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St Hubert’s Winery
Coldstream, Victoria | 2019
Type

Commercial, Hospitality

Team

Domenic Cerantonio, Chris Stribley, Jessica Coulter, Danny Tong, Darcy Kay, Katherine McDonald

Awards

Architecture Masterprize | Winner - Hospitality Architecture, LIV Hospitality Design Awards | Winner - Architectural Design Bar Lounge, Good Design Awards | Winner - Architectural Design, Melbourne Design Awards | Silver - Commercial Architecture

Established in 1862 by pioneering winemaker Hubert de Castella and re-born in 1966 following the Great Depression, St Huberts has long been considered one of the finest spots in the Yarra Valley for its portfolio of cool-climate wines.

In 2019, Ryan Hospitality Group, led by Gerry and Andrew Ryan, in collaboration with Treasury Premium Brands, commissioned Cera Stribley to breathe new life into the St Huberts wine estate once more – this time, on a much grander scale than ever before. The resultant Hubert Estate now comprises a family-style restaurant (Quarters), Indigenous art gallery (Hubert Gallery of Art), event space (Harriett), revamped St Huberts cellar door – all designed by Cera Stribley.

Architecture is a large part of the attraction for this latest Yarra Valley destination, and Cera Stribley’s design response undeniably makes it so. Situated at the junction of Maroondah Highway and St Huberts Road, the design takes advantage of this prime location, assimilating with the undulating topography while the architecturally-striking new cellar door rises up from the landscape in one swift curve.

A large copper door punctuates the centre of two high concrete walls that cut through the grass mound of the building. Once inside, the space opens up into a warm and welcoming cellar door.

Authenticity is at the heart of the design concept for the cellar. This is expressed through materiality including natural wood formed concrete and copper at the entry, timber panelling, as well as solid smooth natural edged timber wine tasting benches and brown leather seated stools.

The existing St Hubert’s winery comprised two rugged, rural sheds and a random assortment of work cottages, surrounded by vines, on a site spanning over 30-hectares of land.

The existing sheds became the foundation for the reimagined Hubert Estate, extrapolating the form into a singular, connected volume.

The centre segment of the volume was then extracted and placed front and centre, to embody the new St Hubert’s cellar door.

The two sheds were reconstructed in the background, to house the restaurant and function centre. The ceiling of the cellar door pitched to maximise the eastern orientation of the site.

The cellar door is embedded within the undulating landscape, with an existing mound on site excavated and then reformed to envelop the new built volume.

Two board-formed concrete walls pierce through the rear of the grassy mound, creating a dramatic entry into the cellar door. Skylights puncture through the landscape, drawing natural light into the semi-subterranean volume.

"Hubert Estate demonstrates the propensity for design to bridge many disparate themes."

Tiffany Jade

Contributing Writer, Design Anthology

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