aurelles Winery

Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner

Description

The Les Aurelles winery is situated at the outskirts of a town near Bézier. The simple building is unobtrusively embedded in the landscape. The new winery was to meet the high standards of the wine-growing company Les Aurelles: as wine is sensitive to potential chemical impact through building materials, all construction material had to comply with environmental standards. The natural stone used had to meet ecological requirements.

The solid construction consisting of heavy natural stone guarantees ideal conditions for post fermentation care and wine maturing. 65 cm thick exterior walls built up of natural stone blocks and natural lime mortar contain very few openings. This way, the interior temperature never exceeds 22°C even during hot summers.

The two 61 m long, 11 m wide and 5.60 m high buildings are arranged to the left and right of a small courtyard that serves as the main entrance to the winery; it is covered with an unpainted timber structure as a shading device and simple reinforced glass mats. The production processes (post fermentation care) and storage of the wine take place in the longer, northern part of the building. Half of it is dug into the ground which also helps to achieve a consistent interior temperature. The spaces where fermentation and storage containers are kept extend to the full height of the building and receive daylight through a strip window in the upper part of the wall. A ventilation system controlled by a network of underground ducts conditions the air and balances out seasonal changes of temperature. In the two-storey wing to the south of the complex offices are located on the upper level that receives daylight via a row of vertical windows on its eastern side. On the lower level dry goods and agricultural equipment are stored.