Small Wonder Cellar Door and Restaurant recently opened in Tasmania’s premier wine region, with interiors and architecture by Perth and Singapore-based Kerry Hill Architects with local practice Edwards + Simpson.

The new venue features four distinct spaces: the Cellar Door, The Wine Library private function room, The Garden outdoor area, and a seasonal, hyperlocal restaurant led by Michelin-trained head chef Konstantin Putkin.

A hyperlocal destination

Nestled in the Tamar Valley, Small Wonder‘s new cellar door and restaurant venue appears carved from the landscape. Clad in locally sourced and hand-cut bluestone, the building blends into the natural environment and reinforces the hyperlocal concept behind the restaurant. Found photographs of original stacked-stone rural houses in Tasmania inspired the façade, linking the building to the region’s built history.

“We could have approached the design with an extreme modernist ‘a spaceship has landed’ approach, but decided that a crafted take inspired by historical Tasmanian settlement typologies and materials was fitting, considering it was an established vineyard, and Launceston and its surrounds have a dominant 220-year historically built fabric,” says Angelo Kriziotis, director at Kerry Hill Architects.

Balancing the functional requirements of a winery with the desire to create a visually distinct visitor destination, Kerry Hill Architects designed with restraint, simplifying the form while letting the materials take the lead.

“It was important for us to use firstly Australian-made products and furniture selections and locally made joinery,” says Kriziotis. “All bluestones to the walls are from Tasmania, and Tasmanian oak is used. All this provides its context to place.”

Farmhouse inspired, luxury finishes

While the building is inspired by farmhouse typologies, the interiors are far from rustic. Quartzine stone benchtops, textured plaster, dappled glass with satin nickel framing, and suspended feature lights all elevate the interiors well beyond the humble homestead.

Part restaurant, part lounge, the space centres on a 360-degree fireplace surrounded by curved couches. The restaurant also opens onto an expansive terrace, allowing guests to enjoy the space year-round – by the fire in winter or in the sunshine for summer.

The property also features a curated collection of Australian artworks, selected by The Artling and displayed in and around the Small Wonder venue, including works by Tamar Valley-based artist Dallas Richardson, and Tasmanian artists Alicia King and Stephen Bond.

Sustainability is also at the core of the design, with 128 solar panels lining the build alongside electric forklifts, on-site water treatment, and lighter-weight glass bottles across all production. In the kitchen, head chef Putkin and the team have also implemented systems to eliminate around 90 percent of single-use plastics. The building also maximises passive solar design.

“Both the cellar door and winery are oriented east-to-west, which helps regulate indoor temperatures throughout the day by limiting distinct warm and cold zones,” says Kriziotis. “The cellar door features a northerly aspect that offers wide, sweeping views of the River Tamar. This specific orientation takes full advantage of the seasons: it allows the fixed pergola to shade from the summer light, while still permitting considerable sun ingress to naturally warm the building during the winter.”

Connecting back to place

With the location in the picturesque Tamar Valley within a productive wine-producing landscape, it was important to relate the guest experience back to the land. Views and light were central to achieving this.

“The winery has skylights through the production area with sizeable end windows to provide light, warmth and comfort to the users, whereas the cellar door has oversized picture windows and full-length openable steel and glass windows and doors along the north face to draw in the light of the day during summer or winter. These provide the light and the curated view all in one,” says Kriziotis.

Combined with the local materials and heritage-inspired building form, the Small Wonder Cellar Door and Restaurant provide an immersive visitor experience, allowing guests to taste local wine and food in a venue that couldn’t exist anywhere else.

Photos: Anton Smart.