A mature selection

Wine cellars tend to evoke thoughts of cool, dimly lit, cave-like spaces, and walls lined with bottles of precious vintages.

The owners of this rural Whitford home had been travelling in Europe, where they saw and admired wine cellars in old villas, in particular those with decorative stone-ribbed and vaulted ceilings.

Len Lavas of Auckland Stonemasons worked with the homeowners and their architect to create their vision for an underground wine cellar. Lavas helped draw up plans for a cellar that included stone pillars, an arched stone doorway and a ceiling with six stone arches.

Limestone, similar to stone found in Italy, was sourced from the central North Island and, using traditional methods, Auckland Stonemasons hand-cut the stone and laid it in the cellar.

Len Lavas' grandfather, Ivan Lavas, set up Auckland Stonemasons when he emigrated in 1927 from a small Dalmatian village that specialised in stonemasonry. Auckland Stonemasons has built stone houses, entrances, garden structures and sea walls in New Zealand ever since.

For further details, contact Auckland Stonemasons, PO Box 152, Whitford 2149, phone (09) 530 8906, fax (09) 530 8907. Email: sales@stonemasons.co.nz. Website: www.stonemasons.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas