The winery was founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi to create a single Bordeaux style blend based upon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

[4][5] The genesis of Opus One wine can be traced to 1970 at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii where Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild met for the very first time and began their collaboration to merge old world and new world wine styles into one grand opus.

[6] The joint venture between Mondavi and Baron Rothschild was announced in 1980, though plans for the winery had been developing between the two men since the early 1970s.

[7] From 1989 to 1991, the estate built the large limestone winery in Oakville that has become an icon of the Napa Valley.

The winery, designed by architect Scott Johnson, was conceived to sit in the continuity of the cratered terrain of the valley floor, with a classical allure.