Falling Vine Winery

For the past year or so, I have taken a class in vinification and worked in the beverage industry. I have discovered a great love for wine. I have immersed myself in the complicated process of vinification. For me art, architecture, and wine go hand in hand. There are many things we as Architects can draw from the process of vinification. I chose a location in southeast Minnesota, the site is fifteen miles from the city of Taylor's Falls. Taylor's Falls is a small community on the St. Croix river, with a population under one thousand people. Taylor's Falls is forty-five miles from the Twin Cities and just across the river from Wisconsin. The client for this project will be Hal Gershman, owner of four Happy Harry's bottle shops in Fargo and Grand Forks. Hal is also the president of the North American Wine Guild. The region of southeast Minnesota is developing as a legitimate wine growing area. The problem being, the area lacks the economic support to develop large scale wineries that produce enough wine to ship to other areas of the country. With developing a vineyard and winery that are capable of producing wine to serve the whole state and country, Minnesota will come to the forefront of U.S. wine making. By also opening a restaurant and wine bar, the income from the restaurant and wine bar will compensate for the winery until grape production is at its peak