APERTURE CELLARS
Healdsburg’s Aperture Cellars, founded by acclaimed winemaker Jesse Katz and his father, renowned fine art photographer Andy Katz, uses cool-climate sites to create distinctive Bordeaux varietals. Says Jesse, “I’ve tried to push the limits of what these varietals can do.” That spirit of adventure is shared by their architect, Juancarlos Fernandez, of Signum Architecture, who designed Aperture’s sculptural, industrial-chic winemaking facility as well as its hexagonal wine-tasting center with a canopy that evokes a camera’s aperture. Three private tasting rooms have walls that fold into one another to accommodate a wine dinner or special event.
PHOTO BY JOE FLETCHER
THEOREM VINEYARDS
In Calistoga, Theorem Vineyards, founded by Texans Kisha and Jason Itkin, offers an intimate visitor experience similar to visiting your best friend’s winery. “The architecture had to reflect that,” says architect Richard Beard, who restored the property’s existing 19th-century buildings as well as its new winery. The new building features clean, geometric shapes and an axial arrangement that provides visitors with views in every direction for an immersive experience. “When you’re in the fermentation room, you look out to Mount Saint Helena, and you turn to the right and see vineyards through big openings,” Beard says. “You look ahead to the historic buildings and behind to the grape-receiving area.” The cozy space includes a seating area for two beneath a pair of whimsical 19th-century Italian bronze angel wings. “It set this magical moment,” says interior designer Nicholas Proietti. “The tasting room is another one—all of these unexpected surprises.”
PHOTO BY PAUL DYER
TAUB FAMILY OUTPOST
Taub Family Outpost is the first California venture for the Taubs, a family of successful New York restaurateurs. Designer Becky Carter created gathering spaces inspired by three pillars of iconic California architecture. The Market has a Spanish Colonial, Mission style-inspired vibe, featuring plaster walls with tile, lighter-toned woods and iron accents. For the upstairs lounge, Carter’s studio designed coffee tables with nesting stools and whimsical beaded lighting fixtures. And the moody, Victorian-inspired speakeasy features a Caroline Lizarraga mural, a custom-designed banquette by Studio Becky Carter, bistro tables by Alexis Moran, and an oxblood-red bar. “I wanted the bar to have almost a sinister feeling,” Carter says. “I wanted it to feel like a perfectly maintained, vintage Porsche in red with a high gloss—just deeply sexy.”
