Boxwood Winery

Middleburg, Virginia, 2006

The Jacobsen design is modern, but they have chosen materials characteristic of the 18th century rural area of Middleburg, VA using fieldstone, seam metal roofs, and cupolas.  The winery is a complex of four buildings: a reception for wine tasting; a fermentation chai with thirteen custom designed stainless steel fermentation tanks; a bottling building with storage up to 10,000 cases; and a circular underground cave to house oak barrels.  

The plan is derived from a cruciform as Simon Jacobsen believes the methods and culture of wine is a sacred process. The buildings are organized in the manner that wine is produced once it leaves the vineyard. All of the processes are able to be seen and they surround a central tasting area and one can taste the product and still be able to see where it came from.

Winner: 2007  Merit Award for Architecture by the American Institute of Architects, Northern Virginia Chapter.

Project Architect: John Riordan, Richard Cho

Wine Making Consultant: Richard C. Vine.

Builder: Peterson & Collins, Inc.

Publications: Wine Spectater, Decanter, The Washington Post, Virginia Wine, NBC 4, Entra Magazine, etc.

Architectural Photography: Robert C. Lautman.