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." View Slideshow Slideshow

Located in Rutherford, California, Quintessa Winery has a longstanding commitment to creating modern architecture that complements rather than competes with the landscape. When the Huneeus family sought to add three pavilions for private wine tastings to the estate, they wanted the structures to offer protection from the sun, wind, and heat without imposing on the land or coming between the visitor and the vineyard. Greg Warner, Principal/Owner, LEED AP, and Michael McCabe, Associate Principal,  LEED AP, from Walker Warner Architects worked on the project. "Our response was a series of three 250-square-foot open air roofed structures, set amid the oak forest on a ridge-line overlooking the rolling vineyard-covered hills and the lake beyond," they say. "The clean, modern lines and visual simplicity of the pavilions serve as a backdrop to the tasting experience and as a frame to the landscape beyond while also sheltering visitors from the elements."

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