The Chappellet Winery sits on picturesque Pritchard Hill, near St. Helena, in California’s famed Napa Valley. The winery situated in a remote wooded area on 640 acres and was the first winery in the region to plant vineyards exclusively on high-elevation hillsides. From its location, visitors look out on Lake Hennessy and the beautiful scenery that makes Napa Valley. More than 40 years after the winery was established, a second generation of family members continue to make exceptional wines.

Chappellet Winery was looking to expand its storage capacity and commissioned construction of a structure called a barrel chai, a wine aging room that requires an extremely controlled interior environment. The planned structure would house 4,000 barrels, a barrel wash area, and a small 20-tank white wine production space. By constructing the new barrel chai, Chappellet Winery was able to convert its previous wine aging space into a larger capacity room for its popular tasting tours.

For the very best wine storage conditions, a barrel chai must have low to no light due to ultra-violet rays from sunlight having a negative impact on the wine. Temperature stability is also a must. Finally, because the winery is located on the scenic slopes of Pritchard Hill in California’s Napa Valley, the owners did not want a dull, boxy storage building. Something aesthetically pleasing was the goal. The final result is a 30,000-square-foot facility that is in line to achieve LEED Gold certification.

The Critical Top

Division 13 Buildings Inc., of Windsor, Calif. was the design firm and general contractor for the project. “The Chappellet Winery storage facility project was a pre-engineered metal building structure,” said Marc Davis, president and owner of Division 13 Buildings.

“Because of previous successful projects, it was decided to use Kingspan insulated metal panel products on both the roof and walls.” 

According to Davis, KingZip standing seam metal roof panels were specified for the roof system because the panels provided the energy performance required for Chappellet Winery’s barrel chai. A KingZip roof system can result in energy savings of as much as 30 percent over traditional built-up roof systems due to a high R-value, superior airtightness, and low thermal bridging.

“The KingZip roofing panels provide great looks and incredible energy performance,” he said. “Simply stated, it's a superior commercial metal roof system.”

“The design also called for the entire roof of the barrel chai to be covered in solar panels,” said Davis. “The Kingzip panel made attachment very easy.” In total, approximately 25,000 square-feet of Kingzip roofing panels, in six-inch thicknesses, were installed to create the roof system.

One of the biggest sources of heat loss or gain in a building is due to air leakage. KingZip roofing panels have been proven to ensure that a building remains both air and weather-tight over the life of the roof.

The Working Walls

The building envelope of the Chapellet Winery was also constructed with approximately 8,750 square-feet of Kingspan 300 Minor Rib wall panels in 2-inch, 3-inch, and 5-inch thicknesses, and 6,500 square-feet of Kingspan 3-inch thick 400 V-Wave insulated wall panels.

The 300 Minor Rib insulated metal panel allows flexibility in design and can be used in many differing building types. It minimizes construction delays by offering a single component insulated metal panel product instead of more complicated multi-part insulated panels. The 300 series panel was used on two sides of the fascia to provide insulation and a single skin CorTin panel was installed over the outside face as an architectural finish.

300 series panels were also used on several interior walls. The imperial white finish on both sides of the panels made an attractive building interior, while providing superior R-values. The 400 V-Wave foam insulated panels also give designers flexibility and can be used in multiple building designs.

Practically Attractive

All of insulated metal panels offered by Kingspan give walls excellent thermal performance and, as an added benefit, greatly increase a building's curb appeal with an aesthetically pleasing look.

Kingspan 400 V-Wave and 300 Minor Rib insulated metal panels were chosen on the walls and fascia primarily for their insulating R-value, but also because they offered a look that added to the winery’s pastoral appearance.

“When there is a need for a high R-value wall system, or a system that will perform well in a humid environment, the Kingspan IMPs are the product of choice,” Davis said. “But for this project in particular it was also important that they give the barrel chai structure the impressive look Chappellet Winery desired.”

As an experienced metal building contractor, Division 13 Buildings Inc. has built many different types of structures. Davis noted that over the years, insulated metal panels (IMPs) have proven to be a superior product, especially for the needs of the winery industry. He is very impressed that KingZip’s one-step installation can reduce on-site construction times compared to conventional roof systems.

“There were several unique features Division 13 performed on this project due to the special needs of a winery and compounded by its location in an area of high humidity,” said Marc Davis. “The Kingspan products were well suited to these environments and performed far better than other products.”

Davis observed that many more construction projects would utilize Kingspan IMPs. “In my opinion, Kingspan insulated panels products will continue to become a construction material on commercial and industrial buildings within this region in the future,” he said. “The main benefits of specifying Kingspan insulated metal panels are insulation value, durability, architectural appeal, and ease of installation.”