Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery Pavilion – Amherstburg, ON
Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery Pavilion – Amherstburg, ON
Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery Pavilion
The Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery story began as a dream shared by Gord and Hannah Mitchell in 1991 when they first purchased the land on the North shore of Lake Erie.
Over the following years the vineyards expanded and the winery building was constructed in October 2004. In 2014 the second generation winemakers continued their parents’ dream by expanding the facility to better host events and weddings.
Initially the weddings were outdoor events with a series of three large tents suspended over an outdoor patio to serve as the reception hall. These tents were susceptible to damage from strong storms rolling in off the lake.
It was decided that a permanent Reception Hall seating 270 people was required to better serve clientele by offering a more dependable place of refuge in inclement weather. The building program required a 3 season space that would be naturally ventilated through simple cross ventilation of the space with fresh lake breezes through operable windows on cool evenings. The panoramic views of the vineyard would be a feature of the Reception Hall. The expanses of glowing glass would also provide memorable, magical images for guests viewing the pavilion entering the long entrance drive at twilight and on into the night.
In 2015 the Reception Hall design was completed which ultimately became the popular wedding venue that it is today. The roof structure was designed to be wood-clad hollow structural steel trusses to take advantage of the warmth of the wood without losing the advantages of a steel structure. The wood-clad pavilion structure was in this way more economical and capable of spanning much further than wood trusses alone would permit. The long-spanning steel structure also provided for the elimination of columns within the space which provides for unencumbered seating layouts and head table options. The long uninterrupted banks of windows provide views of the vineyard and a transparency which gives the effect of the roof floating over the reception hall.
