Across Highway 12/121 from the chateau, and not easily noticed, Artesa Vineyards is a modernist-style winery built right into a hillside and covered over with lush native grasses. Visitors ascend past waterfalls and reflecting pools to a patio with a dazzling view of the Carneros and the Napa Valley. The reception area is at once an art gallery and a wine museum, where artist-in-residence, Gordon Huether has installed winery a striking array of glass and metal sculptures.
Owned by the Spanish winemaking giant, Codorníu, Artesa
makes
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a unique Spanish
varietal, Tempranillo. Codorníu has made wines in Spain
since the 1500s and is the largest producer of sparking wine, called
Cava, in that country.
In stark contrast to the architectural and artistic panache of Artesa, Carneros Creek Winery, just down the road, is a small, friendly place with picnic tables under a vine-covered arbor. Among honors accorded to their Pinot Noir is official designation as the wine of Cork, the Irish city where the winery owner, Francis Mahoney, was born.
From here, you can take a walk for a couple of miles on Dealy Lane, a quiet road between vineyards, cow pastures and rolling hills. Along the way, you are likely to hear the alarming call of peacocks, and, as you approach the peacock farm, a gaggle of guardian geese may rush out to meet you.
The article on this page is adapted from the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country by Karen Misuraca (www.karenmisuraca.com), published by Voyageur Press.
Photo Credit: The pictures on this page are by Lisa Moore. www.studioponderosa.com