Zialena Winery in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley wins ‘Top Real Estate Projects' award
With over a century of winemaking as a legacy, the great grandchildren of Guiseppe Mazzoni - who came to America from Italy in 1897 to work at the Italian Swiss Colony - have opened the newest winery and tasting room in Alexander Valley, the Zialena Winery, located a mile from Geyserville.
Fourth generation owners Mark Mazzoni, winemaker, and his sister, Lisa, general manager, have fulfilled the family's dream of creating a modern facility where they make wine in the old world style with 100 percent estate-grown Zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon grapes, and other wines such as rosé, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and fume blanc.
“The teams involved in this project worked through a cooperative design and construction process, demonstrating excellent teamwork every step of the way,” according to Dave Siegert with Osborn Siegert Achitecture.
The project included construction of a new 9,984 square foot manufactured metal production building and a 2,207 square foot wood-framed hospitality center and tasting room built by Wright Contracting.
The production area houses a barrel room, wine laboratory, and the winemaker's blending office that circle 10 square, custom open-top, fermentation tanks – a first for Alexander Valley.
“Concrete tanks have been used for years in winemaking” said Lisa Mazzoni. “Like stainless steel, concrete does not affect flavor. Tanks are porous and help infuse oxygen into the wine.”
The winery is built on the flat valley floor, facilitating site preparation, material storage and layout, while also affording visitors outstanding views of the 120-acre wine growing landscape. The fields and surrounding hills are visible through floor-to-ceiling windows giving guests a feeling they are standing in the vineyard.
The concrete tasting bar is adjacent to a wine library and private tasting room where visitors can enjoy two flights of four wines each.
The exterior façade is a combination of metal and wood siding, including horizontal insulated metal panels. Inside, a metal feature wall, made using custom Cor-Ten steel panels over a rain screen, is aging gracefully with a rust patena aided by visitors who press their hands (and feet) on the panels leaving a lasting imprint of their presence there.
