At Bella Union Winery, we believe that wine is more than what’s in the glass. It is an expression of place, of craft, and of beauty meant to be experienced. Our Artist in Residence program was born from this belief—a way to invite artists to engage with Napa Valley, our winemaking, and our community, creating works that mirror the richness of our world.
This year, we welcomed our inaugural artist in residence, Harold Mendez, to Bella Union. Entering the program with openness rather than expectation, Harold allowed the residency itself to shape his work. In time spent with our winemaking team in Napa Valley, he was drawn to the lees—the sediment left in the barrels after fermentation. What began as a byproduct became a source of inspiration and the foundation of his commission.
Harold discovered unexpected parallels between the art studio and the wine cellar. Both require patience, experimentation, and iteration. Both transform raw material into something greater than the sum of its parts. As Harold shared, “Winemaking involves constant testing and iterations. My studio practice is similar: once I figure out a process, I’ll repeat or shift it to generate something new.”
The Napa Valley landscape also left its imprint. Harold visited across seasons, witnessing the light and the colors shift with time. For him, wine became “the body of this place,” and working with lees was a way of grounding the art in the very soil and climate that define our wines. His finished work captures that layered sense of place—textural, reflective, and subtly transformative depending on how it is seen.
As our first Artist in Residence at Bella Union Winery, Harold has set the stage for what is to come. Harold described his time at Bella Union Winery as “incredibly generative,” adding, “I’ve shown in museums and galleries, but here the work feels lived with, like in a home. That intimacy is special.” We could not imagine a more fitting beginning.
The Bella Union Artist in Residence program is just beginning its story. We look forward to welcoming new voices, new visions, and new ways of experiencing beauty in the seasons to come—each one inspired by theart, wine, and landscape of Napa Valley.
