Paying homage to the classic wine bars of yesteryear, Leigh Street Wine Room is a wine bar and a wine store in the heart of Adelaide. That place around the corner that you call home, a ‘simple’ wine bar, to entice the casual sipper and the serious sniff and swirler. The clients desire was to reference the institutions found throughout Europe, a venue that was altogether different from what has become expected of an Australian wine bar. The long narrow space was accentuated through the introduction of a vaulted arch, to enhance the narrowness of the space, whilst drawing the eye from the front to the rear, where a compact kitchen is cleverly tucked under the mezzanine above. The materiality is intentionally rich in its palette with textural variation. The space is intended to settle into itself and to age naturally with little to no intervention, much like the wine list that is presented on a back bar that extends from the shopfront to the kitchen. The materials were carefully selected to enable the ‘ageing’ to take place. Highway spec sound walls adorn both sides that will chip, tater and tear over time, the tiles are left un-sealed to allow red wine to enshrine itself. Every drop tells a story, this was at the forefront of the clients’ desire, and at the forefront of our thinking throughout the project.