IN VALLEY VERITAS The Hall St. Helena winery is now home to a contemporary visitor center and restored historic stone building that work together to create a quintessential Napa Valley experience. BY JENNY S. REISING CREATING A FINE WINE takes time. The same can also be said for the ongoing development of the Hall St. Helena winery, which has been roughly a decade in the making. When a 33-acre Napa Valley winery went up for sale in 2003, vintners Kathryn and Craig Hall saw a unique opportunity to build on the site's historic past with a contemporary vision toward the future. Key components of that plan involved two recently completed elements: Restoring the site's dilapidated 1885 Peterson Bergfeld stone winery-a gem in the rough that was missing its roof-and building a stateof-the-art visitor center that would showcase the owners' love for contemporary art, the winery's hightech winemaking facilities and the locale's show-stopping views of its vineyards and nearby Howell and Mayacama Mountains. The Halls' original concept called for famed architect Frank Gehry to design the visitor center. But with the economic downturn of 2008, "It was an opportunity for everyone to step back and look at what was best for Hall, for the site and for Napa Valley," explains Joe Reeder, the winery's marketing manager. MARCH 2014 boutiquedesign.com 79http://www.boutiquedesign.com