Inside Napa Valley - Fall Winter 2018 by Napa Register

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napa valley Fall/Winter 2018

Growing

good life THE

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napa valley Holiday fun Furniture as art Neighborhoods: Browns Valley Kids events abound Building green Napa’s marshes rebound Get in the saddle Getting to know you: Barry Martin Living the life Where in the Valley A hero among us Great estates Riding the Vine Trail Mustard Seed at 36 Crossword puzzle Beauty without surgery Napa’s food truck scene Making wine with love Growing the good life Hidden history of the Wine Train

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Holiday season is here N O R M A KO S T E C K A Ad ve r ti s i ng Di re ctor

rush is over, and another great Napa vintage is in the tanks. Now our thoughts turn to the holidays and the New Year. In this edition of Inside Napa Valley, we’ll look at the fun on the schedule for Christmas in Napa. We’ll NORMA KOSTECKA prove once and for all that there really are some great local activities for kids. We’ll take you along on some of Napa County’s best horse

trails, and we’ll talk with some local cosmetic clinics to develop a new you for the new year – all without surgery. We’ll introduce you to the county’s burgeoning food truck scene and we’ll meet a Napa Valley farmer who grows everything but grapes. We’ll meet a furniture artist and visit a family that makes wine with love. We’ll continue our series on distinctive Napa neighborhoods with a trip to Browns Valley, and in Great Estates, we’ll show you a sprawling St. Helena property that offers an once-in-a-lifetime chance

for the right buyer. In Getting to Know You, we’ll sit down with actor and radioman Barry Martin. We’ll learn about an unsung war hero who lived in our midst. We’ll also take a look at how Napa County’s small, but lush, shoreline is returning to its natural state – with spectacular results. We visit with a beloved business celebrating 36 years in Napa, and we’ll see how bikers and lovers of the Vine Trail are pitching in to make it better and better. And we’ll hear a little of the nearly forgotten

history of the Wine Train, from one of the people who helped make it happen. All of that, and we’ll also bring you a digest of some of the best of our wine and food coverage from the Napa Valley Publishing family of newspapers. So please join us in celebrating autumn and winter in the Napa Valley, with the latest edition of the award-winning Inside Napa Valley magazine. On the cover: Photographer and writer Tim Carl visits with Calistoga farmer Douglas Hayes. See Page 77. 3

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Holiday Activities Schedule CRAIG SMITH For many folks, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the best times of the year. It’s the chance to reunite with family and friends who scatter throughout the year. Oh, and then there are the parties and celebrations. The festivities in Napa begin with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting in Veterans Memorial Park. Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. Mayor Jill Techel will lead the community in lighting the tree. Enjoy free cookies and hot chocolate, and holiday entertainment that will warm your heart. Performers include Sandy

Nugent’s students from Napa Valley Dance Center, the always-popular Tap Dancing Christmas trees, and more. The Christmas parade is Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. The theme of this year’s parade is “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas.” Three cash awards of $500 each will be given to the parade judges’ choices in three categories: Best Use of Lights, Best Theme-Oriented, and Best Use of Music. “A lot of Napa non-profits have benefited from these awards over the years,” said Steve Pierce, owner of the Executive Room

Barber Shop and president of the Downtown Napa Association, the primary parade sponsor. Anyone can enter the parade, and it’s free. Whether you choose to build an elaborate float, simply march along with your group, or just watch, the Napa Christmas parade is a hometown tradition that has grown over the years. Grand Marshal is Tom Finch, owner of Filippi’s Pizza Groto, who is being honored for his work supporting school activities. There probably isn’t a Napa school Filippi’s hasn’t helped. “Any program that offers

kids something positive to do and keeps them out of trouble is something we want to be part of,” said Finch. He worked with Little League for six years and Babe Ruth for 10, and is a past president of the Downtown Napa Association. Napa Printing, Design Studio & Mail Center has also supported the parade for the past three years. John Dunbar started there in 1997 and purchased the company in 2000. He is deeply invested in Napa. Please see Schedule, Page 6

SCHEDULE From page 5

“As a company, Napa Printing is honored to support the community. We have a vested interest in continuing to try and keep Napa a great place to live as well as a great place in which to do business.” For seven years, the Kiwanis Club of Napa has been involved with the parade. Their members handle the parade set-up, do all the judging for awards, and emcee the event. Without Kiwanis, there would be no parade. This year’s parade will follow the same route as last – down Second from School, right on Brown, right again on Third and back to School. Judging will occur on Third, just west of Brown. Santa will be in the Big Chair in the breezeway of the Napa Riverfront Building on Main Street immediately after the parade. Everything is free. Parade applications can be found at donapa.com or by calling 257-0322. Other Christmas events include:

Maria Sestito, Register

Holiday Trolley Rides • Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays • Dec. 7 through 23 • 3 to 6 p.m. • Free Gather your friends and family and enjoy a free Holiday trolley ride in downtown Napa. Hop on or off at any of four stops. The Christmas-decorated trolley will be playing music of the season as it travels between four regular stops –at the Oxbow Public Market, Historic Napa Mill, First and School Streets near the Andaz Hotel, and at Dwight Murray Plaza. Special thanks to Napa Valley Wine Trolley for making this happen.

Maria Sestito, Register

Tuba Christmas • Veterans Memorial Park • Sunday, Dec. 1 • 2 to 4 p.m. • Free Start the holidays with a free concert that’s becoming a Napa tradition. This free Christmas concert features traditional standards and some new arrangements. “You may be thinking Oompah Band but the result of all these brass instruments is a sound much closer to a rich pipe organ,” says Conductor Alan Parks. Visit DoNapa.com for details about all events. 6

Maria Sestito, Register

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Tim Carl photos

Ed Clay holds one of his three-legged Marolles Chairs.

Form and function, peace and

connection TIM CARL

Ed Clay handcrafts furniture that becomes art The Arizona Border Patrol must have been watching in 1970 as 107 pounds of marijuana was shoved from Mexico to the United States through a hole cut out of a remote section of border fence. Because when Ed Clay, a Stanford student at the time, came to collect the contraband, he didn’t make it far. He was arrested and thrown into a dingy jail cell. And

Ed Clay Furniture Ed Clay’s work can be found on his website, www.edclay.com, or at www. furnituremarolles.com.

“Luckily, I was given only four years’ probation. I didn’t know it at the time — and it was a sobering time — but if things had been different I might never have made furniture at all.” THE MAROLLES CHAIR although the experience was har- Valley’s most exclusive furniture I had come to Clay’s woodrowing, it just might have been makers. working shop in Napa’s Carneros the first step in his path toward “I was in my early 20s, and region to discuss his newest crebecoming one of the Napa I was a bit lost,” Clay said. ation, the Marolles Chair. The 9

chair, inspired by a milk stool designed by artist and sculptor Jean Touret, had been made in limited quantities by the French Artisans of Marolles cooperative sometime in the 1950s. Only about 100 chairs were created at the time, with only a few still Tim Carl photos in existence today. Clay’s version Furniture-maker Jack Cannard started working with Ed Clay in 1994. of the three-legged chair is made of thick slabs of American white oak held in place with forged steel couplings to form a compelling and beautiful piece of furniture. As we talked, light streamed in from spider-web-covered skylights of the workshop and a comforting aroma of newly sawed wood that blended with the smells of fermenting pumice from a nearby winery filled the air. FINDING A PATH THROUGH THE FOREST Clay’s arrest and subsequent sentence restricted his movement, forcing him to drop out of Stanford and move from Palo Alto to Arizona. There he worked for a metaphysical bookstore for a while, but he eventually found his way to a custom-cabinet shop. “I found working with wood peaceful and meditative,” Clay said. “It’s a fulfilling way to spend a day.” Clay eventually opened his own shop to focus on crafting handmade furniture. Soon after the shop opened, Lee Hudson, now a well-known Napa Valley vintner but at the time a newly graduated college student, asked to intern at the shop. “Lee was just interested in learning how to make furniture and I was happy to have the help,” Clay said. Clay and Hudson became friends, and less than a decade later, Hudson purchased 2,000 acres of land in Carneros and gave Clay a call. “I asked Ed to come help build the ranch because we were good friends but mostly because he did spectacular work,” Hudson said. Nearly 40 years later, Clay is still working with Hudson: His woodworking shop is located on the Hudson Ranch property, and the Hudsons’ home and winery 10

contain several of his chairs and tables. “The shop was originally built for Lee so he might work on his own woodworking projects, but he’s been busy and so he’s allowed me to work here on my own projects,” Clay said. “Over the years I’ve built many items for Lee and even constructed some of the buildings. I’ve also worked closely with Ned Forrest, the architect who has designed the structures on this site.” RECOGNIZING BEAUTY “The kind of furniture that Ed makes is an art form that people can immediately get their heads around,” Forrest said. “When you see an abstract painting you might not know what it is or what it means, but when you see a beautiful table you can instantly recognize it and compare it to your own experience.” AGRICULTURAL ETHOS Clay’s work can be found in numerous homes throughout Wine Country as well as in exclusive restaurants such as the French Laundry in Yountville and the soon-to-open Jean-Louis Costes’ L’Avenue Restaurant in Manhattan’s Saks Fifth Avenue. It is also

in showrooms in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Beyond the artistic and practical aspects of Clay’s work, Forrest also points out that his furniture is rooted in the “agricultural ethos” of Wine Country. “Ed’s work speaks to the quality and simplicity of life associated with our agricultural community,” Forrest said. “He starts with quality ingredients and then respects them for what they are, not covering them up but instead highlighting their beauty. It’s like the best chefs of the region who take the finest produce and then don’t mess it up with too much sauce but instead allow it to express its own perfection.” A THREE-LEGGED STOOL NEVER ROCKS Clay says that like many other furniture designers he, too, has been drawn to crafting what might be the most challenging piece of furniture — the humble chair. “Because of its extreme functionality, designing an elegant chair is the greatest challenge in furniture-making,” Clay said. “It has to serve multiple purposes: It has to be comfortable and it must invite the user, but there

are so many associations with a chair — memories, family histories, cultures — making chairs extremely personal but also everyday objects. In my experience, every architect I’ve known secretly wants to be a chair designer.” Perhaps not willing to quit his day job to start designing chairs, Forrest agrees with the difficulty of designing a compelling place to sit. “A chair is probably the hardest piece of furniture to design,” said Forrest. “First and foremost it has to be a chair — something that everyone knows intimately — but the genius is what you can do with it, transforming something that’s so familiar into something inspirational.” When asked why having three legs is important, Clay smiled. “Three-legged stools or chairs don’t rock,” he said. “You don’t want to be rocking back and forth when you’re milking a cow or sitting at a table.” But beyond the functionality, Clay’s heavy wooden Marolles Chairs contain a simple beauty — something of the earth, something timeless. To honor the origins of the design, each chair’s underside is stamped with “Inspired by the Artisans of Marolles.” “We want to honor the past and also provide what is uniquely ours into each chair,” Clay said. “Along with our team, my daughter and I are working together on this project because it just feels like something good — a reverence toward beauty.” He paused for a moment and took a long breath. Around us Jack Cannard and his nephew, Marius, were busy putting the finishing touches on a few custom-designed barstools destined for New York, the soft sound of fine sandpaper on wood providing the only soundtrack. “Life can take many twists and turns,” Clay said, “and sometimes what feels like the wrong turn at the time can lead to wonderful destinations. What I know now is that there’s a certain pleasure in making something that brings together form and function with a feeling of peace and connection.”

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NEIGHBORHOODS

Peggy Frost has lived in the Browns Valley neighborhood for more than 43 years.

J.L. Sousa, Register

COLORFUL characters and creatures KIRK KIRKPATRICK

Napa’s seemingly quiet western end teems with legends and stories Most areas of Napa have their own histories and heritage, but none quite like Browns Valley. The quiet western suburb with some 7,500 residents is a lot more than just one of the city’s more

desirable places to raise a family; it’s also an area whose history is steeped with legends of ghosts, gamblers and mythical creatures. The area is the westernmost reach of the city of Napa, and creeps part way up the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. No one argues the fertile valley was named for John E. Brown, the Napa County surveyor in the 1840s, but there are differing and equally colorful accounts as to

how he obtained the land. One version says Salvador Vallejo, the Spanish army officer who once owned the massive land grant called Rancho de Napa, gave Brown the valley as part of an unusual barter. Vallejo had more land than he could want at the time, but what he didn’t have was Brown’s handsome horse and surrey, a doorless four-wheel carriage popular in America in the late 1800s. Brown knew that Vallejo coveted the horse and

surrey, and offered to trade it for land in what is now known as Browns Valley. Vallejo readily agreed with an unusual condition. Brown could have all the land he could ride around in a day. While it seems with a decent steed he could have ridden around an area much larger than what we call Browns Valley today, Brown was somewhat satisfied with the deal. Please see Characters, Page 14

CHARACTERS From page 13

Although some people, who were in a position to know at the time, said Brown added a large chunk of property to the land, which was not part of the original deal. If Vallejo knew about it, he didn’t make a fuss. What’s a hundred acres or so when your own land holdings encompassed a massive 23,000 acres? But another version of the story had the two engaged in a hot and heavy card game, according to Ken Martin, who grew up in the Browns Valley area. “The story I was told involved a card game between Brown and Vallejo,” he said. “Brown supposedly had a great hand but had no money left to bet. Knowing how much Vallejo wanted his horse and surrey, Brown placed them as his wager. Vallejo eagerly accepted and matched Brown’s bet with a wager of some of his west Napa land. We don’t know what cards Brown held, but we know they were better than Vallejo’s and Brown walked away from the table with the land now known as Browns Valley. In this version, of course, Vallejo left the table empty handed, Brown won the land and kept his horse and surrey. Either way it happened, somewhere along the line, “Brown’s Valley” became “Browns Valley.” The sure sign of a newcomer to town is to use the apostrophe, residents say. Although the name changed, its connection to the namesake Brown remains strong. Martin actually owned Brown’s residence in the late 20th century, which as we have discovered, was the home of legends as well as ghosts. The large farmhouse built by Brown circa 1890 still stands today on Browns Valley Road, not far from where the road bends to go north to meet Redwood Road. Despite its size, the house is difficult to spot through the canopy of large trees that surround it. 14

Partrick Road in the Browns Valley neighborhood.

J.L. Sousa, Register

Browns Valley Road over a hundred years ago prior to paving. Photo courtesy of the Napa County Historical Society.

The 14-room, 3,600 squarefoot home, built circa 1890, has changed hands many times since Brown occupied it and has undergone many expansions, remodels and upgrades. According to more than one of its previous owners, the home comes with more than just the special touches and craftsmanship of a bygone era. It also has come with ghostly spirits, and not necessary the friendly kind. One previous tenant revealed he was told there was once a supposedly malevolent ghost who haunted the Brown who answered to the name of Richard. The tenant had no encounters with the unhappy

spirit, which supposedly had been previously evicted from the property via exorcism. Another somewhat more friendly spirit reportedly resided at the Brown property in the 1950s and would show up around the holidays, perhaps because a local business known as “Andy’s Christmas Tree Farm” occupied the property in the 1950s. But the following owner removed the remaining 180 Christmas trees to make way for a swimming pool and tennis court and the spirit was not heard from again. As the area became more populated, the need for a school was recognized and the one-room

school known simply and appropriately as Browns Valley School was opened. According to Lauren Coodley’s history of town, “Napa – The Transformation of an American Town,” a student of the original Browns Valley School recalled that the school had eight grades and only 26 students at the time. The students were kept warm on cold days with a wood-burning stove, she recalled. Sadly, the charming original schoolhouse was torn down in 1960, and the much larger Browns Valley School we know today was built on the same spot. The Browns Valley girl mentioned in Coodley’s book also recalled being able to roller skate without fear all the way down Browns Valley Road to downtown Napa in the early 1900s. This was unlikely prior to the paving of Browns Valley Road in 1911, which is remembered today with a stone marker that was originally south of the road but today stands in the park across Browns Valley Road on the north side in Century Oaks Park. The marker, erected by the well known supervisor of West Napa, Jasper Partrick, reads: “Erected as a memorial to the public-spirited citizens of Browns Valley Road district—the first people in California to vote a direct tax upon themselves for building a macadamized road.” It’s hard to know what was the bigger story here, the direct tax imposed by residents or the fact that the new paved road was “macadamized.” If you are not familiar with the term, it’s courtesy of a Scottish engineer named John Loudon McAdam and dates to 1820. The first macadamized road in the U.S., designed using broken stones that were laid evenly and tightly so that they covered the soil and formed a hard surface in the McAdam style, was laid near Hagerstown, Maryland in 1823. The original paved surface did not survive, but the monument to its construction has. Browns Please see Characters, Page 16

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Larry Giovannoni of Browns Valley Market got his start in the grocery business as a teenager in the market his father Augustino Giovannoni, shown in picture frame, owned on Brown Street.

Larry Giovannoni pictured in his father’s market on Brown Street at the age of 16.

CHARACTERS From page 13

Valley Road was later moved about 20 yards north of its original spot where it stands today. Another piece of history still visible today is the concrete watering trough for farm animals near the intersection of Buhman and Browns Valley Road. With the date 1907 prominently imprinted on it, the trough was once a haven for thirsty cattle but now is just a leftover curiosity of a bygone age. Perhaps the most colorful piece of history lingering on to this day is the legend of half monkey, half man winged creatures called “Rebobs” found in and around the old Partrick family cemetery on the road of the same name. Nearly everyone who grew up in Napa knows this story, but oddly no one can say where the name “Rebob” came from. The story is believed to have begun in the 1950s in the era of B movies about all manner of monsters. Like the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot, many claim to have seen one or more Rebobs lurking about with their distinctive glowing, red eyes, but no real evidence has ever been found. No skeletons, no authentic photos, no nothing. Yet the legend remains, and Browns Valley is apparently the one place on the planet Rebobs call home. The Partrick family cemetery, 16

Browns Valley School baseball team circa 1920s. Photo courtesy of the Napa County Historical Society.

once accessible to the thrill seekers, lovers and the curious and supposedly where the creatures emanate, is now behind locked gates on private property. One longtime resident of Browns Valley, Peggy Frost, has heard the stories. “I remember hearing the stories about Rebobs in high school; they were supposed to be up around the graveyard. I never saw one though. I laughed when I heard someone brought that name up for the new mascot at Napa High School.” Frost has also heard the ghost stories about the Brown house. “We moved to the Broadmoor subdivision of Browns Valley in July, 1975, when it seemed like it was in the country,” Frost said. “The nearest grocery store then was the old Purity at what used to be Napa Valley Shopping Center and later became the Outlet mall. After it closed, you had to go all the way to old Safeway on Jefferson. It was a big deal when

Browns Valley Market opened in 1980. “We were looking for a larger home with a two-car garage when my husband and I moved to Browns Valley, and I liked the style of the homes and the serenity around here. They were almost giving houses away back then compared to now. Our daughter, Mandy, was one at the time. “We later added a son, Daniel, and both our kids went to Browns Valley School all the way through sixth grade. It was close enough to walk to school, and that’s a real luxury. Our kids would also go to the school to play on the playground there because we didn’t have the parks and tot-lots back then that we do now. They would play in the streets as well and you still see that with kids back in the neighborhoods.” Browns Valley was a safe area, but then all of Napa was a safe area back then, even downtown, she said. It even has its own fire station now.

“When I think of big changes since we moved here I think of property taxes,” she said. “You can also hear traffic now if you really listen for it.” In the 1960s, Napa grocer Larry Giovannoni decided to buy a parcel of land on Browns Valley Road, according to a 2011 interview with the Napa Valley Register. Later, in 1980, he would open the first real retail store in Browns Valley, the iconic Browns Valley Market adjacent to the family home he built. Today, restaurants and shops occupy the spot where the home once was. “The families were getting bigger,” said Giovannoni, who had eight children. He figured some of his children would end up in the grocery business. And while there wasn’t much on the west side of Napa at the time, “I had a good feeling it would work,” he said. On the advice of his brother, Giovannoni first went door to door in the area asking residents if they wanted a grocery store near them, an undertaking recalled by Peggy Frost and another Napan who grew up in area, Robert Orr. With the area’s approval, he built and opened the store, which remains a centerpiece of Browns Valley today. Still one of Napa’s most sought after neighborhoods, Browns Valley will likely always be known as a place of myths, monsters and men who helped shape the area for generations to come.

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A place for kids IN NAPA MARTY ORGEL

Who says there’s nothing to do around here? Parents of young children know the drill well. Whether you live in Napa or are here for a visit, spending a relaxing day means accommodating your children first, last, and foremost. You can bring your young children with you when you visit wineries hoping they have a play space and kid-friendly food choices. However, this way of thinking usually ends after your first or second winery visit when your children start telling you loudly and often with tears that they are bored and want to go home. It doesn’t have to be this way. The idea, of course, is that an outing with children in wine country should, and can, be entertaining, calm, and fun. Even educational. Here are ways to entertain your children and still take full advantage of all of the adult events the Valley offers. COUNTRY LIFE IN THE CITY Connolly Ranch If life on a ranch sounds appealing, Connolly Ranch is a great place to start. This nonprofit working ranch covers 12 acres of land in Browns Valley and offers ongoing farm-based educational events for both children and adults. Parents can even drop off their children in this safe environment and head to local wineries for a few hours knowing their children are being entertained and learning at the same time. “The second Saturday of the month is Playday on the Farm,” 18

Marty Orgel

Story time at Connolley Ranch

said Jennifer Fotherby, Connolly Ranch executive director. “Parents going wine tasting can drop kids off from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and we’ll teach them about farm life and farm animals. They get to interact with our animals and we’ll have a picnic lunch from vegetables grown in our garden.” Connolly Ranch offers a vast array of events, some at a cost and others for free depending on the day and time. Walk-in Wednesdays is an open, free event at the ranch on the first Wednesday of the month. It’s between 2 and 4 p.m. after local schools let out. Ritchelle Nguyen and her children are regular visitors to the farm. Nguyen has three young kids. “The first class we started was for toddlers,” she said. “And

we move up to more advanced classes as the children get older.” “My daughter Noelle attends Nature’s Place class on Tuesdays,” Nguyen said. “Every day she asks if she’s going to her ‘farm school’ instead of her regular class. She just loves it here!” Classes range from free to $15 and up. MAC AND CHEESE AND MORE The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia Macaroni and cheese is always a kid’s favorite. And the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia raises mac and cheese to an art form. Mac and cheese with bacon. Mac and cheese with mushrooms. And a healthy Mac and cheese with veggies for

parents. Mangé! On Sundays, the CIA usually offers Family Fundays. These hands-on classes are aimed at children, although at least one parent must accompany them. Dishes in these hour-long interactive demonstrations can include the above mentioned mac and cheese and other delights from discovering new cheeses to sushi to baking desserts, and everyone gets to make and then eat their creations. Anne Girvin, CIA Assistant Director Strategic Marketing, said another popular event for parents is Lunchbox Magic. “You learn how to make fun, inventive lunches and you learn how to maximize what you’re making so you can use the leftovers to make additional lunches your kids will

eat and enjoy later in the week!” The CIA also has three-hour, drop-off cooking classes for kids age 9 to 12, and five-and-a-half hour classes for kids 13 and older for parents who want to drop their children off while they visit local wineries. These are hands-on cooking classes for kids. They learn how foods are grown, knife skills, and pick and use vegetables from the CIA’s onsite garden. Napa Library events Rose Young is a huge fan of Napa County Library reading events. “I never miss them,” she said as her grandchildren Jamison and Madeleine settle in for the morning. Young is visiting her two grandchildren in Yountville. The Yountville library is abuzz with activity as Library Associate Gina Reed stands in front of the group reading a book out loud. “This is a really great educational and social community for the children,” Young said as half a dozen children run around the reading area as their parents, grandparents and guardians calmly watch the action unfold. “We come here every chance we get,” she said. Danis Kreimeier, Director of Library Services and Community Outreach, said the library’s mission is to help enrich lives with information. “This is another arm of education, Kreimeier said. “Lifelong learning, different ways to learn, this is part of the learning experience we strive to provide,” she said. Kreimeier said while it does not fall into the category of entertainment, the Napa Main library also offers after-school help with homework in person, online and through texts. The Main Library has a Study Center Monday through Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. with tutors onsite. Students in kindergarten through community college can also get help online from the library through whiteboard technology and texts. Tutors who speak English and Spanish are available. And Kreimeier said, the tutors are well qualified, “Some of them are college professors,” she said.

Contacts for kids events Connolly Ranch • 3141 Browns Valley Road, Napa • (707) 224-1894 • info@connollyranch.org

Culinary Institute of America at Copia Courtesy NapaValleyKid.com

COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN Toy Lending Library Known as the Toy Lending Library, the Community Resources for Children lets parents and children test drive educational toys and then take some home for two weeks at a time. As an Early Learning Center, all of the toys and educational materials are designed to enhance and complement a child’s development. “I’m happy Napa offers a place like this,” said Jesus Garcia who is at the Toy Lending Library with his 3-year-old son Ianto. As Ianto plays with toy cars, then at a workbench, and then back to a toy car, Garcia explained how he and Ianto have been coming here for the past six months. “It’s great if you are on a budget,” he said. “There are always toys to take home. And I don’t have to buy them.” Betsy and Kenny Fraser are at the toy lending library with their daughter, two-and-a-half-year old Hannah. “We’ve been coming here since Hannah was a couple of weeks old. We love it because it’s something for parents to do that doesn’t charge us money. It’s free.” “We love to check out all the toys,” said Hanna’s dad, Kenny. “If it’s a pretty big hit we can add it to the Christmas list.” The Community Resources for Children has been a Napa staple for decades, celebrating its 40th anniversary last November. Executive Director Erika Lubensky said they try to attract children who do not go to preschool. “That’s so we can educate them and give them knowledge on

how to play. How to express their feelings through play.” For example, she said something as simple as building blocks can be used for more than dexterity. “We can help kids choose color and show them how to build stuff in ways that add to the educational value of the blocks. Along with developing motor skills and hand-and-eye coordination studies suggest building blocks can also help develop cognitive flexibility, creative and divergent thinking, and the possibility that complex block-play is linked with higher mathematical achievement. NAPA VALLEY KID Calendar of Events A great online source for current events in and around Napa is the website Napa Valley Kid, napavalleykid.com. Founder and CEO Holly Krassner Dawson started the online site when her daughter was young and she had a hard time finding age-appropriate events. “It was always challenging to find information. When I Googled ‘Napa events,’ most of what would come up would be in Vacaville and Vallejo and other communities,” she said. “I figured if I’m spending this much time with research I want to do it for everyone,” and her site was born. Recent events included a girl fun run, where to pick your own fruit, movies in the park, and open swim venues. “This is a community involvement site,” Krassner Dawson added. “I depend on the community to help populate my calendar of events and let everyone know about new events.”

• 500 1st St, Napa • (707) 967-2500 • ciaatcopia.com/classes/ copia-class-calendar/

Napa Library Events • Various locations • countyofnapa.org/calendar.aspx?CID=32

Community Resources for Children Toy Lending Library • 3299 Claremont Way, Ste 1, Napa • (707) 253-0376 • crcnapa.org

Napa Valley Kid Calendar of Events • napavalleykid.com

Napa Valley Register Calendar of Events

• napavalleyregister.com/ calendar

NAPA VALLEY REGISTER Calendar of Events And, not to be left out, the Napa Valley Register’s own calendar of events (napavalleyregister.com/calendar) is a source for events in the Napa Valley for kids and folks of all ages. Recent listings have included a Touch-A-Truck display where kids of all ages were able to climb on different large vehicles like fire engines, semi-trucks, and construction equipment at Grace Church of Napa Valley, and hands-on displays and dioramas at the Carolyn Parr Nature Center that introduce visitors to the natural wonders and ecology around Napa. 19

Building green in Napa

JESSICA ZIMMER

Pros share tips for tuning your home to suit wine country Building green homes in Napa requires a combination of abiding by national standards, learning about the local natural environment, and being aware of how light and heat change over the course of a day in Napa Valley. A typical green home rewards its owner by using less energy and water, providing a monthly saving on utilities, and maintaining cleaner indoor air than a conventional home. There are many aspects of green building to consider, from heating to materials to protecting local bird populations. Mike Zimmer, chief building

The courtyard of the planned green Napa Creek Village.

official of Napa County, said mandatory and voluntary measures affect green residential home construction. “ The California Green Building Standards Code (which took effect Aug. 1, 2009) is the nation’s first statewide green

Bob Massaro

building code,” said Zimmer. “It requires that all excavated soil and land clearing of trees, stumps, rocks and associated vegetation and soils resulting primarily from land clearing be reused or recycled and county policy requires developers to

seal off the property during construction, keep loose soil from getting into streams and creeks, and use hay bales, or wattles, to keep soil from washing off during the rainy season. We encourage builders to go further by installing LED lighting, water-saving appliances, solar panels, and high-efficiency water heaters, which are also cost-saving in the long run.” Zimmer said even individuals doing a remodel or a small room addition can review “green elements” of home construction with a contractor. In California, builders should be aware of the “southwest exposure,” the direction in which sunlight comes into a house. “It helps if you orient the house so the windows and Please see Green, Page 22

A rendering of the planned Napa Creek Village, which developers say will be the greenest housing development ever built in the county. Bob Massaro

GREEN From page 21

openings face the southeast. That way, you can take in more sunlight during the day. Not having to turn the lights on early in the morning and late at night saves you energy,” said Zimmer. Zimmer said people who are low-income or on a budget can get assistance to make a home green by looking to the appropriate agency. “If you’re retired and on a fixed income, different agencies in the state will repair or replace certain items for free. For example, the California Conservation Corps (CCC) will replace refrigerators, upgrade lighting, and change water fixtures for you. The California Department of Housing will assist with weatherization,” said Zimmer. Kenneth Russo, founder of Green Builder, a Vallejo-based contractor who builds green homes in Napa, advises several materials for green homes. “When you build where there is a risk of fires, you should use fire-resistant glass. (You should also have) metal shutters on the exterior of windows so you may close (them) and prevent hot (embers) from entering the home. I recommend metal stud construction for homes as well. It’s economical, fire-resistant, and recyclable. It doesn’t get termites or wood rot,” said Russo. Russo also recommends a roof made of refractive material, which holds heat in during the winter and keeps heat out during the summer. “It avoids the stack effect which allows infiltration of hot air into enclosed spaces. That way you do not waste heat or cooled air anywhere in the house. (Another thing you can do) is install vapor barriers underneath the home,” said Russo. Bob Massaro, CEO of Healthy Buildings in Napa, said the best strategy is starting with a “really good building envelope.” “Summer months in the Napa Valley can get quite warm. We design and build each home’s 22

Shade helps keep down energy consumption.

‘building envelope,’ walls, floors and roofs, to be very energy efficient. (This way) the residents are always comfortable and…the requirement for using air conditioning is minimized. We also put solar power on our homes to make sure each home produces as much energy as it consumes. In the building industry, that is called ‘zero-net energy,’” said Massaro. Massaro advises not using wood on the outside of a home. “It’s combustible and not allowed in many areas because of fire danger. Wood also does not weather well. We use composite materials, metal siding, and ‘Smart Siding.’ These are durable, low maintenance products that are quite fire resistant,” said Massaro. Massaro further advises using shading elements on the south and west sides of the windows. “You get so much hot afternoon sun in Napa that it helps to shield windows with awnings and shutters. In addition, if you plant deciduous trees outside, they shield the homes from the sun during the hot months and allow sun to come in during the cold winter months. Of course tree and location and shade opportunities are very lot-dependent,” said Massaro. Jarrod Denton, architect with Signum Architecture, LLP in St. Helena, said if you build a well-designed and constructed home in Napa Valley, you will not need air conditioning. “Make sure you get high-performance windows and doors. They perform eight-times better

Adrián Gregorutti

than conventional windows and doors. A well-insulated, airtight home is almost like having a Gore-Tex jacket in a rainstorm. Moisture can escape out. Nothing is allowed in unless you choose to open up the window or doors for a pleasant breeze,” said Denton. Denton also values a good ventilation system over a conventional mechanical system. “A high-quality energy recovery ventilation system can produces six-times more fresh air … than a normal house receives. As the fresh air is coming into the house, it works by conductivity to reduce or increase the temperature as needed. This helps the home be energy-efficient,” said Denton. Denton said it does not make sense to purchase a biodegradable storage tank for rainwater for domestic use in this region. Residents can consider using such a storage tank to store water for landscaping needs. “Rain in Napa usually comes within a concentrated threemonth period in the winter. This means a storage tank needs to be very large. The amount of rainwater you collect doesn’t justify the cost. You also need to spend energy to filter it so the water remains usable throughout the summer months. It seems more economic to consider using greywater, relatively clean water from bathroom sinks, tubs, showers, and washing machines,” said Denton. Nancy Piotrowski, conservation chairwoman for the Napa-Solano Audubon Society, said green

Adrián Gregorutti

A tilt-turn door helps improve ventilation.

builders should also look into reducing risks for birds. A 2014 report published in “The Condor: Ornithological Applications,” an official journal of the American Ornithological Society, estimated that across the U.S., between 365 and 988 million birds die every year because the crash into windows. “Look at how much the sky and the plants are reflected in your windows. If you can see big patches of sky or greenery, use screens, curtains, blinds, and even decals to break up the reflections. Consider installing shutters of glass that are not very reflective. You can even be careful during construction by putting bird tape on the windows,” said Piotrowski. Piotrowski further advised eliminating vanity lighting, which saves on energy costs, or if this lighting is desired or necessary, pointing the light sources down rather than up. This reduces birds’ confusion. “In addition, put plants within 3 feet of a home or 30 feet away from a home. Putting the greenery very close or much farther away helps steer birds away from hazards,” said Piotrowski. Piotrowski said protecting birds is like many other aspects of green building. Homeowners have the option of learning how to conserve resources as a community. “It’s not just about individual houses. When we look at how we can do things better, we also better understand our neighborhoods and the way we are constructing our towns,” said Piotrowski.

Celebrating the History. Continuing the Legacy.

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shore Restore the

Local and state efforts are bringing back Napa’s marshes and wetlands

nce one of most extensive wetland areas in North America, the edges of the San Francisco Bay have become covered with farms, industry, and urban areas, squeezing out the marches and their animal and plant occupants. But at the lower end of the Napa River, a remarkable effort is underway to undo a century and half of damage to the once-thriving marshes. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which owns the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, has been gradually increasing the size of the tidal marshes with planned, deliberate restoration and flooding. The newly enlarged marsh area provides local residents and visitors with opportunities to boat, fish, hunt, hike, and observe wildlife. All activities on state lands are regulated. The effort to restore the marshes also reduces agricultural pollution in the San Francisco Bay, gives local students a chance to participate in installing native plants, increases habitats for endangered species, particularly those that use the marshes as a feeding area during seasonal migrations, and connects to county-restored wetlands downtown to

JESSICA ZIMMER

Submitted photo

create a broader corridor for local wildlife. The marshes currently encompass approximately 15,200 acres of baylands, tidal sloughs, and wetland habitat, located north of San Pablo Bay between the Napa River and Sonoma Creek. Most of the area is only accessible by boat, with public boat launch ramps

in Vallejo, next to Brinkman’s Marine at 1 Curtola Parkway; Hudeman Slough in Sonoma County, on Skaggs Island Road, one mile south of Ramal Road; and on Cuttings Wharf in Napa County, on Cuttings Wharf Road south of state highway 12/121. Larry Wyckoff, a senior environmental scientist with the

Department, said the enlargement is taking place across the 15,000 acres of Department land on different, non-contiguous parcels. “Our long-term goal is to restore these parcels of the marsh to its pre-existing condition, before they were used for salt Please see Shore, Page 26

Rules of the marshes Rules and regulations pertaining to California Department of Fish and Wildlife lands are accessible at: wildlife.ca.gov.

wetlands, creating sinuous channels. We also breach the existing levees at appropriate locations,” said Wyckoff. Wyckoff said the water in the restored areas is coming from San Pablo Bay, the Napa River, Sonoma Creek, and the Petaluma River. The money for this project is coming from the state through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, and money from a litigation settlement fund from Shell Oil to compensate for its past environmental mishaps in the state, said Wyckoff. Wyckoff said the 2017 and 2018 wildfires did not affect any of the Department’s restoration efforts.

Pickleweed

SHORE From page 25

ponds or as farmland,” said Wyckoff. “The largest parcel is from the former Cargill Salt Facility. The desalination process for the remaining salt pond will take between 10 and 15 years. Most of the other department properties are in Napa, with a few in Sonoma County and a few more in Solano County.” Wyckoff said the new areas of the marsh were parcelized between the early 1930s and 1950s. “We’re restoring them to a mosaic of 26

Submitted photo

habitats, including tidal salt and brackish water marshes, managed ponds, seasonal wetlands, and adjacent uplands. (These) will benefit rare, threatened, and endangered species as well as a broad range of (other) fish, wildlife, and plant species,” said Wyckoff. Wyckoff said the multi-year process begins with the department looking at available water to flood an area “using hydrodynamic modeling. We identify the historic slough channels to use as a starting point for breach locations.” “After we learn where the water used to go, we go through the regulatory processes and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Then we plan, design, and begin construction. We’re re-contouring the

STATE RESTORATION COINCIDES WITH COUNTY AND FEDERAL EFFORTS, INCLUDING WILDLIFE MONITORING The department’s efforts to change the landscape coincide with Napa County’s work to perform habitat restoration and flood-risk reduction. Richard Thomasser, watershed and flood control operations manager for Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, said the district’s work associated with the flood project along the Napa River connects downtown with the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. “There’s a habitat connection from downtown Napa to those larger marshes in the Wildlife Area. We have restored over 900 acres of wetlands, which used to be hay fields leveed off from the Napa River. In 2001, we breached those levees and allowed the Napa River to tidally inundate those areas. We also created marsh and floodplain terraces along the Napa River downtown,” said Thomasser. He said these inter-related areas of restored habitat create a flyway for migratory birds. “The fact that the county and the state have done restoration efforts relatively close in time and near one another means that you’ve got a corridor of habitat which is contiguous instead of little, broken up pieces. Now, critters that live in the area don’t have to run a gauntlet to find food and habitat to survive,” said Thomasser. He said the department and the district Please see Shore, Page 113

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HORSE PLAY A look at Napa County’s best trails to explore in the saddle JESSICA ZIMMER The hills and valleys throughout Napa are excellent riding country, with a few notable parks that offer trails for the serious equestrian. A standout favorite is Skyline Wilderness Park at 2201 Imola Avenue, which Napa County leases from the state. The park is about 850 acres, with 15 miles of trail for equestrian riders. Trails pass through wooded forest, valleys, and hilltops. Skyline also offers 10 large horse camping sites that accommodate two horses and two rigs each. A parallel twohorse trailer parking spot is equal to 4 to 6 perpendicular car parking spots. “Most of the trails are loop trails. They intertwine with each other so you can ride endlessly. The parking is very easy and there’s a good sand arena with a round pen. In addition, there’s a little trail obstacle course in the northwest corner of the park. This borders Imola Avenue and is supported by the horse community,” said Irene DeWeese, president of the Napa Valley Horsemen’s Association. The Horsemen’s Association is a nonprofit organization that promotes interest in horses and horsemanship. DeWeese’s second pick is Moore Creek Park at 2607 Chiles Pope Valley Road in St. Helena, a Napa County Regional Park. Moore Creek is 673 acres of canyon open space near Moore Creek and 900 acres of oak woodland on the northeastern side of Lake Hennessey. Equestrian parking is available in the gravel lot off Pope Chiles Valley Road. The park has about 6 miles of trail open to riders. Bothe-Napa Valley State Please see Horse, Page 30

Submitted photo

Submitted photos

HORSE From page 29

Park, which is operated by Napa County Regional Park and the Open Space District, is another good choice. This park at 3801 St. Helena Highway in Calistoga is fairly rugged and ranges through high elevation. “The Bay Area Ridge Trail, a 6-mile round trip trail, is nice because it runs along (Ritchey) Creek,” said DeWeese. D e We e s e r e c o m m e n d e d inquiring about trail riding on private land at the end of Wild Horse Valley Road in Napa. The area used to be home to Wild Horse Valley Ranch, an equestrian center. “Members of the Napa Valley Horsemen’s Association used to pay $100 a year to ride the trails up there,” said DeWeese. Karen Kaiser, owner of Napa Valley Horse Company, which offers riding lessons and horses at a private facility in Napa, enjoys riding at Alston Park at 2037 Dry Creek Road in Napa. The city of Napa park covers 157 acres in 30

Tom Stockwell photo/Star

northwest Napa. Three miles of trails are open to equestrians. “Although it’s mostly a dog park, it’s surrounded by vineyards, so it’s really pretty,” said Kaiser. Kaiser also likes to ride at Rector Reservoir, a California Fish and Wildlife property northeast of Yountville. “It’s very limited and there’s questionable parking. Rector is really for an experienced rider. You can ride on about 5 miles of trail that’s pretty steep and rocky through the Silverado part of the valley,” said Kaiser. When riding in wild areas, Kaiser recommended bringing tick spray, sunglasses, and a hat.

Kaiser also recommends that equestrian users visit trails earlier in the morning because it can get very hot later. Lake Berryessa, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation property, might seem like a good pick, but it does not allow horses on its trails. Chino Yip, volunteer and outreach coordinator for the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, said there are new trails planned for several local parks. “The proposed trails have not been started yet. Start time is after we get some precipitation to soften the ground. One will be part of the Moore Creek Park

area,” said Yip. Another site with future equestrian trails will be the Suscol Headwaters Open Space. The park district recently purchased about 800 acres with plans to connect Skyline Wilderness Park into Jameson Canyon with multiuse trails. The agency will connect the properties after permits and environmental reviews are completed. Yip said that when Napa County designs trails, it looks for higher canopies to accommodate equestrians. “You need a minimum of 10 feet to allow riders to clear branches. Horses also need twoto three-times trail widths than other trail users,” said Yip. Kaiser said throughout the Napa Valley, riders’ options can expand to family-owned vineyards and properties of friends. “Although a lot of barns have been replaced by distilleries, Napa’s small. A lot of people still have horses in their backyards. Riding in the vineyards is a fun thing to do. Property owners that know you are likely to say yes if you ask,” said Kaiser.

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GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Lucky Penny Productions co-founder Barry Martin What did you want to do when you grew up? I was fairly certain I’d be some type of superstar athlete. It seemed inevitable. This is how I learned a lesson about uncertainty. Why acting? I have a faint, possibly manufactured, memory of doing something that got a laugh. Maybe at the age of 3 or so? That flipped a switch. Later I found that it was getting a reaction to the story on the stage, whether a laugh or a tear, that made me happy. I get that as an actor, director or writer now (sometimes). Favorite role? Dr. Monk and other characters opposite Taylor Bartolucci in “Tenderly, The Rosemary Clooney Musical” Guilty pleasure? I have many pleasures but don’t feel guilty about them. Except for Taco Bell. Recurring nightmare? The classic actor dream where I am in the wings about to go on stage but don’t know my lines, or what show we’re doing. My version of this dream includes my feeling of panic mixed with confidence that once the lights come up I will know what to do. Weirdest job? Cooking at Long John Silver’s. The floors were so greasy. Peanut butter: Chunky or smooth? ALWAYS CHUNKY! Perfect Sunday? Sleeping in, reading the news over a leisurely breakfast, spending some time with family (if there’s no show to do that day), leisurely dinner with enough wine to stave off the Sunday depression that arrives as the weekend ends. Secret ambition? I’d like to live in New York City and Italy, but those desires are secret. Favorite president? Obama. He always maintained dignity and a sense of humor, even through the horrible racism he experienced. Lucky charm? I was raised a Methodist but I wear a Saint Genesius medal. Genesius is the patron saint of actors, clowns and lawyers. But I repeat myself.

J.L. Sousa, Register

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LIVING THE LIFE

OPEN SESAME COLIN MACPHAIL

Isn’t it amazing how we have become prisoners of our own security? I was asked to assist a mid-sized Sonoma winery in a management transition, and we were advised, as a matter of security protocol, to change all the relevant company passwords. First, that meant all the computer passwords for each member of staff, the server, the online backup, then the access passwords to the Point of Sale software, then the alarm codes to get in and out of three different buildings. The list went on: Passwords to get into the phone system, passwords for multiple vendor accounts, wine storage, payroll, banks and financial institutions. The IT company was onsite for a full day, and even the front gate codes turned out to be an expensive call out. Did you know that your septic system can have security? I didn’t. I would conservatively estimate that there were 100-plus individual changes. These were accompanied by misfires, resets, vague memories, “well, try this one,” emails back and forth, frustration, and considerable work time lost. This seemed outrageous, but then I looked on my home password file and discovered it contained 113 separate usernames and passwords for all the things I do in my life. Some of them are for businesses I can’t even remember the function of. What is Quora? At the winery, we noticed that some staff had their name and “123” for every account, or just the company name, which was another gem. Some of us obviously just give up and take our chances. I remember that when I worked for Leslie Rudd of Rudd Winery, he never carried pass codes for anything. Pretty much every weekend he would go to the winery to meet with someone early in the morning and set off all the alarms. He would call every time he had to get in a gate or door anywhere. He just didn’t have time for the security measures most of us laboriously pursue. He once had a Mercedes that was so limited that we had to call the company in Germany to acquire it. When he flew out of the Napa County Airport for a week, he used to leave the car parked outside the airport with the keys in it. Whether by blind luck, or superb risk 34

Colin MacPhail

analysis, he never had it stolen. When working at the Edge Hill Winery in St. Helena, I found a rusted ball that looked like a small heavy stone. After a lot of clean up at home I discovered it was a 19th century padlock. Could have been for the original winery so I got a print of the old winery behind it and had it framed. I gave it to Leslie for his birthday, and told him it was one padlock he didn’t have to worry about. Not easy to bowl over someone who has everything, but it did. Reminds you of the good ol’ days when security meant a fence and a bunch of keys. When I was assisting in the foundation of a great Napa Valley winery, we found ourselves in that awkward stage of construction with a lot of equipment on site and no real security. Someone broke in and stole a number of power tools. We were advised to construct a security fence as soon as possible and have a security company monitor the site. I couldn’t arrange the security in time for the first night, so the owner asked if one of the vineyard crew could park onsite for the first night to give everyone peace of mind. This was

arranged. The owner was a man who dotted his ‘i’s’ and crossed his ‘t’s’, so at about 11 p.m. he headed over from his house to the winery to make sure that our “security” was there. He found the vineyard chap in his truck parked near the cellar foundations. He also saw three young children in the back with flashlights, books and sleeping bags. A language barrier prevented him from working out what was going on, so he called the vineyard manager. The manager called the truck, and after a short conversation he called the owner back, hardly able to speak for laughing. He explained that the vineyard employee had told his wife that he got a bit of extra work, staying out all night in a truck at a winery. For whatever reason, she did not believe him and in the ensuing argument told him that if it was indeed all true then he wouldn’t mind taking the kids with him for the night. In the age of all this irritating digital security, it’s nice to think of how home security can sometimes come in other simpler forms.

J.L. Sousa, Register

Where in the Valley? How keen is your eye for Napa landmarks? Our photographer J.L. Sousa travels a lot of miles in pursuit of his images, and along the way heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taken some shots of interesting, quirky, and unusual objects, many of them in plain sight from

major roads. But it can be surprisingly hard to identify these places when you zoom in just on the details, even if you pass by the spots every day. How many of these Napa County places can you identify? Answers are on Page 87.

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The launching of the U.S.S. Grenadier, SS-210, on Nov. 29, 1940 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. US Navy, via Navsource.org

War heroes

among us KIRK KIRKPATRICK

Napa man survived brutal Japanese captivity, returned to a quiet life Not every war hero has a book written about him or her, or a movie depicting the story of their sacrifice on the big screen. And not every American prisoner of war (POW) comes back from the war to become a beloved and celebrated United States senator that the whole country mourns on his passing. The vast majority of war heroes and surviving POWs come back to live their lives in relative anonymity as your quiet neighbor down the street.

Shinerunner via Wikimedia Commons

The U.S.S. Grenadier memorial at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park

Such was the case of Lt. Cmdr. Carl O. Quartername, who passed away in 1999 and was a long-time resident of Napa who worked at Mare Island for much of his postwar years before retirement.

His name came to light recently quite by happenstance in a column that appeared in the Napa Valley Register titled “A Pacific pilgrimage, a tribute to those who served 1939-1945,”

and written by Lynne Champlin. It turns out a school in Penang, Malaysia described by Champlain is the same school where Quartername was held prisoner in after being captured, along with his crewmates aboard the submarine USS Grenadier. In one of the photos accompanying the story, Quartername’s name along with several fellow POWs etched on the wall of a classroom is visible. This caught the attention of Quartername’s grandson, Duane Stofan of Portland, Oregon, who has the diary kept by his uncle during his internment. “I’ve been to this school and touched that wall,” Stofan said. “It was a surreal experience to visit the spot that my uncle became a POW. After spending two years as 43

Contributed photo

Carl Quartername’s grandson, Duane Stefan, examines his grandfather’s name on the wall of the school in Malaysia where the crew of the U.S.S. Grenadier was held as prisoners of war.

Submitted photo

Lt. Cmdr. Carl O. Quartername

a POW he was eventually liberated from a camp that performed labor at a copper mine in Japan at the end of the war.” Quartername, a chief quartermaster at the time. Many of his fellow POWs had been U.S. Navy submariners serving aboard the U.S.S. Grenadier, which was hit by Japanese bombs in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Malaysia on April 23, 1943, and later scuttled by the crew. Quartername and his fellow crewmen were picked up by a Japanese ship and transported to the POW camp in Penang. Ac c o rd i n g t o h i s t o r i c a l accounts, the Grenadier had departed Australia on March 20, 1943, headed for the Strait of Malacca, which separates the Pacific and Indian oceans. A month later, while running on the surface, the sub was spotted by a Japanese plane. The Grenadier dived to 130 feet, thinking it was safe, but was struck by Japanese explosives. The damaged vessel sank to the bottom, at 270 feet, with the crew making frantic repairs and fighting an internal fire, potential death to the men confined inside the sealed tube. After 13 anxious hours, the Grenadier managed to surface to get a better sense of the damage. It was quickly obvious that the sub was beyond repair. The crew tried to bring the vessel closer to a nearby island, where the crew could escape and 44

Carl O. Quartername’s grave marker in Napa

the sub could be scuttled. At one point, they even attempted to hoist an improvised sail. But before they could maneuver to shore, dawn broke, and with it the sight of two approaching Japanese ships. The crew fought an attacking torpedo plane with a machine gun, but it was clear the disabled Grenadier was doomed. The crew destroyed confidential documents, opened the vents, and abandoned ship. They were picked up by a Japanese merchant ship as the Grenadier settled to the bottom. In all, eight officers and 68 enlisted men were saved and taken to Penang in Malaysia. They were held in a former Catholic girl’s school, where they were questions and tortured. They were later moved through various prison camps and wound up in Japan. Remarkably, despite the brutal treatment inflicted on POWS by the Japanese, all but four of the men survived the war. Like many World War II veterans, Quartername never spoke much about the war or his time in

Kirk Kirkpatrick

prisoner of war camps, according to Stofan: “The family obviously knew that he’d been held as a prisoner for a couple years and that he’d been tortured as part of that process. My mother, Barbara Stofan, said that he didn’t talk about it and no one really brought it up.” But Stofan said Quartername carried the scars of the torture he endured, in particular the burns on his back from cigarettes placed there by his captors. “We know he shared some details about his experience with people outside the family, but it is safe to say that his POW experience was not a topic of family discussion,” Stofan said. “It was one of the most difficult and traumatic times of his life, for two years he didn’t know if he would live to see the next day, let alone make it home someday. “As his grandson and a former Navy enlisted man myself, he did tell me about memorials for the USS Grenadier that were near my location, but he never shared the details of his time as a POW with me,” Stofan recalled. Stofan said Quartername never

returned to any of the places of his captivity, including the school in Malaysia where his name can be seen etched in the wall to this day. “He never left the country after he retired from the Navy, and appeared to have no interest at all in visiting any of the camps.” He was a member of the WWII Submarine Veterans Association, and did attend a few reunions. “Carl passed away in 1999, about a year after I completed my enlistment in the Navy,” Stofan said. “ During his memorial service, a bell ceremony was held where they rang a bell for every U.S. sub lost during WWII. At that time, the story of his submarine, details about the crew’s capture and their time as POWs was shared. We obtained more details and information about his time as a POW during his funeral than anyone had during his lifetime.” One of Quartername’s shipmates and fellow POWs, Tim McCoy, recalled the circumstances of the crew’s liberation at the end of the war: “We were at the factory and had gone to work when they called us out to these huge parade grounds. They assembled us and the emperor himself came on the radio over the loudspeakers and announced to everybody that the war was over. When that happened, the Japanese just started running and leaving and going in every direction.” Prison guards were nowhere to be seen. McCoy said the prisoners had often been told they would all be executed immediately if American soldiers invaded Japan, but fortunately that didn’t happen. All but four of the Grenadier’s crew made it safely back to American soil, an amazing tribute to their tenacity despite undergoing daily torture and abuse. To this day, the Grenadier remains the only U.S. submarine whose crew was captured entirely intact. All of those men are heroes in every sense, including one of our own, Carl Quartername, who is eternally at rest in the Napa Valley Memorial Park.

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St. Helena Reserve KIRK KIRKPATRICK

A rare opportunity for a buyer with vision It’s one thing to be king of your castle, and the upper Napa Valley has no shortage of multi-million dollar homes that would qualify. But what if you could be the king of your own small kingdom, high in the hills east of St. Helena overlooking Lake Hennessy? The 605-acre St. Helena Reserve is just such a rare opportunity. For $21.5 million, you can own a private family compound that includes two six-bedroom homes and five large parcels of prime Napa Valley land awaiting development.

If you buy Interested buyers may contact Olivia Hsu Decker of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. (415) 435-1600. Showings are by appointment only.

Not long ago, this development was sold off to four different owners. But now for the first time, the owners have agreed to sell the entire St. Helena Reserve as one large compound. Jeff Lax, owner of the two homes and the man who built the infrastructure and spearheaded the development, explained what drew him to the area: “I am always looking to acquire unique properties that speak to

Submitted photos

me,” he said. “While vacationing in Northern California, I was introduced to St. Helena Reserve and I was immediately

taken with the natural beauty of this mountaintop oasis the very first time I stepped foot on this majestic property.”

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Lax, who describes himself as an active real estate builder and investor, said it was love at first sight and soon relocated his family to the St. Helena Reserve from Miami Beach. “Breathing life into the two fully completed exceptional estate homes and completing the infrastructure of the additional five estate lots has been a labor of love for me,” Lax said. “It’s now available to a future discerning buyer, whether as a family compound or future development opportunity, offering luxury, exclusivity and unparalleled privacy.” The similarity of the St. Helena Reserve area to the Tuscany region of Italy surprised Lax. “Vineyards, mountaintop estate homes and lots, befitting the merchants of Venice constructing their Palladio villas, fabulous culinary options and world class wineries galore within a short drive, a rich farm-to-table agricultural history, all within a 20 minutes of Yountville, Rutherford and St. Helena, without having to travel overseas to Italy,” he said. Olivia Hsu Decker of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty described the larger of the two homes as a recently constructed 7,400 square-foot estate with panoramic views of vineyards and surrounding greenery. The ridge-top home includes six bedrooms and six and a half baths on 67.36 acres. Other features of the spacious, contemporary estate are: —Complete privacy; —Open floor plan home with 18-foot ceilings; — E n t e r t a i n e r ’s d r e a m kitchen; —Infinity edge pool, spa, and in-pool lounge chairs; —Grand living room, dining room, and kitchen; —Home theater/media room; —Bocce ball court; —Separate guest quarters; —Small vineyard with potential for another 30 acres; —Just 15 minutes from St. Helena. home on 70 acres. vineyards and mountains; The smaller of the two homes, According to Decker, some of —High ceilings; which is not really small at all, the outstanding features of this —Bright/airy open floor plan; is a 6,350 square feet newly home include: —Spacious kitchen/great completed 6-bedroom, 6.5 bath — Pa n o r a m i c v i e w s o f room for hosting intimate or

large gatherings; —Interior/ exterior flow; —Large pergola featuring second floor balconies, expansive decks and fire table infinity edge pool with heated built-in spa; —Bocce court; —Mature olive trees; —Less than 20 minutes from St. Helena and the Auberge du Soleil Resort. “St. Helena Reserve is a unique property that will not be duplicated in the future,” Lox said. The reason, he said, is the continuing development restrictions in the hill surrounding St. Helena and the Napa Valley in general. “This unique property offers a refuge from the bustle of daily life in downtown St. Helena and the Highway 29 corridor, offering complete privacy in a unique natural setting,” Lax said. 47

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Hitting the trail JESSICA ZIMMER

yclists of all ages are giving back to the Napa Valley Vine Trail, from clean-up work to donations to efforts to educate students about wildlife and habitats along the corridor. “The support has been terrific. Many organizations and individuals are making contributions because they see the Trail as providing safety for cyclists and (as) building community,” said Philip Sales, executive director of the Napa Valley Vine Trail. Sales said cycling clubs and businesses have helped fundraise for Trail shelters, sponsored interpretative signs, and planted trees along the Trail. “Cyclists have helped promote awareness, safety, and education efforts regarding the Trail. There is a great relationship between the Trail and all of the organizations,” said Sales. Sales said he is especially excited that the Trail has developed a K-8 curriculum that allows teachers to use the corridor as an outdoor classroom. “Between Yountville and south Napa, over 18,000 students attend schools. These educational institutions including the Napa Valley College are within a half mile of the Vine Trail. We are getting kids and adults back into nature, helping them realize they can ride for miles,” said Sales. LOCAL CYCLING CLUBS INCREASE AWARENESS AND FUNDRAISE Walter Brooks, member of the Clydesdales, a group of about 15 adult couples that regularly cycle together, said the group has donated between $25,000 and $50,000 to develop the Trail. “Most recently we participated in the Loco-Motion 2018 fundraiser, where we had a table where people could donate. We also use

Cycling groups, businesses, and local government strengthen the Napa Valley Vine Trail

Students using the trail along the Napa River as an outdoor classroom

the Trail frequently. As a group, we ride every Friday. Often a part of the ride is on the Trail,” said Brooks. Brooks said the Clydesdales usually do their long rides on the roads. They look forward to an extended Trail ride once the Trail reaches from Vallejo to Calistoga. For now, its members see the Trail as an excellent place to introduce children to cycling. “A lot of us have kids and grandkids. (We see the Trail) as more for casual bike riders. It’s safe, scenic, and educational. We realize a trail like this will draw a

much bigger part of the population to ride so they can get away from rough roads and traffic,” said Brooks. Chris Lougee, president of Eagle Cycling Club, said the members of his group see the Trail as key to increasing ridership. “We (the Eagle Cycling Club) have different levels of riders. Most of us are road riders who like to ride long distances. The Trail makes it convenient to ride with our families. It’s really good for commuters. There’re not a lot of hills. It’s safe from texting drivers and it’s a good place to take

Submitted photo

visitors,” said Lougee. Lougee said Eagle members are particularly interested in increasing directional and usage signs along the Trail and have had discussions about the idea. Patrick Band, executive director of Napa County Bicycle Coalition, said the Coalition has been working with the Trail since its inception. “Under state law, roads are open to all users, which include bicyclists. We want to help everyone learn the rules of the road. The Trail provides an alternative option for those who may not 49

Volunteers clean up along the trail

Submitted photo

feel safe or comfortable riding on (the Valley’s) busy roads,” said Band. As the Trail is completed to extend farther up the Valley, the Coalition wants to assist in increasing ridership among commuters and children. “We want to ensure the Trail is built to the highest standards and meets the needs of all users,” said Band. CYCLING BUSINESSES PROMOTE AND DONATE Many local businesses make a habit of donating to the Trail and making it accessible to tourists. Jake Scheideman, owner of St. Helena Cyclery and Napa Valley Velo, is the representative for the cycling businesses of Napa Valley on the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition. Scheideman said his businesses have donated annually to the Trail since its inception. His employees also frequently tell people about the Trail and how to ride it. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s what we all should be doing in the industry. We directly benefit from it,” said Scheideman. Scheideman said a common comment from customers about the Trail is “they all want more.” “I think the Trail will be world famous when it’s completed. It will change the way we think about ourselves and how we navigate our valley,” said Scheideman. Kellie Macway, director of group sales and marketing for Napa Valley Bike Tours, said her company is excited to showcase the Trail to visitors. “Before the Trail was built, I cannot tell you how many guests would walk into our office and ask, “Where’s the trail?” There are many cities back East and in other parts of the country that have converted old railway tracks to trails. Now that we have the first meaningful stretch, it’s opened up cycling to a wider audience,” said Macway. Macway said Napa Valley Bike Tours conducts excursions that use the Trail but are not 50

A Vine Trail shelter in Yountville

exclusive to it. “We ride on a combination of the Trail and local roadways. Most of the guests are wine tasting, not drinking,” said Macway. Macway said the company sponsors one of the Trail’s interpretive signs through a pledge to donate $2,000 a year for five years. “It fits in with our mission. We created a page on our website about riding the Vine Trail. That page on its own brings in 7 to 8 percent of our web traffic,” said Macway. LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS USE As the Trail becomes more widely known and utilized, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) is actively encouraging an increase in use. It is especially seeking to educate residents about the benefits of using the Trail as an alternative to driving up to Yountville. “As the congestion management agency for Napa County, we’re always looking for ways to encourage alternative transportation. A lot of the traffic congestion in the Valley is internal, due to trips involving residents going from one place in the Valley to another. Many of the trips are short, three miles or less which is a very bikeable distance. If commuters who ordinarily drive alone on State Route 29 decided to bike the Vine Trail a few days a week, that would be a start in making a difference in reducing congestion and improving our air quality,” said Diana Meehan, senior planner and active transportation coordinator at the NVTA. Meehan said many service industry workers live in the southern part of the county, which includes American Canyon and Napa. They work in the upper valley communities of Calistoga, St. Helena, and Yountville. The Trail is a good option for those who want to ride between Napa and Yountville. “The Oak Knoll segment of the Trail is about 6.2 miles between Napa and Yountville, is reasonably flat and a nice distance by bike. There are few bike commuters already making

Avis Mandel

this trip. As the trail is extended, we’d like to see more residents consider using the Vine Trail as an alternative to driving,” said Meehan. Use of the completed 12-mile Trail is monitored by three automatic bike and pedestrian counters located four miles apart. “These in-ground sensors collect data 365 days a year. In their first year of operation, over 348,000 uses of the trail were registered between south Napa and Yountville,” said Sales. Sales explained that a “use” measures a person going past the sensor. “Assuming an individual goes past the sensor twice, this equates to over 174,000 round trips or 477 daily trips without a car. Thirty-eight percent of the uses were by walkers and 62 percent were cyclists,” said Sales. The Trail is also conducting ZIP code surveys every four months to identify where Trail users live. The total results from the first year, which included a survey of 2,000 users, revealed 70 percent of users lived in Napa County and 30 percent of users lived outside the county. Trinity Talbott, program coordinator of Safe Routes to School for the Napa County Office of Education, said Safe Routes and similar efforts teach children that the Trail is a safe way to get around. “We’ve taken a couple classes out on the Trail and encouraged parents to come out with their child’s classroom. Parents and students feel a thousand times safer on the Trail than on the road. Not only are they separated from cars, but they don’t have to smell the exhaust fumes. It’s also usually more beautiful along the Trail than along the road as well. There’s a stretch that runs along the Napa River as well as past a grassy field,” said Talbott. Talbott said since the Trail opened he has seen use grow from “a trickle of people” to “an abundance of students riding every day.” “One day, we took out the kids and walked over the bridge downtown, talked about oak trees, and looked at the artwork of Trail riders and cyclists. Everyone thought the Trail was amazing,” said Talbott.

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Barbara Wiggins inside her downtown Napa store, The Mustard Seed Clothing Co.

36 years in business

Sean Scully/Register

Mustard Seed Clothing Company celebrates, carries on tradition of customer service CRAIG SMITH

Sean Scully/Register

The Mustard Seed Clothing Co. on First Street in downtown Napa.

Barbara Wiggins contemplated her longevity in the business. “Has it really been that long?” she mused. “The time has flown by.” That’s because, for Wiggins, owning the Mustard Seed has been a passion – not a job. “I can honestly say I still love it. I’ve never had a day when I felt like I had to go to work. I love my customers, my staff, my sales reps. I’ve been blessed for all these years.” Her reflection is interrupted by customers asking questions and showing off clothes they’ve selected. Wiggins has dressed generations of women, and from the looks of things, everyone has enjoyed it. “My mom and aunt have shopped here for years,” said

Donna Cordeiro, a longtime customer. “I love it! They treat you like family and it’s a fun atmosphere. It’s like being in your own closet, trying on your own clothes.” Wiggins practically fell into retailing. In high school, she worked for Jim Roberts at his Hallmark store in Bel Aire Plaza. Roberts taught her as much about retail as anyone else. A few years later, over drinks after a tennis match, her tennis partner suggested that the two of them open a tennis shop. Shortly thereafter they launched what was, for 10 years, a successful business. “It was a lot easier then than Please see Business Page 54

BUSINESS From page 53

it is now. Plus, I was young and didn’t know any better,” Wiggins said with her always-ready laugh. The shop was in Seattle, where she and her husband Jim had moved in pursuit of his career, but the two Napa natives had been away long enough, and needed to come home. “We were like a lot of kids who grow up here – we couldn’t wait to leave, and then we couldn’t wait to get back,” Wiggins said. T h e Na p a t h e Wi g g i n s returned to was different than the one the young couple had left. “That was in 1980, and downtown Napa was dead. There were over a dozen empty stores on First Street alone. I wanted to open a store, and St. Helena seemed like the logical site.” And the name of the store? “It was January, and the valley was a blanket of bright yellow fields,” Wiggins said. “It also takes a little faith to start a business, and the name ‘The Mustard Seed’ just seemed right.” After a couple of years, she opened a second store in Napa, which quickly outperformed the Upvalley site. She closed the first shop, and has been in Napa since. Retail has changed over the years, and Wiggins has moved with it. “I got involved with social media right away,” she said. “At shows, I would email my customers pictures of clothes I thought they would like.” She still maximizes social media. Her posts, like everything else she does, reflect her humor. “It’s got to be fun.” Haley Henderson, Wiggins’ granddaughter, has joined the staff, and fits right in. Wiggins warns her that retail is a seven-day a week job for the first several years, that you initially won’t make any money, and that you constantly have to pay attention to your customers and industry trends. “I guess I’m kind of discouraging,” she says with a chuckle, “but it’s important to know what you are getting into when you open your own 54

Sean Scully photos/Register

Jewelry and accessories on display at Barbara Wiggins’ downtown Napa store, The Mustard Seed Clothing Co.

Barbara Wiggins, owner of Mustard Seed Clothing Co. on First Street in Napa, with one of her window displays.

business.” The secret behind the Mustard Seed’s success is no secret at all. “Customers mean everything to me,” Wiggins said. “I’ve grown up with lots of them and now see their kids and grandkids. I know it sounds like a cliché, but they have become like my family.” She treats them the way she wants to be treated. “We laugh a

lot in here, and we spend a lot of time visiting with people, whether they’re locals or visitors,” Wiggins said. “Two women from Iowa recently stopped in, and spent over an hour. As they left, one told Wiggins that her friend had just lost her husband, and both women needed the laughs they all shared. It was the memory of Napa they would take with them.

Wiggins also treats people they way she wants to be treated, and won’t hesitate to refund a purchase. “The last thing I want is for anybody to buy something and then not like it.” What do the next 36 years hold? “I can’t think that far ahead. Christmas is coming though, and we are going to be in the parade again!”

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The Puzzle Society Crossword “Sunday Freestyle XXXVI” by Brian Thomas, edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Complete on behalf of 6 “The Office” character who married Pam 9 Oreo component 14 “Almost ready!” 16 One at ___ 17 Animal that can go through 3,000 teeth in its life 18 Fish hook? 19 Sang cheerfully 20 Paris sweetheart 22 Palindromic Burmese prime minister 23 Highlands girl 26 Little antelopes 29 Await judgment 31 “The Frog and the Ox”

fable writer 33 Charlottesville sch. 34 Betrayed 38 Traffic control principle that prevents slowdowns? 39 “Watch out, soldier!” 40 Orange County’s Santa ___ 41 Out-___ (uncon-ventional) 42 Corner 45 National capital closest to Miami 47 Light year sor liter 50 U.S. Open org. 51 Katy who sang “E.T.” 53 Olympic swimmer Dara 55 Fetuses grow in them 57 New wings, for buildings 60 European island country

61 It has dots and dashes 62 Disney film with the song “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” 63 Like most introverts 64 Places to watch Netflix, maybe DOWN 1 Old way to get 2-Down 2 Connected 3 Become entranced 4 Leave out 5 Brightest star of Orion 6 Protrude 7 Olympic skater Midori 8 Car such as a Grand Marquis, for short 9 Game with one-handed

pool shots 10 Space Invaders company 11 Safe from a Senate delay tactic 12 Angsty genre 13 Stimpy’s pal 15 Zippo 21 “Yay!” 24 Respectful greeting 25 Not opaque, informally 27 Phil of poker 28 Feeling like :( 30 Fawn over, with “on” 32 Kind of door that lets in a breeze 35 Believer who rejects the Trinity 36 1959 film with a chariot race

37 River mouth buildup 38 Girl, in Spanish 39 Autograph seeker 43 Meeting schedule 44 Wide receivers catch them 46 Perfect Sleeper mattress seller 48 Reply to “That so?” 49 Reusable shopping bags 52 Orange tubers 54 Puerto ___ 55 “Er-r ...” 56 Sigma follower 58 Homer Simpson’s cry 59 Like wine with no residual sugar Answers Page 87

Andrew282, Dreamstime.com

New you

no surgery ISABELLE SCHMALTZ

We live in an age in which decreasing wrinkles, plumping up our lips and cheeks, and even eliminating fat doesn’t have to equal going under the knife. Thanks to advances in technology, numerous non-surgical, minimally-invasive treatments are available, making cosmetic procedures safer than ever. At Napa Valley Plastic Surgery, some of the most popular non-surgical treatments include Botox, soft tissue fillers, laser resurfacing and chemical peels, according to Dr. Tyler Street. Nationwide, Street said, Botox and soft tissue fillers are the two most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedures. “The interest in non-surgical 60

Tanyalev1978, Dreamstime.com

procedures has always been present but as the technology continues to advance, these procedures are becoming safer, better tolerated and more effective,” Street

said. In 2017, approximately 7.2 million Botox procedures were performed across the U.S., up 2 percent from the year before,

according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Botox injections work by blocking signals from the nerves to the muscles. “When certain muscles on the face contract, such as when someone furrows their brow, they form lines in the skin with time,” Street said. “Botox relaxes the muscle underneath the skin and softens the overlying lines.” The full results of a Botox treatment can be seen in about 10 days, Street said. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that soft tissue fillers — the second most popular cosmetic treatment in the U.S. — had a 3 percent increase

in 2017 for a total of about 2.7 million procedures. Soft tissue fillers — often used on the lips and cheeks — help create a smoother, fuller appearance through the injection of an absorbable or temporary material. Over the past decade, injectable products have become increasingly popular, Street said. “Soft tissue fillers, such as Juvederm, are made from a sugar and are used to address the volume loss people experience as they age,” Street said. “Filler has instantaneous results, which patients really love.” Dr. John Zimmerman, who leads the Aesthetic Surgery Center of Napa Valley, said facial fillers may be used for acne scars, fine lines around the mouth, smile/ crease lines, other wrinkles, or for added fullness over the cheekbones and chin. Fillers may last six to 12 months around the mouth (because of the frequent muscle activity), or up to five years or more depending on the type of filler used and the area being treated, Zimmerman said. The key to achieving natural-looking results with cosmetic treatments, like Botox, is to not look “over-injected,” Zimmerman said. “No matter what you do, strive for a refreshed look — as if you’ve just returned from vacation,” he said. Like Botox, facial fillers should be used conservatively, Zimmerman said. “Too much volume does not look natural and is worse than no treatment at all,” he said. “Overuse of fillers may reduce wrinkling, but will make the face fatter in appearance. Less is more — you can always have more at a later date.” Another popular treatment, laser resurfacing, has become safer and more effective over the past two decades. Depending on the type of laser, the treatment can be used to eradicate or reduce wrinkling, shrink skin, remove brown spots or dilated vessels, as well as small vascular lesions, Zimmerman said. “No ‘cutting’ or incision is

necessary, although for significant wrinkling, some anesthesia, healing, and recovery time is involved,” he said. One of the biggest benefits of non-surgical cosmetic treatments is the recovery time—which is often minimal to none. Injectable treatments may cause a temporary redness or swelling at the injection site, or a small bruise—all of which should resolve within a week, Street said. People typically seek cosmetic treatments to look more youthful and refreshed. According to Street, patients often say they look tired, angry, or sad, when they don’t actually feel that way. While cosmetic treatments are typically sought by women, Street and Zimmerman said men are becoming more comfortable using aesthetic procedures, like Botox and soft tissue fillers. “The variety of non-surgical aesthetic procedures available is amazing, and increasing on an annual basis,” Zimmerman said. “Although women comprise the biggest segment of patients presently undergoing these treatments, men are catching up rapidly.” DO YOUR HOMEWORK While a minimally-invasive procedure can be a safer option, doctors are quick to caution consumers to do their homework before committing to a treatment or choosing a provider. Zimmerman said he has treated numerous patients who have come to him for help after undergoing a non-surgical procedure gone horribly wrong. “Over the years, I have often seen patients who have had some of these non-invasive procedures done elsewhere and they are unhappy with their result,” Zimmerman said. “They have required revisionary procedures, including surgery or reversal of injected fillers and subsequent appropriate injection.” The state of California requires any non-physician administering these types of cosmetic treatments to be under the direct supervision of a doctor. According to Zimmerman, patients should find out

what the credentials are of that supervising physician. “As these techniques are offered by so many, and advertised everywhere, the average consumer has no way of knowing what the doctor’s training or experience is,” Zimmerman said. “Ask questions. You have a right to be informed.” A physician — whether he or she is directly administering the treatment or acting as a supervisor — should ideally be certified by the American Boards of Plastic Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, or Dermatology, Zimmerman said. “These doctors have specialized training in the aesthetic needs and

performed. “Physicians who are board-certified plastic surgeons or dermatologists are specially trained to administer these types of procedures,” Street said. “It is that training that helps us achieve consistent natural appearing results and, more importantly, do it safely.” Other practitioners, including nurses, Street said, may not have had the same formal training. Unfortunately, he said, it can be confusing to know who has received appropriate training and who has the best interest of the patient in mind. “It can be hard to choose the

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corrections necessary whether it be the face, trunk, or skin,” Zimmerman said. If a provider is not certified by one of these three Boards, according to Zimmerman, that’s a red flag. To determine a provider’s Board certification, consumers can ask the provider directly or visit the Boards’ websites to look up the doctor’s credentials. While non-invasive procedures are generally well-tolerated and safe, Street agreed that patients should do their research and pay careful attention to a practitioner’s qualifications before choosing where to have a procedure

right person for injections. There is a lot of misleading information out there,” Street said. “Most often, people who advertise the lowest prices to entice patients don’t have sufficient training. My best advice is don’t go to someone who makes you uncomfortable.” Additional red flags include a practitioner who looks “overdone” with obvious cosmetic treatments, or any practitioner who pushes patients to undergo treatments they’re not comfortable with, Street said. “In those instances, it’s best to hold off on treatment, do some Please see New, Page 62

NEW From page 61

more homework, and seek a second opinion,” he said. Zimmerman agreed that selecting the right provider is crucial. “Do your homework and choose the best practitioner available,” Zimmerman said. “Training and experience are mandatory. Results vary, and complications are possible.” COOLSCULPTING‌ To eliminate fat, liposuction is the surgical treatment most often performed. But for certain patients who meet a specific set of criteria, a non-invasive treatment known as “CoolSculpting” may be an option. CoolSculpting is a non-surgical procedure that eliminates fat cells by freezing them. It does not reduce as much fat as a liposuction or abdominoplasty procedure, Street said, but it can be effective for some patients. During a treatment, a gel pad and CoolScultping applicator are positioned on to a patient’s targeted area of fat. “As the cooling begins during the first few minutes, you will feel pressure, tugging and intense cold. This soon dissipates,” said Karen Jenanyan, owner of Body Beauty Advocates. “Many people read, watch videos, work on their laptop or even take a nap during their treatment.” CoolSculpting works on multiple areas of the body: upper, middle, and lower abdominal areas, under the arms, under the chin, thighs, and the upper backside of the thighs. “Once the treated fat cells are crystallized (frozen), your body processes the fat and eliminates these dead cells,” Jenanyan said. The results of CoolSculpting can be permanent as long as patients maintain their weight within about three or four pounds from the day of treatment, Jenanyan said. Many people, after experiencing the CoolSculpting results, are motivated to take 62

small percentage of patients may develop temporary nerve pain after treatment, but this is “very rare,” he said. “CoolSculpting is no longer a novel procedure,” Poulos said. “It has well-demonstrated safety and efficacy in tens of thousands of patients in all areas of the country.” CoolSculpting patients may experience a fat loss of 15 to 25 percent in the treated area, Jenanyan said. In many cases, the body will continue to flush out fat cells for four to six months after treatment, she said. “You may start to see changes as quickly as three weeks after your Karen Jenanyan, Body Beauty Advocates treatment, and you will experience Before and after shots from a CoolSculpting procedure the most dramatic results after two better care of themselves, she said. Plastic Surgery, or Zimmerman, to three months,” she said. CoolSculpting is offered in of the Aesthetic Surgery Center of several locations throughout Napa Napa Valley, offer CoolSculpting SET REALISTIC GOALS‌ County, including at Vibrant in their offices. They do, howAny medical professional offerBody Sculpting inside the Napa ever, offer comprehensive surgi- ing cosmetic procedures, accordValley Medical and Esthetics cal options like liposuction and ing to Zimmerman, should be office on Trancas Street, Jenanyan abdominoplasty. meeting six specific goals: said. Vibrant Body Sculpting has Plastic Surgery Specialists in — Make the patient happy offered CoolSculpting for more Marin County, which attracts — Make the patient look natthan two years, she said. patients from across the Bay Area, ural The ideal candidate for including the Napa Valley, has — Do it safely CoolSculpting is someone who, offered CoolSculpting for nearly — Make the patient comfortdespite diet and exercise, cannot five years. able, and alleviate discomfort as get rid of unwanted fat, Jenanyan “Coolsculpting is a body much as possible during the prosaid. This procedure is not for contouring procedure, not a cedure obese people, she said. prescription for weight loss,” Dr. — Address the patient’s con“Good candidates generally Stanley G. Poulos said. “It works cerns and expectations are about 5 pounds to 35 pounds best when smaller areas can be — Be honest maximum overweight,” Jenanyan contoured to improve the overall Zimmerman stressed the said. “Good candidates have figure, as opposed to a debulking.” importance of honesty and setting bulges in certain areas they’d like Poulos said his office in Marin realistic goals with patients. Injectto get rid of once and for all.” offers “Dualsculpting,” which able treatments are not a substiCoolSculpting was developed means they have the ability to tute for surgery, he said, adding at the Wellman Center for Pho- use two CoolSculpting machines that surgery is sometimes what is tomedicine at Massachusetts Gen- simultaneously — cutting the required to make a patient happy. eral Hospital in Boston, a teach- treatment time in half for patients. Before undergoing any proceing affiliate of Harvard Medical To improve patient results, dure, Zimmerman said patients School. Poulos said his office also offers should discuss their expectations While it is safe and well-toler- non-invasive skin-tightening with their provider to make sure ated by most patients, physicians treatments that can be used con- they’re receiving the appropriate caution that CoolSculpting is not currently with CoolSculpting for treatment to achieve the desired for everyone. “even better results.” result. “I think it’s best for small, tar“With anybody contouring When surgery is the better geted areas on a young body with procedure there is always a balance option, products like Botox and healthy skin — and in simple between fat removal and skin lax- soft tissue fillers are sometimes areas like the belly underneath ity,” Poulos said. “The better the still used as “icing on the cake,” the belly button,” Street said. “If skin tone is to start, the better the he said. skin is overstretched or thin, or if result will be after.” “Many good non-invasive someone is looking to treat comA c c o r d i n g t o Po u l o s , plastic surgery treatments are plicated contours or hard-to-reach CoolSculpting does not cause any available,” Zimmerman said. areas, it’s not as effective.” permanent effects on the skin and, “They may or may not provide Neither Street, of Napa Valley typically, there is no bruising. A the answer to your concern.”

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Wine &dine in the Napa Valley

“A taco from Napa’s PICO Modern Taqueria. Please see Page 14”

FARMTO TIRE Napa Valley’s food truck culture comes into its own TIM CARL Long known for its culinary innovation at sit-down restaurants, the Napa Valley has lagged when it comes to the number, diversity and quality of its food trucks. But that is changing. And along with a growing number of options within what is being called the “farm-to-tire” movement, Napa Valley food trucks are fast becoming their own must-visit destinations. To catalog them all in one article would be a monumental task, so let’s start with three standouts. ST. HELENA’S BRUSCHETTERIA — SETTING THE STANDARD FOR TRAVELING WINE COUNTRY CUISINE The Clif Family Winery opened its Bruschetteria food truck in 2014. And although sometimes this mobile restaurant can be found parked at special events throughout the valley, it can more often be found parked alongside the Clif Family tasting room just off of St. Helena’s Main Street. It is open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the team stays open until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays for their weekly “Street Food” celebration where they serve ethnic or themed meals, such as their recent “Israeli” or “Breakfast for dinner” menus. Executive Chef John McConnell is not unfamiliar with Bay Area cuisine — he’s been the executive chef for Hillstone Restaurant Group (Rutherford Grill and R+D Kitchen), chef de cuisine for Michelin-star-rated Campton Place Hotel in San Francisco and chef de cuisine at Terra in St. Helena. For the last four years, he’s guided the Bruschetteria from merely a good food truck 66

The Clif Family Winery opens its Bruschetteria food truck.

Have a favorite truck? Inside Napa Valley will be profiling more stars of the Valley’s burgeoning food truck scene in future issues. Have a favorite truck you’d like to see us visit? Tell us about it and where to find it: email sscully@napanews.com.

to a venue for showcasing locally sourced products in creative and delicious ways. “Having a strong team, access to our nearby commissary kitchen and produce, eggs and olive oil from our own farm makes a big difference,” McConnell said. “And for our guests, they can order food from the menu, take a few steps to grab some wine at our tasting room and then take their time eating and sipping wine on our patio — it’s a unique experience.”

McConnell’s menu is seasonal with most ingredients coming from the certified organic Clif Family Farm in Pope Valley or other local purveyors. Options include salads such as the surprisingly tender cavolo kale greens with garlic anchovy vinaigrette, pecorino cheese and crunchy chunks of apple ($6 for the small version and $10.50 for large). As nibbles, the deep-fried golden saffron-infused rice arancini served with chunky salsa

Tim Carl Photography

pomodoro ($6) are best eaten quickly to savor their creamy centers and crispy exteriors. Unlike many bruschettas, those offered here are more similar to plate-sized open-faced sandwiches that have been cut into pieces to encourage sharing. That speaks to the inspiration for opening the truck in the first place. “The motivation for the Bruschetteria Food Truck came from our owners’ (Clif Bar founders Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford) experience cycling through the northern Italian Dolomites, where they were fueled by bruschetta made by and shared with friends around the table,” said Linzi Gay, Please see Truck, Page 70

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Introducing:

Where one great moment folds into the next

Tim Carl Photography

Aldo Nunez, owner of Napa Valley Crust, a mobile wood-fired pizza oven

TRUCK From page 66

general manager of the winery and food truck. “We opened the truck because we wanted to create a gathering place and a place to share food, wine and community, which is what the Napa Valley is all about.” A range of bruschettas is available. Referred to as “California on a plate,” the cured smoked salmon with avocado, paper-thinsliced jalapeño and creme fraiche ($14) is accented with Clif Family “everything seasoning,” which transforms the visually striking dish into an Italian version of a New York-styled bagel and lox creation. The fungi version is covered with chewy, earthy mushrooms and melted fontina cheese and is a nice complement to the Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon available in the tasting room ($20 for 4 ounces). To finish off the experience, try the warm cookie ($3). Made with chocolate chips from the Bay Area’s TCHO, roasted hazelnuts and a sprinkle of Jacobsen sea salt from Oregon, what appears to be a simple dessert sustains the wow factor of the other menu items. NAPA-BASED PICO MODERN TAQUERIA — SUPER-STYLIZED TACOS WITH A DISTINCT NAPA VALLEY INFLUENCE Two years ago, a group of friends became business partners and called themselves Element Group. Their first project is their PICO Modern Taqueria, a food truck that makes “Authentic Mexican dishes but with a big Napa 70

twist,” explained the managing partner and chef, Alex Soto. Twist is an understatement. The team members are Latino by origin but have lived and worked in the Napa Valley for years, often at locations such as the Michelin-three-star-rated Restaurant at Meadowood. With their histories and experience, they’ve transformed simple tacos into works of art. “I’ve always found working with food something that I loved to do,” Soto said. “Early on, I liked the life of a cook — it’s a fast life within the four walls of a kitchen and even more so within a truck. I always wanted to share my cultural heritage through food with the people living here in the Napa Valley, to blend both experiences but at the same time taking them to another level.” PICO Modern Taqueria can often be found at the Napa Premium Outlets or at Napa’s St. Clair Brown Winery and Brewery. The menu is limited, with only six tacos available ($7 each or $15 for three). Each creation begins with different handmade tortillas and is then topped with a range of items that are more reminiscent of Chez Panisse than your typical Mexican fare. I have never witnessed a taco being made with tweezer-placed micro cilantro and sprinkled with sun-dried tomato dust. But at PICO those are just the finishing touches to layers of crafted ingredients such as duck confit with roasted almond and cacao nibs or crispy fried squash with poblano cream or the hearty slab of pork belly with slivers of finely julienned mint and chilies, accented with perfect tiny brunoise cubes of pineapple. “We might take a little longer

Tim Carl Photography

Modern Taqueria cooks Juan Carlos Atonal and Hector Lopez and managing partner, Alex Soto

than other trucks,” Soto said. as the BottleRock music festival, “But we want to make sure that sprint-car races, rodeos, wineries in every bite you get the full expe- and private parties. rience.” The pricing is based on the number of items included: $30 CALISTOGA-BASED CRUST per person for a salad and pizza or IS FIRED UP ABOUT $35 to include appetizers such as TRAVELING PIZZA Buffalo wings and caprese skewers Making pizza was nothing with fresh mozzarella and cherry new to Aldo Nunez, owner of tomatoes. Paying $50 provides La Prima Pizzerias in St. Helena any pizza, salad, appetizer, fresh and Calistoga. But as he lay in his fruit, cheese and charcuterie. hospital bed after being diagnosed The future of food trucks in with leukemia and narrowly the Napa Valley escaping death, he had a vision. This is only the tip of the ice“When I realized how close berg in terms of Napa Valley food I’d been to death I thought that trucks. The range and diversity of if I made it through I’d blend my options reflect the community two passions into one business — and the desires of the dining my love of old cars and making public to have food that is both pizza,” Nunez said. “It would fresh and of the highest quality allow me to get outside more and but presented in a manner that is interact with more people, which relatively quick and convenient. is something that I really enjoy Food trucks were first devised doing.” in Los Angeles, where Mexican But first Nunez needed to sur- food trucks drove to construction vive. sites to serve their patrons. Now, On Nov. 10, 2012, Nunez the Abbot Kinney neighborhood went to the St. Helena Hospital in L.A. — a long boulevard in because of mysterious bruising on Venice — has taken the foodhis arms and head. Almost imme- truck culture to new levels with diately he was rushed into emer- “First Friday.” gency chemotherapy after being Once a month, ultra-hip, told he had just hours to live. cutting-edge food trucks arrive “Hours turned into days, days to serve the eager residents everyturned into weeks,” Nunez said. thing from hybrids of Korean “I underwent 63 rounds of che- and Mexican food (think kimchi motherapy and had over 30 blood on tacos instead of salsa) to vegan transfusions, but now I’m in full options of grilled veg-Philly sandremission.” wiches with cashew “Cheez Whiz Immediately after recovering, ” or French fries with shredded Nunez went about fulfilling his tikka masala chicken and mint vision. He purchased and reno- gravy. vated a 1946 International HarWill the Napa Valley ever have vester truck and fitted it with a its equivalent of Abbot Kinney? wood-fired Mugnaini pizza oven Who knows? But already, we are from Italy. Now you can see and seeing some passionate innovataste handmade pizzas, salads and tion. Watch this space for insight roasted items cooked by Nunez into some of the potential leaders and his crew at local events such of this new and exciting trend.

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Quest for the

perfect wine Jones Family Vineyards makes expressive Napa Valley wines TIM CARL I was at a blind wine tasting recently where each bottle was shrouded in a brown paper bag. When I came to a particular Cabernet Sauvignon, it nearly took my breath away. Beyond being delicious and well-crafted, this was one of those wonderful moments when a wine transported me to the eastern slopes of the Napa Valley and seemed eager to tell its story. After the tasting concluded, I learned the name of the producer: Jones

Family Vineyards. Although officially located in the Calistoga American Viticultural Area (AVA), the hillside vineyard for the wine I had tasted is actually at the boundary between three AVAs: Calistoga, St. Helena and Howell Mountain. This explained why the wine had such a wonderfully unique, but also distinctly familiar, Napa Valley demeanor.

To reach their hillside vineyard, I turned from the Silverado Trail into a discreet driveway that twisted upward from the valley floor. The terrain quickly became steep with sweeping southward views that on a clear day must reveal the San Pablo Bay. At the top of the hill, Rick Jones and his daughter Stephanie greeted me. Later, Elaine, Rickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife, joined us.

After graduating with a degree in biochemistry from Princeton in the late 1960s, Jones decided that obtaining an MBA from Stanford was preferable to the Vietnam War draft. While in graduate school, he and his then-wife Sally visited the Napa Valley and found both the beauty and the wines of Please see Jones, Page 74

Stephanie Jones Bailey, Rick and Elaine Jones at their vineyard and home just north of St. Helena. Tim Carl

JONES From page 73

the region alluring and a bit mysterious. “When I was growing up in north Chicago, my family didn’t drink much,” Jones said. “It wasn’t until I went to college that I ever tasted wine, and those were French wines. But when I got to Palo Alto, we’d take trips up to the Napa Valley and the wine was something completely different.” After graduate school, Jones was hired at the San Francisco office of McKinsey and Co., a strategy-consulting firm that had dozens of offices around the world, including one in Paris. “When the managing director from the Paris office asked if my wife and I wanted to spend three years in France, we immediately said ‘yes,’” he said. “There, we had exposure to a variety of different foods and wines, and when we came back in the early ‘70s we spent more time up here (the Napa Valley) — we even made some garage wine one year from second crop.” Like many young professionals, Jones and his wife aspired to one day retire to the bucolic hills of the Napa Valley. And nearly 30 years later, they’d do just that. By the early 1990s, the Joneses were on the lookout for a property in the Napa Valley where they might build a second home that could serve as a getaway from the busy central Bay Area and eventually provide them a place to retire. Jones had left McKinsey by then and joined Safeway. “At the time, I really didn’t imagine that we’d become vineyard owners, and certainly not vintners, but when we saw this property we couldn’t get it out of our minds,” he said. “It was not only that the view was so enticing but also that the vineyard had been planted by Bart and Daphne Araujo.” According to Jones, the Araujos purchased the original property, planting a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon and conceptualizing a winery. But they decided to sell when they purchased another nearby vineyard and winery site, the Eisele Vineyard a few miles north. In 1991 the Joneses purchased the property, and by 1994 they had built a home on the site that was designed by Wine Country architect Ned Forrest. They’d also hired a rock-star vineyard manager, David Abreu, to oversee the vineyard. The original idea was to sell the grapes to a well-known winery and leave it at that. “We had been selling the grapes (‘94 and ‘95) to Carl Doumani at Stags’ Leap Winery, and he invited us to a wine-tasting where we tasted the unblended wine from our 74

Tim Carl photos

Jones Family Vineyards The Jones Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($130 a bottle and 400 cases made). Other wines offered include the wonderfully rich estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc ($40 a bottle and 150 cases made) and the approachable but still very good “Sisters” Cabernet Sauvignon blend ($75 a bottle and 800 cases made). Tastings are arranged by appointment at Tamber Bey Vineyards just north of Calistoga. For more information or to join their wine club, visit www.joneswine.com. Or, wines can be found throughout the Napa Valley at restaurants such as The Charter Oak, Acacia House, the French Laundry and others.

vineyard,” Jones said. “That was probably his mistake because when I tasted it, I asked a friend who tasted it too (Tom Clark), and we both thought it would make a pretty nice wine on its own.” Some of the finest vineyard visionaries had planted the vines. One of the world’s leading vineyard managers was overseeing the vineyard. So it only seemed to make sense to have Heidi Barrett make their wine. Top wine critic Robert Parker has referred to Barrett as “the First Lady of Wine” and “the Queen of Cult Cabernet.” She has been honored with at least half a dozen 100-point scores from the major critics during her career. And although she has been the consulting winemaker for dozens of excellent wineries, perhaps her greatest claim to fame was making the first Napa Valley cult Cabernet Sauvignon, Screaming Eagle, which garnered a 99-point

Parker score in 1995 for the 1992 vintage. From 1996 through 2007, Barrett made the Jones Family wines, crushing and fermenting the grapes at the Napa Valley Wine Co. in Oakville. Eventually the vineyard team changed from Abreu to Jim Barbour, another of the Napa Valley’s leading viticulturists, and wine making transferred from Barrett to Thomas Rivers Brown, a Napa Valley winemaker with nearly a dozen 100-points scores by well-regarded wine critics. Today, Jones Family Vineyards is composed of Rick, Elaine, his two daughters (Stephanie and Heather) and the vineyard team and winemaker. All of them are dedicated and each brings his or her own special skill to the table. But there need be no confusion as to what is at stake. When I tasted the 2014 Jones Family Vineyard Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, I was not mistaken. This is a fantastic and expressive wine that speaks to a decades-long search for perfection. Nothing in this wine is a mistake. Nothing in this wine is flawed. If I gave point scores this would probably be very near 100 points. Jones Family Vineyards wines represent a quest, a journey for meaning in a world where it is sometimes hard to understand how meaning can be assessed. Does the quest for money and power mean anything long-lasting? Probably not. But to produce something beautiful that touches the lives of those who have experienced it might just mean something. Future generations will look back at certain moments of accomplishment with reverence and joy. We are not the ones to know what those might be. However, almost certainly, there will be someone decades from now who finds a bottle of the 2014 Jones Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon in some ancient cellar. The label may be torn and faded, but when they open it and drink it around a table with friends and family, I imagine there might be a certain pause. A glance. An understanding. “Here is something good,” that future person might say. “Here is something meaningful.”

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Life ON THE

land

Douglas Hayes at his farm just south of Calistoga, which is hidden but just along Highway 29.

Tim Carl

Douglas Hayes — ‘cherishing’ his Calistoga farm TIM CARL Several diverse crops have historically been grown in the fertile soils of the Napa Valley. However, over the last few decades, as prices have risen, more and more land has been shifted toward grapes and structures. For landowners, this is often considered the “highest and best” use of the land, primarily because it brings in the most revenue per acre. One consequence of this shift has been the loss of small farms, many of which used to supply local restaurants. But a few renegades have bucked the trend and continue to produce food from the valley’s soil. Douglas Hayes is one of them. Just south of Calistoga, Hayes

Douglas Hayes’ farm Inquires, orders and requests for touring the farm can be made by calling (707) 942-5107 or emailing Hayes at dhcllc@sonic.net.

the valley. “Good food excludes no one and provides a way to connect with the world around us,” Hayes said. “When people eat food that is good, they know it — it’s our Tim Carl body’s wisdom to know when Douglas Hayes and Tyler Schoonover discuss the future of farming at something was grown well and Hayes’ organic farm just south of Calistoga. treated humanely.” For years, Hayes has been and his small team of like-minded coddling the soil without chemi- searching out original heirloom enthusiasts have nurtured a few cals to produce some of the most acres of land along Highway 29, coveted food crops produced in Please see Hayes, Page 78 77

HAYES From page 77

seed sources for his garden that lies within a near-impenetrable ring of towering Douglas fir, thick-branched oak and clumps of twisting manzanita. With the help of friends and a few team members, he has methodically established an infrastructure of a greenhouse, rows of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, flowers, a collection of beehives and coops for his beloved heritage Buckeye chickens. “We live in a region that is capable of producing some of the finest-quality food on the planet, but too much of our valley is covered with grapes and treated with chemical poisons. It doesn’t have to be that way — and there are many people out there who agree.” One of those who agrees is Tyler Schoonover, who joined the team six years ago. “We’re able to grow high-quality food because we take care of our soil,” Schoonover said. “Flavor comes from soil, sun and water.” Explaining that they grow cover crops in the winter to improve soil fertility and use high-quality compost, much of it made on site, Schoonover explains that Hayes’ approach is to focus on soil health as the key driver of quality and taste. “Healthy soil provides habitat for earthworms and allows for a balanced soil-food web,” he said. “This practice creates healthy vegetables that have both high nutrient content and also resist pests and diseases. Our attention to detail and hand-tending crops is essential. While it takes a lot of labor and time, doing so allows us to sell food at a higher price because of its higher quality and improved taste.” Even so, having a food farm in the Napa Valley is a challenging endeavor, especially for young people who are just starting out. “My hope is that our generation can continue these important traditions, but it’s tough — it’s expensive to live, farm or even lease space in the valley,” said Napa Valley chef Sarah Heller, owner of Yountville’s Radish Leaf Cuisine. “The money made from a small farm is probably not enough to sustain it without doing something on the side or owning the land outright. So it will take even more hard work. But it’s critically important.” Heller’s words resonate with Schoonover, who will be leaving the Napa Valley in December, heading first to train under another gardening guru, Evan Chender, at his farm in Asheville, North Carolina. He then plans to operate his own farm, but not in the Napa Valley. “My goal in life is to have my own farm or cooperatively run a successful, profitable farm,” he said. “The goal would be to provide 78

Tim Carl

“My menu is a huge representation of what Douglas Hayes and his team have available each week,” said Ciccio’s executive chef, Bryant Minuche. “I have a schedule with Azalea Springs Farms to get produce two or three times a week. Their approach starts with doing the right thing and doing it with love. He doesn’t mess around with nature, and does not rush any of his produce. Using high-quality soils, seeds and people who truly care about the tradition of his farming style are why we end up with such high-quality produce.” The relationship is such that Minuche can create a list of what he’d like them to grow and then write his menu based on what comes in Tim Carl that week. “I constantly keep in touch with him an income and lifestyle for me and my fam- over the phone about produce coming up or ily to live a comfortable life and live in an small quantities of specialty vegetables for the enriched environment. I’m excited to join his week,” Minuche said. (Chender’s) team. He’s a young and highly talented farmer who is carving out his own THE FUTURE OF NAPA VALLEY niche in the culinary world.” FARMING Why is he leaving? Schoonover points to Hayes’ parents purchased the property that his and his wife’s extended family living in the he farms in the mid-20th century, and since Midwest but also to the high cost of living in taking over the property in the 1990s, he has the Napa Valley. worked to create a sustainable farm. “It’s a beautiful place, but I don’t think “Many of the companies growing grapes in we could ever buy a house here or afford to the valley don’t know the importance of soil have our own piece of land to farm,” he said. health,” he said. “They pour on chemicals and “But I do think that farming can be a sus- kill off everything they consider harmful to tainable model and profitable business, even their bottom line. It’s a tragedy because growhere. Developing close relationships with local ing food (or grapes) with love and respect can chefs, growing niche crops and custom-grow- produce something wholly different — someing for restaurants can be a path to success.” thing sustainable; something to cherish.” Hayes’ Calistoga farm goes by many names In the distance the heritage Buckeye chick— Honest Heirlooms, Azalea Springs Farms ens have begun to roost, flapping loudly to and Douglas Hayes Consulting, LLC. Their their indoor perches for the night. The setting produce can occasionally be found at grocery sun filters gold through the pine boughs and stores such as Sunshine Market and Oxbow’s the aromas of thyme and fresh basil are thick Hudson Greens and Goods. The few chefs in the air. with access to their specialty items are not “I don’t quote the Bible very often, but unhappy about the almost secretive nature of what’s the third sentence,” he asks rhetorically. the operation. “Oh yes, ‘It was good.’”

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DEEP ROOTS Winery is built on more than 100 years in the valley TIM CARL Gamble Family Vineyards and Winery is the creation of Tom and Colette Gamble, and given the couple’s history, it’s no wonder they are making some of the finest wines in the Napa Valley. Tom’s family has been farming Napa Valley soil for more than 100 years, and his wife, Colette’s family (she’s the daughter of the late Mathilde Carpy and Joseph Connolly) has been farming here since the mid 1870s. “We have a crazy love for this valley,” Tom said. “And although we make wine, we really think of ourselves as farmers first, which probably comes from our family history.”

“

If it wasn’t for the Ag Preserve I don’t know if we’d be sitting here in a vineyard talking about Napa Valley wine and the wine industry. In my opinion, without it, this entire valley would have been paved over — like Silicon Valley.”

Tom Gamble and his two vineyard dogs, Koa and Skip.

— Tom Gamble

FARMER FIRST Growing up in St. Helena Gamble always knew he’d be a farmer. When he wasn’t in school he’d wake up early, often before sunrise, to help his father, George, manage the family’s 20,000 acres in Napa County alone. “At the time we were mostly raising cattle,” he said. “I spent a lot of my childhood herding and fixing irrigation lines. I wanted to farm, but it wasn’t until I got older that I focused on wine grapes.” Prior to venturing west, Gamble’s great-great-grandfather, James, had co-founded Procter and

TIM CARL PHOTOGRAPHY

An aerial view of the Gamble Family Vineyard and Winery located just south of Oakville.

Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1830s and made soap and candles for the Union Army during the Civil War. Gamble’s grandfather, Launcelot, had little to do with P&G but instead traveled to California, following his older brother who had built a quicksilver mine in Napa County’s rugged Knoxville region. “He came to help his brother in the mines, but livestock was my grandfather’s passion,” Gamble said. Launcelot eventually

accumulated as much as 20,000 farming acres within the county of Napa, including such areas as Lake Berryessa and Oakville. His tradition continues today with George raising cattle while Tom and Colette manage their own 175 planted acres of vineyard. “When he [Launcelot] died in the ’70s, in order to keep the land we had to sell some and also formed a long-term lease with Beringer for 900 acres in Oakville,” Gamble said. “We still have that agreement. Over the years we’ve

TIM CARL PHOTOGRAPHY

been able to purchase or lease our own vineyards, but that wasn’t until after I sowed a few wild oats.” After graduating from St. Helena High School in 1979, Gamble first headed to UC Davis to study agriculture. But while he was there he became curious about what it might be like to live a less rural lifestyle. “Growing up, I wasn’t one of those kids that ever got bored of this place, but when I got to college I became a little distracted and ended up transferring to UCLA to study film,” he said. Here is something many people do not know about Gamble: He has been involved in the making of more than 30 films, including producing three. Working on films such as “The Grifters,” “Meet the Applegates” and “Too Fast Too Young” was enough to remind Gamble of his roots in farming. “I always kept one foot in Please see Gamble, Page 82

GAMBLE From page 81

the Napa Valley. Even when I was commuting to L.A. every week I still lived here,” he said. “However, here’s one thing that’s similar between filmmaking and winemaking: They are both much harder professions than people think. But for me, I prefer the quiet connection with the earth and people that farming provides.” Although not what some might call an environmentalist, Gamble and his team are insistent that they follow sustainable agriculture. Their winery and vineyards are certified Napa Green and Fish Friendly, and they use the “Three P’s — People, Planet and Profitability” — to guide their decision-making. “We need to look beyond organics and consider the entire system and make it function and sustainable,” Gamble said. THE AG PRESERVE Naming mentors such as Chuck Carpy, Jack Davies and Robert Mondavi, Gamble is adamant about the need to maintain a healthy and vibrant farming community for the Napa Valley to remain viable for generations. “We’ll need to continue to evolve, but for them (his mentors) it was always about quality and sustainability — paying growers a fair price, taking care of people and learning how to take better care of our land — and that’s what will allow this valley to continue to survive in the future,” he said. “It used to be that people could sit down and talk about how to solve tough problems, but today it seems like you have to be on one side or the other, and the two sides don’t talk,” Gamble said. “Back when my mother was collecting signatures for the Ag Preserve, it was different. “If it wasn’t for the Ag Preserve I don’t know if we’d be sitting here in a vineyard talking about Napa Valley wine and the wine industry,” he said. “In my opinion, without it, this entire valley would have been paved over — like Silicon Valley.” According to Gamble, in the mid-1950s the state of California 82

estimated that by 1980 there would be 1 million people living in the Napa Valley. A decade after that dire prediction, in 1965, Assembly Bill 80 passed and decoupled the tax rate so that it wasn’t any longer based on revenue generated from the land but instead taxed at the “highest and best use” rate, which often meant the land had more value if it had a house or business built on it instead of crops grown. “The valley understood what passage of the bill would mean, and so three years later (1968) the Ag Preserve was passed — and it passed with a majority of the supervisors being Republican,” Gamble said. “It was a very different time.” Shortly after it passed, state officials announced the cancellation of plans to build a freeway stretching up the Napa Valley, and many housing subdivisions were taken off the planning schedule. The limits of Napa County’s Agricultural Preserve would pingpong back and forth in terms of how large a parcel was needed before it might be subdivided. The original version set the minimum at 20 acres, but in 1979 the county raised it to 40 acres, then back to 20, then again to 40. Presently, with Measure J passed in 1990 and its successor, Measure P, in 2008, the legal 40-acre minimum remains in effect until 2058 unless changed by a vote of the people. “What the Ag Preserve showed us is that the community can come together and work toward long-term solutions that have a positive impact on both the people and the environment,” Gamble said. “We’ve also shown a similar thing with the river restoration project that’s helped restore miles of the Napa River. We need more work there, but there’s hope.” CAIRO THE DOG Beyond the land, wine and community, the Gambles are passionate about animal welfare. For the last five years, they’ve opened their doors to their ranch for WineaPAWlooza, the annual fundraiser that helps support the Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to end animal cruelty and overpopulation in the Napa Valley and beyond.

“If it wasn’t for the Ag Preserve I don’t know if we’d be sitting here in a vineyard talking about Napa Valley wine and the wine industry. In my opinion, without it, this entire valley would have been paved over — like Silicon Valley.” — Tom Gamble One day when Gamble was driving in the hills above the Napa Valley he noticed a puppy chasing cars down the road. He pulled over, stopped and opened the door. “When I opened the door he ran up, jumped into the car and gave me a lick,” Gamble said. “By the bean-sized ticks on him I knew he must have been out there for days, maybe longer.” They named the dog Cairo. “Cairo passed away a few years ago, but he was my constant companion for 15 years,” Gamble said. “We were inseparable — Velcro — and so that’s why we have our Cairo wine now, to remember him.” Collette’s brother, Morgan Connolly, designed many of the property’s structures, one of which houses a by-appointment-only tasting room. Tom and British-born winemaker Jim Close have crafted wines with a balanced, and often delicate, nature that highlights their quality and pedigree. The grapes for the wines come from the couple’s vineyards, which include some of Napa’s best known terroir: Oakville, Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Mount Veeder. The Gambles make less than a dozen wines, with some only available to wine-club members. The Cairo Cabernet Sauvignon ($130 a bottle and 800 cases made) is from the fruit of their Oakville vineyard. This sumptuous wine has a super-rich and unctuous mouthfeel with flavors of blackberry cream soda, dried cherry marmalade and raspberry coulis. The finish is long, with aromatic hints of dark-chocolate truffle and newly turned clay earth. Besides Cairo, other of the wines in the Gamble lineup also speak to a hidden story. The Heart Block Sauvignon Blanc ($90 a bottle and 600 cases made) ranks as one of the finest examples of this variety produced in California. The name originates from the location of the grapevines in the center (heart)

of their Yountville vineyard and a surveyor’s telling Gamble that the vineyard’s location is at the dead center of the Napa Valley. This wine is light-straw colored in the glass with aromas of honeysuckle, mango and Kaffir lime peel with a bright, but velvety, mouthfeel that lingers for more than 30 seconds. The Mary Ann, a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend ($165 a bottle and 352 cases made) was inspired by Gamble’s mother, who he says shares the wine’s “elegance, opulence and firm character.” This wine derives from Mount Veeder fruit and has the structure, flavor and complexity that often come from hillside vineyards. Here, blueberry cobbler, molasses and light-roasted espresso flavors mingle with aromas of dried sage, rosemary and hazelnut toffee. THE FUTURE Quietly, through lives of steady work and a desire to be good stewards of both the land and their community, the Gambles have created an inspiring model for what it means to be a vintner in the Napa Valley — not ones who are distant and separate from their community but instead ones who are intertwined and committed to the valley’s longterm health and well-being. “There is an Iroquois teaching that is the seventh-generation principle,” Gamble said. “It taught that every decision — be it personal, governmental or corporate — must consider how it affects seven generations into the future, so that the sky, valleys and mountains will be here for them to enjoy, too.” Gamble paused and looked out toward the distant hills, many of them covered in vineyards and dotted with houses. “We often don’t think much more than a few months down the road now,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean it has to always be that way. It doesn’t mean that we can’t change.”

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THE ANSWERS

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J.L. Sousa, Register

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PIZZA

New menu, new vibe at the re-envisioned Pizzeria Tra Vigne JESS LANDER

At the end of 2015, St. Helena’s Tra Vigne restaurant closed its doors, making way for chef Christopher Kostow’s The Charter Oak. The first in a wave of Napa Valley classics to shutter, it was followed this year by Terra, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Hurley’s, and most recently, Redd. Yet Tra Vigne’s legacy is not completely lost. The restaurant’s more casual, affordable and family-friendly sibling, Tra Vigne Pizzeria, is not only still open for business, but has even adopted

some of the former restaurant’s decor and fan-favorite dishes, including their famous Mozzarella Al Minuto. Moreover, in the last year, Tra Vigne Pizzeria has quietly undergone a total refresh of its ambiance and menu. They have a new Chef de Cuisine, Maria Nuno, who has worked in the kitchens of both the former restaurant and pizzeria since she was 16. She works closely with Executive Chef Anthony “Nash” Cognetti, and is the daughter of David Nuno,

former Sous Chef at Tra Vigne. So if it’s been a while, it might be time to revisit Tra Vigne Pizzeria. After Tra Vigne opened in 1986, the pizzeria first opened as Tomatina in 1989— the Tomatina tomato can still be found at the entrance today — but was renamed Tra Vigne Pizzeria in 1992. Many notable chefs got their start at either the restaurant or pizzeria, like Carmen Quagliata, Dena Marino, Michael Gyetvan, Nicholas Petrilli, Frank

Whittaker and Kevin Davis. “What about these classic restaurants? We’ve been here such a long time that they kind of get forgotten,” said Cynthia Ariosta, Marketing and Community Outreach Director for Tra Vigne Pizzeria. “It was kind of a surprise that when the restaurant closed, everyone thought this was gone too. We’ll run into locals, and they’re like, ‘You’re still open? We just thought the whole thing Please see Pizza, Page 92

TOP RIGHT: Mozzarella Al Minuto, a favorite at the old Tra Vigne, is on the menu now at Tra Vigne Pizzeria. BELOW: Chalkboard art at Pizzeria Tra Vigne in St. Helena. Lindsay Upson photos

PIZZA From page 91

closed.’ But this restaurant is tried and true and it’s stood the test of time.” The first thing you’ll likely notice when you walk in Tra Vigne Pizzeria 2.0 is a series of fun, new chalkboard art over the open kitchen. The project took Oakland artist Jolene Russell a full week to complete. Out back, the patio has been transformed into the perfect spot for a date night and a bocce court has been added, but the biggest changes are to be found throughout the menu, from antipasti to dessert. Many of the classics, like the housemade ravioli, garlic rolls, and minestrone, are still there, but new dishes include Smashed Avocado Bruschetta, Lucky Shucks wood-fired oysters topped with fiscalini cheddar, spinach and charred chili aioli, and even a burger. The C&B Burger comes with a Creekstone Farms chuck and brisket patty served with gruyere, heirloom tomato, watercress, roasted onion and a special sauce. “There are people who come that don’t want pizza, and you want something else for them,” said Ariosta. “We were trying to add a few things on the menu that have more protein or are more sandwich-like.” All pizzas and piadinas are now made with a new sourdough crust that’s both thin and delightfully-bubbly. The menu tosses up several fun new pies like the spicy La Bamba (smoky ancho-pasilla chile sauce, chorizo, red onions, jalapeños, cilantro, queso fresco, avocado and crème fraiche) and The Queen’s Pizza. According to Ariosta, The Queen’s Pizza is the true, historical definition of a margherita pizza. It has California-grown Bianco DiNapoli Tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, whole leaf basil, EVOO and sea salt. “This is really the classic margherita pizza,” she said. “This is the way it should be done, as it was meant to be when it was invented for Queen Margherita.” Finish your meal with tiramisu, served adorably in a mason jar with ladyfingers, a classic cannoli (ricotta cheese, pistachios, chocolate chunks, citrus) or something you may not expect from an Italian establishment, homemade apple pie. The pizzeria’s new 7-O-7 Happy Hour boasts $1 oysters on the half shell, $5 select craft droughts and well drinks and $7 wine specials seven days a week, from 4-6 p.m. They’ve expanded their craft beer program (now totaling 10 taps) and thanks to a new full liquor license (brought over from Tra Vigne when it closed) have curated an inventive list of rotating, seasonal cocktails. The 92

Lindsay Upson

The Queen’s Pizza at Tra Vigne Pizzeria.

Lindsay Upson photo

Smashed Avocado Bruschetta is another new addition to the Pizzeria Tra Vigne menu.

Weed Whacker, for instance, features hemp seed-infused vodka from Humboldt Distillery, which is owned by St. Helenan Jim Sweeney. Once a month, a local brewery comes in for Pint Night. The brewery pours select beers (get a free glass with your purchase) and often gives away swag to customers who can answer impromptu trivia questions. The next Pint Night will take place on Nov. 14,

from 5-7 p.m. with Sonoma County’s Seismic Brewing Company. Ariosta said the pint nights have been a big hit among the wine community especially. “It’s been very interesting to me,” she said. “When we did our pint night last week, some of the winery people came and said, ‘We’re so done with wine at the end of the day, we really just want a good beer.’”

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The untold story of the Napa Valley Wine Train LANCE BURRIS “First, there had to be the dream. Then, in order, followed the plan, the construction, and finally the realization.” —The Napa Valley Route by Ira L. Swett & Harry C. Aitken, Jr. PART I: THE DREAM In the late 1960s, I lived in Europe when “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” was a best-selling travel guide. While that dollar amount seems preposterous today, it was a very real at the time as demonstrated by my ability to rent a suite of rooms in a Barcelona hotel for $7 a night, including breakfast for two. In

those days, my wife and I traveled extensively throughout Europe. During those excursions, I was impressed by how well the Europeans managed the tourist traffic without the tourists being aware of it. This was often accomplished by making the mode of transportation a pleasant and memorable experience. In that regard, I recall a particular Rhine River cruise during which the passengers disembarked at a village and rode a cogwheel tram up an adjacent mountain, atop which sat an 11th-century ruin with the implausible name of “Siegfried’s Castle.” After inspecting the ruin, the passengers had the choice of returning to the village by tram or rubber-tired, horse-drawn

carriage. My wife and I chose the latter and very much enjoyed the ride down the heavily forested mountainside. During the ride, the silence was broken only by the rhythmic clip-clop of the horse’s shod hooves on the pavement. The scene was so romantic I expected Brunnhilde to emerge in full battle array in one of the beams of light which penetrated the forest with Wagnerian effect. While I remember very little about Siegfried’s Castle, I vividly recall the carriage ride down the mountainside.

Valley. Even at that early date, it was apparent tourism would play an increasingly important role in the Valley’s economy. Thanks to the enactment of the Williamson Act and later Ag Preserve, the Napa Valley avoided the fate of its agriculturally rich counterpart to the south, the Santa Clara Valley, which was paved over and became Silicon Valley. As America’s taste for wine grew, the Valley’s expanding wine making, grape growing, and visitor industries developed a synergistic relationship which created a new set of challenges business THE PROBLEMS schools refer to as “the problems OF SUCCESS of success.” While the wineries, In 1970, I returned to the San city of Napa, and Upvalley small Francisco Bay Area where I often towns economically benefited visited my parents in the Napa from the growth

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of the visitor industry, tourism put pressure on the Valley’s highway system and increased the demand for workforce housing. The Ag Preserve’s restrictive zoning, combined with the growth of tourism, forced many workers to live outside the Valley where housing was more affordable. This resulted in the development of the new community of American Canyon and compelled many workers to commute as far as Fairfield. As a consequence, visitors and workers began to compete for the limited space available on Highway 29, the Valley’s primary access route. ‘WHITE PAPER’ In recognition of this transportation problem, I wrote a ‘white paper’ titled: “The Napa Valley Railroad, a Strategy for the Control of Recreational Development in California’s Wine Country/a Bicentennial Model for Community Development in Rural America.” The year was 1976. The paper identified the Valley’s Southern Pacific (SP) rail line as a “hidden resource.” While SP’s trains had long served the shipping needs of local wineries, the tracks upon which they traveled were incapable of supporting high-speed, commuter rail service. However, they could accommodate a slow-moving tourist train. It was my expectation that a regularly scheduled passenger service would take some of the cars off Highway 29 and distribute the visitor traffic more evenly during the day and throughout the week. The idea of a passenger train was not new. The Napa Valley Railroad began passenger rail service in 1865. Its steam powered trains worked in tandem with ferries, riverboats, and horse drawn carriages in transporting passengers and freight. Over the years, several competing short lines were developed in the North Bay, which were later consolidated under the ownership and operation of the Southern Pacific Company. By 1905, an independent operation initiated passenger rail service between Vallejo and Napa in “elegant and commodious” interurban coaches powered by AC current. By 1908 the trolley service had been extended to St. Helena and, four years later, to Calistoga. I recall reading that the trip from San Francisco to Calistoga, including the ferryboat ride, took approximately the same amount of time as it does today by car. So much for progress. By the 1920s, trolley ridership began to suffer as the popularity of gasoline powered automobiles and buses grew. In 1939, the Napa Valley Route trolley tracks and overhead between Napa and Calistoga were removed and the right-of-way abandoned. By Pearl Harbor Day, passenger rail service had become a thing of the past. Thereafter, Southern Pacific only provided freight service from

The trolley line that once ran between Vallejo and Calistoga.

Vallejo to St. Helena. It was against this historical background, that my 1976 white paper provided the following rationale for restoration of passenger rail service in the Napa Valley: “The growing reputation of the Valley’s landscape and wines is certain to make the Napa Valley an international cultural resource. It appears equally certain that the number of visitors will continue to increase … Agricultural and recreational development, if kept in balance, can complement one another in protecting the Valley’s beauty while broadening the base of economic opportunity for Valley residents (however) “uncontrolled growth of visitor related industries will create auto traffic and air quality problems and shut out many unspoiled vistas with roadside development.” The paper predicted that unchecked growth of the visitor industry would ultimately destroy the very things people came to the Napa Valley to see and experience. In response, it proposed the reintroduction of passenger rail service as a means of mitigating the environmental impacts of increased tourism. Since passenger trains had become increasingly uneconomic in the automobile and jet age, the proposed train would have to be more than a means of transporting people from point A to point B. The Napa Valley provided a unique opportunity in this regard because the train could become the rural equivalent of San Francisco’s iconic cable car. More important, it could be used to educate consumers about varietal wine nomenclature, character, and pairing with food, and, by doing so, participate in the cultural transformation initiated by Robert Mondavi, who emphasized wine quality over quantity and was willing to learn

Submitted photo

from foreign competitors, technologically innovate, and compete internationally. THE MASTER TRAIN AND OTHER MARKETING CONCEPTS The white paper then introduced the concept of the “Master Train,” which it described as: “a paper train that serves as a promotional and educational tool for Napa Valley wines. It consists of an engine, approximately 34 passenger coaches, and a caboose. Each passenger coach is named after a varietal wine produced in the Napa Valley (e.g., the “Green Hungarian,” the “Petite Sirah,” and the “Zinfandel”.) Coaches are color-coded and sequenced in the order in which the varietal wines represented would be served in a hypothetical meal. The caboose becomes the ‘Brandy Car.’” It also introduced another concept, again inspired by my European experience. The German Weinstube provides a place where friends can meet and linger over relatively inexpensive glasses of wine. I called the Napa Valley version the “Tasting House,” which “grows out of the belief that increases in the numbers of visitors will result in additional crowding, greater parking requirements, and clockwork management of visitors, all of this being anathema to the process of wine tasting. As a consequence, one is beginning to see the growth of the Weinstube phenomenon, an early example of which being the recently developed Wine Garden at Freemark Abbey. What may now be perceived as a threat by the wineries may prove to be a blessing, with the cost of wine and the number of visitors increasing.” Instead of competing with the wineries, where wine tasting had long been free, the proposed Tasting Houses put tasting on a 99

retail basis, thereby transforming a marketing cost into a profit center. It would also have the effect of reducing the number of freeloaders at the winery while, at the same time, creating greater market exposure in independently owned and operated Tasting Houses located throughout the Valley. These Tasting Houses would create small business opportunities in Napa and the Upvalley towns. Of course, today we call these places “Tasting Rooms.” The white paper also introduced the concept of “The California Culinary Institute,” the mission of which “would be to develop a California cuisine suited to modern dietary needs and utilizing California produce and wines. This function generates the following activities: Research and development of the cuisine, including development of nomenclature. Operation of a cooking school for Valley restaurants and interested outside parties. Inspection and certification of California wines and foods as part of a larger consumer information program. Sponsorship of “The White Table Fair” and “The Red Table Fair” to be held in off seasons. The purpose of the fairs is to spotlight each California varietal wine and to foster competition in quality in the industry. For example, at the White Table Fair the best of each varietal white wine would receive the C.C.I’s “White Table Award” for the year. This award, accessible by even small wineries, would be carried in the appropriate passenger coach of the Napa Valley train and in various C.C.I consumer information publications. White and Red Table Awards would also go to recipes submitted to the C.C.I. These recipes would then be linked in the competition to appropriate the wine, so that the wine is always shown in the context of food, i.e., as a condiment. To operate “living museums” of California cuisine. These living museums would be located in the tasting houses and at future locations outside the valley. Publishing the work of the C.C.I.” It then goes on to say: “Through the C.C.I., what began as a marketing idea, transportation system, and mechanism for community development, becomes an international cultural phenomenon.” Of course, you will recognize the C.C.I. in what became COPIA, the Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts, which was built in Napa’s Oxbow District. The center is now owned and operated by the Culinary Institute of America, with which I was unfamiliar at the time. Ideally, the C.C.I would have been located at the entry to the Valley where the Napa Valley Business Park and rail-served Napa Pipe are located. This location would have made it 100

rack and sold at various tourist destinations throughout the Valley. The two-fold purpose of the posters was to introduce the idea of passenger rail service while educating the public about varietal wine nomenclature, character, and use at a time when Americans had moved beyond red and white jug wines to generic Burgundy and Chablis, with white wines increasingly being served at stand-up cocktail parties. As the consumer tastes became more sophisticated, the market moved on to varietals wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. In an unfortunate bit of timing, I was transferred to Southern California by my employer while the posters were being produced. When I saw the final products, I found them unacceptable. As a consequence, they never saw the light of day. A poster for the Napa Valley Railroad Company

possible to intercept visitors, park their cars, and put them on a regularly scheduled passenger train operated on a reservation basis. THE TRAIN IN THE SKY In an effort to promote the Master Train concept, I produced two posters, which visually connected viticulture, viniculture, and tourism. The first poster featured my painting of an antique steam engine with a wine glass for a smoke stack. This “train in the sky” was shown plowing through the clouds high above a Napa Valley spring mustard scene. The second poster featured an array of passenger coaches, each of which was named after a varietal wine. Related food symbols were displayed in the coach windows. The design of this poster was inspired by the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements, which arranges the natural elements in accordance with the similarity of their chemical properties. However, in the Master Train poster, varietal wines were grouped by wine character, ranging from dry, light-bodied whites to dry, full-bodied reds. It was proposed that the capsules (or later wax seals) on the bottles be color-coded by varietal wine character using a six-color spectrum, consisting of blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and violet, with the sequence of the colors indicating the preferred serving sequence. In other words, the consistent use of color on the bottle would provide the consumer with basic information about varietal wine character and use. My intention was to roll the two posters together and insert them in a plastic tube stopped by a cork. The bottle-like tubes would then be displayed on a wine

OUTREACH In the late 1970s, I continued to promote the train and wine systems. I spoke with a number of Napa Valley vintners, Caltrans, Southern Pacific, the Wine Institute, and even paid a disastrous visit to Earnest Gallo at his Modesto headquarters. Later, I briefly partnered with a graphic designer to create a display case for grocery and liquor store use keyed to what I called The Varitas Varietal Wine System, substituting an initial “Var” from “varietal” in the Latin word “veritas,” meaning truth. My partner and I then designed the American Wine Showcase for the purpose of showcasing varietal wines on a nationwide basis while familiarizing the consumer with the nomenclature, character, and use of premium wines at the point of purchase. This was again accomplished by color-coding the capsules (or wax seals) and arranging the bottles by varietal wine character. It also included a pocket containing recipes and other wine-related information. The intention was to present reasonably priced varietal wines of high quality in a consistent format, since in the marketplace price is no guarantee of quality. I then took the complete marketing package to the management of Safeway stores who expressed a willingness to market test the idea in their Liquor Barn subsidiary with the proviso that I get the consent of the wine industry. It soon became apparent that getting the vintners to agree to change their labeling practices was mission impossible for an individual who had no connections or track record in the wine industry. This is the first in a series about the people who brought “the train in the sky” down to earth and made the Napa Valley Wine Train an operating reality.

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ALL SEASONS AT 42 Looking back provides a path forward TIM CARL It’s the rare independent restaurateurs who reach the four-decade mark. Yet Alex and Gayle Dierkhising, owners of Calistoga’s All Seasons Bistro, have made it. Now in their 42nd year of owning and operating eateries in the Napa Valley, the couple says they are not done yet. In a move aimed at bringing the eatery back to its former glory, they have rehired a popular chef they first hired in the late 1990s, Kevin Kathman, and together with him they are changing the menu, updating the wine list and working to improve service. RESTAURANTS IN THE BLOOD Gayle and Alex met in St. Joseph, Minnesota, when they were college students working at the Dierkhising restaurant, “La Playette” — Alex as sommelier and Gayle as a bartender. Opened in the late 1950s, the eatery had historically served fried chicken, barbecue and simple salads. But by the time the two met it was being transformed into a fine-dining establishment. Although he’d served simple fare at the restaurant, during World War II Alex’s father had been stationed in Egypt, where he’d learned about what were exotic items at the time, such as artichokes, olive oil, avocados and spices. “Growing up, good food and hospitality were always central to our lives,” Alex said. “And after I’d served in Vietnam for two years I came back home to finish college, but I also really wanted to work at the restaurant — it was something I’d missed.” Returning from the war, Alex joined his other brothers to recast La Playette in a new light. His oldest brother, Eric, had taken over as chef in 1969, and the two,

Tim Carl Photography

Owners of Calistoga’s All Seasons Bistro, Gayle and Alex Dierkhising, have owned and operated restaurants in the Napa Valley since 1976.

is of no consequence.” The menu reads like a Julia Child cookbook, full of classics like steak Diane flambé, crepes Suzettes and coq au vin rouge, all at prices that seem shockingly low by today’s standards. It’s likely the inclusion of soufflé au Grand Marnier led to the comment about time having no consequence since it took nearly an hour to make, according to Alex. From there, nearly the entire family of Dierkhisings became Tim Carl Photography aspiring culinarians and eventually Returning All Seasons Executive Chef Kevin Kathman intends to bring dispersed from Minnesota, many the restaurant back to its previous grandeur by focusing on serving ending up in California. But it the best produce, served with straightforward but expressive culinary techniques. was Gayle and Alex who made the first move to the Napa Valley, alongside their other brothers and proclaims: driven in part by Gayle’s vacation sisters, set to work transforming “We aspire to create a gas- to San Francisco and a chance visit their parents’ eatery into what they tronomique event within the char- between Alex and a wine salesman. hoped would eventually become acter of epicurean brotherhood. As the finest French restaurant in the our guests we wish to serve you in WHEN NAPA VALLEY region. the most delightful manner: taste- WINES WERE UNKNOWN A menu from that earlier time fully, artistically, comfortably and Alex’s father’s restaurants had now adorns the bathroom wall correctly. We feel in the preparaat All Seasons, where it proudly tion of Haute Cuisine Table, time Please see All Seasons, Page 104 103

ALL SEASONS From page 103

always included a space dedicated to selling wines. However, at that time most of the wine sold was of the Ripple, Bali Hai and Boone’s Farm variety, according to Dierkhising. But in 1971 a wine salesman from Phillips and Co. with a penchant for California producers convinced him to purchase what were at that time unheard-of wines from Robert Mondavi, Louis Martini and Buena Vista. After tasting the wine Alex was changed forever, and he started traveling to northern California in search of special wines. “Alex drove out to Napa Valley and then returned with his car full of California wines for La Playette,” Gayle said. “He had a real pull to this place, and he wanted to get into the wine side of things. I think he thought, ‘I can’t do that from here, I have to be there.’” Eventually the couple left Minnesota and moved to San Francisco, where Alex became a wine salesman for the newly launched Sterling Winery and Gayle worked as a manager for a Soviet shipping company. They traveled to the Napa Valley on weekends, and in 1974 they moved to Calistoga. Alex left Sterling and started work at Freemark Abbey’s Wine Garden, while Gayle grafted grapevine scions at Duckhorn Vineyards. OPENING THEIR FIRST NAPA VALLEY EATERY — SILVERADO RESTAURANT AND TAVERN “When we saw the ‘for lease’ sign in the window we just knew it was right,” Alex said. The year was 1976, and at that time there were nearly no higher-end restaurants in the Napa Valley: Étoile, the Restaurant at Domaine Chandon, would open in Yountville in 1977 and the French Laundry (original owners Don and Sally Schmitt) in 1978. “We called my brother Mark, who was in the first graduating class of the CIA (Culinary Institute of American, Hyde Park, New York),” Alex said. “After he said yes to becoming the chef, we then called Gayle’s mom and my parents for help with the $10,000 deposit.” Eventually they’d own three restaurants in Calistoga (Silverado, Hydro, All Seasons), while Alex’s younger brother, Drake, would open Café Sarafornia down the street and Mark would move on to open three Dierk’s Parkside Cafés throughout northern California.

define the region’s cuisine, the Dierkhisings have also often played a behind-the-scenes role in helping usher in the present-day era of Napa Valley wine. In the early 1980s All Seasons was one of the first restaurants in the United States to receive the Wine Spectator’s prestigious “Grand Award.” They also had created an exclusive wine shop within the confines of their eatery, but more importantly they strove to create an environment that encouraged and supported aspiring winemakers and wine professionals. “Through the years Alex and Gayle have welcomed and nurtured many just starting in the wine business,” said Dan Dawson, owner of Dan Dawson’s Wine Advisor and former owner of Backroom Wines in Napa. Dawson worked at All Seasons as a server from ‘92 to ‘94 and then took over the restaurant’s wine store from ‘94 to ‘98. But before he could even start, he first needed to take a wine-knowledge test from Alex. “He asked me what was the difference between Pinot Noir and Burgundy,” Dawson said. “Of course the answer is ‘nothing,’ but at the time I went blank. I only remember the question I got wrong on that test, but somehow I got the job. Their love of wine and cutting-edge wine program seemingly drew the next generation of wine professionals to All Seasons like a magnet. It has been a center of wine culture for Napa Valley that has helped launch many careers in the wine industry.” Dawson was not the only soon-to-be successful Napa-Valley wine professional to be influenced by the Dierkhisings. There would be dozens, if not hundreds. The list of superstar wine experts who passed through the All Seasons doors includes: John Wetlaufer, Margaux Singleton, David Dennis, Thomas Rivers Brown, Tom Elliott, Charles Smith and many others. If you aren’t familiar with these names, just Google Charles Smith or Thomas Rivers Brown and you’ll see what I mean.

THE FOOD Kevin Kathman also grew up in Minnesota. After culinary school, he started his Napa Valley chef experience at the French Laundry in the mid-1990s, after which he staged in Europe before returning to America to become the executive chef at All Seasons from 1999 through 2002. To be closer to extended family with his wife and two young children, Kathman moved from California to Arizona and then to Los Angeles, opening numerous restaurants before being lured back to Calistoga. ALL SEASONS BISTRO — Having retaken over the position only a few MORE INFLUENCE THAN months ago, Kathman is gradually “changing YOU MIGHT REALIZE and evolving” the menu into his own. Items Beyond their important role in helping include a collection of well-executed dishes

104

that blend the past with the present: modern influences with a touch of nostalgia. The little gem salad with bacon and blue cheese ($14) is substantial and layered; the butternut squash ravioli with pecans, sage and brown butter ($15 appetizer or $25 entree) is a blend of comfort food and years of experienced techniques. The grilled Eagle’s Fjord salmon ($27) is sourced from Iceland and is priced well, sourced from one of the most sustainable fish farms in the world and served with an almost retrospective saffron-citrus sauce with lobster mushrooms and crunchy fresh peas. This dish in particular seems to highlight the entire ethos of the new team’s approach. Similarly, the roast quail with chanterelles, wild rice and foie gras stuffing ($28) comes off as a tender look back but with a distinct eye toward the future. HISTORY PROVIDES CONTEXT At one point All Seasons was a must-go-to culinary destination in the Napa Valley. But time, trends and a ceaseless number of new options have diluted the attention of visitors. Calistoga itself has gone through moments that have felt like it was on the cusp of becoming the food center of the region, only to be thwarted by natural disaster or the departure of an innovative restaurant or chef. However, for those looking to better understand the history and trajectory of food and wine in the Napa Valley and beyond, All Seasons, especially with Kathman’s return, represents an opportunity to revisit and reimagine what Wine Country has come to mean. “When people come to the valley many of them are wondering, what does it mean?” Gayle said. “They’ve come here because they’ve been told it’s beautiful — which it is — and because great wine and food are made here — which is true. But because the world has changed and they can get these things in other places, too, many of them seem to wonder, ‘What am I supposed to do here in the Napa Valley?’” To take Gayle’s insight one step further, what these questioning travelers might be wondering is: Why does the Napa Valley matter? The answer lies in an understanding of context and history, the lives and stories that make up the present. All Seasons’ success in the years to come will be as much a reflection of the values of the people who live or visit here as a commentary about a 42-year-old bistro in Calistoga. My recommendation is that you go there and have another look. While you are there, ask to have a glance at that old La Playette menu. If you’re like me, while reading it you might remember something important.

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Calistogan influences trend toward upscale Mexican food

a p a’s n e w e s t restaurant, the hip and lively Gran Eléctrica, is grabbing well-deserved attention. New York owners Elise Rosenberg, Emelie Kihlstrom and Tamer Hamawi have joined forces with locals to craft modernized Mexican “street food” and super-creative cocktails served in a spacious

indoor-outdoor dining room decorated with art inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday and mural art. “We have two restaurants in New York (Colonie, Gran Eléctrica), but my wife (Blaire Scheibal) is from Calistoga and so when we were going to have our first baby she informed me that we were not going to be raising our child anywhere but the Napa Valley,” said Hamawi. “We also felt like this spot would be perfect for providing folks with authentic Mexican food served in an atmosphere conducive to having a more lengthy dining experience.”

Beyond Hamawi and Scheibal, the onsite team includes locals such as Mexican-American Chef Ignacio Beltran (CIA, Ad Hoc, the Restaurant at Meadowood, Terra), Napa-born mixologist Ryan Leija (Angèle, Morimoto, Auberge du Soleil) and front-of-the-house expert and longtime Napa resident Kate O’Reilly (Ciccio, Press, Mustards). Together they constitute what amounts to an experienced team with deep local ties.

and compartmentalized space into one that is open and light with skylights and floor-to-ceiling bifold windows that open to the street. Out back, guests have the option of sitting on a large garden patio that can accommodate up to 50 diners. In total the restaurant seats up to 130 with some additional stand-up “ledge” dining spots in front of both bars — one in the front and one in the back. The decor and ambience are festive and eclectic, with the inside THE LOCATION sporting wallpaper covered with Formerly the restaurant 1313 fun black-and-white images of Main, the location has been transformed from what had been a dark Please see Electric, Page 110 109

ELECTRIC From page 109

Napa landmarks inspired by Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada. In contrast, the outdoor patio is surrounded by gardens and cinderblock walls covered with pink and gray images of corn, agave and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe painted by Richmond-based muralist, DJ AGANA. THE FOOD The menu is loosely based on the original one developed in New York, but Beltran has provided his interpretation based on his own heritage and training. “My family comes from a coastal town in Mexico where seafood was plentiful, and I grew up in Salinas, where produce is grown everywhere,” Beltran said. “I trained and became a chef here in the valley, and so I feel all the pieces are coming together.” Menu items at Gran Eléctrica are mostly made with only a few ingredients, processed in a manner that highlights their made-fromscratch freshness. Good examples include the chewy tortillas pressed from house-made masa (corn dough) or the addictive guacamole with a smoky infusion of fire-roasted avocado leaves balanced with lime, cilantro, crunchy pepitas, mild pickled red jalapeño and a vibrant red salsa of roasted tomato, garlic and chipotle. The menu is organized into Botanas, Tacos, Tostadas, Platos, Acompanamientos and Postres. Each section has three to seven offerings. Chips and guacamole ($10) are excellent, with bright, rich flavors accentuated by the crispy yet chewy chips. The fresh lime and serrano-cured bay scallop tostadas ($14) feature pickled onions, cucumber and radish piled high on a fried tortilla. It’s tempting to try and pick the entire tostada up by its base, but you are better off using a fork until you’ve eaten the mound down enough to use the tostada as what amounts to an enormous chip. Tacos (two per order), like the 110

TIM CARL PHOTOGRAPHY

Napa’s Gran Eléctrica’s crispy-on-the-outside and creamy-on-the-inside sweet potato Camotes comes with spicy-tart chipotle mayonnaise.

TIM CARL PHOTOGRAPHY

Napa-born mixologist Ryan Leija (Angèle, Morimoto, Auberge du Soleil) has crafted creative and colorful cocktails that pair well with the food served at Napa’s Gran Eléctrica.

other menu items, are reasonably priced and tasty. Pescado estilo Ensenada ($10), the beer-battered fish tacos, are a nod to Beltran’s heritage and set the bar for the popular dish, the lightness and sweetness of the fish in contrast to the crunchy coating and piquant pickled red cabbage, all brought into spicy focus with a chipotle mayonnaise. The sweet-charred poblano chile relleno ($14) is cleaved to expose a creamy interior of havarti and queso fresco that complement the tangy salsa ranchera made from roasted tomato and jalapeño. The market fish, sautéed less crisp than I’d prefer, is accompanied with chile morita and a spicy-buttery sauce of mojo de ajo. Most of the main dishes come with a vibrantly colorful collection of seasonal greens mixed with pickled cabbage, radish and carrot

and topped with edible flowers from the garden. A few desserts are offered and include the “Pudin” de chocolate ($9) with whipped cream and crumbled “spiced” peanut brittle. The sweet options are fine but lack the complexity and depth of technique and flavor shown by the items on the main menu. MENÚ DE BEBIDA The wine menu is limited and focuses on “natural wines,” with a few offerings that include small-lot wines from local producers such as a version of the wildly trendy Pétillant-Naturel (Pét Nat), this one a 2017 Carneros Rose from Cruse Wine Co. ($51 a bottle). Although limited wines and beer are available, the most compelling component of the drink menu is the extensive collection of mostly artisan-produced tequila and

mescales and the dizzying array of associated cocktails. “One of my goals is to highlight the diversity and complexity of agave spirits and how well they can pair with our food,” Leija said. To do so, he has spent the last year scouring Mexico and Baja California for small producers whose fermented agave spirits can seem as nuanced in flavor and texture as some of the rarest Napa cult Cabernets. Touting more than 100 producers, the Gran Eléctrica crafts colorful agave-based cocktails that bring Beltran’s food to another level. Whereas cocktails often compete with food, here its balance and complexity are enhanced. A favorite includes the Margarita de Pepino with Olmeca Altos Plata tequila, merlot triple sec and a cucumber that helps extinguish the spicy chili-lime-salted rim. Also worth a try are the turmeric and pineapple or carrot and ginger margaritas, all $13. A WAVE OF AGAVE AND CORN This exciting new restaurant is at the leading edge of what is fast becoming a broad culinary trend: upscaled Mexican food served with mostly artisan tequila/mezcal cocktails. And the wave will only grow when Thomas Keller opens a similarly focused concept in Yountville or when the third Gran Eléctrica opens. “I am excited about the future, including eating at Keller’s new place when it opens — I bet it’s going to be great,” said Hamawi. “We are constantly thinking about expansion and other new business ideas, and as a matter of fact we have been offered an enticing space for a GE at the Santana Row shopping district in San Jose. However, it’s early days and we still have so much room for improvement here. At this stage our focus is on Napa and building it up to be a local institution and a lucrative business for ourselves and our investors.” Napa’s Gran Eléctrica opens daily for dinner at 5 p.m. and for brunch on the weekends from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Western Sandpipers

SHORE From page 26

engage in separate efforts to monitor wildlife such as native plants and endangered species, but are in frequent communication with one another. Don Brubaker, refuge manager at San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which borders parts of the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, said the state’s restoration complements similar work by the refuge. “We’re restoring a portion of Haire Ranch on the northeast edge of Skaggs Island. The restoration was funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Restorations like these are driven by when money becomes available,” said Brubaker. He said the department and the refuge share goals of managing the marshes effectively, ensuring the health of population of waterfowl, migratory birds, and endangered species like the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, and engaging in law enforcement to prevent theft of resources and unauthorized use. “They patrol their lands and our lands as well, letting us know if there’s anything like a cut chain on a fence. It’s nice to have those eyes and ears out there,” said Brubaker. RESTORATION ASSISTS WITH A NUMBER OF ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS, INCLUDING AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION David Thomson, senior ecologist at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, a nonprofit organization dedicated to avian observation and research, said birds are one of

A burrowing owl

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the first types of wildlife to flock back to a restored area en masse. Some birds that are likely to be present in greater numbers in the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area because of the restoration are three federally endangered species, the Ridgeway’s Rail, the Black Rail, and the Western Snowy Plover. California species of special concern that may also increase in the area include the Samuels Song Sparrow and the San Francisco Common Yellowthroat. Thomson said the restoration will help Napa Valley minimize the impact of agricultural pollution. “Napa Valley … has a considerable amount of agriculture. The salt marshes (will) help clean the water flowing down the Napa River before it reaches the bay. This (will) also include urban runoff,” said Thomson. The Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area is part of the San Francisco Bay Estuary, he said. “(This estuary) is the largest (estuary) on the Pacific Coast of (both continents of ) the Americas. Wildlife biologists consider it of ‘hemispherical importance,’ meaning it is critical to the survival of species in the Northern hemisphere of the planet. Part of this

Short Eared Owl

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importance … is due to wetland loss throughout California. Ninety percent of our state’s wetlands have been lost to development in the Central Valley of California. The species that once used those wetlands have shifted to our estuary for habitat. That makes the estuary even more important that it once was,” said Thomson. Walter Heady, coastal marine ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, said one of the best features of the San Francisco Bay Estuary for wildlife is that there is not much infrastructure and built environment around it. “If a habitat has its back against a concrete wall, it doesn’t have anywhere to go into. The San Francisco Bay Estuary’s wetlands, salt ponds, and upland terrestrial brush back up to agricultural areas and open space,” said Heady. He said the fact that parts of the San Francisco Bay Estuary are separated from towns and cities help species like migratory birds survive. “Birds need to be able to stop along their flight to sleep, rest, and eat. Sometimes they do this for weeks. In addition, this habitat Please see Shore, Page 114

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SHORE From page 113

is incredibly important for fish and invertebrates. The ‘nursery’ of a large estuary allows for extremely high growth rates and much less risk of being eaten,” said Heady. Enlarging these marshes also helps prevent flooding of the built environment, including roads, he said. “When a salt marsh is bigger, that creates a larger area for waves of salt water to diminish in size and not get to the road. The topography and the roughness of the plants in the marshes slow wave action. All the sediment in the water then settles into the marsh plain, preventing erosive forces from washing away roads,” said Heady. LOCAL STUDENTS LEARN FROM ASSISTING WITH RESTORATION WORK John Parodi, restoration manager for Point Blue Conservation Sciences’ Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) program, said Point Blue has been working for the past 12 years to help students and teachers get involved in protecting the wetlands. Point Blue is a Petaluma-based nonprofit focused on wildlife conservation, restoration, and research. STRAW restoration days typically involve students replanting native vegetation at key points in the environment where diversity is low and erosion is likely to occur. One environment that STRAW has worked on is the Napa-Sonoma Salt Marshes Wildlife Area. “Building back the marshes creates resiliency for climate change. With sea level rise, marshes are incredible resources for wildlife, water quality and flood protection for our communities. Having a healthy marsh with native vegetation throughout makes the marsh successful. A larger marsh provides more habitat for wildlife. (It also) has the capacity to handle increased flows from storms. (In addition) a larger marsh will trap more sediment as it comes in the Bay, allowing vegetation to thrive. Thriving vegetation is critical for a healthy marsh, including the wetland to upland transitional area where the wetlands gradually slope up to become the uplands,” said Parodi. He said levee edges can be particularly bare areas about which Point Blue has had concern. Bare areas are not productive for wildlife. Replanting levees allows more vegetation and animal life to thrive, sometimes without human-aided efforts. Valley Oak High School science teacher Julie Lovie said she and her students have participated in STRAW workshops in the 114

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Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area for the past five years. Lovie teaches 11th and 12th graders at this public continuing education high school in Napa. “I think it’s important for my students to be able to contribute to the community and have that power to improve the environment. They also learn from watching science come alive. Watching them work together as a group was incredible. I am signed up to participate in the workshops again this year,” said Lovie. The biannual workshops in the fall and early spring “are the kind of thing I look for to get my students involved,” Lovie said. “At first, they’re a little resistant to grab a shovel and get dirty. Then they really get into it. For some students, (activities like this) level the playing field. Some of them have experience with this (planting vegetation). (Being able to contribute) is a huge thing for them. They understand that they are really accomplishing something,” said Lovie. RESTORATION MAKES MORE NATURAL AREAS ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Shari Gardner, ecologist and former executive director of Friends of the Napa River, is thrilled that the restoration will improve the health of the river and Bay while allowing the community more access to wetland habitats. “The marshland is the lower 15 miles of the Napa River. Much of the marshland is estuarine, fed by freshwater coming down the river through the Napa River watershed. (The marshland is also fed) by water from the San Francisco Bay, which comes up the river with the twice daily high tides. The whole area is really dynamic. The marshes clean the water

and provide critical habitat for juvenile steelhead and salmon, white sturgeon, migratory shorebirds, diving ducks, and osprey,” said Gardner. She said seeing the restored lands as well as the restoration in action helps to change peoples’ attitudes about the need for habitat conservation and protection. “With the old salt ponds being flooded and the toxic levels of salt slowly being diluted, we have a chance to restore the function of this damaged ecosystem. It is wonderful that marshlands close to the river are becoming more accessible. Now there are more opportunities to get out birdwatching, fishing, bicycling and walking. The more people get to interact with the river, the more they’re going to love it,” she said. Gardner said paddlers on the river and channels in the marshlands should mind the tides. “The tides are really powerful. When the tide’s doing you a favor, it’s fantastic and dreamy. If you’re paddling against the tide, it can be really difficult to make any headway. It’s also wise to watch out for the shallows at low tide. Your boat could get stuck in thick mud,” said Gardner. Bob Fisher, owner of Wombat Charters, a Napa boat tour agency that tours the NapaSonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, said individuals who travel into the marshes via boat are already able to see many benefits. “In the last 10 years, different agencies have already done a lot of restoration. This is just an expansion of that project. You will be able to see more birds, including red-tail hawks, blue herons, white pelicans, brown pelicans, and great white egrets. I’ve also seen river otters in slews off the Napa River. There are now more striped bass and sturgeon. I’ve even seen sturgeon jump from the water high into the air,” said Fisher. He said the health of the wetlands evidences itself in multiple ways. “The tide makes the water in the marshes not just sit there in a permanent static state. That water goes in every six hours, filtering the marshes so the water becomes cleaner. I’ve also cut a striped bass open and seen it packed full of shrimp. Shrimp feed on grasses, which means the river system is very healthy,” said Fisher. He said visitors and locals are amazed at the beauty of the marshes. “This is the biggest-kept secret in Napa Valley. There’s a lot of people in Napa and Sonoma counties who have no idea this exists. Tourists sometimes see the Napa River downtown, but that’s all they know about this environment. Hopefully with the expansion of the restoration, all that is going to change,” said Fisher.

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