Winery blends in with nature

Barely visible from the road even through the just-pruned winter vineyard, the home of Spy Valley Wines is far less obtrusive than the enormous white double golf balls of the Waihopai spy base, for which it is named.

Dark wooden panels line the exterior walls, their colour made deeper by winter rain to match the colour of the vines; curved roofs emulate the hills nearby.

Pin oaks form neat lines across the carpark for visitors to the cellar door, accessed by a concrete path interspersed by boardwalks crossing small square ponds of water separated by tall green rushes. Inside is a light airy space, and a roaring fire.

Designed by Tenant, Bevin & Slessor of Wellington and built by Blenheim's Robinson Construction, the complex was built in 2003, the cellar door opening in the same year.

Cellar door manager Nicola Clark lines up bottles of the winter tasting selection on a large Indian granite bench. There is a 2011 sauvignon blanc, an oaked Envoy sauvignon blanc, a pinot gris that wowed the judges at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, a rare Noble sauvignon blanc dessert wine, Envoy chardonnay, pinot noir and merlot/malbec.

Selections change with the seasons, with the new 2012 wines available from this month and, during harvest, visitors can even taste the juice of freshly picked grapes. Wine tastings are conducted at the bench, on leather couches facing the open fire, or at the high table in the next room designed for larger groups and featuring a second open fire.

The space can be halved in size by closing one door, so creating a cosier space. Yet even in the dullest weather, the space is light and airy, thanks largely to the predominantly glass northern wall that takes in the winter sunshine, and also its high ceilings, the space above broken up by a mezzanine walkway that crosses one side of the room. In summer, concrete floors create a welcoming coolness and four large glass sliding doors are pulled back to join the inside and outside. Old power poles were used to make the outdoor furniture. Beanbags pepper the lawn overlooking the vines and visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy with their wine. Underneath the vines, shards of crushed glass reflect tiny glints of sunlight, a visual effect as much as a way to recycle glass.

One wall of the room is dominated by a large abstract painting of earthy hues, one of several pieces of art featured in the cellar door by Wellington artist Tom Sladden, the son-in-law of Spy Valley Wines owners Bryan and Jan Johnson.
Outside, the theme of blending in with nature continues in the garden designed by Wellington's Megan Wright. A row of lancewoods creates a popular talking point for overseas visitors, while water from the series of ponds reflects light and movement on to the walls of the winery.

Inside, a spy theme is apparent. A limited-edition James Bond poster takes pride of place above the stairwell while smaller posters adorn the toilets. Far less obvious but often pointed out to visitors is the Morse code equivalent for Spy Valley, spelled out by gaps in the cedar panelling outside the cellar door. The code is also printed on the necktag of the wine bottles.

James Bond himself, in the form of Roger Moore, visited in 2007 and left his autograph on a magnum. Real spy-base visitors, often from America, enjoy the quirky name and buy specially designed T-shirts or badges, Nicola says.

The square and rectangles that dominate the design are offset by a round sculpture of bright, glinting metal on the lawn, called Lei with Sphere, by Nelson artist Grant Scott, a piece that Bryan refers to as a “Spy Eye”. Nicola says the sphere perfectly frames the backdrop of vines, hills and forest, capturing the changing of the seasons.