It tastes like what it means and that is the essence of fine art. Opus One not only represents the blending of these two glorious wine traditions but speaks eloquently of this merger of two sensibilities, striking a balance between opulent, generous, accessible California fruit and the restrained, steely, elegance and finesse of Bordeaux. Artworks not only represent their subject matter but make statements about them as well. In 1979, it represented the coming of age for Napa wines which could not only compete on the world stage with Bordeaux but enter into an equal partnership with the most storied wine region in the world. But in particular, it’s an iconic wine that succeeded in bringing a European, classical, wine sensibility to the warmer climate and richer soils of Napa. What makes Opus One worthy of mention in a series on the Art of Wine? As you know if you’ve been reading my work on the aesthetics of wine, I think fine wines that are intended to provide a distinctive aesthetic experience are works of art. Why should the wine world be any different? Yes, great wine can be appreciated without the trappings of luxury but some of the connections to a different time and place would be lost without them. If you spend much time exploring the art world, pretention is part of the landscape. The atmosphere invites contemplation which is not true of many winery tasting rooms (or art museums for that matter). We were able to sit quietly and undisturbed for a considerable length of time and think about the wine. pour of their flagship wine the Overture was available for tasting as well.Īll of this is a bit precious and pretentious and is clearly designed to project an image of old world, aristocratic, class and sophistication. The cost without the tour is $50 per glass for a healthy 5 oz. Opus One makes two wines: their flagship Cabernet-based blend and a non-vintage second wine called Overture. The formal young man was slightly more knowledgeable than a moonlighting college student when I asked him questions about the wine, but only slightly. In the contemporary, but understated tasting room, bathed as always in classical music, you walk to the bar where a charming yet formal young man gives you an information packet, explains the very limited options for tasting, and pours your wine which you can then take to a nearby couch served by a coffee table, or weather permitting, to an adjoining courtyard. Upon entering the hushed foyer with classical music playing gently in the background you are greeted by a “concierge”, a charming, yet formal woman whose job it seems is to check your reservation and escort you to the tasting room-in other words a greeter. Mondavi likened it to a space ship, but the central courtyard bounded by colonnades on each side and an interior adorned with limestone mantels and opera chairs is an intriguing amalgam of old and new. The building is a massive, cream-colored, laterally-elongated, modern mansion that seems to grow naturally out of the hill on which it’s perched. Visiting Opus One is indeed like visiting a modern art museum. They made their first vintage in 1979 using the Mondavi facility, moving to their current location in 1991. It began as a partnership of Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, France, and the renowned Robert Mondavi who helped build Napa winemaking from the ground up-a marriage of French aristocracy and American immigrant grit. I suppose it is then fitting to kick off this inaugural post in a series about the art of wine with a winery that perhaps best represents the celebrity and ostentation of the art world-Opus One. That view of the art world ignores all the local art in communities throughout the world which is accessible and can be enormously satisfying, but such is our fascination with celebrity and money that we think of the art world in those terms. Art has a reputation for being cut off from everyday life, existing in a separate realm of sumptuous galleries, cloistered museums, outrageous prices, and snobbish patrons.
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