Boutique Design - May/June 2010 - (Page 68)

O F F B E A T S P A C E S UXUS Fuses Logic and Art for Garage Winery turned Napa Trendsetter B Y M A R C W E I N R E I C H “B rand Poetry,” the signature term coined by award winning Amsterdam firm, UXUS Design, has become its innovative approach to the art of renovation. “We coined the phrase to stress the fusing of rational design solutions with artistic sensibilities, showing our balance Outside of Merus Winery between emotional connection and commercial results,” said George Gottl, partner at UXUS. Late last year the firm added Napa Valley’s rustic and highMain tasting room ly exclusive boutique Merus Winery to its already “Essentially, it’s a showroom, a retail opportunidiverse portfolio which includes McDonald’s, ty to an extent, and a hospitality venue of sorts,” Heineken, and Levi Strauss, and worked its brand said Michell. “Adding Merus gives us a new poetry scheme into the project’s design. dimension in both spaces, one that reflects the fus“The colors and rich textures of our design are ing of rustic heritage with modern sophistication.” symbolic of Merus’ black wine bottle and bloodMerus, which is Latin for “unmixed” or red wine,” Gottl said. “Their wine always reflected “pure,” was created by Erika Gottl, George’s sisa sophisticated yet traditional approach to wineter, and Mark Herold in 1998 in their two-car making, and now we’re bringing a design of the garage on the outskirts of Napa. They sold it in winery that reflects this approach.” 2007 to William Foley, billionaire wine collector Gottl and Oliver Michell, co-creative directors and owner of numerous wineries purchased and partners at UXUS, employed their artistic solutions to commercial needs to design Merus with the same warm hues under his Foley Family Estates and within months transformed it into and saturated textures evident in the company’s wine and packaging. the 1891 Rossini Ghost Winery, which UXUS has now re-imagined. “We wanted each room to be unique yet retain that ‘old-meets-new’ The result is a pastoral but trendsetting winery that marries wine with interior design, fashionable vistas with historic vineyards, and under- vision of Merus Wines,” Gottl said. “The wine in the glass may not ground caves that open into spacious tasting rooms; a true “brand change from room to room, but the interior design of each room will show poetry” that pays equal tribute to grassroots wine production and bour- that where you stand could affect the taste and overall wine experience.” The Main Tasting Room is lit with Niche Modern pendant-bulbs geoisie wine-tasting. with gray and amber hues resembling the colors in a glass of wine. Cave events space Granite countertops run parallel to a centrally located reflective black hickory table, separating the main tasting area from the alcove of modish black leather couches. Black stools shaped like chess pieces are scattered throughout the floor. “There’s a hint of tribal influence in the stools,” Michell said. “Each room emanates from a mixture of time periods that help advance the identity of Merus as both traditional and trendsetting.” The Cave Events Space is the largest of the three rooms, assuming a dramatic ambiance with Foscarini chandeliers that illuminate the warm scarlet cave walls. “Since there’s no natural light in the caves, artificial lighting allowed for customizable dramatic effects,” Gottl said. The Cave Tasting Table is in the smallest of the three rooms. Tom Dixon lighting-fixtures hang like wires from the cave’s ceiling, giving light to a blackboard that circulates throughout the perimeter of the cave and features notes about wine samples. BD 68 • boutique DESIGN may/june 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - May/June 2010

Boutique Design - May/June 2010
Contents
BD Launches ScanLife Technology
The Rocco Forte Collection
Kimpton Open Another Hotel Palomar
Steve Wynn Unveils Encore
NEWH Members Tour NYC’s Newly-Renovated Surrey Hotel
Novo Arts Hotels S.A.S. Studio Night to Benefit the Give Your Art Foundation
BDNY Advisory Board Meets to Tour New Building and Discuss Trade Show Launch
Business Sense
On the Boards: Sephen Jacobs and Andi Pepper Introduce the Upcoming Gansevoort Park
Q&A with Ed Bakos and Anthony DiGuiseppe
We Proudly Present the 2010 Boutique 18 - Read Their Story in Pictures
In Reflection
World by DESIGN
DREAMbook
Bath and Spa
Amsterdam Film, UXUS Design, Transforms Napa Valley Garage Winery into Majestic Upscale Tasting Den, Merus
Calendar/Advertisers' Index

Boutique Design - May/June 2010

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