Clos Pegase Winery takes a whimsical, mythic, aesthetic and passionate view of wine and art. It infuses the structure of classical art and traditional artisan winemaking to create a temple in a wine glass consisting of vibrant merlot, golden chardonnay and perfect pinot noir. These wines mirror the beauty of the Napa Valley terroir.

The wines of Clos Pegase are a standard-bearer of Napa Valley terroir for other emerging world-class appellations in the new world, such as the Columbia Valley in Washington and the Barossa Valley in southern Australia.

The story of Clos Pegase is a love story. In the fantastic ’50s, Jan Shrem, who at the time was a graduate student studying international business at UCLA, decided to visit Japan. He fell in love with the people and the culture, and became enchanted with the beauty of a talented artist named Mitsuko. Jan decided to stay, and created a successful publishing empire of reference and technical books, feeding on a Japanese public that was into all things American.

A lover of fine art, Jan opened an art gallery and started collecting art. He also fell in love with fine wine. In the late ’60s, he sold his business and moved to Europe, where he started publishing in Paris and married Mitsuko. Overwhelmed with the spirit of Bacchus, Jan fed his muse and studied wine at the University of Bordeaux, all the while acquiring a world-class collection of art.

Jan became intrigued by artisan winemaking in California and contacted the legendary California winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. With his help, they found 50 acres of vineyards in Calistoga. There, Jan became interested in creating a temple to wine, not only to house great wine but to show part of his and Mitsuko’s world-class art collection. Jan contacted the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and then, in 1984, 96 architects entered a competition sponsored by the museum to create a “temple to wine.” Michael Graves won the competition, and has since won numerous international awards for his creation that completed the winery.

Mitsuko wanted to name the winery for the ancient Greek mythical winged horse Pegasus, who unleashed the spring of the muses, the goddesses of the arts. So Clos Pegase came into being, which is French for Pegasus Vineyard. With its garden, art and wine, the winery is a Bacchus-like playground, with fountains, a giant bronze sculpture overlooking the vineyards and a terrific collection of paintings.

But wine is at the heart of the winery, and for all the modern art, Clos Pegase’s wines are classical in nature. Jan wanted balance and harmony in the wines and wanted to avoid the baroque of high alcohol and over-oak.

The Clos Pegase style is a true expression of the Napa Valley terroir. What is interesting to me is that each of the wines I tasted had rich mid palate that was far more generous than most Napa wines. I tasted four wines. The first was ’05 Carneros sauvignon blanc, Mitsuko’s Vineyard, which was dense and crisp with super grapefruit up front and a layered honeysuckle finish ($19 a bottle). The second was the ’04 Carneros chardonnay, Mitsuko’s Vineyard. Its stunning aromatics and rich complexity made this wine my favorite ($21 a bottle). I enjoyed the ’04 Carneros pinot noir, Mitsuko’s Vineyard, an excellent example of the floral, cherry Carneros style ($30 a bottle). The last wine I tasted was the ’01 Carneros merlot, Mitsuko’s Vineyard. Perfumed with raspberries and plums, the wine is a lovely example of a perfect Carneros merlot from the overripe and overrated ’01 vintage ($25 a bottle).

Clos Pegase also makes a great cabernet and syrah, which I have had in other vintages. All are worth the ride on the flying horse.