Calistoga’s Clos Pegase returns, newly revamped and art-focused

Clos Pegase has reopened after a 15-month rehabilitation, restoring the Calistoga winery to the art-centered vision of its founders four decades ago.

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Jay Adair, executive chairman of the Copart auto salvage company, and his wife, Tammi, acquired Clos Pegase and four other wineries — Viansa Sonoma, B.R. Cohn in Glen Ellen, Kunde Family Winery in Kenwood and Girard Winery in Calistoga — for $85 million, adding them to their growing North Coast portfolio on the eastern edge of Solano County.

After the deal closed in October 2024, the Adairs closed Clos Pegase to the public to undertake long-deferred maintenance. The work included restoring the building’s original exterior color, remodeling visitor spaces and overhauling the grounds.

“It really looks like a brand new winery now,” Jay Adair said.

Working with the firm of the original architect, Michael Graves, the owners recovered the initial color palette, replacing a later gray scheme with earth tones. Both the members-only and public tasting rooms were redesigned.

A central aim, Adair said, was to reposition the estate as an immersive destination, with a renewed emphasis on art.

“The whole facility is going to be focused on art,” he said.

Former administrative offices have been converted into an Art Forum and gallery for rotating exhibitions. The grounds have also been reworked. Fifty-two cypress trees, once planted in four rows to mark the weeks and seasons of the year, were replaced. An 18th-century European fountain installed by the founders, Jan and Mitsuko Shrem, has been moved to the front of the members’ tasting room, where it now anchors a new tasting bar and a commemorative garden. Cherry trees were planted to honor Mitsuko Shrem’s Japanese heritage.

The winery is also introducing an Artist Series, producing about 1,000 cases annually, with labels featuring work by emerging artists. The program, Adair said, is intended to give artists a place to create, exhibit and see their work carried onto the bottles themselves.

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Art has been central to Clos Pegase since its founding in 1983. After Mitsuko Shrem died in 2010, Jan Shrem sold the winery to Vintage Wine Estates three years later. He later established a charitable foundation and made a $10 million naming gift to the University of California at Davis for an art museum and cultural center that opened in 2016.

The reopening is part of a broader effort across the Adairs’ portfolio. Before the bankruptcy, the five wineries they acquired produced about 400,000 cases annually. Adair said the goal is to reduce that output by roughly 30%.

“Vintage Wine Estates had overproduced wine,” he said.

The Adairs also have invested in maintenance and upgrades at Viansa Sonoma, B.R. Cohn, Kunde and Girard. At Girard, crews removed soot and smoke residue left by the 2017 wildfires. At Viansa, strong demand in the tasting room has at times required staff to redirect visitors to nearby B.R. Cohn when inventory runs low. Girard, meanwhile, saw an uptick in visitors during Clos Pegase’s closure.

Near-term initiatives include resuming olive oil production at B.R. Cohn, with pressing and bottling handled locally in Suisun Valley; securing permits and completing accessibility upgrades to revive concerts at the property; and continuing construction of a new Adair Family Wines estate in Suisun Valley, expected to open next year.

Clos Pegase is open by reservation from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. A reopening celebration is planned for June 27.

Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. He covers primarily wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at [email protected] or 707-521-4256.

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