The steel canopies and rock pillars sheltering the entrances to our winery were inspired by Canada's rugged natural landscapes; one is reminded of the Niagara Escarpment or the Canadian Shield. The wooden supports bracing the canopies are discarded telephone poles made of Canadian Red Pine. Here Malivoire validates two of its priorities, conscientious use (and re-use) of natural resources while reinforcing its Canadian identity.
Combining the Elements
Martin likes to say that his winery combines Bauhaus form with Newtonian function. From the outside the impression is utilitarian Bauhaus. Inside, the Newtonian component becomes clear. It's evident that the building was designed to enable the movement of something downhill.
It's commonly referred to as a "gravity winery". We live with this description a little uneasily, although we confess to sometimes using it as a crutch. The fine print is that the term oversimplifies what the winery does and overlooks the context. Certainly, it is an important contributer to winemaking at Malivoire, allowing us to move our pre-bottled wine with a minimum of agitation and oxidation, optimizing flavour and complexity. By reducing turbidity, which disturbs wine sediments, we can minimize filtration.
It was not a desire to utilize gravity that determined the location of the winery. An assessment of the property had concluded that the north-facing slope of the ravine would not be a proficient vineyard site and was better suited for building than for farming. An added bonus was the opportunity to incorporate into the winery an older building already standing on the site. In other words, we could "recycle" the old structure and conserve the energy and material that would be expended to tear it down.
The winery was designed and equipped to allow our winemaker, Shiraz Mottiar, continual vigilance. Our methods are under constant adaption and improvement; oak fermenters, specialized grape conveyors and a vibrating sorting table have augmented our winemaking tools over the past few years. However, we still find that many essential parts of winemaking are best done the traditional way, by hand.
