Opus One Winery

After Far Niente, we drove to Opus One, a nearby winery where the building looks like it’s straight out of Xenu. The futuristic winery is very popular with Asians (seriously, the last time we were there, it was all Asians and there weren’t any Caucasians there except the employees). My dad even knew about the vineyard and said the wine is very popular amongst the wealthy in Taiwan. Opus One is different from other wineries because you just have to make a reservation and there isn’t really a wine tour, you can sit outside and enjoy your wine. Since it was too cold to sit on the patio, we sat indoors, near the hostesses; the hostesses are very knowledgeable about the wine but don’t push it on you since it’s so famous.

We enjoyed their newly released vintage, the 2012, in the newly renovated living area:

Opus One was started by two families – the Rothschild family and the Mondavi family – back in 1979. They release one main wine a year (their Cabernet) and on our recent visit, discovered that they also release another wine called Overture, which is about half as much as the Cabernet. You can sample the current release, the last release (which costs a little more), and the overture.

They have magnums, too:

We were only going to visit to have a glass of wine, but then ended up purchasing a bottle to save for a special occasion. The last time we went, we purchased a 2010 vintage, which we’re saving for a special occasion and we have to figure out what the 2012 vintage will be celebrating! I told my dad we would drink it when he’s in town so he can also enjoy it, so he needs to visit soon (although we said we’d be patient and let the wine mature before drinking it).