Get Design Inspiration from Napa’s Coolest New Tasting Room
Take a tour of this renovated Victorian home from 1878 that is the new epicenter of Faust wines.
Matt Bean
Adrian Gaut
The Faust tasting room sits atop Highway 29 in St. Helena.
Adrian Gaut
Interiors were handled by Aidlin Darling Design, the same firm behind the renovation of Scribe Winery’s hacienda. The Faust project took four years in all.
Thomas J. Story
A seating area in the basement of the home, which was used as a speakeasy during Prohibition. The original stone walls are ideal for beating the summer heat.
Thomas J. Story
Shown here is the library room, where blue hues range from the crushed velvet upholstery to the muted cobalt of the walls. Framed tintype-style portraits by Lindsay Ross show vineyard workers as well as the Coombsville AVA vineyards.
Thomas J. Story
The exterior and first floor of the dwelling are meant to convey a hushed mood, one for contemplation and reflection.
Adrian Gaut
Original murals by Italian artist Roberto Ruspoli and restored railings were original to the home. The murals escort visitors up the stairs to the very top floor of the building, which is light, open, and airy. The steeple feature seen from miles away was opened up and restored to reward visitors and continue the feeling of elevation.
Adrian Gaut
Tastings at Faust are conducted on the lush, well-appointed grounds of the property rather than inside; post-COVID-19 the winery will return to indoor tastings.
Essential Wine Gear
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1 /7
Le Creuset Waiter’s Friend Corkscrew
A textbook version of the ubiquitous sommelier’s knife, but with a comfier handle, a sharp blade for slicing through capsules, and a double-hinged lever for easy extraction of even the most stubborn synthetic corks.
Le Creuset Waiter's Friend Corkscrew, from $22.46
2 /7
Riedel WineWings Glasses
We’ve duked it out over fancy glassware in the past, but this series of wine glasses might make converts of the mason jar set. With a flatter bottom profile and undulating curves to afford for vigorous swirls, the Silhouette of each glass is designed to provide maximum air contact with the contents. That means the aromas meet your nose and meld with the palate of your wine to provide an orgiastic crescendo of sensory components.
Riedel WineWings Glasses, from $35
3 /7
Hard Strong 7-Ounce Stackable Glasses
Made in Japan since 1967 and strengthened through an Ion-Exchange process, these glasses are compact, stackable, and ultra-durable. They’re often used for hot tea in ramen shops, but they function just as well with a weeknight Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (or a thumb of whiskey). Bonus: A six-pack of these costs less than a single Riedel!
Hard Strong stackable glasses, 6 for $33
4 /7
North Drinkware Glasses
Glass half-empty or half-full is not what we’re mulling with this smart series of tumblers, which features relief sculptures of prominent mountains in the base. What better way to contemplate the heights you’ll reach in the year ahead than to drain a dram with heft like this?
North Drinkware Tumblers, from $48
5 /7
Corning Pyrex Erlenmeyer “Decanter”
Go ahead, drop $300 on a fancy blown-glass decanter. That’s blown money, once it meets the edge of an elbow after the third bottle of the night. We’ll be drinking the money we saved by using this dirt-cheap and durable Pyrex surrogate, which is made for the lab but works damn well enough on wine, too. It’s food safe, brand-new, and best of all cheaper than most wine we’d recommend.
Corning Pyrex Erlenmeyer Flask, $24.37
6 /7
Coravin Wine-Preservation Systems
Previous models of this system injected inert Argon gas through the cork via hypodermic needle, pushing wine back out and preserving the delicate juice inside. That’s fine for sipping your way through $800 bottles of cult cab, but for the average drinker just looking to prolong something pretty damn good, or maybe to work through a few bottles in a night without the pressure of draining them, this system is a life-saver. Instead of punching through the cork, you’ll swap on grommeted rubber necks after the cork is removed. The result: Four weeks versus a few days of post-cork longevity—and zero opener’s remorse.
Coravin Systems, from $99
7 /7
NewAir Wine Refrigerators
Consider a dual-zone compact wine fridge like NewAir’s—perfect for cramped kitchens.
NewAir Wine Fridges, from $120
This Story Came From the 2020 Wine Issue—Read It Here!
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