Yeates Wines: A Contemporary Retreat Rooted in the Rural Landscape
Yeates Wines Cellar Door and Vinestay blends rural heritage and contemporary design in Mudgee, NSW. Designed by Cameron Anderson Architects, the pavilions use rammed earth and galvanized iron to create a luxury wine experience rooted in the Australian landscape.
Set within the storied terrain of Mudgee’s historic Mountain Blue Vineyard, the Yeates Wines Cellar Door and Vinestay offers more than a luxury wine-tasting experience it presents a design narrative shaped by privacy, place, and rural memory. Conceived as a trio of pavilions nestled among the vines, the project is a celebration of architectural restraint and contextual sensitivity.
A Series of Spaces, Carefully Separated
Designed by Cameron Anderson Architects, with interiors by Liv Johnson and built by Penney Constructions, the project unfolds across three distinct pavilions. The central building houses the dramatic double-height cellar door, which opens fluidly onto a generous outdoor tasting area under a wide verandah inviting guests to engage directly with the landscape.
To one side, a two-storey accommodation wing offers secluded luxury stays, while the third pavilion contains discreet public amenities. A long rammed earth wall acts as a boundary between the arrival zone and the inner program, grounding the experience and creating a sense of calm transition. The entry sequence through a quiet courtyard—elevates the act of arrival to something ceremonial, anchoring the building to the land.
Materials that Echo the Past
The architecture draws deeply from the rural vernacular of the region referencing the silhouettes of traditional farmhouses and the textural memory of pisé (rammed earth) outbuildings that still dot the surrounding properties. Here, those forms are reimagined with modern precision: rammed earth walls combine with galvanised iron cladding to craft a material language that feels at once contemporary and rooted in memory.
The palette is robust yet refined—earth-toned, matte, and tactile mirroring the honest textures of the land itself. From a distance, the buildings blend into the vineyard terrain, emphasizing the project’s quiet deference to its context.
Balancing Luxury and Intimacy
While the project serves a commercial purpose—offering cellar door tastings and hosting visitors—it was designed with particular care to preserve privacy for guests staying on site. The orientation of volumes, thoughtful landscaping, and defined visual thresholds ensure that each function feels distinct yet connected.
Yeates Wines is not just a destination it is an immersive experience of landscape, material, and light. A carefully executed example of design-led rural tourism, it invites visitors to slow down, engage the senses, and appreciate the layered beauty of wine, architecture, and place.
Project Credits
• Architecture: Cameron Anderson Architects
• Construction: Penney Constructions
• Interior Design: Liv Johnson Interiors
• Photography: Amber Hooper
• Location: Mudgee, NSW, Australia
