Label of love

Building a good winery hasn't always called for the touch of an architectural megastar, but label owners have long had a soft spot for a good designer to flourish. In Bordeaux, back when no tourist in their right mind would consider just 'stopping by', you could still find frills: an impractical marble floor in a bottling hall or a mock-gothic chateau, built to look good on a label. But it was Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi who hoisted the game to a new level. He was the first to open his doors to sightseers.

'Pre-1980 wineries were not visited in general, so their reasons for looking good were different ... more about keeping up with the Joneses,' says Robert Joseph, author of the Wine Travel Guide to the World and founder of Wine International magazine. 'Now about seven million tourists visit Napa each year - more than Disneyland. The Mondavi Winery is like the Eiffel Tower.'

Then along came branding. As luxury fashion brands such as Prada and Louis Vuitton started recruiting architects to reboot their brands, vineyard labels - particularly the young, ambitious New World winemakers - cottoned on to the power of a good image, and preening began in earnest.

Gone are many of the humble warehouse clusters. Now cellar doors and tasting rooms rub shoulders with Michelin-star restaurants and cute boutique hotels. Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster and Santiago Calatrava have been given a winery to design in the past few years and each has become a spectacular showpiece that can tug travellers out of the cities, mouths agape and cameras dangling from their wrists. Enthusiasts can even gauge the vigour of a region's wine industry by checking out its design credentials: it's no coincidence that as Spanish wines face a revival, every star architect in the world seems to be working in northern Spain.

Still it's not just about showing off. Designers have to factor in the latest production technology and blend centuries of tradition with a face that fits the 21st century. But they've risen to the challenge with audacious creativity and more than a dash of fun. If you like to sip and spit in style, below are five of the best-dressed buildings in wine country.

Marques de Riscal hotel,

La Rioja, Spain,

by Gehry Partners

By blending heritage with a daring pizzazz, Frank Gehry's design for La Rioja's 'City of Wine' set the viti-design bar ludicrously high. The owners wanted to see their 150-year-old winery transformed into a headline-grabbing 21st-century chateau and Gehry obliged with more than 900 metres of titanium and stainless steel sheets in silver, gold and grape purple, which billow across blocks of sandstone. The ribbons are more than just a garnish - they filter sunlight into the facility, which produces among other wines, a racy, pioneering V.T Castilla y Leon from tempranillo grapes. Also found in the 'city' are a 43-room hotel, a wine therapy spa, a restaurant run by gastro-genius Francis Paniego and a glass elevator that descends into a three million-strong wine collection.

Quintessa Winery,

St Helena, California,

by Walker Warner Architects

Wrapped in among the Bordeaux grape varieties on a dry Napa hillside, Quintessa comfortably blends into its terroir - which is exactly what the owners wanted. It can only be seen from certain portions of the estate, which is known for its Bordeaux-style red meritage wine. Yet unlike French chateau clusters, this is a continuous crescent-shaped sweep in local stone, and it reflects the burnished colours of the landscape.

Inside, sharp modern angles meet rough, warm materials and the light is pooled dramatically. The design hits practical spots too, particularly in its use of gravity to cut back on pumps and heavy processing. Visitors get to follow the journey of the grapes from the upper 'crush terrace', to the wine cave, finishing up in the chic tasting room and wine library.

Bodegas Ysios,

Laguardia, Alava, Spain,

by Santiago Calatrava

The Bodegas & Bebidas group wanted something spectacular to launch its powerful oaky red, so it went to Santiago Calatrava, the country's biggest design name. Since the wine would draw its character from the rocky terrain, so, decided Calatrava, should its building. Bodegas Ysios began as an avant-garde homage to the terroir. Scandinavian firs support a bright aluminium roof in a series of jagged, thrusting curves, while on the south face are a bright reflecting pool and warm cedar strips that bring earth and oak barrels to mind. Cathedral-esque spaces inside are flooded with light. Though it might imitate the landscape, the winery is still visible for kilometres, pulling in plenty of traffic from the nearby medieval town of Laguardia.

Loisium Visitor's Centre,

Langenlois, Austria,

by Steven Holl Architects

Underneath a small town in Austria, a network of 900-year-old wine vault passages were harnessed and fortified by New York architect Steven Holl, as part of the Kamptal Valley's new visitor's centre. LThe punchy aluminium cube was inspired by crumpled wine foils, and the geometric spacing of the local vineyards - many of which belong to the Steininger family and produce traditional sparkling wines such as the Gruner Veltliner. The centre is tilted so that a third of it sinks below the ground and hooks up with the tunnels. Once inside, guests are treated to an artistic extravaganza that delves into the process and history of wine production using music, laser light shows and hands on experiments. Holl also followed up with a modernist hotel that mixes industrial metals with high ceilings, lots of natural light and earthy, wooden tones. A minty cool Scandinavian spa has wine-themed treatments on the menu.

Perez Cruz Winery,

Maipo, Chile,

by Jose Cruz Ovalle

Though competition may be stiff, young wineries, such as the Bodegas Perez Cruz in Chile, have an advantage. Rather than renovating around a traditional system, they and the architect get to create something new and often more efficient. Chilean architect Jose Cruz Ovalle designed a warm, sexy building that opens out to the Andean foothills, creating perfect air flow that's needed for its fine cabernet sauvignon blends. The winery manages to feel rural and modest, but modern at the same time.