This historic vineyard in the heart of Napa Valley has been transformed from an industrial winemaking site into a lively and inviting destination whose campus of new and renovated buildings and garden rooms punctuated by outdoor sculpture sensitively blends the contemporary and the historical.
Outdated prefab metal buildings and rundown structures have been replaced by an airy, glass walled visitor center, and a nineteenth-century stone building from the original winery is given fresh purpose. This updated composition of architecture art and landscape immerses the visitor in the terroir, dissolving the boundary between the organic vineyards and outdoor gathering areas.
Low, crisp limestone walls and bermed planting draw visitors from Highway 29 to the interior of the site, where a sinuous lane planted with grasses leads into the parking area and around an island anchored by a preserved valley oak surrounded by grasses and lavender. Rounding this island gives visitors a glimpse of the entire composition of historic and new buildings, together with long vistas to the garden areas. The curving entrance road also separates cars from the buildings and gardens to encourage relaxation and exploration of the entire grounds before and after the tastings.
”Strolling farther into the site, visitors arrive at a sensory garden, which sets the tone for immersion in landscape and art. In the garden, small-scale plantings and textured grasses are woven together around sculptures by Molly Chappellet. A frame of existing and newly planted sycamore trees defines the edge of the garden and turns the focus on the art.
”The landscape parti marries structured outdoor spaces with meandering pathways and dynamic movement. A gathering lawn acts as a flexible canvas for a wide variety of musical, culinary, and cultural events.
