Discover A Woodsy Wine Escape in the Heart of Napa Valley

Jason Kerwin and Mike Niemann, architects and designers both, met back in 1994 during an undergraduate program in Tuscany’s Castiglion Fiorintino. Friends became professional colleagues upon establishing independent studios. JK& Co., an 11-person workplace, and Pacific Building Workshop, Niemann’s single-practitioner entity share Los Angeles office space and have collaborated on varied project types over the years. But never a winery. Until Bella Union.

The label, though established in 2012 as part of Napa Valley’s Far Niente family, had never had a home of its own. When owners located a 60-acre swath with a red-painted, concrete production facility in Rutherford, the female-led winery embarked on a mission to attract a youthful clientele wanting a chill place to have fun. No fussy or formal oenophile vibe envisioned. Neimann, having been involved with the umbrella group, was a natural for the renovation and rebranding exercise. So was Kerwin bringing teamwork. Ripe for launching was a full-on hospitality experience with, as Neimann says, “busy, buzzy, social rooms, not a one-note encounter.”

Bella Union Winery Boasts Napa Views + Chill Vibes

Key to the program was “offering different tasting experiences keyed to different levels of knowledge,” Kerwin explains. Ergo an expanded scope making Bella Union a magnet. In addition to interiors, the project extended outside. Extravagant landscaping surrounds a welcoming al fresco “anteroom.” Design and new construction entered the picture via a 2-story, glass-capped enclosure. “The jewel box,” as Kerwin calls it, is connected by an arched portal to the existing building, freshly painted to resemble its construction material. Though only 1,200 square feet, the addition is the bona fide beacon and site of the main tasting room. Seven more indoor areas, spread through the two structures, host diverse imbibing opportunities. As in restaurant rationale, the diversity gives people a reason for returning.

Design dense, the patio starts off procession with a plaster and ceramic tile fountain, a cedar-frame canopy topping the bar, and plenty of comfy soft seating. Inside, light-filled tasting room takes on a golden glow with lemony velvet fabric on custom banquettes of pale white oak, the same wood used for flooring. A commissioned screen of suspended bronze petals ups reflectivity while another art piece of dried leaves is also part of the winery’s artist-in-residence program initiated by Harold Mendez. Throughout, art provides plenty of eye candy. But nothing can compete with panoramic scenery from the second-floor vantage point.

Light-Filled Tasting Rooms Are All Aglow

Crossing the threshold to the existing building, the mood changes. Here, the tasting room, with windows into the production zone, is dark and moody, a tad like a French brasserie. Paneling and banquettes are walnut. Ditto high-top tables and the tambour front of the bar doubling as a winemaker’s table. Behind, smaller tasting rooms, divisible in two, offer options for varied group sizes and flexibility. Upstairs is reserved for members of Bella Union’s wine club. “You have to know it’s there,” says Kerwin of the lounge with adjoining tasting space. “We call it a speakeasy.”

Given ecological considerations, less was indeed more. “What if design excellence could be achieved by transforming what already exists,” Kerwin recalls the guiding force. As for that new build?  It’s proof positive that a minimal intervention can pack a positive punch.

Jason Kerwin + Mike Niemann Add Style To Bella Union Winery