Wine and Art at Clos Pegase

Clos Pegase, a temple to both wine and art, is the Napa Valley winery I recommend friends visiting when they're searching through the hundreds of options. Designed in the post-modern style by architect Michael Graves, the winery also houses the internationally renown art collection of owner Jan Schrem. In addition to the winery, a visitor can take a tour (including self-guided with narrative) of the 24 sculptures in the gardens and porticos as well as the art in interior galleries. One of the most famous in the collection is Henry Moore's "Mother Earth," who faces west and is usually bathed in sunlight.

The winery's name is a tribute to Pegasus, the mythological Greek winged horse who touched the earth with his hooves and unleashed the sacred spring of the muses, the wine that flows from grapes. Bacchanalian pleasure is also suggested here in a humorous way. Touring Clos Pegase mixes the fineries of an art museum, a wine cellar and the expansive and welcoming beauty of a Napa Valley estate.

You notice I've yet to talk about the wines, but they are stunning and carefully produced. Small berries, thicker skins, well-drained soil planted in old vines that are the progenitors of really fine wines. Wines are harvested by hand, not by machine, and crops are not densely planted. Our favorites are the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot offerings. We were fortunate to visit on a slow day and have our own private tour guide, who took us down into the cellars, where art is displayed purposefully as well. From earliest times, people's enjoyment of wine led to them to embrace art and music, and there's a lovely taste of the experience right here.

Comments

[Lou Gold]

Wow, that's a Henry Moore sculpture that I had never seen. And what a beautiful setting! Looks like a great place for anyone with a passion for life, as was certainly so dor Henry Moore.

I just posted a bunch of pictures and a little essay about Moore's works. Here is the link:

http://lougold.blogspot.com/2007/05/henry-moore-re-visionary-artist-ive.html

Best Regards,

Lou Gold