Valley View Through the Grapevine

South Australia’s Tim Adams Wines has undergone an upgrade of its winery premises to bring them up to the same standard as its award winning wines.

Tim Adams Wines is renowned for its exceptional wines made exclusively from Clare Valley grapes.

Winemaker Tim Adams’ hard work, devotion and commitment to excellence has led to numerous awards for his wines, most recently at the prestigious 2006 Hyatt International Riesling Challenge. The Tim Adams 2006 Riesling was the overall Challenge winner, beating over 450 entries from around the world.

This dedication to quality is paramount at Tim Adams Wines. So when it came time to upgrade the winery’s office and cellar door facilities, Tim Adams wanted to ensure that the quality of the new renovation matched the quality of the wines available inside.

“When we bought the property in 1987, it was just a tin shed,” says Tim. “It looked fairly ordinary and not a great tourist destination. Ultimately, we are here to satisfy the needs of people that visit us, and we need the outside of the building to reflect the quality of what we have on the inside.”

Additionally, Tim and his staff were working in cramped and uncomfortable office quarters, which made dealing with an ever increasing workload extremely difficult.

So Tim made the decision to upgrade. The renovation works included constructing a larger office and boardroom, new amenities and file storage facilities and adding extensive decking and verandahs to the property.

The existing cellar door area was also updated and the exterior of the entire property was re-clad and re-roofed using LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile. Tim selected COLORBOND® steel in Classic Cream® for the walls, and in Surf Mist® for the roof.

Tim and his wife Pam worked closely with the architect, Greg Pullford of GP Architects, to achieve the optimum design, with lots of space, natural light, and colours that blended with the surrounding environment.

“We needed something that was well lit, and we wanted to use uniquely Australian materials. We also wanted to have colours that would blend in with the natural colours of the countryside,” says Tim.

“We used metallic elements, timber elements, even fire elements, which are evident in the copper and deep red colours used in the building’s interior,” he adds. “We wanted to create a space for customers to feel comfortable and relaxed while tasting, and also have a good place for our staff to work.”

The result is a simple and contemporary rural pavilion, which blends discreetly into its surrounds, capturing the spirit of the Australian landscape.

“I love it,” says Tim. “I love coming to work now, it’s made a huge difference to my attitude to being in the office. It’s now a world class facility, which is commensurate with our world class wines.”

The project was constructed by local Clare building firm, SJM Carpentry and Building. “We are very pleased with the result, I don’t think it could have come up any better,” says Managing Director of SJM, Sam McDonald. “And most importantly, the client and the architect are both very happy.”

Specialising in all types of residential and commercial projects, from home improvements to large scale industrial work, SJM commenced operations in 2002. Now with a staff of 16, and a number of successful projects under its belt, SJM is one the region’s leading building companies.

“We are A1 on quality, I treat each job as if it were my own property,” says Sam. “We pride ourselves on establishing a personal relationship with each and every one of our clients. Our best advertisement is our work, it speaks for itself.”

Durability and quality are top priorities for SJM, which uses LYSAGHT® roofing and walling products exclusively. “We prefer to use BlueScope Lysaght for both service and price,” says Sam. “I’ve got a very good working relationship with them, and delivery and lead times have always been fantastic. LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® profile was the perfect roofing and walling solution for this project, the end result looks fantastic.”