Sweeping views of surrounding vineyards and nearby hills: Caymus-Suisun Winery
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Hospitality
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Completed
Our clients, a longtime Northern California winemaking family, saw an expansion to the Suisun Valley as an opportunity to create a new tasting experience representative of the world-class, yet approachable wines they produce onsite. For client and design team, the location was a chance to establish a forward-looking wine culture accessible to all while celebrating the valley’s landscape and agricultural heritage. Our clients were also inspired by international examples of wineries that announced their presence in the landscape, while creating multisensory connections to their surroundings. The design evolved as a response to these goals and to the context of the site, located on the valley floor and close to mountains that separate the Suisun Valley from Napa to the west.
Moving between welcome and retail building, courtyard, tasting pavilion, and vineyard paths, visitors are immersed within an extraordinary setting. The tasting pavilion is set above the valley floor to provide sweeping views of surrounding vineyards and nearby hills. Expansive sliding glass doors in the central tasting lounge invite the hallmark Suisun Valley breeze to flow through, giving guests a firsthand experience of the principal climate condition responsible for the region’s distinctive varietal profiles. Overhead, a pyramidal oculus emphasizes dramatic changing light throughout the day. Integral to the sense of presence within this emerging wine region, the tasting pavilion’s deep roof overhangs and dramatic west cantilever provide shade during warm afternoons.
Design strategies for daylighting and natural ventilation created a comfortable, airy hospitality environment. A sleek roofline seems to hover weightlessly over tasting rooms while containing mechanical equipment that efficiently manages indoor air temperatures when the tasting pavilion’s large operable doors and transom windows are closed. Hydronic tubing in the concrete slab-on-grade provides efficient radiant heating in winter and chilled floor cooling in summer, closer to building occupants. Minimizing unnecessary finishes, the design integrates a restrained palette of wood, concrete, an aluminum and glass window system, and mass timber. The team worked with local artists and artisans to create custom interior fixtures and furnishings made with local and regional materials.
Caymus-Suisun Winery sets a new standard for hospitality in an emerging wine region. Integrated site and building design provide seamless movement between indoor and outdoor environments, achieving our client’s desire for an elevated, yet relaxed experience that fosters a sense of discovery. The welcome and retail building bookends winery visits – staff greet guests at an open-air bar made with concrete and locally-sourced elm, and guests return to explore the wine room and enjoy an espresso before departing. Artwork recalls roots in the earth and our client’s five generations of Northern California farming and winemaking. The glass-enclosed tasting pavilion provides a fresh approach to wine tasting that honors the landscape and our client’s pioneering spirit. The heart of the pavilion is a casual lounge with a sculptural concrete tasting bar that seems to grow from the floor. Overhead, a pyramidal oculus emphasizes dramatic changing light throughout the day, while wide openings to the north and south allow afternoon breezes to flow through. Core walls discreetly organize back-of-house needs while maintaining airy rooms defined by clean lines and organic forms, providing a dramatic juxtaposition of mass with the sleek roofline above. Together with a more secluded tasting room to the east for private events, the expansive west tasting lounge and outdoor terrace, under a 30-foot-long cantilevered roof, offer flexibility for varied gatherings.
Since completion, our clients have enjoyed welcoming many new visitors to the property - reservations have been largely full since the project opened to the public in early summer 2022. The project has also hosted events and gatherings, as well as architecture and design tours, encouraging visitors from around the country and world to learn more about the design and project process.
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An open air bar in the Welcome & Retail building greets visitors on arrival.
Matthew Millman
The Welcome & Retail building at Caymus-Suisun Winery.
Matthew Millman
Across the central courtyard is the tasting pavilion, raised above the valley floor.
Matthew Millman
The tasting pavilion opens to the surrounding landscape.
Matthew Millman
Tasting environments face the surrounding vineyards or nearby hills.
Matthew Millman
A private tasting and event space features pocketing wood doors.
Matthew Millman
Barrel stave-inspired oak slats form a custom seating area in the tasting pavilion.
Matthew Millman
A palette of wood, concrete, and glass embraces an array of custom furniture and artwork throughout the winery.
Matthew Millman
The west tasting room looks out to the nearby ridgeline that separates the Suisun and Napa valleys.
Matthew Millman
A soaring cantilevered roof shades interiors from afternoon sun and hovers weightlessly over an outdoor terrace.
Matthew Millman
Guests can follow new pathways into the surrounding gardens and vineyards.
Matthew Millman
The tasting experience at Caymus ends with a return to the Welcome & Retail building to browse vintages.
Fairfield
California, USA
Caymus
wine tasting and retail
05/2022
836 m2
Confidential
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Gregory Mottola – Principal; Christopher Moore - Project Manager; Toshiro Ihara - Project Architect
Cello & Maudru
Interior design: The Bureau and Geldert Studios; Structural Engineer: Eckersley O’Callaghan; Mechanical Engineer: Blue Forest Engineering; Civil Engineer: Foulk Civil Engineering; Electrical Engineer: Atium Engineering; Lighting Designer: EJA Lighting Design
Matthew Millman
Curriculum
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is an architecture practice of six studios across the country focused on designing places that inspire connection and wonder. We work with you to understand the nature of your unique circumstance—the people, place, and materials that inform each design—to help translate your community’s collective aspirations into built environments that are greater than the sum of their parts. The resulting architecture feels simultaneously grounded and transcendent, carefully crafted to embody resilience and adapt to an ever-changing world.
