A California exhibition celebrates the striking architecture of Austria's new wineries.
BY ERIN FEHER

Photography by Hertha Hurnaus

While the aromatic finish of a Gewürztraminer or the stone-fruit bouquet of a Riesling may be familiar territory for California's Austrian-wine enthusiasts, a rare glimpse at Austria's exemplary modern wineries is on view at an international exhibit in Napa this month. Offering a detailed survey of Austria's contemporary building tradition, jumpstarted by the country's new generation of winemakers, "The Austrian Winery Boom: A Wine and Architecture Miracle" comes to Copia on March 27, following its West Coast premiere at the MODAA Gallery in Culver City.

The exhibition—which originated in 2005 at Architekturzentrum Wien: The Austrian Museum of Architecture—depicts 43 wineries in photographs, blueprints, models, sketches and wine bottles. The displays demonstrate the shift of Austria's wine industry from backyard sheds and converted garages to some of the most celebrated modern structures in Europe. As further testament to the country's design-minded commitment to viniculture, Austria's renowned SPAN architects, Matias del Campo and Sandra Manninger, created illuminated Plexiglas displays for the exhibit's American tour using digital 3D design and printing.

Though Austrians have made wine for centuries, there has been little to toast recently throughout the large southern winemaking regions of Styria, Burgenland and Vienna. In 1985, some vintners were caught adding diethylene glycol-a saccharine additive found in antifreeze-to their acidic, poor-quality wines. Many countries imposed temporary bans on Austrian wine, nearly shuttering the country's industry entirely. But as older vintners passed their businesses to their sons and daughters, the shake-up resulted in an influx of new ideas. According to Campo, "This generation had been educated internationally-in Bordeaux and Italy. They returned to Austria with a completely new notion of winemaking that is focused on quality."

Modern methods of production required modern structures. Vintners began to seek architectural and functional solutions, utilizing hilly topography to create gravity-based winemaking systems. Over the past 20 years, an alliance between local vintners and architects has created a contemporary regional vernacular. "These new wineries are aesthetically high-modern but, incredibly enough, they still beautifully fit into these hills," Campo says.

"This exhibition at Copia demonstrates that an enormous number of new wineries throughout Austria are producing good wine, while also showcasing world-class architecture."

Photography by Dieter Irresberger; Andreas Burghardt

LEFT: The Loisium hotel and winery, in the southern town of Langenlois, was designed by New York architect Steven Holl in 2003. ABOVE: Completed in 2004, the Arachon-Reifekeller winery in Burgenland is the work of Wilhelm Holzbauer and Dieter Irresberger. RIGHT: The 2007 Fred Loimer Winery in Langenlois was designed by Andreas Burghardt.

Photography by Rupert Steiner

An enormous number of new wineries throughout Austria are
producing good wine, while also showcasing world-class architecture.

LEFT: In Burgenland, the Gerner Gernerplus-designed Leo Hillinger Winery is set into a hillside and partially covered with grapevines. RIGHT: Krispel Winery in Styria was designed by Weidemann Architekten.