The Bar

Nicole Schofield_Valli Wine Bar_1 copy.jpg

The Bar

Nicole Schofield-Taylor-Schofield

The term ‘Bar’ referring to a place where drinks are served on a counter dates back to the 1590s. Other than the beverage, ‘The Bar’ is the next most important item in such an establishment. Physically it stands to conduct business, convey drinks from one side to the other, a place to sit and on which to lean. This style of service is a tradition we choose take up. People understand the culture of 'The Bar'. They know how to use it, how to approach it, how to socialize around ‘The Bar’. More often than not, they know when to leave ‘The Bar'.

In renovating Kurow’s old Post Office building, ‘The Bar’ was the first consideration. It is the focal point and center of hospitality. The point of service had to see everyone in the room to ensure they were having the best experience. It had to be tidy, sturdy, classy, interesting, warm, welcoming and stately. Visually it has to say what we are all about in one casual glance. ‘The Bar’s’ job is to hold and hide all of the wines available and at perfect serving temperatures, all the items of food preparation and service, glassware for all beverages, and the appropriate arsenal of equipment in which to clean all afore mentioned items. It has to be the correct dimensions in which to cater for guests and bartender on their respective sides. In addition, customers had to enjoy everything that ‘The Bar’ has to offer from comfort.

Tall order, eh?

-First order of Business is we shifted the existing bar frame to the middle of the room. Voila! Balance and focus achieved.

-Next Chris, Valli’s Man Friday, and I spent ages acting out service to make sure we were able to achieve an efficient workflow motion. This included having enough room to move, carry, and dance if requested.

-Realizing during this project that I struggled with ‘Dyscalculia’, made me more confident to ask for help where I had weakness so I could focus on my areas of strength. I didn’t previously know there was a name for when numbers sliding around on the page and in my head, and more importantly, I wasn’t the only one! Needless to say Chris did the maths and its him to appreciate when you come to the bar and there is not a full scale fridge plugged in obnoxiously behind Andrew. ‘Cause I ordered the wrong dimensions and it didn’t fit.

-‘The Bar’ Front went on next. Owen, our clever clever joiner found local recycled rimu shed timber, de-nailed and planed it. It was rough sawn and that texture was left to convey the mountains and valleys of the Waitaki region. Staining it a warm brown colour was welcoming and gently receding. During an acupuncture session, he had the ingenious idea of tying in the brass from around the room and installing this in the corners of the paneling. This would cut down his main concern of wear and injury on those points. The take away from this is clearly “ A relaxed mind is a creative mind”.

-Bar Top Time! Dustin at Parkside Quarry, an hour’s drive from the Wine Bar in Weston stepped up to the challenge. He agreed to slice the Oamaru stone from a fossiliferous part of the yard. Then cut to dimensions, engineering reinforcement underneath and pointed in place, the rough edges bring the tasters close to the soil on which the Waitaki grapes are grown. Oamaru stone is porous so our bar, placed in fresh cut, after almost a year it is still drying out!

-Lastly, at the last hour before opening, the protective glass top was installed. Meticulously measured, ingeniously fabricated It took 8 people to install….8 careful people….

The next bar I design will be a plank. It will be on two wine barrels. And it will be in my backyard.

To close off on my dissertation on ‘The Bar’, crafting and designing so often is done remotely for these types of projects. Showing up to the quarry, the workshops and yards of craft and tradespeople, working with their expertise and imaginations and getting close to raw materials, creates vibrancy in whatever is being made. I believe it leaves a residual feeling that people pick up on when they walk into the Valli Wine Bar, sit down at ‘The Bar’, and order a Waitaki Regional Tasting. Both ‘The Bar’ and ‘Our Wine’ have been crafted with passion, unwavering dedication, excitement, and more basic but also more ethereally - letting the material work through the maker to become something bigger and more exciting than its parts alone. And this is something we don’t boast, or advertise or use in marketing jingles, because at the bare bones of it, it is entirely, simply and essentially true. Tell me if you don’t see it and feel it next time you stop in to Kurow for a glass of Chardonnay.

-Nicole