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June 2015 WINES&VINES 39 WINEMAKING S ituated at the base of a small ridge beneath the plunging cliffs of the Stags Leap area of Napa Valley, the new winery at the Odette estate is somewhat hard to discern against its scenic backdrop. The curved line of the structure's roof and large wave-shaped doors in front of the winery make it blend into the surrounding environ- ment. Only when one approaches the winery up close does its full size become apparent. "What we didn't want to have was a giant foot- print that stood out like a sore thumb," says winemaker Jeff Owens. Owens said architect Juan Carlos Fernandez designed the building to resemble the natural flow of the landscape. While it may be discreet in appearance, the winery offers more than 7,000 square feet of production space to facili- tate Owens' small-lot approach to making wine with the estate grapes. The new winemaking facility, built by Napa-based Grassi & Associates, is one of many renovations and upgrades at the estate that used to be the home of Steltzner Vine- yards until the PlumpJack Group purchased it in 2012. Once the sale was final, the new own- ers quickly got to work on the vineyard as well as turning what had been the Steltzner winery into the new Odette tasting room. Dick Steltzner first planted vines on the property in 1965 while running his own vine- yard management company. Steltzner re- leased his own wine in 1977 and built a winery in 1983. Steltzner still owns vineyards in Stags Leap and other parts of Napa Valley, and the family retained its wine brand. In talking about the sale to Wines & Vines, Steltzner said maintain- ing an estate winery would have required a major recapitalization of his investment in the facility, vineyards and hiring new staff. It also would have taken more time from him and his family to promote the brand. "To me it was time to exit, and so we did," he said. Odette Estate Winery PlumpJack expands Napa presence with new winery and rebuilt cave system in Stags Leap AVA By Andrew Adams TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT KEY POINTS Purchased by the Plumpjack Group in 2012, the Odette estate in the Stags Leap district of Napa Valley is home to a new production facility. The 18,000-square-foot cave complex underwent a complete renovation. The estate vineyard is planted with all of the key Bordeaux varieties and supports the Odette brand as well as the second label, Adaptation.