After a three-year closure for a propertywide transformation, the Robert Mondavi Winery reopened in a big way last week with a celebration that included pours of vintages back to 1974, a performance by cellist Jona Kim in the updated wine cellar, and one by John Legend in the amphitheater-like outdoor area they’re calling The Ripple.
The winery is a stunner. The renovation includes new architecture by Aidlin Darling Design, interior reception spaces by Bamo, and landscape design by Surfacedesign. Encompassing it all is a celebration of the land, its history, and respect for the late Robert Mondavi, who founded the winery sixty years ago and served for years as the unofficial ambassador of Napa Valley wines.
The iconic Robert Mondavi Winery built off of its original 1966 design.(Adam Rouse)
Inside, the vibe is relaxed and distinctly Californian, from sea-blue side tables by Floris Wubben and a woven Bonacina chair, to ceramic lamps by Eric Roinestad. Textures and colors were inspired by the vineyards and Mayacamas mountains. Glass walls and spacious terraces deftly marry indoor and outdoor spaces.
The iconic, original building on Highway 29, designed by Cliff May in 1966 with an angled roof and mission-style tower, has been restored in a disassembling and reassembling process that repurposed some construction elements and debris in innovative ways. Artwork from the original Mondavi family collection blends with more recently acquired pieces.
New architecture above the cellar includes a mezzanine and western-facing facade that looks onto the Mayacamas and To Kalon vineyard, known as one of the most coveted plots in Napa Valley for its superb cabernet. In addition to looking outward, you can stand on the catwalk looking down into the cellar at the brand-spanking-new set of steel fermentation tanks. The effect is like having landed in a spaceship on some futuristic planet called not Venus but Vino. Plans are underway for new solar photovoltaic arrays as part of the winery’s sustainability initiatives.
A central part of the original landscaping was the lawn that served as the site of a popular summer concert series, launched by Mondavi’s wife Margrit in 1969 and continuing since 2013 with BottleRock Presents handling ticketing and production. That area has now been reimagined with walkways, and native plants, grasses, and drought-tolerant species like yarrow, with plenty of space to showcase performers and their talents.
One of the stunning new interiors at Robert Mondavi Winery(Adam Potts)
Elsewhere on the property, the Surfacedesign team created shallow rectangular pools at or below foot level that reflect the sky, mountains, vegetation, and built structures. Nowadays, a renovation of this scope would likely only be undertaken by a massive, conglomerate-owned winery. But Constellation Brands, which has owned Mondavi since 2004, is committed to the customer experience, and more widely to Napa Valley and the future of fine wine.
The company’s outside-the-box thinking was evident in a remarkable workshop conducted during the opening party. Scent educator Jess Mennella of Flwr Napa Valley led intimate groups on an imaginative sensory journey through time and the passing seasons.
“Imagine you’re standing at the corner of Oakville Grade and Highway 29,” Mennella instructed, transporting us back to February 1966 with the scent of vetiver. “The road is quiet, it’s dusty, it’s a simple valley road and there are orchards and prune fields and vineyards and open lands surrounding it... Imagine the rich, turned earth of the ground beneath your feet.” Several minutes later it’s May of 2012 in the To Kalon vineyard as grape flowers bloom in their brief season.
“Growing grapes and making wine is an act of connection between the farmer, the winemaker, and nature,” says Mennella. “Grapes don’t grow independent of the trees, sage, or cover crops. They grow because of them.”
The renovation at Robert Mondavi seamlessly marry the indoors and outdoors.(Adam Potts)
Along with the refurbished winery comes new tasting experiences, including a wine and food pairing, The Mondavi Table, and the Visionary Tasting, which focuses on Mondavi-owned vineyards and varietals like an Oakville Fumé Blanc and Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. You can also just drop in to enjoy a glass on the terrace.
“For a first visit, I’d encourage people to slow down and really take in the setting," says Kurtis Ogasawara, the winery's director of winemaking. There’s something special about tasting wines while looking out at the vineyards they came from—it gives you a real sense of the history and connection to the land here at Robert Mondavi
For a splurge ($150), book the 90-minute Legend Tasting and Tour focused on the To Kalon vineyard. Time it perfectly and you might even experience those grape flowers that put the ‘scent’ in evanescent.
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