Reminiscent of a caRved-Rock spRing

along the RivieRa maya, peteR and denisse

schnebly’s backyaRd oasis is a feat of

cReativity, design and haRd woRk.

W O R D S B Y M I C H E L L E P AY E R / P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y N I C K G A R C I A

F O U N DParadise on’t think about it.

Just do it.” Peter schnebly said that was his mantra

when, in 2004, he and his wife, denisse, decided to convert their expansive tropical fruit groves in far-south Miami-dade into a winemaking operation. it worked: schnebly Redlands Winery attracts droves of visitors to homestead to taste its exotic wines (try the avoVino, a dry white fermented from avocado), eat chef dewey Losasso’s food at the on-site Redlander Restaurant, and tour the winery as well as the schneblys’ craft brewery, Miami brewing Co.

so when the schneblys wanted to do something different with the avocado orchard in the back yard of their home, located four miles from the

winery, Peter repeated his mantra. on a January day in 2015, he ventured out with a can of spray paint to mark off a design that existed only in his mind — no architects, no landscape designers, no blueprints, no plans.

“there is something about space that a piece of paper doesn’t give you,” schnebly said.

L O S T M AYA N C I T YWhat emerged from his imagination is an emerald-green lagoon and outdoor oasis that resemble cenotes, the natural, carved-rock springs common along Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Magically, like a real cenote, schnebly’s creation looks as if it has always been there and was only recently discovered.

using schnebly’s spray- paint marks as a guide, workers excavated and cut hundreds of tons of rocks. a dance floor was carved out, overlooking a new lagoon and band shell. schnebly realized he didn’t have a plan for the unearthed rock fill. necessity is the mother of invention, and thus rose a 180-foot-long back wall with massive oolite blocks stacked to support it, all resembling a lost Mayan city. the oasis is entirely organic, using materials found on the property, 215 palm trees they planted 15 years ago (“for $1.50 a piece!” schnebly boasted), and coral from the Florida keys, where the schneblys recently sold their house on the ocean.

seven waterfalls pour into the freshwater lagoon; water trickles through rock cracks, where ferns and orchids grow wild. a kayak rests on one of the lagoon’s beaches. turtles — “liberated from PetCo,” schnebly joked — paddle happily amid koi and cichlids. a royal palm that schnebly calls avatar rises up on an elevated oolite platform near a center island. Multilevel pathways wind around the property, overlooking avocado, lychee and longan trees, creating natural nooks for watching sunsets and entertaining. Guests can meander down a path through a shallow, rock-filled pool and duck under the tallest waterfall to cool off. or they can cliff-dive off a natural outcrop. Yes, cliff dive. in homestead.

D“

The Schneblys live about four miles from Schnebly Redlands Winery and Miami Brewing Co., which they founded in part to help jumpstart agritourism in South Dade. They said they wanted to turn their yard into a private resort.

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B Y T H E N U M B E R S

L I K E N O W H E R E E L S E“We love water,” schnebly said. “We work all day in paradise [at the winery] and we would come home to something that wasn’t paradise. We wanted to come home to a resort; an oasis where we could relax and entertain.”

and entertain they can. natural coral seating lines a curved, 2,000 square-foot dock. “it’s really a deck,” said denisse, teasing her husband of 22 years, “but Peter likes to call it a dock.” and palm-tree planters were strategically placed for additional seating, with dining tables set in between. the schneblys tested out the space last fall for 200 guests during daughter

Gabriella’s quinceañera. More parties are planned, including the Farm bureau’s Christmas party, plus charity fundraisers and family celebrations.

Coral steps lead from the dock to an outdoor kitchen and terrace that seats another 30. a marble-covered, L-shaped bar wraps around side-by-side stainless steel grills (gas and wood) and a four-tap draft tower that pours Miami brewing Co. beers. Every view leads to the lagoon; even Zazu, the schneblys’ macaw, keeps an interested eye over his habitat.

“truth be told,” Peter said, “i went a little wild with a can of spray paint one day. but every day we come home, there’s no place we’d rather be.” ☐

Peter and Denisse Schnebly, bottom, built an outdoor bar and kitchen that includes four beers on draft, all from Miami Brewing Co., the craft brewery they own. Stainless steel gas- and wood-burning grills have enough firepower to feed a party.

‘we wanted to come home to a ResoRt, wheRe we could

Relax and enteRtain.’

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Tons of rock excavated: 453Palm trees planted: 215Square feet of Florida Keys coral used: 1,479Gallons in the freshwater lagoon: 2.3 millionWaterfalls: 7Entertainment spaces: 12People at full-party capacity: 240Blowout parties so far: 1

it took nine months to build peter and denisse schnebly’s backyard haven.