Ehlers Estate — winery grounds, looking toward the historic stone winery with the olive grove at left.

St. Helena, California

Ehlers Estate

Wine Country  ·  Historic Estate  ·  Tasting Room  ·  Olive Grove  ·  Site Renovation

Set in St. Helena at the north end of Napa Valley, Ehlers Estate is a working winery built around one of the oldest stone wineries in the valley, dating to 1886. The project is a sequence of measured interventions across the property — a renovated tasting room and office building, a new outdoor canopy in the olive grove, a replanned parking lot and landscape woven through with accessible pathways, and quiet alterations to the residence on site. The intent throughout is to improve how visitors arrive and move through the estate while keeping the existing fabric of the grounds — the stone winery, the olive trees, the working buildings — intact.

Role

Designer, 2022–2024  ·  Backen and Backen Architects

Conducted the existing-conditions survey of the residence on site, and produced the permit documentation packages for the project — hardscape, parking, tasting building, and the residence remodel. The drawing set was kept entirely in AutoCAD. The project leaned heavily on field work: existing conditions across the property were often imprecisely documented, and many issues only surfaced once construction began, so a large part of the role was resolving those questions on site and updating the drawings as the work progressed. Project led by principal Michael Boes.

Tools
  • AutoCAD full permit documentation set, existing-conditions survey, and on-site coordination drawings

Tasting Building & Grounds

Front Entrance

Ehlers Estate — front entrance, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — front entrance, after renovation.
After

Tasting Room — I

Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view I, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view I, after renovation.
After

Tasting Room — II

Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view II, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view II, after renovation.
After

Tasting Room — III

Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view III, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — tasting room, view III, after renovation.
After

Egress

Ehlers Estate — egress, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — egress, after renovation.
After

Residence

Kitchen

Ehlers Estate — residence kitchen, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — residence kitchen, after renovation.
After

Dining Room

Ehlers Estate — residence dining room, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — residence dining room, after renovation.
After

Bath

Ehlers Estate — residence bath, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — residence bath, after renovation.
After

Laundry

Ehlers Estate — residence laundry, before renovation.
Before
Ehlers Estate — residence laundry, after renovation.
After

Floor Plans

Tasting Building

Ehlers Estate — tasting building, existing floor plan.
Before
Ehlers Estate — tasting building, proposed floor plan.
After

Residence

Ehlers Estate — residence, existing floor plan.
Before
Ehlers Estate — residence, proposed floor plan.
After