![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_hero-852x479.jpg)
Bergmeisterwolf tops 12th-century wine cellar with bronze funnel
Architecture studio Bergmeisterwolf has added a bronze funnel that appears to erupt from the ground above the 12th-century Pacherhof wine cellar in Italy.
Modern wine production and tasting facilities are contained within the tower, which connects to the existing cellar via an underground passage.
![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x568.jpg)
Bergmeisterwolf Architekten's extension to the Pacherhof wine cellar in South Tyrol gives visitors and guests of the Pacherhof Wine Hotel the chance to see the wine-making process up close.
The facility is a dramatic intervention into an otherwise quiet landscape, dug into a shallow slope and surrounded by rolling green hills and portions of stone wall. The bronze tower is a reference to the surrounding landscape.
"In the highest angle of the site, a funnel-shaped polygonal tower clad in bronze panels emerges from the site, playing with the mountain peaks," said the architecture studio.
![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x568.jpg)
The facility is entered through a large opening that can be closed by sliding across a large concrete wall.
Inside the tower a steel staircase leads to a tunnel that connects with the Pacherhof wine cellar's original vaulted structure, which dates from the 12th century.
![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x568.jpg)
Above ground the blunt pyramid contains a tasting room and office spaces within a rough plaster-lined interior.
This is designed to contrast the sleek exterior and modern steel machinery and reference the rough existing stonework of the old cellar.
![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x568.jpg)
Smooth wooden panelling and furniture units help bring some warmth to the office areas, and in the tasting room a large wooden table sits beneath a vaulted ceiling.
A skylight and corner window in the upper level brings light into the workspaces, while framing views of the nearby vineyards.
![Pacherhof wine cellar by Bergmeisterwolf Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/08/pacherhof-wine-cellar-bergmeisterwolf-architekten-south-tyrol-architecture-industrial-bronze-_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x1278.jpg)
Other projects by the practice include a monolithic concrete house in South Tyrol, which was designed around a similar concept of growing out of its surrounding terrain.
French designer Philippe Starck has also used metal to for a winery, creating a blade-shaped wine cellar clad in steel in Bordeaux.
Photography is by Gustav Willeit.