Photography by Mike Rolfe
A Marlborough winery shows how to go green with its revamped 1980s winery building.
The state-of-the-art winemaking and visitors facility at Cloudy Bay Vineyards has been awarded a 5 Green Star built rating
Name: Cloudy Bay Vineyards – Founders’ Cellar
What: a 400m2 small-batch winemaking facility, visitors viewing, tasting and function space, wine library, blending room
Where: 230 Jacksons Road, Blenheim, Marlborough
Background: The first building constructed on site at Cloudy Bay Vineyards in 1986
Occupancy: 5 to 10 members of the winemaking team + cellar door visitors
Owner: LVMH - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton - French holding multi-national corporation
Architect: Paul Rolfe Architects
Main contractor: Scott Construction Marlborough
GSAP: Ethan Duff - Beca
Project status: commenced January 2021 (delayed by Covid lockdowns) completion May 2022
Project certification: 5 Green Star Design Review rating (December 2021); 5 Star Green Star Design and As-Built NZ v1.0 Built certified rating (November 2024)
There are building projects and there are labours of love.
For the team at Cloudy Bay Vineyards the transformation of its original cellar building from an underutilised mixed-use space to a dynamic green small-scale winemaking facility and visitor zone is the latter.
During the late 1980s the cellar building had been a buzzing headquarters for Cloudy Bay’s pioneering winemaking activity in Marlborough but over time its role changed.
Back in 2018 brainstorming began about how to repurpose the much-loved but unproductively-used heritage building.
Now the winery’s vision for an ultra-modern visitor experience wrapped around the daily workings of winemaking is showcased in a high performance facility saluting its hefty industrial heritage in Marlborough.
Architectural highlights include a steel-framed glass pod suspended above the winemaking floor where visitors can observe the action.
Awarded a 5 Green Star design rating in 2021 – a first for the wine industry at the time - the project has now followed up with a 5 Green Star built rating.
Cloudy Bay Vineyard operations director, Roger Baillie, says achieving both a 5 Green Star design and as built rating has been “an incredible result”.
“For us this reflects our commitment to sustainability across our winemaking operation and our wider company approach. We want to walk the talk of sustainability and our 5 Green Star Built rating validates we’re doing what we aspire to do.”
Roger says threefold thinking spearheaded the Founders’ Cellar revamp.
“We saw an opportunity to create a small-batch winemaking plant to enhance our ability to make even better white wines and to share this important space with visitors - to better connect them with our story, our history, heritage, our love of winemaking and our vineyards. Thirdly and importantly we wanted to honour the importance of our first winemaking cellar and the people who created Cloudy Bay.”
From the outset the Cloudy Bay project team embedded best practice sustainability into the cellar’s redevelopment.
“Sustainability and environmental responsibility are at the heart of what we do across our business so it was important these considerations led the project,” says Roger.
Being held to account in project decision-making and having the building independently audited and approved by Green Star was essential.
“Green Star has a great reputation for this and it was the right tool for us.”
He says a personal highlight was the project’s capacity to reuse materials and to help the community.
“For example, a concrete wall was crushed up and reused in other projects on-site at Cloudy Bay – while the roof from the old cellar was donated and reused.”
He says bringing the old winery building up to new building codes and incorporating 5 Green Star design and as built credentials feels like a huge achievement.
Standout green features of the project have included:
74 percent retention of the building’s existing façade
retaining and strengthening of its structure
a 27 kW solar panel array on the Founders’ Cellar and a site-wide 400+ kW system providing a net-zero energy outcome and meeting all on-site energy needs for the cellar
a 13,000 litre rainwater harvesting system also supplying the nearby hospitality block
abundant bicycle parking/facilities for staff and biking guests
“We hope our 5 Green Star rating achievements will inspire others in the wine industry to minimise the environmental impact of construction projects,” says Roger.
Beca building scientist and GSAP Ethan Duff says Cloudy Bay Vineyards’ 5 Green Star built rating mirrors its wider commitment to sustainable wine making operations.
“Winemaking is a large energy and water consumer and Cloudy Bay has extended its green philosophy to its buildings as well as its winemaking. It’s improving the operations of the buildings and wider site through monitoring equipment to measure and disclose the environmental impacts of energy generation, water collection and reuse systems.”
“What’s great is the real time display screen in the gallery showing visitors the actual energy and water consumption, as well as the energy and water captured and used on-site.”
He says the cellar building has been “a totally unique project” in its merging of industrial, visitor and heritage elements.
“Cloudy Bay’s history is quite literally held within the building with the wine library holding its vintages right back to its first in 1985. The process of reviving this building and greening it in the process has been incredibly exciting and challenging.”
He says applying Green Star to an existing small-scale building accommodating both winemaking and visitors has required meticulous detailing.
For example selecting discrete heating systems –capable of creating a comfortable environment without the feel of an industrial building.
Flexible lighting to showcase giant oak barrels but accommodate the intricacies of winemaking was also part of the mix.
Project architect Paul Rolfe describes the cellar building as “an artefact of the industrial heritage of Cloudy Bay Vineyards.”
His design approach centred on respecting the past while looking to the future.
Integrating innovative and sustainable solutions were key drivers.
“The completed building celebrates Cloudy Bay Vineyard’s commitment to the art of winemaking, to the environment and showcases the winery’s excellence in quality and design,” says Paul.
Ensuring that level of excellence has been delivered to the project was critical for Scott Construction site manager Colin Stringer.
“We put the latest technology into a building without taking away too much of its old natural character. Converting a piece of Cloudy Bay’s original history into a contemporary space has been a high end, complex project.”
He says Green Star opened the eyes of the local team and subbies “to the importance of building smarter and greener for our kids and their kids' future.”
Meanwhile, Roger Baillie believes the bottom line for the winery’s Green Star certified design and as built ‘labour of love’ is the message it sends to staff.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction for our team knowing we’re working for a business that puts sustainability, environmental responsibility and staff comfort at the front of a big project.”
High level of thermal comfort
High-quality acoustic environment
High specification glass and insulation
Energy and water monitoring systems
Low environmental impact refrigerants in the heating and cooling systems
Public sustainability performance display screen showing energy/water performance /renewable energy generation
Energy consumption reduction of at least 20% compared to a standard building
Greenhouse gas emissions from operational energy reduced by 100% compared to a standard building
Project's peak electricity demand reduced 30% below standard building
Predicted reduction in potable water consumption of 65% compared to standard building