Tours are by appointment and depending on the tour, usually last either 90 minutes (Estate Tour & Tasting, taste of one vintage) or 120 minutes (Library Tour & Tasting, taste of 2 vintages & a more in depth look at the winery).
For the price a generous amount of wine is poured – not a typical 1 oz pour that most wineries offer. Their signature wine, Opus One is the only wine available for tasting in the Partner’s Room.
Most likely classical music will be playing through speakers located in the courtyard, greeting visitors and one can either walk to the left of the main entrance to their “Partner’s Room” for a tasting of their current release or if one has a prior appointment, check in at the main reception through the large wooden doors. Robert Mondavi used to describe the building as a “spaceship” but when you get close you will see it is very elegantly designed. The Neo-Classical architecture combines refined European elegance with a modern California feel. The sizable cream-colored limestone used in the building is reminiscent of public buildings in Washington DC or the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Sometimes when it is busy there will be an attendant at the end of the driveway directing people to park. Visitors can park on either the left or right side of the building – in our experience the right side typically fills up faster than the left side yet both parking lots are located approximately the same distance from the entrance. The winery sits on top of an artificially created hill – round in shape, this circular theme is found throughout the winery in terms of its design. One of the most easily recognized winery buildings in all of Napa Valley, glances invariably turn in its direction – especially from first time visitors to the valley driving by on Highway 29. Today Opus One is under an interesting ownership with 50% owned by the public company, Constellation Brands and the other 50% still family owned by the Rothschilds. In 2004, as part of the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery, half of Opus One was sold. For several years the wine was blandly referred to as napanamedoc until Opus One was ultimately decided as an appropriate name reflecting the significant efforts and details that go into creating the wine each year – and referring to a composers’ first composition.
Vintages until 1990 were produced at Robert Mondavi Winery which is physically located almost on the other side of Highway 29 in Oakville. As part of promoting these early wines both Robert and his wife Margrit and the Rothschilds attended select events including the San Francisco Symphony’s appropriately named Opus One Ball, held in April of that year. The first vintage of Opus One was from 1979 and along with the 1980 vintage were both released in 1984. And some years production is extremely small like in 2001 in which only 2 barrels were produced. And this wine generally sees less French oak then its older sister. Overture is always a blend of multiple vintages from lots that were not selected for the Opus One wine. This wine is labeled as a Napa Valley Red wine and interestingly is one of a select few annual release wines from any winery in the Napa Valley that is not labeled with a vintage date. However, since 1993 they have created a second much lesser known and promoted label called Overture. The focus of Opus One’s production is on a single world-class wine each year. His philosophy about promoting Napa Valley was that ‘the rising tide carries all ships’ – both promoting his own winery as well as his neighbors – essentially promoting Napa Valley as an entire region. Robert worked at Charles Krug Winery until branching out on his own to begin Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. Robert Mondavi’s family has been in Napa Valley since the 1940s they purchased Charles Krug Winery in 1943. And this is only their global wine business – they are involved in a diversity of other businesses including financial, mining, real estate and agricultural ventures. Today the Rothschild family owns numerous wine estates in Europe as well as in North and South America, South Africa and Australia. Part of the Rothschild family also owns the equally iconic Château Lafite Rothschild. The Rothschild family traces their wine heritage back to 1853 when they purchased an existing chateau and renamed it to what is now the iconic Château Mouton Rothschild. The Napa Valley Wine Train as seen through one of the Opus One columns A coveted photograph that we hope to obtain again with our real camera.
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