Dave Hasson’s master piece of the Schloss (castle) of Sargans and with the Gonzen (mountain) towering over it is the main focus point of my custom designed wine cellar. The wine cellar itself is very prominently located in the house, separated from the open kitchen and dining area by a glass wall only. Dave’s wood burning can be seen through the glass wall and is simply the perfect piece of art for the wine cellar. I commissioned him to wood burn it from photographs that I had taken. I am looking forward to his newer additions with more "Scenes from Switzerland".
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Please read on if you are interested in the story of my wine cellar and more details on the region where I built the house, the castle of Sargans and the mountain Gonzen:
When I started to plan the building of my new house, it was clear that the wine cellar would be a central element. The region where I built my house is home of two things, Heidi – the world famous children’s book character and wine. Its excellent Blauburgunder (burgundy) wines made the region famous as a winegrowing region.
The design of the house is modern and transparent, a rectangular body with floor to ceiling windows on the ground floor and lots of window surface also on the upper floor.
In line with the main design of the house the wine cellar is connected to the open space kitchen through a glass window, almost an extension to the kitchen and dining area. It is 12 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
The wine racks are made from all heart redwood imported from California. They are custom made to fit my wine cellar with a capacity to hold 650 bottles. I planned for an opening in the racks with a table top so that I can set down a bottle, pour wine or use it for other practical purposes.
Then I noticed that the opening in the racks was screaming for something special! Knowing Dave Hasson and his artwork for several years, I could see that a wood burning from him would fit perfectly into the opening and would make my wine cellar truly special. Now the question was: what kind of wood burning would be the perfect match?
Having grown up in the village of Sargans – located in the same area of the Rhine valley – the castle (Schloss) of Sargans and with mountain ‘Gonzen’ towering over it, is the picture I have in mind when thinking of home.
The castle of Sargans was built around 1150 – the exact year is not known. Today it holds a museum and a restaurant. The highest point of the Gonzen is 1830 meters (6,000 feet) above sea level. For about 2,000 years inhabitants of the area exploited the iron content of this rock formation. The iron mine was active until 1966. Since 1983 there are guided tours to discover the mine.
