This picture may not look like much or spectacular, but it represents a new trend in lighting that we have started to be part of…the wine industry. Wine “tourism” is becoming more and more popular, not only here in Western Australia, my adopted home, but around the world. We see the rise in popularity in wine bars, wine clubs and now wine storage. We have done our fair share of wine and spirit bars as well as a wine tasting facility. Having been involved in the Atlas Bar and the Pall Mall Club in Singapore with further outlets in Bordeaux and Melbourne in the pipeline, we are starting to get a good feel of what brings that extra touch of excitement when visiting a wine (or other spirits) bar. 

Our Cape Mentelle wine tasting hall project in Margaret River was a proud recipient of the 2024 IES Excellence Award in lighting design.  

More recently we completed the specialised lighting for a wine storage facility in Perth, called the State Cellars, offering property owners with a lack of storage space to store their priced wine collection in specially conditioned facilities, accessible 24/7. Not only are temperature and humidity controlled, lighting is also kept to a minimum through light sensors switching the warm non-UV containing lighting only when presence is detected. The dark finishes and the near amber coloured lighting give the feeling of entering a cave, which basically is the conceptual thought behind the facility.

These projects necessitate that extra attention to light quality, considering IR(heat) and UV radiation that can potentially be damaging to the conservation of these sometimes highly priced collections. At the same time we want to display the bottles to their full glory creating a visual experience that validates these venues.

While inherently the lighting is not complicated, it still needs the lighting designers’ expertise to mould these mixed and at times contradictory lighting requirements into an attractive end result. With lighting design awards for the Atlas Bar, The Pall Mall Club and Cape Mentelle, we seem to be on the right path! It’s all about wining and dining in style, most of all winding down at the end of perhaps a busy day and enjoy the drink in good company!