Architect Barbara Bestor Shakes Up Napa Valley With a Modernist Winery

Inspired by the iconic, modern buildings devised by Albert Frey and Donald Wexler, Barbara Bestor’s design for Ashes & Diamonds winery in Napa, California, is a bright, white, geometric display that marks the cinematic valley landscape of rolling hills and vineyard rows.

The winery, located a stone’s throw away from downtown Napa, comprises two simple, rectangular buildings. The larger, two-level wine production facility, which is sided with pre-engineered metal panels, features an industrial aesthetic and is punctuated by large portholes that reference works by Frey. 

Bestor created a lighter and more residential feel for the tasting room—a smaller, single-level, stucco-clad construction—by employing a folded-plate, pavilion-style canopy over the building’s flat roof. The dynamic form mimics the valley hills and helps to mitigate bright sunlight.