This boutique winery with north-facing vineyards is now creating fine vintages. The striking three-level winery, intended as a sentinel at the tip of Te Whau Point beckoning wine lovers, is built into the steep western slope of the point. Spectacular views of Auckland City and the Hauraki Gulf, together with a meal and a glass or two of the wine makers best, should be reason enough to make regular return visits.
The owners brief not only required architecture that did justice to the setting and his vision, but it also had to be a practical and functional working winery and cafe. As a result, the building is set into the hill with each of its floors having external ground contact. The upper level contains the main entry, cafe, wine tasting bar and terrace, while the lower two levels house the production areas of the winery, and an apartment for the owners family. The lower level also extends back under the hill to create a constant-temperature wine maturation cellar.

Conceptually the building is ovoid in plan, intersected by the rectangular form of the circulation spine slicing through the short axis of the building. This is apparent both in plan at each level, and externally where the sloping roofs of either end of the ovoid fall to the flat-roofed spine.