Copia is reinventing itself. Again. Now that grandiose plans to elevate the Napa, Calif., center for food, wine and the arts into the top ranks of American cultural institutions have collapsed, its president is refocusing Copia on one simple idea: wine.
Copia president Arthur Jacobus wants Copia: the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts to become a mecca for wine enthusiasts. Although wine was always part of Copia’s programs, it was easily overlooked by the public and often taken for granted within an institution struggling with its focus split among art, food and wine. Novice wine lovers still will find plenty of casual wine tastings at Copia. But the offerings are being expanded to appeal to more sophisticated wine drinkers as well.
“Here we are in Napa; Robert Mondavi is our founder. It’s all about the wine,” Jacobus said. “We decided we would aspire to be the pre-eminent wine education and discovery center.”
Wine-geek nirvana is more like it. This summer, Copia unveils its new identity in the institution’s gardens as vegetables give way to vineyards. Displays of soils will illustrate the role that rocks, sand and clay play in wine.
Inside Copia, Julia’s Kitchen, a restaurant named after Julia Child, still will strive for culinary excellence. But rather than the food being an end in itself, the focus will be on food and wine pairings, highlighting the role of wine at the table.
Most significantly, wine will dominate Copia’s exhibits. Automatic wine dispensers will allow visitors to taste the difference between American oak barrel aging and French oak barrel aging. No esoteric question that nags wine cognoscenti will be ignored.
“Copia will be the first stop for visitors to Napa Valley,” said Peter Marks, Copia’s wine director. “We want to help them understand why wines taste the way they do.”
One aspect of Copia’s former grandiose plan not only survived but expanded. Copia is striving to turn itself into the hub of a wine destination resort with at least three projects. On land next to Copia, a Ritz-Carlton hotel under construction is scheduled to open in late 2009. This summer, on land leased from Copia, the Oxbow Public Market, a retail and food complex modeled after San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace, is scheduled to open with outposts of Napa eateries including Taylor’s Refresher and Model Bakery.
On property across the Napa River that Copia sold to developer Intrawest, a Westin condominium-hotel is under construction and is expected to open mid-2008. And, recently, Copia put up for sale 4 acres next to its parking lot, hoping to find a buyer to create another development.
“We’re trying to create a village built around wine and food,” Jacobus said.
