The Bespoke Collection is a wine producer and

lifestyle brand A lifestyle brand is a brand that is intended to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of maki ...

based in

Yountville, California Yountville ( or ) is an incorporated town in Napa County, in the Wine Country of California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the population was 3,436 at the 2020 census. Almost a third of the town's populat ...

, United States. The company comprises two wine labels:

Blackbird Vineyards Blackbird Vineyards is a Napa Valley based winery. It is part of the Bespoke Collection. Founder Michael Polenske wanted to create a winery that focused on producing wines from Merlot grapes, which fits with the name "Blackbird", as ''merlot'' ...

and Recuerdo Wines, and a wine, art and design

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: * Gallery (surname), a surname Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery ** Online art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ' ...

called Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley. Bespoke Collection also has an additional art gallery in St. Helena, California called I. Wolk Gallery.

History

Michael Polenske purchased the Blackbird Vineyard, in Oak Knoll District in California, in 2003 as a vacation retreat. The 10-acre property has a

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

, a 100-year-old farm house, a

ranch home Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

and a

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

. Polenske left his job in finance in 2006, to create a

luxury brand In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

focusing on wine, art and design, which would become the Bespoke Collection. Polenske's interest in wine was instilled in him when his father, a pilot in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, was stationed at

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 Kilometre, km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, California, Fairfield, i ...

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, United States, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city has a diversified economy, with government, manufac ...

. He moved from his San Francisco apartment to live full-time in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

. Polenske opened Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley, a wine, art, and design gallery, in 2008. In 2010, Polenske purchased the I. Wolk Gallery in St. Helena, California. Bespoke Collection also introduced a membership program, which offers members access to limited production wines from the Bespoke Collection labels and to exclusive events. They also have a benefit program, called Bespoke Benefits, which allows members to earn points based on purchases made of Bespoke Collection products, including art and design pieces. In March 2014, Bespoke Collection opened a new art and design gallery in

Healdsburg, California Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,340. Healdsburg is centered on a 19th-century plaza. History Early inhabitants of the local area included the Pomo ...

Blackbird Vineyards

After the purchasing the Blackbird Vineyard, Polenske created a wine label based around the

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

grapes grown in the vineyard. Blackbird produces

Pomerol Pomerol (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France. Wine With only , Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordeaux region. It is more a community where the vineyards ...

-inspired, proprietary

red wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties - (red grapes.) The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice fro ...

s by blending Merlot,

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

. They also produce a

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

from those three varietals. The wine labels have flocks of blackbirds on them.

Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley

Ma(i)sonry is a wine, art and design gallery located in

. It was created in 2007 and opened in October 2008, when Michael Polenske purchased a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

building that was a former hotel for over 50 years. The name is a play on the French word ''maison'' and the English word ''

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

''. Ma(i)sonry sells

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

and

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

and

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

and new furniture, including select items designed by Polenske, and has featured works by

Alexandra von Fürstenberg Alexandra Natasha von Fürstenberg (; born October 3, 1972) is a Hong Kong-born American heiress, socialite, entrepreneur and furniture designer based in Los Angeles. She is the youngest daughter of American billionaire and DFS Group co-founder ...

Jedd Novatt Jedd Novatt (born 1958) is an American sculptor who creates dynamic, non-representational compositions of geometric forms. He is best known for his 'Chaos' series of works in either welded steel or bronze. Life and work Born in Brooklyn, New ...

Greg Lauren Greg Lauren (né Greg Lauren Dana Smith; born ) is an American actor, painter and fashion designer. He is the nephew of fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Early life Lauren was born in New York City, into a family of Belarusian-Jewish descent, and i ...

, and

David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (born 3 November 1961), styled as Viscount Linley until 2017 and known professionally as David Linley, is a member of the extended British royal family, an English furniture maker, and ho ...

. They host

trunk show A trunk show is an event in which vendors present merchandise directly to store personnel or customers at a retail location or another venue such as a hotel room. In many cases it allows store personnel to preview and/or purchase merchandise befor ...

s by

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

fashion lines. Selected artworks are on display inside and outside at Ma(i)sonry's

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...

. An additional sculpture garden is located at Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley, called the Ma(i)sonry Sculpture Gallery, and with additional gardens at MacArthur Place in Sonoma and Solage in

Calistoga Calistoga may refer to: * Calistoga, California * Calistoga AVA, an American Viticultural Area that partly overlaps the town of Calistoga * Calistoga Water Company, bottled water brand sourced in Calistoga, California * Calistoga, code name for ...

. Ma(i)sonry offers visitors the opportunity to sample wines from nineteen vintners, including Bespoke Collection brands – Blackbird Vineyards and Recuerdo Wines. They also have a wine flight and

food pairing Food pairing (or flavor pairing or food combination) is a method of identifying which foods go well together from a flavor standpoint, often based on individual tastes, popularity, availability of ingredients, and traditional cultural practices. ...

program, which Bespoke Collection wine with food from

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...

's restaurant

Addendum An addendum or appendix, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its author subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the gerundive , plural , "that which is to be added", from (, compare with memorandum, ...

. In 2011, Ma(i)sonry held a series of winemaker dinners with boutique wines and food catered by Cindy Pawlcyn.

winemaker, Aaron Pott has produced wines for Ma(i)sonry, including a

Marsanne Marsanne () is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known a ...

Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del País in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in it ...

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

and a proprietary red blend. All of the wines are produced from Napa Valley fruit and are made under the label Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley. Ma(i)sonry has a

wine club A wine club is a developing extension of modern wine culture. Wine clubs are designed to provide customers with a series of wine bottles on a monthly or quarterly basis that they would otherwise have to find and purchase on their own. Wine clubs o ...

called Medallion, which gives members first access to new boutique wines, special event access, and complimentary tastings at the tasting room. Ma(i)sonry has partnered with the ''

Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury- lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also ...

'' for Auction Napa Valley live lot packages. In 2013, Ma(i)sonry opened its first tasting room outside of Yountville, on the top floor of

Restoration Hardware RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) is an upscale American home-furnishings company headquartered in Corte Madera, California. The company sells its merchandise through its retail stores, catalog, and online. As of August 2018, the company operate ...

's Gallery at the Historic Museum of Natural History in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Ma(i)sonry was chosen as one of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' must-visit places in a one-day visit to Napa Valley, in 2010. It was awarded the 2013 Best of Wine Tourism for Napa Valley for Art & Culture.

History and architecture

The building that houses Ma(i)sonry is one of two buildings in Yountville listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It was built in 1904 as a house for Charles Rovegno, a farmer. It has two stories and totals 3,000 square feet. The building was the Burgundy House Inn starting in the 1970s, until becoming Ma(i)sonry in 2007. The building underwent eighteen months of renovations by architect Douglas Thornley and the Roche + Roche

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

firm. Roche + Roche created five outdoor spaces for wine tasting in a garden setting, which includes a

fire pit The defining feature of fire pits is that they are designed to contain fire and prevent it from spreading. A fire pit can vary from a pit dug in the ground (fire hole) to an elaborate gas burning structure of stone, brick, and metal. Certain cont ...

and a

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

table that is five inches thick and 36-feet long. Polenske describes the exterior as a "living gallery." The space takes influence from Belgian designer and

antique dealer An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

Axel Vervoodt's castle. There is also a private tasting room that overlooks the gardens.

Recuerdo Wines

Recuerdo Wines is a line of wines based in

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (), officially the City of Mendoza (), is the capital of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plain ...

. The wines are produced through The Vines of Mendoza and created by winemakers

Santiago Achával Santiago Achával is an Argentine winemaker, and the founding partner and president of Achával-Ferrer Winery from founding in 1998 until 2013. He founded Matervini in 2010, and serves as president and winemaker. Biography Achával became interes ...

and Pablo Martorell. Recuerdo focuses on

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

wine. They also produce a

Torrontés Torrontés is a white grape variety, mostly produced and known in Argentine wine, Argentina, producing fresh, aromatic (wine), aromatic wines with moderate acidity (wine), acidity, smooth texture and mouthfeel as well as distinctive peach and apr ...

. Recuerdo wines are sold at Ma(i)sonry and at The Vines of Mendoza. They also sell their wine online and through their wine club, Recollection. The wine club provides members with early purchasing of new releases, events and travel opportunities to Mendoza.

Winemaking

Recuerdo's Malbec grapes are grown in the Uco Valley. The vineyard is located at 3,700 feet. The Torrontés comes from the La Rioja Province.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Official website for Bespoke CollectionBlackbird Vineyards official websiteMa(i)sonry Napa Valley official websiteRecuerdo Wines official website
Shops in the United States Retail companies based in California Companies based in Napa County, California St. Helena, California Yountville, California National Register of Historic Places in Napa County, California