The Route
From Highway 29 in Napa, take Redwood Road west, and Mount Veeder Road northwest to south on Oakville Grade to Highway 29.
Through
a creek canyon and a Druid’s forest
of mossy oaks, fragrant bay trees and tall redwoods and pines,
Redwood and Mount Veeder Roads twist and turn, ever narrowing,
to isolated vineyards and wineries on the steep slopes of an extinct
volcano, Mount Veeder. Deer, coyotes, foxes and an occasional bobcat
and black bear still roam in these wilds where old orchards are
vestiges of when the first white settlers lived here in the 19th
century.
In the pure, cool mountain air, luxuriant herb and flower gardens flood the entry courtyard to the Hess Collection Winery, where an important display of European and American contemporary art resides in an enormous, ivy-covered, 1903 stone building. Among the works of major artists on view are those of Francis Bacon, Frank Stella and Robert Motherwell. From a flaming typewriter to wall-sized, photorealistic paintings, the art was collected by Swiss-born winery founder, Donald Hess. Framed throughout the massive winery as if they were still photographs, the tank and bottling rooms and the vineyards are showcased behind glass, through which visitors watch how Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are grown and vinted.
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