Saturday, January 30, 2010

Wine and Architecture

In this space you have been subjected to some of my rants on architecture. I have railed against Gehry’s Disney Center, as a building without context. I have compared Green & Green’s Gamble house, to a fine Pinot. The Gamble house is the antithesis of Gertrude Stein’s Oakland, there is more there there, with the Gamble House.

If Frank Lloyd Wright had only created the liquid elegance of Falling Water he would have been heralded as a genius. But remember, he also created the bombastic Grady Gammage auditorium. I think my comparison to Grady was an overripe alcoholic Cabernet. One could say I am throwing rocks at a Nuetra house.

What does this have to do with wine? You can learn about a wine by looking at the winery. Let me explain. The wine Opus One is created in a large nouveau French Chateau set down in Napa Valley. The Chai is covered in marble. It seems like every surface is covered in marble. Everything about this winery is expensive, the wine is expensive. If the wine is expensive it must be good. Right? Well….

Just up the road from this palace of excess is ZD. ZD is in a simple two story building. It blends into the scenery. It does not try to overpower the site. The winery is located on the first floor. The building makes the statement of restraint. This is a family owned winery. This is a family enterprise that cares about what is in the bottle and the winery is a reflection of this.

Over the hill from Napa, in the Sonoma Valley, is Ferrari Carano. Ferrari Carano is a Faux Tuscan villa in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma. It is massive and dwarfs the hillside it is perched upon. You would not be surprised to find out that the owner of Ferrari Carano also owns casinos in Reno. The building lacks a sense of balance. Not unlike their wine. If you like oak, theirs wines will give you splinters.

In the shadow of the monolith, that is Ferrari Carano, lays Seghesio Winery. The Segehsio winery was built in the 1930’s. It is a simple, yet classic California Ranch building. It blends perfectly into its tree filled setting. The building has a nice balanced feel. Not surprising they make, in my view, the most balanced Zinfandels on the market. The wines are not in your face aggressive. They reflect the winery and the Seghesio family.

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