Smart Storage: Insulated Metal Roof Covers Chappellet Winery’s Barrel Chai
The Chappellet Winery sits on picturesque Pritchard Hill, near St. Helena, in California’s famed Napa Valley. It’s situated in a wooded remote area on 640 acres and was the first winery in the region to plant vineyards only on high-elevation hillsides. From its location, almost 1,300 feet up on the mountain, visitors look out on Lake Hennessy and the beautiful scenery of Napa Valley. Today, more than 40 years after being established, a second generation of the family continues making exceptional wines.
Chappellet Winery needed to expand its storage capacity and commissioned construction of a structure called a barrel chai: a wine-aging room that requires a very controlled interior environment. The planned structure would house 4,000 barrels, a barrel wash area, and a small 20-tank white-wine production space. By constructing the new barrel chai, Chappellet Winery was able to convert its previous wine-aging space into a larger-capacity room for its popular tasting tours.