- Opus One Winery
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Opus One Winery 
Location Oakville, California, USA Appellation Oakville AVA Founded 1978 First vintage 1979 Key people Robert Mondavi co-founder; Philippine de Rothschild, co-owner; Michael Silacci, Winemaker Parent company BPhR, Constellation Brands Cases/yr 25,000 Known for Opus One Varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot Tasting by appointment Website http://www.opusonewinery.com Opus One Winery is a winery in Oakville, California, USA. The wine was called napamedoc until 1982 when it was named Opus One. The winery was founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi to create a single Bordeaux style blend based upon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It is located across State Route 29 from the Robert Mondavi Winery. The creation of this winery venture in 1980[1] was big news in the wine industry; de Rothschild's involvement added an air of respectability to the burgeoning Napa wine region. The first vintage, 1979 was released 1984 at the same time as the 1980 vintage. For a while it was the most expensive Californian wine costing 50USD. In 1989 a new winery was built just down the road, the first vintage from the new winery was from 1991 and was released in 1994.[2]
History
The joint venture between Mondavi and Baron Rothschild was announced in 1980, though plans for the winery had been developing between the two men since the early 1970s. In 1980, Mondavi sold 35 acres from his To Kalon Vineyard in the Oakville AVA to the joint venture that would serve as the backbone for the blend. The first vintage from this block was released in 1985 and soon the estate built the large limestone winery in Oakville that has become an icon of the Napa Valley.[3]
In the 1990s, Opus One became the California cult wine to be widely sold in Asia and Europe. Following Constellation Brands' 2004 take over of Robert Mondavi winery, the estate of Baron Rothschild negotiated with Constellation Brands control of marketing, vineyard management and administration of the winery.[3]
References
- ^ Opus One "History" Accessed: January 7th, 2011
- ^ Sullivan, Charles Lewis (1998). A companion to California wine. University of California Press. pp. 245. http://books.google.com/books?id=GhJJElLJn5cC&dq=opus+one+wine+history&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
- ^ a b J. Gordon (ed) Opus Vino pg 33, DK Publishing New York 2010, ISBN 756667511
External links
Coordinates: 38°26′29″N 122°24′00″W / 38.441287°N 122.3999883°W
Categories:- Napa Valley wineries
- Companies established in 1980
- Companies based in Napa County, California
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