California’s Napa Valley might be America’s most famous wine-making region, but its neighbor, coastal Sonoma County, is rising through the ranks with rustic vibes, chic resorts, and renowned wines.
Nevertheless, Carneros, nestled right between them. has a distinctive ace up its sleeve—and we’re not just referencing the American Viticultural Area’s miraculously cool climate, the force behind its famed chardonnay and pinot Noir wines. No, Carneros is also home to Donum Estate, a lauded vineyard featuring a world-class sculpture collection encompassing art stars like Keith Haring, Prada Marfa creators Elmgreen and Dragset, and sculptor Olafur Eliasson, a darling of storied collectors like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Art and wine have never quite intertwined like they do at Donum. It all started in 2011, when Allan and Mei Warburg, the Dutch-Chinese couple behind Bestseller Fashion Group China, bought the estate, founded in 2001. Warburg tried collecting art in the 1990s, but only got good at it after meeting his wife in 2000. But the Warburgs consider the Donum Collection, which officially launched in 2018, separate from their holdings. It’s for this unique property, and for those who adore it.
Scores of big name artists dot Donum’s 190-acre estate. Have you ever seen those towering, multicolor sculptures just off the highway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles? That’s “Seven Magic Mountains” (2011-2016) by Swiss sculptor Ugo Rondinone. Here, he’s fashioned found rocks into three equally colorful nuns and monks. The elegant Donum House, which hosts tastings starting at $75 per person, boasts a water feature by Lynda Benglis, who made art history by brandishing a dildo in Artforum in 1974. The most recent addition comes from Sanford Biggers, a rising titan. The Warburgs scooped the artist’s 15,000-pound “Oracle” (2021) last spring, four years after the work’s reign at Rockefeller Center.
Some art collections are stuffy. Donum’s certainly isn’t. About 40 artists from nearly two dozen countries have contributed 45 sculptures. These span a rearing rhino by late Chinese conceptual artist Li Hui, a Banyan tree made of pots and pans by Indian artist Subodh Gupta, and a fountain made of breasts by British sculptor Richard Hudson. That last work, “Big Moma” (2003), was commissioned for a Spanish piazza, but rejected for being too gutsy. Donum owns one of the only three Hudson ever produced. He also created perhaps the Collection’s most iconic work—”Love Me” (2016), a massive, reflective heart perched atop Donum’s highest hill.
The Warburgs have designed the Estate and its collection to engage every sense. You see the art, taste the wine, smell the lavender fields, and hear certain sculptures, like Doug Aitken’s “Sonic Mountain (Sonoma)” (2016). There, windchimes catch the San Pablo Bay breeze sailing through the Petaluma Gap each afternoon, playing a tune that the Los Angeles-based artist created alongside the celebrated composer Terry Riley. You can touch many of these artworks, too—perfect for tipsy tours of the collection. Donum offers both ATV and self-guided excursions.
Everything here works in harmony. Hawks eat pests. Grazing sheep mow lawns. Donum’s five vineyards all became fully regenerative in 2024, meaning these farms also enrich the land. To that end, the Warburgs are increasingly recruiting artists to create site-specific pieces like “Sonic Mountain.” The collection’s next addition, however, is a secret. All that’s missing, at least for now, is you.
