Art, wine, and design merge beautifully at Serge Sorokko Gallery + Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery Tasting Room, a first-of-its-kind experience within an architecturally stunning indoor-outdoor space in Downtown Napa. The gallery exhibits a rotating selection of American and European contemporary art across different media and offers an ever-evolving variety of single vineyard wines from Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery, one of the oldest and most celebrated wineries in California.
Co-owned by lauded art gallerist Serge Sorokko and Martin Ray Wine Vineyards & Winery proprietor Courtney Benham, the main gallery and wine bar feature a gorgeous salon + exhibition area showcasing the work of internationally recognized and critically acclaimed artists such as New York-based luminaries Donald Sultan, Ross Bleckner, and Hunt Slonem as well as the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave, best known for her intricately painted paper sculptures. Regular installations of both world-famous and up-and-coming artists will be featured at the gallery.
“I’ve always dreamt of being in the Napa Valley at some point in my career,” said Sorokko. “When Courtney, a passionate art collector, and I, an avid wine collector, realized we had both been wanting to create an architecturally spectacular space that merged fine art and fine wine in a totally new way, we knew we had to make it happen, and I’m proud to say we did.”
The nearly 4,500 square-foot indoor-outdoor gallery + tasting room space, designed by award-winning architect Craig Steely, features floor-to-ceiling retractable glass walls, reflective gloss white epoxy floors, and oversized dynamic circular “power” shapes—discs that seem to float between the ceiling and floor and divide the room while serving as a creative medium for displaying art. The result is a seamless experience that flows out to the street and welcomes guests to walk right in, an architectural concept new to Napa.
The architecturally striking arced steel wine bar in the center of the building, a sculpture in its own right, offers a variety of wines by the glass, bottle, or case, including Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Russian Valley Pinot Noir, Brut Rosé sparkling wine, and a few surprises, all showcasing the talent of Martin Ray winemakers Leslie Renaud, Raemy Paterson, and consulting winemaker Keith Emerson. Guests can enjoy their wine at the bar while perusing the gallery or strolling streetside underneath the covered, brightly lit breezeway.
“Napa is an exciting place to be right now as a business owner, resident, or visitor, and I’m thrilled that Martin Ray’s first-ever standalone tasting room is not only in the heart of this vibrant town but offers something conceptually and architecturally unlike anything else that exists here,” said Benham. “I have been an art collector even longer than I have been a winery owner, and to merge the two with one of my closest friends is a dream come true.”
