Wine is popular not only for its taste but for its charm too. The exchange between art, architecture and wine is very common. Business cards made with cork layers, wooden boxes that become paintings to hang on the wall, wooden pallets that become stairs for apartments, original ideas are endless.

Travelling around, I have tried to gather some examples of pieces and furniture inspired to wine. For example, the German B&B in barrels: in short, near the Black Forest you can sleep in these huge renovated barrels, containing 2 beds with views over the surrounding vineyards.

sleep in a wine barrel

But there are plenty of examples: a chair made of corks tied together, available in the cellar of Franz Haas in Alto Adige region (north-east of Italy), a winery well-known for its wonderful wines.

Then there’s the company Majolini in Franciacorta area (north-west of Italy and famous for its prestigious sparkling wines) with an effective communication focused on art: they have original ideas, for example I remember very nice wooden box decorated with a collage of several pieces of different woods, each with a different color. Those boxes are realized in a limited edition: 199 units, each recognizable only by one piece chosen between the all and therefore unique. They collaborate with the artist Luciano Molinari.

Yet, a Russian friend of mine showed me a chest of long and narrow drawers: each contains a lying bottle, and by the way, wood is a natural insulator.

wooden boxes at majolini winery in franciacorta

Moreover, I wrote recently about the Italian company habiMat (interior design) for the creation of an object that is gaining a great success: “Robo”, a mini table of 3 feet to be opened if necessary becoming a bottle holder: the designer is Piccinelli, the project leader is Dayana Venturiello, a young architect who is bringing creativity and taste to the group. /read the old article here)

There are, in addition, the cellars built right into the hill become one with the land. Among these, the new winery “Antinori in Chianti Classico”: all around the vines have been planted to cover the entire building. (see here).

There are those who use the wooden boxes as small tables or the entire barrels as bar table leaning on a round glass plate; someone cuts them and uses them as plant container. I use the one-bottle-wooden-box as bread basket or to keep documents; yet a barrel, properly cleaned and restored, has become a wine cellar with 4 layers and 2 doors to open and access, as well as and the wheels to move it.

And do not even need to be an architect, online you can find several companies that make pieces inspired to wine, such as stools in the shape of giant corks!

“Robo” contains wine bottles