Penfolds

Penfolds wanted to create more than an airport bar or retail outlet. The brief was to bring together dining, tasting and retail in a single premium environment, allowing passengers to experience Penfolds wines, including Grange by the glass, enjoy food and purchase bottles to take with them on their journey.

As Penfolds’ home state, South Australia provided a natural setting for the concept, but an airport terminal comes with very different conditions to a winery or cellar door. The space needed to feel intimate and immersive while retaining natural light, sightlines and openness within the terminal. A high ceiling created an opportunity for a defining brand moment, but anything introduced above the space also needed to remain lightweight, cost-effective and compatible with the airport’s glazing, services and operational requirements.

Greater Group drew from the materiality and experience of Penfolds’ Magill Estate rather than recreating a traditional cellar door. Earthy finishes, herringbone oak, concrete and terrazzo textures, rust tones, leather and copper create a warmer hospitality environment, while recycled Penfolds wine boxes and bottle caps bring the brand’s own materials directly into the fit-out. The space was then organised around different ways to experience the product, from the main bar and dining areas to a central tasting bar and retail displays for premium wines.

The defining element is a purpose-made installation of Penfolds-red rope that flows from the rear canopy and descends towards the tasting bar, referencing the movement of wine from bottle to glass. The lightweight structure takes advantage of the terminal’s height without blocking natural light or views to the full-height glazing, while individual ropes are finished with recycled Penfolds wine caps. The canopy and installation were also coordinated around existing air-conditioning services, resolving the visual impact alongside the practical requirements of an operational airport.

The completed Wine Bar and Kitchen gives Penfolds a new way to engage customers beyond the traditional bottle shop or cellar door. Hospitality, tasting and retail sit together in one experience, allowing travellers to discover the brand through its wines, food and story before having the opportunity to take the product with them.

Its location makes that experience particularly relevant. Adelaide is the home of Penfolds, while the airport is the point from which millions of journeys continue beyond South Australia. The concept turns that transition into part of the brand experience, creating a contemporary expression of Penfolds’ local heritage designed for an international audience.

Penfolds Wine Bar & Kitchen at Adelaide Airport was awarded Gold at the 2020 Melbourne Design Awards for Interior Design, Hospitality, On the Go.