Antinori Vineyards
Despite being a contemporary, new-build project, the Antinori Napa Valley hospitality center is undeniably steeped in tradition and trusted relationships. With 26 generations of winemaking spanning more than six centuries, the Antinori family is one of the most historical and renowned family-owned wine producers in the world. Nordby Construction’s partnership with the Antinori family began more than 30 years ago when then-CEO Wendell Nordby was hired to build their original Napa Valley winery, previously known as Antica Winery.
Marchesi Antinori is the only Italian wine-producer to own a winery in Napa. Marchese Piero Antinori, known for creating the iconic red-wine blend Tignanello, became enamored with the Vaca Mountain range during his first visit to Napa in the 1960s. The rugged, high-elevation terrain reminded him of his home in Chianti Classico. He returned decades later to acquire a 1,200-acre property that became Antinori Napa Valley.
Three decades later, Wendell’s son Craig and the Nordby Construction team were invited to bring the long-envisioned hospitality building to life. While residing in Italy, Antinori family members were actively involved in construction and finishing details, which posed a unique communication challenge. To augment virtual meetings and periodic on-site visits by Pietro and his daughters, Nordby leveraged technology to provide them with real-time, 360-degree views of the entire work site online.
Once the location of an outdoor gazebo, the nearly 4,000-square-foot tasting room is gracefully poised on a plateau edge that overlooks a pond and 600 acres of vines in the valley below. In light of the 2017 Atlas Peak fires that threatened the original winery structures, careful consideration was given to using flame-resistant materials throughout construction, including site-native stone, glass, stucco, and metal roofing.
The main tasting room features substantial, floor-to-ceiling window panels that slide and stack open wide to blur the line between the indoor and outdoor visitor experience. The private tasting room features a gourmet, commercial kitchen equipped to prepare a full menu for paired tastings. Soffits lend warmth to airy, lofted ceilings, while custom wine cabinets and modern shelf installations flank the fireplace to maximize use of square footage.
Artwork from Palazzo Antinori, the family estate in Florence, and numerous finishing materials from Italy are incorporated throughout the building. An 8-foot replica of the 17th-century Anitori family tree is framed by vibrant, blue custom cabinets prominently positioned to greet guests as they enter the hospitality center.
Guests are invited to explore the winery grounds on Terralite pathways edged with steel for an aging patina, offering both informal elegance and resilient maintenance characteristics. An understated stone facing finishes the pristine, infinity-edge reflection pool to produce a subtle, melodic sound as water trickles over gently.
Today, Pietro’s daughter Albiera Antinori is president of the Marchesi Antinori collection of wine estates with the support of her two sisters, Allegra and Alessia. Marchesi Antinori recently acquired Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and, in January 2024, established Vinattieri 1385, a Napa-based company to import its wines directly to the United States. The year a direct ancestor became a member of the Florentine Vintners’ Guild, “1385” honors the family’s historic first step in the wine business.
