An historic Napa Valley Victorian gets a new life, welcoming guests to experience Faust’s modern approach to classic Cabernet Sauvignon
St. Helena, CA (August 14, 2020) — After three years of restoration, Faust is thrilled to welcome guests and visitors to its daring and bold winery and tasting room, the Faust Haus. Opening its doors to the public on September 4, 2020, the Faust Haus (2867 St. Helena Highway) will feature experiences where guests can enjoy Faust’s modern portrait of classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in an equally fitting setting. With its distinct design and unexpected features, the Faust Haus breathes new energy into the traditional Napa Valley luxury wine scene.
Faust produces carefully crafted Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from its organically-farmed estate vineyard in Coombsville. From meticulously detailed harvesting to innovative methods of fermentation, the winemaking process is overseen by winemaker David Jelinek and estate director Jen Beloz.
“We didn’t want this to be like any other Napa Valley tasting room,” says estate director, Jen Beloz. “We wanted to push the boundaries of what was possible. The Faust folklore is all about the passion for the craft and we’re thrilled to have a home to share that story with guests, also diving deep into what makes our Coombsville estate such an amazing place to grow Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Located in St. Helena just off Highway 29, the former farmhouse and prohibition-era cellar provides a creative escape from the typical trappings of Napa Valley. Each room within the historic Victorian home was intentionally designed to offer guests a unique experience, created to feel more like a luxurious living room than a traditional tasting room. Faust enlisted the architectural design firm Aidlin Darling Design to reimagine and restore the home, which was originally built in 1878.
“We connected with this notion of moving up from darkness to light as one ascends through the house–from a place of rich opulence to one of bright simplicity, as analogous to pursuing a state of enlightenment,” says David Darling, Principal of Aidlin Darling Design. “We hoped to build a new kind of wine tasting experience while honoring and amplifying the historic beauty of the home.”
Ona LeSassier of Maca Huneeus Design created the interiors, selecting brightly colored, unique pieces and vintage finds–such as a Jean Lurcat mid-century tapestry and custom photography from conceptual, fine art photographer, Lindsey Ross–to fully envelop guests in the Faust experience. A freehand wall mural by Italian artist Roberto Ruspoli lines the stairway up to the bright, white second floor, evoking the story and myth of Faust.
San Francisco-based landscape architecture and design firm, Surfacedesign, was brought in to envision the property grounds by designing distinct, memorable garden rooms linked together by shifting color gradients. “Faust expanded Surfacedesign’s palette by integrating literary allusions and color theory into the project’s narrative,” says lead landscape designer Roderick Wyllie, ASLA. “We poured our souls into this project.”
Faust will be taking all appropriate measures to ensure that staff and guests are safe and adhere to the latest guidelines from the state and county. For the foreseeable future, the Faust Haus will be hosting guests outdoors on the restored Victorian veranda and stunning outdoor gardens, overlooking sweeping views of Napa Valley on a reservation basis. Visitors can reserve an experience at faustwines.com. Faust will welcome guests for indoor experiences in the renovated house once it is safe for customers and staff to do so. Tasting experiences include limited production wines from the Faust estate in Coombsville and start at $55 per person. Children and pets are not permitted.
About Faust
Faust produces limited-production Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, crafted from their organically-farmed estate vineyard in Coombsville. Faust purchased a property in Coombsville in 1997 and planted Cabernet Sauvignon on what would later become Napa’s newest, up and coming AVA. The Faust Haus opens September 2020, welcoming visitors inside the reimagined, historic Victorian home in St. Helena. For more information, follow Faust on Instagram, Facebook and visit www.faustwines.com.
About Aidlin Darling Design
Principals Joshua Aidlin and David Darling founded Aidlin Darling Design around a woodshop in 1998 with a shared interest in exploring design across a wide range of scales, programs, and disciplines. Maintaining a closely held conviction that design can enlighten the human spirit by engaging all of the senses, they have cultivated a diverse and collaborative studio that acts as a creative hub for an extended network of builders, fabricators, engineers, chefs, and artists. Projects have included Scribe, Brecon Estate Winery, Bar Agricole and more. The firm has garnered over 180 regional, national, and international awards including the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Award, two James Beard Awards, two International Civic Trust Awards, seven American Architecture Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum, and several local, state and national awards from the AIA, IIDA, and ASLA. For more information, please visit www.aidlindarlingdesign.com
About Surfacedesign
San Francisco-based Surfacedesign, Inc., is an award-winning landscape architecture and urban design firm that creates dynamic parks, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes, and private gardens. Partners James A. Lord, FASLA, Roderick Wyllie, ASLA, and Geoff di Girolamo, ASLA, Assoc. AIA, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of landscape architects, urban designers, and architects, provide innovative design solutions for a wide range of projects, working directly with institutions, architects, community groups, and city agencies. Local winery projects have included Odette, Proper Hotel, Kistler Vineyards, Buena Vista and more. Winner of the 2017 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture (given by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum), Surfacedesign focuses on cultivating a sense of connection to the built and natural worlds, pushing people to engage with the landscape in new ways. The firm’s work is the subject of Material Landscapes, a monograph published by The Monacelli Press (2019). For more information, visit www.sdisf.com.
