Avenue Vine

Charles Krug, the Prussian immigrant who became the first commercial vintner in Napa Valley, built his first winery structure in 1861. Damaged by fire in 1874, the building has been expanded and modified as its uses have changed over the years, ultimately earning the name Redwood Cellar when Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, who purchased the Krug estate in 1943, installed a series of redwood tanks to ferment their wine. The Carriage House was built by Charles Krug in 1881 and has remained largely unchanged since then.

When the restoration and seismic strengthening project is completed in spring of 2008, the Peter Mondavi family will return a portion of the Redwood Cellar to its original use, as a barrel aging room. The Carriage House, which opens onto an expansive lawn where for more than 50 years the winery has staged summertime ”Tastings on the Lawn”, will continue to host these historical tastings and other special events.

“This winery is more than a business for our family, it has been a way of life more than sixty years,” said Peter Mondavi, Jr., co-proprietor with his brother, Marc, of Charles Krug Winery. “My brother and I are the third generation of our family to run the estate, and we feel an obligation to serve as stewards and continue the family wine making tradition for the generations to come.”

To ensure that restoration of the Redwood Cellar and Carriage House are true to the original designs, the Peter Mondavi family hired Architectural Resource Group of San Francisco to oversee the project. According to ARG’s Naomi Imbroglio, principal architect, the design will “retain the original features, as well as those added by Cesare Mondavi when he acquired and subsequently refurbished the buildings in the 1940s.” For example, rather than replace the original wood shingle roof constructed by Charles Krug, the new roof will closely resemble the metal roof installed more than fifty years ago.

ARG specializes in the renovation of historic properties, with several notable Wine Country projects to its credit, including the Culinary Institute of America – Greystone, the Beringer Winery building across HighDear Dave,way 29 from Charles Krug, and Napa’s Noyes mansion and the Napa Opera House.

Part of the project includes seismic strengthening of both buildings. Degenkolb Engineering of San Francisco, which is providing earthquake structural expertise in the Charles Krug renovation project, specializes in retrofitting and renovating historical masonry buildings and has worked on numerous San Francisco Bay Area projects including the Claremont Resort & Spa in Oakland, San Francisco's historic St. Patrick's Catholic Church and the new International Building at California and Montgomery streets.

To maintain historical consistency, the contractors hired for the project, Andrews & Thornley of Napa, will bring in stone masons to repair the original stone walls, and will recycle the wood from the original, twenty-foot-tall redwood fermenting tanks to repair the ceiling in the adjacent Carriage House.

Before drawing plans for the restoration, ARG performed extensive research on the history of these buildings. Not only did other now-famous vintners learn their craft in those buildings, but many of the innovations that shaped the California wine industry were developed there, starting with Charles Krug himself, who adapted a cider press for crushing grapes and thereby introduced a brand new production technique at the very inception of the California wine industry.

The Peter Mondavi family continues that legacy of innovation. The family’s 850 acres of prime Napa Valley vineyards are currently being converted to organic and sustainable viticulture practices. So far, seven of the family’s vineyard properties have received organic certification, with additional parcels to follow.

“It’s unusual that a family-owned business would undertake such a major investment in historical restoration,” commented Imbroglio, “and for that the Peter Mondavi family should be commended. These buildings are true landmarks, and their preservation is important to the local community and the entire California wine industry.”

The Peter Mondavi family is arranging to document the project in a series of photographs to be posted on the Charles Krug web site, at www.charleskrug.com. The public is invited to log on to the web site regularly to see the restoration project unfold, or to visit the winery’s public tasting room, which is adjacent to the Redwood Cellar.

Charles Krug Website: www.charleskrug.com

ST. HELENA, CA,--May 21, 2007