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Collection by Diana Budds

Modern Wine-Tasting Pavilions Artfully Attuned to the Landscape

In the Napa Valley, Walker Warner Architects crafted modern wine tasting pavilions designed to blend in with the bucolic California landscape. "The story of Quintessa and the intense focus of the Huneeus family is about the land and the celebration of place," Greg Warner and Michael McCabe of Walker Warner Architects say. "Per the founder’s vision, Quintessa is not about a building, it is about a place—any structures built in this place need to be minimal interventions that integrate with their surroundings."

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Carefully selected materials make the building appear as if it grew from the land. Environmentally sensitive finishes echo the existing winery, which the firm designed in 2002.
Carefully selected materials make the building appear as if it grew from the land. Environmentally sensitive finishes echo the existing winery, which the firm designed in 2002.
Here's a detail of the concrete wall, which features the formwork's imprints.
Here's a detail of the concrete wall, which features the formwork's imprints.
"The altitude at which the pavilions are positioned presents a serene setting where one can only hear the wind in the trees and experience the vista of the vineyard and lake below," Warner and McCabe comment. Maca Huneeus of Maca Huneeus Design seved as the interior designer on the project and custom-made the table and bench using FSC-certified Afromosia wood.
"The altitude at which the pavilions are positioned presents a serene setting where one can only hear the wind in the trees and experience the vista of the vineyard and lake below," Warner and McCabe comment. Maca Huneeus of Maca Huneeus Design seved as the interior designer on the project and custom-made the table and bench using FSC-certified Afromosia wood.
But onto the real question: The pavilion is a definite delight to the eyes, but does it make the wine more tasty? “Absolutely!” Warner and McCabe assert. “Each pavilion is elegantly unobtrusive and offers a rustic yet refined experience evocative of picnicking with a bottle of wine under an oak tree. In this way, the pavilions serve to bring the visitor a greater depth of understanding and appreciation for the place where Quintessa is made and the process that creates its uniquely sophisticated character.”
But onto the real question: The pavilion is a definite delight to the eyes, but does it make the wine more tasty? “Absolutely!” Warner and McCabe assert. “Each pavilion is elegantly unobtrusive and offers a rustic yet refined experience evocative of picnicking with a bottle of wine under an oak tree. In this way, the pavilions serve to bring the visitor a greater depth of understanding and appreciation for the place where Quintessa is made and the process that creates its uniquely sophisticated character.”
"Key to the special nature of the pavilion’s purpose is that guests are immersed in the landscape and surrounded by the vines that produced the actual wine that they are tasting," Warner and McCabe say. We couldn't agree more. Head to quintessa.com to learn more about the winery and book a reservation to experience the pavilions firsthand.
"Key to the special nature of the pavilion’s purpose is that guests are immersed in the landscape and surrounded by the vines that produced the actual wine that they are tasting," Warner and McCabe say. We couldn't agree more. Head to quintessa.com to learn more about the winery and book a reservation to experience the pavilions firsthand.