Restaurant Porn is a column of daydreams presented as a means to introduce BC diners and designers to concepts, looks, and fully-formed ideas that they might draw an inkling of inspiration from.

I suppose building a wine bar in a limestone cave makes a lot of sense…if it’s an option. Such was the case in Texas for Hill Country Wine Cave, a stunner of a private (it should really be public) project recently constructed in the bush along a bend in the Blanco River outside San Antonio by architecture firm Clayton Korte.

Located at the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country, the private wine cave is embedded into a north facing solid limestone hillside nearly disappearing into its surroundings. The unassuming entry court reveals a bit of mystery belying the space within, further camouflaged at the approach by limestone boulders collected from the excavation and lush vegetation. The exterior opening of the cave is capped with a board-formed concrete portal, meant to weather naturally, molded to the irregular surfaces of the limestone and retaining the mouth of the earth cut. The private cellar provides storage for a collection of 4,000 bottles.

– All images Casey Dunn –