Inside Napa Valley - Summer 2016

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napa v valley

Summer 2016

Celebrating our super summer

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In this Issue

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7

4

Summer love that lasts

6

A master of Gelato

7

Getting to Know You: Brad Wagenknecht

9

An unexpected delivery — again

10

Where in the Valley?

11

Keeping it local in St. Helena

15

National Parks close to home

18

Camping for all tastes

21

Learning a new way to live

49

The tastes of summer

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Super summer in the Napa Valley N O R M A KO S T E C K A Ad ve r ti s i ng Di re ctor

Norma Kostecka is the advertising director for the Napa Valley Register.

Summer lasts a long time here in Napa Valley, with pleasant temperatures starting early in the year and lingering far after the Autumnal Equinox. That means more fun and more summer memories than almost anywhere else in the country.

So for this edition of Inside Napa Valley magazine, we’ll salute summer. We’ll look at spectacular camping options not far from your front door. We’ll visit the amazing collection of National Parks – celebrating their centennial this year – that are within a day’s drive. We’ll taste some warm-weather recipes from area chefs and mixologists.

And we’ll celebrate a very special summer love that defied the stereotype and lasted far beyond one season.

But that’s not all. We’ll meet some of the people who make Napa Valley special, including a businessman who’s keeping it local in a big-box world and a shop owner who had to learn a new way to live after a traumatic brain injury upended her old life. We’ll learn about the county’s master gelato maker. And we’ll meet a father who’s had the unexpected privilege of delivering two of his children with his own hands.

And we’ll continue with one of our favorite features, a “Where in the Valley”

photo spread, testing your ability to identify quirky places in our community.

And we’ll have another installment of “Getting to Know You,” a personal look at some well-known figures in the Valley.

And as always, we’ll bring you some of our favorite recent pieces from our Napa Valley Publishing family of newspapers, including in-depth coverage of the Valley’s thriving wine and food scene.

So grab some sunscreen, and join us for an extended summer edition of Inside Napa Valley.

On the cover: A ripe cluster of Napa Valley grapes, courtesy of Dennis Hogan Photography.

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Summer love is the stuff of books and movies and some people may think it is cliché by now. But summer can be a time for romance and happily-ever-afters in real life too.

This is the story of Justin and Jenny Lucero and how summer became a very special season for them.

J E N N Y LU C E RO

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e had just moved in together and Justin asked me out on a day date for the following Saturday. I should probably mention that I had been a handful leading up to this. I was hesitant to move in with him before knowing where things were going.

Anyway, I should also note that Justin is always asking me out on dates in advance (yep, I got a keeper) so it wasn’t unusual that he would plan something.

The day came. Everything was business as usual. Except that at the beginning of the date he went and kissed me underneath the tree in

the driveway where we had our very first kiss.

I remember thinking “aww, how cute” what a good start to date day!

We had met at work and we fell in love on all the walks we would take together during the work week.

On our day date, he next took me to our work and we went on a walk. I still had no idea, but I did cry. It was just so thoughtful.

After that he took me to the very first place we ever had lunch together, an amazing Thai food place near our work. Still, I was not suspicious, as this is still a favorite spot of ours.

After that we went to the very first place we ever grabbed a drink together, Thompson’s Corner in Fairfield.

By this time, I had already told him that I was the luckiest girl in the world and that this was the best date day he had ever come with. I figured we were wrapping things up when he said we had one more stop. I had no idea where it could be.

We ended up at Bodega Bay—the first ever trip we took out of town together. It was windy

Summer love

4

and chilly out so he grabbed a blanket and we walked to the down to the beach.

While we were admiring the ocean, he asked to take a couple of pictures of me facing the ocean. Never one to opt out of a photo opportunity, I got busy making sure I was candidly looking at the ocean with my best angel showing.

After what felt like a minute or two I decided to turn around to see just how many pictures he was planning on taking and to see if we should switch it up with a picture of him.

Photos by Amy Little, amylittlephotography.com As I turned around he was down on one knee with a ring in his hand!

I am not usually someone who cries happy I said YES! I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a tears, but I was balling! I fell to the ground with People on the beach were clapping and man who is so thoughtful and considerate who him and kept asking if this was really happen- cheering. This really is the very best moment made our engagement story one of the best. I ing. He was crying too by this point and finally of my life (so far). love you, Justin Lucero!

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Gelato master left a life in medicine to make sweet treat F O R I N S I D E N A PA VA L L E Y

D

r. Anthony LuPriore, co-owner of Frati Gelato at 670 Main Street in the Riverfront building, is arguably one of the two or three best gelato makers in the country.

A humble man by any measure, LuPriore would probably cringe at the accolade, but his business partner and brother-in-law, Ron DeLay, says LuPriore comes by it honestly.

“Anthony is a trained gelato master from the only gelato school recognized by the Italian government, the Accademia della Gelateria Italiana,” DeLay said. “There are maybe three individuals in the states who have that distinction.”

GELATO, THE ITALIAN WAY One expert in the dairy business has knocked on LuPriore’s door numerous times over the years, on behalf of other gelato makers across the country, who ask if LuPriore will work for them as a consultant.

While this is flattering, LuPriore is not interested – he just wants to make gelato for his customers.

LuPriore makes his gelato daily, from 350 recipes he has developed. Chocolate and Frati, a mascarpone-based flavor, are customer favorites, and are available all of the time. The other 10 gelato and six sorbetti flavors are different every day.

He searches the world for ingredients, using Belgian chocolate, and vanillas from Madagascar and Tahiti. The toasted almond gelato is made using a toasted almond paste he sources from Italy, made by “the only people who really understand how to toast almonds,” he said.

The first taste of the gelato releases a strong burst of almonds that is both surprising in its intensity and clarity, as well as being absolutely delicious. His latest concoction is coconut-nectar pecan, which LuPriore describes as having a maple syrup with pecans flavor, all of which can be tasted with the first bite.

The burst of flavors is a characteristic of all LuPriore’s creations, partially the result of using organic whole milk instead of cream.

“Cream coats your tongue, and it takes a moment for the true flavors to get through to 6

your taste buds,” he explained.

Using milk is also one of the reasons why gelato has about two-thirds the calories of ice cream and one-third the fat.

LuPriore was born in Rhode Island. He earned an undergraduate degree in zoology, in preparation for medical school. He was on a waiting list for U.S. med schools when he heard about six U.S. students who were heading to Italy to study the language, culture and to attend medical school there, and he applied. A month later, he was living in a monastery in Umbria, Italy. After two years of 14-hour days studying everything from Latin, architecture, art to Italian, he began medical school. After graduation, he practiced medicine there for over 20 years.

Throughout his career, his love of food, which he gained at his mother’s knees, never left him.

He opened a restaurant in his Perugia, Italy with other Italian physicians. Along the way, he befriended Luca Cavieziel, the man responsible for perfecting the gelato that was first made by monks near Mt. Vesuvius hundreds of years ago.

LuPriore applied to the Accademia della Gelateria Italiana established by Cavieziel, and began an intense, six months training.

After becoming certified, he moved back to the U.S., where he and his brother-in-law, DeLay, decided to open a gelateria in Fullerton, Calif.

DeLay spent 40 years at IBM before retiring in 2008. Traveling to Italy on business afforded DeLay the opportunity to visit LuPriore numerous times. He could see that his brother-in-law was well respected in the culinary world.

“Going into business with Anthony was a no-brainer,” he said. The men closed their successful Fullerton gelateria and moved to Napa, opening in their current location four years ago.

They moved all their equipment with them, most of which was purchased in Italy. The shop is immaculate, so much so that many customers assume they have just opened.

LuPriore estimates that half of their customers come into Frati not knowing anything about gelato. The other half are looking for Frati, based on their reputation.

“We get folks from all over the world, including Italy, who say they haven’t eaten real gelato in this country until Frati,” said LuPriore.

Many loyal customers from Fullerton come just for the gelato.

“That happens all the time,” said DeLay, laughing. “People say, ‘Oh, we were in San Francisco, and figured as long as we were this close that we’d drive over for a gelato.’ That is a huge accolade for us.”

The Cafe is also a full-service coffee shop, serving, as you might suspect, coffees that are as authentic as those found in Italy. Frati also serves eight different Panini, as well as a hot entrée every day. On one day, the special was a Fiocchetti, which LuPriore describes as “a little pasta sack stuffed with gorgonzola cheese and pear with an arugula pesto sauce.”

Frati’s Gelato is open seven days a week, across from The Pear Bistro on the Napa River.

Call 265-0265 or visit fratigelatocafe.com. Do yourself the favor of a visit.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU:

Brad Wagenknecht Inside Napa Valley magazine spent some time recently getting to know Napa County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht a little better as part of a new series looking at the private side of well-known figures in the Valley.

Here are some of the things we learned.

Favorite pair of shoes My Brooks running shoes What’s up with the bike?

Several years ago I won my sweet ride at Bikefest. I park it at the office and ride from meeting to meeting. It was stolen from me at work and Patrick Band found it at Home Depot.

Proudest moment Oh come on, the births of my three kids Gretchen, Fritz and Max — and that has begotten so many more moments.

Most memorable vacation Kat and I did a river cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam, my first time in Germany.

Favorite food Lasagna What cartoon character do you most identify with Pepe Le Pew, a name a student gave decades ago because of how I ran in a relays.

Favorite live concert Napa High Chamber Choir sang for Polly battling cancer. Big concert, It’s a Beautiful Day in the seventies.

Last book read Reread “ To Kill a Mockingbird;” book on tape, “ Game of Thrones.”

Favorite movie “Shawshank Redemption “ If you were on a deserted island what 3 things would you take A book to write in, a blue clicky pen and hope.

Last guilty pleasure Most afternoons I go by Taco Bell and get a Baja Blast freeze for $1.08.

J.L. Sousa, Register

7

Open House

T

he phrase, “love at first sight” has been used to illustrate stories of unconditional love and adoration. This simple phrase has captivated audiences for centuries that yearn for a moment in time where “true love” can be found within a glance, word or moment.

For one local family, this timeless phrase was brought to life by a newborn child in the hands of father-to-be Brian O’Connell – twice.

Brian, a special education instructor at Vintage High School and proud father of three, had his first unexpected encounter with a new birth in 2014, when daughter Grace entered the world suddenly, arriving so fast that mother Brittany O’Connell could not get to a hospital in time once her contractions started.

Arriving paramedics found Grace safely tucked over Brittany’s shoulder, delivered by the proud father.

“Brian is super calm in an emergency situation,” Brittany said. “Only God knows what we can handle and apparently, I can handle emergencies over pain.”

With their third child, the O’Connells decided to repeat the process of giving birth at home but in a somewhat more organized fashion. They arranged for a home delivery

supervised by a midwife.

“We had a plan for a midwife, but to be honest, I secretly hoped that she would not show up in time so I could deliver our son,” O‘Connell admits.

Early on June 23, Brittany’s discomfort escalated and the O’Connells realized that the new baby was on the way. Brian alerted the midwife, who lived only minutes away. Everyone figured they had plenty of time for the midwife to arrive.

The new baby, however, had other plans.

“After I hung up, I put water on my face and heard ‘Brian’ and walked over to my wife and saw the baby. So, I put my hands in position and delivered our baby Joseph at 3:08 a.m.,” said the doting father.

For the second time, Brian had acted as doctor and midwife for his own child.

“I guess I’m not the average person,” he says, “I thought it was a great experience. Talk about bonding with your child.”

Mothers are given the privilege of bonding with their children during pregnancy; they feel every movement, every expression of their own body, and are visibly enhanced by the growth of their child. For Brian, the honored badge of fatherhood encompassed more than traditional support. His experience and desire comforted his wife when she needed him most.

“God has blessed us in so many ways.” Brittany said. “Brian was here. He was the one person I wanted there and I would pick him over anyone else.”

Special delivery Napa father delivers his baby with his own hands — twice VA L E R I E OW E N S

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Tim Carl

Alan Fowler, founder of Alan’s in St. Helena.

Bucking the trend TIM CARL

I

n today’s fast-paced world where many businesses seem to be growing more detached from their communities, with distant corporate ownership and generic products and services, Alan’s in St. Helena is bucking the trend.

Located between Main Street and Oak Avenue, just behind St. Helena Hotel at 1310 Oak Ave., Alan’s provides innovative framing, photographic and design services to the Napa Valley that have delighted customers since 1977.

“We often have long-term relationships with those we serve,” said Alan Fowler, founder of the company. “We’re a small community without many of the big-box stores, and I think that’s always been one of the attractions of this place. What we try and offer is oneon-one personalized service, working with our customers, understanding their unique needs, dreams and time frames.”

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Fowler grew up in Southern California, married and eventually migrated to St. Helena in the mid-1970s. After completing his degree in small-business management at Sonoma State University, he took what might have seemed an odd job at the time.

“My wife and I were struggling, we were on food stamps and the whole shooting match,” said Fowler. “But lo and behold that’s when a friend told me about a possible job, saying there was a guy, Homer Denton, who owned the local yarn shop. Homer had a framing business and he needed help. So I took the job and absolutely fell in love with the business. Later I bought the framing business from Homer.”

The frame shop remained at its original location on Main Street until 2008, when increasing rents drove Fowler to relocate to the current address, the old city jail, which is a beautiful and ivy-covered stone building with

few windows and heavy-hung doors.

“We think the building was built in the late 1880s and was used for grain storage initially until it was converted to a jail, or probably more like a holding cell for those who had a little too much to drink that night,” Fowler said, laughing. “But for us, we have found the space to be an ideal location and environment with a nice large parking lot. Inside, the space is intimate and friendly — It’s not your typical retail space. The stone and wood structure provides warmth and a welcoming environment, kind of like coming home. We have color balanced the lighting to provide very similar lighting to what you might find in your own home. Proper lighting is very important to our work.”

Beyond Alan’s framing business, he has partnered with graphic-design expert Angela Lagle to create a place where customers who

are looking for solutions for nearly any creative project can come.

“Of course we can help our customers with their custom-framing needs, but we also offer the ability to print photos, process film, scan slides, even restore old or new photographs,” said Fowler. “With our 44-inch printer with 120-foot rolls we are also able to create prints ranging from small to large, even long-mural-styled printouts. We also have the largest selection of frame and matting samples in all of Northern California. And with Angela’s expertise in graphic design, we help clients with web and logo creation, develop marketing materials for print and web, and design packaging and style guides. We can even help develop brand identity.”

“Working with Alan has been a wonderful experience,” said Lagle. “And our customers, many of whom are long-time clients, bring in such interesting projects that we are kept on our toes. We also provide other services, too, including taking passport photos, notary services — we even have an instant photo kiosk where customers can print photos directly from their smartphones. For those who need professional product photographs, such as those of wine bottles or labels, we provide this service, too.”

Beyond the many useful offerings, what makes Alan’s especially compelling seems to be the exceptional service and level of quality.

“Alan’s has a way of taking a project to the next level, transforming it into a record of a moment in time,” said Jordan Felling, owner of Pollinate, an experience-design firm, and former chief of staff for Garlen Staglin, owner of Staglin Family Winery.

“After many of our wine events, the Staglins might say, ‘Just take this down to Alan.’

A

lan’s has a way of taking a project to the next level, transforming it into a record of a moment in time. After many of our wine events, the Staglins might say, ‘Just take this down to Alan.’ I’d bring down a pile of menus and photos from a wine event, and when I’d come back he’d transformed it into a stunning record of a moment in time.”

Jordan Felling, owner of Pollinate

I’d bring down a pile of menus and photos from a wine event, and when I’d come back he’d transformed it into a stunning record of a moment in time. And now, working with Angela, we’ve even come up with the marketing imagery and material for my new company, Pollinate. For wineries, many bring in a wine bottle for a professional photo but then have them create tasting sheets, collateral and even get info ready for the website.

This is basically a one-stop shop.”

As if on cue, a woman entered the shop and Fowler excused himself to greet her warmly, as one might welcome an old friend.

“I just wanted to give you this,” the woman said, thrusting out a box of locally made Woodhouse chocolates.

“Thank you, but what is this for?” he asked, taking the box.

“Just a small gift to thank you for that rush job you did for me last week,” she said.

“You didn’t have to do that,” said Fowler, obviously touched by the encounter.

“I know, but neither did you,” she said.

The woman was Napa Valley resident Stephanie Gamble.

“Whenever I come into the shop Alan is so kind and friendly, which I am always grateful for,” said Gamble. “Just last week I came in with a special-rush request. I knew they were really busy, but somehow they were able to get my project completed in time and I was able to take a special gift to my cousin, who’d lost her mother. And it was this gift, the gift that Alan preserved and framed for me so beautifully, that meant so much. He came through for me and it made all the difference for both me and my cousin.”

Angela Lagle, graphic-design expert and new partner at Alan’s in St. Helena, left, and Jordan Felling, owner of Pollinate, an experience-design firm and former chief of staff for Garlen Staglin, owner of Staglin Family Winery, work together on Pollinate’s business collateral and design.

Tim Carl

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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 he’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 62.

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Celebrating a century Some of the best National Parks are in our own backyard JESS LANDER

The Sutro Bath ruins in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Linnaea Mallette, Dreamstime.com

O

n Aug. 25, the National Park Service turns 100. Because of this great organization, we get to visit the most special, beautiful and historically significant places in America, and also share them with our children and future generations to come.

“We’re in the perpetuity business,” said Amanda Kaplan, regional centennial coordinator for the National Park Service. For 100 years we have been protecting America’s most treasured, natural and cultural places. They’re not just about being available for the current generation, they’re about making sure we have places for future generations to connect with, including natural wonders that inspire like Yosemite, but also places that have really important stories in our history like Rosie the Riveter WWII Homefront.”

To celebrate, the collection of National Parks will be putting on a wide range of celebrations and events throughout the year with something Badwater, the lowest point in Death Valley, seen from Dante’s View.

Bpperry, Dreamstime.com

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Jimsimageshop, Dreamstime.com

Talus Cave in Pinnacles National Park.

Dgmate, Dreamstime.com

Dgmate, Dreamstime.com

Crystal Cave in the Sequoia National park.

for everyone, such as ranger programs, volunteer opportunities and festivals. Whether you seek out these celebrations specifically, or plan your own trips, 100 years is the perfect reason to add some extra adventure into you summer and fall with visits to California’s best parks.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area San Francisco Celebrate the centennial all year long with multiple day trips to the Golden Gate National Park Recreation Area, which penetrates Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. Explore the Sutro Baths and hike the Lands End trail, watch the surfers at Ocean Beach, take the ferry to Alcatraz or cross the Golden Gate Bridge, all in San Francisco. Spend a day in the Redwood Forest at Muir Woods, tour the Nike Missile Site, bike through the Marin Headlands or hike to the top of Mount Tamalpais.

Yosemite Sierra Nevada Mountains One of the most famous National Parks in the U.S. sits just a few hours away from Napa.

Most people come here for the waterfalls, but the park is also full of sequoias, meadows, wetlands, dramatic rock formations and amazing views all 16

Spectacular seasonal waterfalls cascade down the sheer cliffs in Yosemite National Park.

around. There are hikes and adventures for peo- Channel Islands ple of all levels, but adrenaline junkies should Ventura add Half Dome to your bucket list. If you plan You don’t have to leave California to island to camp, make your reservations far in advance. hop. This incredibly unique park has five diverse islands to explore: San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Sequoia and Kings Canyon Santa Rosa, Anacapa, and Santa Cruz. Unlike Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare and Fresno any park in Northern California, it’s worth the counties drive and has endless activities. Kayak through If you’ve been there, done that with Yosem- the sea caves of Santa Cruz Island, snorkel or ite, these Sierra Nevada alternatives have plenty dive into the kelp forests near Anacapa Island, of activities, such as rock climbing, hiking along or tackle the 16-mile hike to San Miguel Island’s more than 800 miles of trails, horseback riding Point Bennett, where you’ll get up close with and even spelunking. A hike to Tokopah Falls and more than 30,000 pinnipeds (seals and sea a visit to General Grant, the second-largest sequoia lions). in the world, are a must. For a truly unique experience, take the family on a Crystal Cave Tour.

Death Valley Sierra Nevada Mountains Pinnacles Don’t let the name scare you. Death ValPaicines, San Benito County ley may not be for the faint of heat—it’s the For a change of scenery from the tall red- hottest, driest and lowest National Park—but woods, head south to Pinnacles National Park, proves that deserts can be just as magnificent the result of multiple volcano eruptions from as redwood forests. With 3.4 million acres of 23 million years ago. Hike, rock climb on desert and mountains to explore, you’ll need a the unique volcanic boulders and explore the trusty car for scenic drives and exploring salt famous Talus Caves, home to a large colony of flats, canyons, craters, sand dunes, colorful badbig-eared bats. Pack your binoculars, for you’re lands and yes, even a waterfall. Make a point sure to catch sight of some mighty falcons, to get up to Dante’s View, the best viewpoint eagles and California condors mid-flight. in the park.

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Warm weather means camping options aplenty — not far from your front door

W

e spend our days exploring the infinite depths of the Internet, while missing out on the natural beauty around us, like lush redwood forests, expansive beaches, lakes and waterfalls. A little fresh air is good for all of us, so pack a tent and some s’mores supplies, get outdoors and unplug for a few days at these Bay Area campgrounds.

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park You don’t have to go far to get your camping fix. Bothe-Napa Valley State Park has 30 tent spaces and RV sites ($35 per night), and even room for up to nine walk-ins for spontaneous

types. If you’re not a big fan of sleeping on the ground, Bothe also has Yurts available (starting at $55 weekdays, $70 weekends), each with a queen size bed and the ability to sleep up to seven people. Campsites have easy access to picnicking, miles of hiking trails and a pool.

Spring Lake Regional Park Campground If you want a family vacation that’s affordable and will break everyone away from their phones and tablets, Spring Lake in Santa Rosa is the perfect place. At the center of the park sits the huge lake, great for paddling, sailing or fishing, while swimming or floating takes place

in a spring-fed lagoon. There are also hiking trails (paved and unpaved), a fun and educational environmental discovery center, and a restaurant. Campsites start at $35 and are ideal if you don’t want to go overly rustic with your camping trip.

Doran Beach Campground Take a drive out to Bodega Bay and set down roots at Doran Regional Park, host to one of the largest campgrounds in Sonoma County with 120 tent, trailer and RV campsites available for $35 a night. Spend the day relaxing, swimming or surfing along the two-mile stretch of beach, or take out boats, kayaks or standup paddle boards from the boat launch. Reservations fill up far in advance, but Doran does have 20 first come, first serve sites.

Out in nature

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JESS LANDER

Joe Ferrer, Dreamstime.com

Bodega Bay harbor seen from Doran park

Wildcat Camp The best of the Pt. Reyes backcountry campgrounds, Wildcat Camp sits intimately in an open meadow terrace, overlooking the ocean.

It’s a moderate to strenuous 5.5-mile hike in from the Palomarin Trailhead, but once you’re there, the beach is just a short jaunt away. The highlight of your stay will be the awe-inspiring Alamere Falls, a 40-foot tidefall that flows right onto the beach and out to the ocean, and is just a two-mile roundtrip walk from the campsite.

With only eight sites available (starting at $20/ night), this campground books up far in advance.

Camping permits, which can be obtained from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, are required.

141crew, Dreamstime.com

Alamere Falls near Wildcat Camp near Pt. Reyes.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park For an authentic wilderness adventure without the long drive, hike six miles on the Skylineto-the-Sea trail into Big Basin Redwoods State Park Sunset Camp in Boulder Creek. Rest your head among the redwoods near the stunning Berry Creek Canyon and three big waterfalls, including Golden Cascade Falls, which is so close you can hear it rushing. Sites are $15 per night, plus a $5 reservation fee. Reservations can be made up to two months in advance by calling 831-338-8861. There are four other trail camps within Big Basin to check out if Sunset is booked.

New Mendocino Campground Camping wasn’t for everyone, until glamping became a trend. If you want something a little more luxurious and comfortable, book a site at the New Mendocino Campground, a recent collaboration from Napa Valley locals. Tents that sleep up to six are built on platforms, and feature a deck, beds, butterfly chairs, gourmet coffee makers and more. Guests receive complimentary breakfast, and can enjoy hot showers with heated floors, before heading out to the nearby beach, or to kayak, hike, mountain bike or explore the quaint town of Mendocino. The campground opened at the end of July and is doing a short five-week run for its first year, with rates starting at $125 a night.

Sykes Hot Spring If you’re a serious hiker, camper and adventurer, make the strenuous 10-mile trek from the Pine Ridge trailhead to Sykes Camp in Big Sur. You’ll be relieved to be greeted by the cool river and 100-degree Sykes hot spring—perfect for soaking your aching muscles. This trip can also be used as a great introduction to backpacking, if that’s something you’re thinking of trying. Sykes can get quite overcrowded on busy weekends, but there are two other camps before and after Sykes—Barlow Flat and Redwood— which are just a few miles hike to the springs.

No need to reserve, but pick up a fire permit before heading out.

Ken Wolter, Dreamstime.com

Sempervirens Falls in Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

J.L. Sousa/Register

Bothe’s camping ground features several tent-like yurts.

19

Swim Trunks • Shoes & Sandals • Sunglasses • Accessories • Casual & Work Clothes • Fine Cigars

Tim Carl

Peggy O’Kelly, owner of St. Helena Olive Oil Co., prepares to meditate at her home in the hills outside Calistoga.

G

Mindful recovery When a tramatic brain injury upended her old life, Peggy O’Kelly learned a new way to live TIM CARL

lancing into the rearview mirror, Peggy O’Kelly, owner of the St. Helena Olive Oil Co. saw a car behind her but thought little of it. The traffic ahead had stopped on Highway 29, a normal event.

O’Kelly had noticed it and slowed to stop, but the driver behind her didn’t. When the vehicle crashed into hers, it was traveling at 45 mph, totaling her car and upending her life.

When she awoke in the hospital doctors told her the external scratches and bruises would heal, but what they diagnosed as a minor concussion at the time still remains as a haunting reminder of the traumatic event.

“After the accident doctors told me that I’d be fine with rest,” she said. “So I went home.

I was busy with my business and was in the middle of negotiating a deal with investors to expand. But within a few days I knew something was really wrong. I just couldn’t think straight and I often felt emotional and unable to focus. Then one day I was driving with my daughters, and they said, ‘Mom, there’s something wrong with you, you’re not making any sense.’ That’s when I told myself, ‘I don’t care what these doctors are saying, there is something really, really wrong with me.’”

After repeated visits, however, O’Kelly’s doctors assured her that the effects of the concussion would not last much longer and that she’d soon be back to normal. She waited and tried to carry on.

Yet within a few months of the accident 21

O’Kelly’s entire life had changed: She was forced to relinquish her downtown store in St. Helena and part with her longtime employees, and she was unable to complete her plans to expand the business, forgoing what had been a nearly completed investment deal. Bright light and even a few minutes of concentration had the potential to result in migraine-type headaches and intense fatigue. She remained undiagnosed and concerned.

“With a brain injury it’s not like a broken bone,” said O’Kelly. “There’s no outward sign of the condition and so people just see you and think, ‘Well, you look fine, so things are OK.’ But they’re not. Not at all.”

What O’Kelly eventually came to learn was that she’d suffered a traumatic brain injury.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain with the severity ranging from a brief change in mental status or consciousness to an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. In the United States alone TBI contributes annually to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability, and in 2010, 2.5 million TBIs occurred either as an isolated injury or along with other injuries.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes reports that TBI is the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults in the United States. Depending on the severity, TBI can have a lasting impact on quality of life, causing impaired thinking, decision-making and reasoning, loss of concentration, memory, movement and/or sensation (vision or hearing), emotional problems (personality changes, impulsivity, anxiety and depression) and even epilepsy.

O’Kelly’s old life had disintegrated and she felt unable to function. She was growing more desperate for answers.

“I finally called up a friend who’s a doctor in San Francisco,” she said. “He told me about Dr. Olcese. Working with Dr. O has been wonderful and brought with it a new level of healing.”

Rick Olcese is a clinical neuropsychologist with a private practice in Santa Rosa.

“My work with patients often begins with a neuropsychological evaluation,” he said. “Primarily I see patients who have suffered neurological injury, such as stroke, aneurism or brain tumor.”

According to Olcese, of the estimated nearly 1 million concussions that annually occur in the United States, 80 to 90 percent will resolve within six months to a year, but for the 10 to 20 percent of them that don’t, longer-term strategies are critical.

“Even those patients who have concussions that may resolve within a year, there are tools that can be used early to help improve brain function,” Olcese said. “Over the last 25 years I’ve 22

I developed a three-phased approach that we refer to as our ‘life after neurological injury program’ that addresses cognitive, emotional and physical effects of the condition. As part of our approach, participants join a 16-week workshop to learn more about, then help rebuild the affected neurological functions.”

O’Kelly began her new treatment in earnest.

“A big part of my healing started as soon as I knew what my condition was called,” she said.

“Part of the frustration was never being exactly sure what was happening to me.”

“Over the years we have developed powerful tools to help our clients maintain life-long strategies for healing,” said Olcese. “Peggy was already well-versed in many of the practices, such as good nutrition and meditation, so we were able to build from there relatively quickly.”

“Ultimately I’ve learned how to have a better relationship with my own body and mind,” said O’Kelly. “Working with Dr. Olcese, we went about methodically addressing and refining six key areas: improved nutrition, consistent meditation and exercise, better sleep habits, journaling and maintaining a life pace that allows for healing. Developing specific strategies and approaches within each of these key areas has provided me a new life without the need for medication or surgery.”

Although the techniques developed by Olcese are directed at those with neurological injuries, many of the techniques are applicable for anyone with a stressful life.

“Brain health is something we can rebuild in the injured but can also be improved in anyone whose stress tolerance is compromised,” Olcese said. “For example, utilizing mindful meditation practice can be useful in reducing stress and allowing improved health, both in mind and body.”

Along with O’Kelly’s slowing healing, she is also rebuilding her life and her business.

“After the accident she seems like a different person,” said Art Berliner, founder and managing

t has been a hard and continuing journey.

And I know my work has just started, but for the first time in my life I am learning how to be my own best friend, and I feel like I am coming into union with my body and mind, which has allowed me to just be present, sitting, just being, allowing some stillness in my life. I’m not there yet, but I feel I am moving toward peace.”

director of Walden, a Bay Area venture capital firm who has a second home in St. Helena and is a friend and an unofficial business adviser to O’Kelly. “Ironically she seems more concentrated and deliberate now. I know she is taking a different approach to her business, and Peggy’s always been a survivor, but I am actually more confident in her, somehow — I feel like she might take on less but that she’s more realistic and deliberate now, in some ways, not biting off too much.

And in many ways she seems more content, even though she has some limitations. I see her as a more settled person.”

“Although I’m still not ready to have a company like I used to, with lots of employees and shops, I find my work making hand-crafted olive oils and essential oils … to be an extension of my practice of healing,” O’Kelly said. “Many of my old customers have been patient and supportive and continue to purchase my products.”

When asked if she thinks her life is better or worse now, O’Kelly pauses.

“It has been a hard and continuing journey,” she said. “And I know my work has just started, but for the first time in my life I am learning how to be my own best friend, and I feel like I am coming into union with my body and mind, which has allowed me to just be present, sitting, just being, allowing some stillness in my life. I’m not there yet, but I feel I am moving toward peace.”

St. Helena Olive Oil Co. products can be purchased through O’Kelly’s website, by contacting her directly at orders@sholiveoil.com or by calling 707-815-0563

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Davis Love III is one of the top-tier golfers who has committed to play at the 2016 Safeway Open.

More than a tee time M A RT Y J A M E S a nd S E A N S C U L LY

Charles Kelley

Alternative rock band X Ambassadors

Safeway Open brings golf, food, wine and music to Silverado Country Club

T

he Safeway Open, a $6 million event at Silverado Resort and Spa in October that kicks off the PGA Tour’s 2016-17 season, will be more than just a week of golf on the very challenging North Course.

Befitting the tournament’s Napa Valley location, organizers of the event that runs Oct. 10-16 will make food, wine and music a bigger part of the nationally televised event.

“We believe that when we stage golf tournaments, it’s got to be more than a golf tournament,” said Jeff Sanders, executive vice president for golf events for Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, 24

which is managing the tournament.

A 27,000-square-foot Safeway Food and Wine Pavilion will be built behind the No. 1 green.

Wine country star chefs Thomas Keller, Masaharu Morimoto and Charlie Palmer have already signed on to provide food, while a long list of regional and national wine, beer and spirits producers will be pouring their products. Spectators can purchase food and wine in the pavilion, which will be air conditioned and feature TVs and seating.

“It’s going to be a wonderful place to take a break from watching golf, to go in and get a taste of Napa as it relates to all the wonderful food and wine,” said Sanders, a former PGA Tour player, who will be the executive director of the tournament.

Food carts and other concessions will be located around the course.

Many members of Napa Valley Vintners have

Capital Cities

already signed up to participate in events leading up to and at the tournament, according to Patsy McGaughy, communications director for Napa Valley Vintners.

“We are excited the Safeway Open is coming to Napa Valley this fall,” said McGaughy. “Having a world-class golf tournament in Napa Valley further establishes our region as a leading destination for wine, cuisine and exceptional events.”

Two alternative rock hit-makers and the front man of a Grammy-winning country band will headline a series of concerts in connection with the tournament as well.

Rockers X Ambassadors will play a concert following the PGA tournament action on Thursday, Oct. 13. The band is best known for the 2015 hit “Renegade,” which has been featured in an ad for the Jeep Renegade SUV and in an episode of the TV show “The Flash.” Their second hit,

“Unsteady,” remains on the charts.

The second night of the show will bring to the stage Charles Kelley, lead singer of Lady Antebellum, the country trio that has racked up numerous Grammy and Country Music Association awards and is best known for its 2009 hit “Need You Now.” Kelley is touring in support of his solo debut this year, “The Driver.”

Saturday night will feature Capital Cities, made famous by its 2013 hit “Safe and Sound,” which was also featured in an ad campaign by car company Mazda. The band has a Napa County connection since founding member Ryan Merchant is the son of John and Pat Merchant, owners of Indian Springs Resort in Calistoga.

“Keeping with our theme of food, wine, music and golf we are very excited to bring three nights of music performed by these talented musicians to the Safeway Open for our fans to enjoy,” Sanders said.

The concerts will begin shortly after the last putt of the day, sometime after 6 p.m., and should run 90 minutes or so. The concert stage will be set up in the large oval in front of the mansion at the country club, Sanders said.

The shows will be included in the price of the tickets for either single-day or five-day passes to the PGA tournament. There will be no separate tickets available for the concerts, he said, but prices for every day are modest – as little as $30 per day or $75 for all five days, with

additional discounts available for some Safeway customers – so that music fans could afford to attend the shows without necessarily spending time on the golf course.

This will be the third consecutive year of the PGA Tour at Silverado, which has a history of hosting professional tournament golf, dating back to the late 1960s. The PGA Tour announced last year that Safeway is the new title sponsor of the Safeway Open, formerly known as the Frys.com Open. The new five-year agreement runs through 2020 with the event, which is part of the FedExCup schedule, remaining at Silverado for the duration.

Silverado has a long history of hosting professional tournament golf. The Kaiser International Open Invitational, a PGA Tour event, was played from 1968-1976. The Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic, also a PGA Tour event, was held from 1977-1980. The Transamerica, a Champions Tour event, was played from 1989-2002.

“We are delighted to have Safeway involved with the PGA Tour starting in 2016,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release. Organizers hope the tournament can raise at least $2 million for charities.

The winner’s circle here includes Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Lee Trevino, Tom Kite, Dave Stockton and Billy Casper.

Johnny Miller, who is one of Silverado’s owners and a member of the World Golf Hall

of Fame, captured Kaiser titles in 1974 and ’75.

“To get the Safeway Open, it seems like it was meant to be,” said Miller. “The players just love coming to Napa Valley and to Silverado. I think we’re going to have pretty good fields in the future.”

The winner of the Safeway Open, which will be televised by Golf Channel, gets an invitation to play in the Masters, the first major of the year, in April of 2017.

“We’re working hard to get some of the best golfers. I think we have a good shot at it,” said Bob Miller, the chairman and CEO of Albertsons Companies, LLC. Safeway had an LPGA Tour event in Oregon and Arizona for a number of years. This is the first time that Safeway has been the title sponsor of a PGA Tour event.

“We want to have a big kick-off,” said Bob Miller. “With the size of our company, I wouldn’t be surprised if this tournament goes for many, many years, like a lot of them do.

We’ve got to get the world’s best golfers. If we do that, we’ll have everything else set up to have a great event.”

Clay Gregory, president & CEO of Visit Napa Valley said, “It is great to see the PGA Tour returning to the Napa Valley. The Tour attracts fans that share very similar demographics to the majority of visitors to the Valley. The television coverage provides beautiful images and can’t help but inspire folks to visit.”

J.L. Sousa, Register

Safeway Open Tournament Director David Babcock, second from left, arrives at Cope Family Center in July before presenting a giant check for $50,000. Babcock says the Safeway Foundation plans on donating at least $1.5 million to local charities.

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Submitted photo

Giovanni Zoppé with an audience member.

Circo!

One-ring Zoppé Italian Family Circus returns to Napa in October F O R I N S I D E N A PA VA L L E Y

Napa-based presenting company, E & M Presents, brings the Zoppé Italian Family Circus to the Napa Valley Expo, 575 3rd Street, for five performances on Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2.

Zoppé Circus emerged from humble beginnings more than 160 years ago to become one of the legendary circuses in all of Europe. Today, Zoppé welcomes guests of all ages into its intimate, 500- seat tent for a one-ring circus that honors the best of the Old-World Italian tradition.

“The Zoppé circus is very charming, it’s very funny,” said John Orr of the San Jose Mercury News. “The almost constant laughter of hundreds of children in the audience adds to its charm. It is up-close and personal, with performers coming through the audience at times, or dragging audience members into the ring, and it’s very good with amazing stunts.”

One of the hallmarks of the Zoppé Circus is its variety of ever-changing touring acts. This year’s roster brings an international flavor to the show with new-to-Napa entertainment, including: LA TARUMBA — Caleb Carinci, Renny Spencer and Maxim Panteleenko have fused circus with theatre, music, acrobatics and the equestrian arts; DENISSE SANTOS – the flying trapeze artist and contortionist is a fifth-generation circus performer from Mexico; LIAM HALSTEAD – a Tucson-based, cigar box juggler and tumbler, winner of the coveted Phil Award for “Most Astronomical”; FAEBLE KIEVMAN – the Ukrainian strongman has worked as an actor, clown, circus artist, street performer, musician and all around entertainer in television commercials and in circuses worldwide; 26

RUDOLPH’S PERFORMING CANINES – dogs from Bavaria, as trained and presented by Rudy Heinen and Carla Zoppé-Heinen; JUSTIAN THERRIEN – a circus artist drawn to the French aesthetic style of performance art and the “surprise” alter-ego of Nino the clown; RINGMASTER RAOUL GOMIERO –the master of ceremonies hails from Italy and is a master theater artist, juggler and clown.

Sixth generation circus performer Giovanni Zoppé stars as Nino the clown and says the show aims higher than what passes for circuses

these days.

“We try to touch every emotion,” he said.

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll feel for the characters. It’s more of an event than a show.”

Performances take place Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m., 2.p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Napa Valley Expo, 575 3rd Street, Napa. Tickets are $20/general admission and accessible seating; $30/reserved seating; and children two and under are free on laps.

To view a seating chart and purchase tickets, visit EandMPresents.eventbrite.com or call 707224-4353 for information and group rates.

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Fall Pre-School Programs Little Rascals * Together Time * Pre-K * Wiggle Room Pre-School Sports Programs Mini-Soccer * Mini-Track * Mini-Basketball Mini-Baseball * Indoor Tennis Pre-School Mad Science Series Bugs, Birds & Butterflies * Dinosaurs, Owls & Worms Space, Air & Ice * Sea, Sand Weather & Air Eyes, Ears & the Human Body * Energy, Magnets & Shapes

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NAPA PARKS AND RECREATION FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

September 12- November 19 • regiStratioN DeaDliNe iS September 3

Flag Football League • Grades 2-6 • $90 per player Join us for one of our most popular sports leagues this fall! Our Flag Football league has been designed to emphasize plays, pass patterns, and teamwork. The league allows no blocking and no unsportsmanlike conduct; providing players and fans alike with an exciting and fast-paced experience in a safe environment!

Teams will practice once per week.

Games will be held Saturdays at JFK Softball Fields.

Register online at www.naparec.com or call 707-257-9529 for more information.

Volunteer Coaches Needed

For more information on these programs or to register visit our website

www.naparec.com or contact Recreation Coordinator, Dan Opperman at

707-257-9210

For more information about Parks and Recreation Services Department please visit us online at naparec.com or contact us at 707-257-9529

Many helping hands A R I A N E TAY LO R G AG E

F

ernando Valdes Gonzalez might just be Napa’s bravest little boy.

With the support of his community he has faced it all: a horrific health diagnosis, family hardship, and the trauma of rigorous medical treatment as he battled a bout of cancer, caught only by some miracle.

And now he’s helping his family live out a dream by taking them on a vacation to Hawaii, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

It started with a normal work day for Napa native and public health nurse Maura Snider, who was visiting with the Valdes-Gonzalez family to check up on 5-month-old Fernando.

As one of three Napa public health nurses, Snider sees up to five families a day for reasons ranging from drug abuse to mental health to medical hardship, or merely support for new families. She often checks on children like Fernando to assess development- but on this visit she noticed some alarming new progressions.

“He held his head to the right and was not able to hold his head up,” Snider recalled, and knowing something must be wrong, she recommended the

family to a doctor.

In March 2013 Fernando saw his first doctor and was given an x-ray that showed infantile scoliosis. This visit prompted an MRI in May as the family prepared to deal with Fernando’s serious diagnosis.

“It was so scary; I investigated, searching online, and learned that (scoliosis meant that) he would need, eventually, a surgery,” said Fernando’s mother, Maria Gonzalez.

To the family’s horror, this was only the beginning of little Fernando’s journey.

After his MRI, he was due for another appointment for results in San Francisco.

“I recall this moment- I got a phone call from another office saying to come there, and I remember we got there and the office his appointment was in said ‘cancer,’” Gonzalez remembers.

Community bouys toddler, family through health crisis — and on to the trip of a lifetime 29

“Fernando’s father (Luis Valdes) got confused right away and asked if we were in the right place and they said, ‘yes.’ We just looked at each other and said ‘why?’”

The MRI on his spine, meant to rule out or confirm scoliosis had, by coincidence, been positioned just so, so that it was possible to see that there was a tumor just at the base of his neck, near the brainstem. Had the tumor been higher up, or the MRI slightly lower, the tumor would likely have been overlooked. And had it not been caught at that time, doctors say it could have easily spread to the rest of his body.

Fernando had surgery to remove his tumor in May of 2013, but surgeons were unable to remove it fully, and by August it had grown back. After the exponential growth, he started an aggressive weekly chemotherapy in January of 2015 in U.C. San Francisco.

The treatment was, “very, very tiring,” his mother said. “During this time I found out that I was pregnant with my youngest son. I thought, ‘how am I going to do it?’”

Fernando’s father, Valdes, even scheduled his appointments every Monday, so that he could take him to the city on his days off.

This is where Snider’s work truly comes into action. The Public Health Service, she said, is like a tree, connecting and communicating to and between programs to provide a safety net and support for families like Fernando’s.

In his case it started with the Care Network at the Queen of the Valley. Other programs such as Napa County Public Health -Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Services, were pivotal as he went through treatment, and services such as physical and occupational therapy were provided

by Napa County’s office of California Children’s Services. Fernando also participated in Napa’s infant and preschool program.

His family qualified for and received housing

30

from Napa Valley’s new community housing, and received help with rent from Community Action of Napa Valley. Many others became involved such as Shannon Raber (Nurse Practitioner), Debbie Duplantis and Kendall Sittler (teacher’s at the Napa Infant Program and Napa Preschool Program), Barbara Dondero (School Nurse at the Napa Infant Program) and Hilda Guttierrez (Parent Advocate for Parents Can).

An especially helpful program for Fernando’s mother was Parents Can, which strives to provide guidance for parents raising sick children.

“I got really involved in it and the support groups they offer,” she said. “I learned about resources, and the best part is that they have child care.”

The people at these services become like a second family, “I don’t have much family, just my husbandmost of the help came from the community,” Gonzalez said. “It’s hard. I’m by myself in this country. I consider all these people in all these services my family.”

Finally, in February, Snider contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has granted Fernando a wish beyond expected, a wonderful reward for all the perseverance that the family has consistently had.

Fernando loves Mickey Mouse, but also wanted to see Hawaii. Make-a-Wish was able to combine his desires, providing a trip to Disney’s Aulani Resort on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. His mother said the trip is also a nice treat for his siblings, sister Estrella, 6, and brother Dylan, 2, who have also suffered the strain of Fernando’s illness.

“We’re very excited about it- we talk about it almost every day,” his mother said. “Every time we see something related to the beach the kids point and say ‘let’s take that with us!’”

They will be going this August while Fernando is still in a fortunate spell of good health.

Though there have been tears and triumphs, and Fernando’s journey so far has spanned many years, his story is not yet over. His type of tumor has high recurrence within 10 years. He will be closely monitored for any signs and side effects for the rest of his life, and suffers complications to his vestibular system from his tumor removal surgery, such as an eye problem that requires corrective lenses. In four months he has an appointment for an eye surgery. He also has to continue with both occupational and physical therapy.

Though his trials are not over, as of April, Fernando appeared to be all clear, with no signs of tumor regrowth. Gonzalez credits God for Fernando’s second chance at life — and also the numerous services that came to the rescue.

“This is truly the amazing part,” Snider said, “We all work together to provide support. In another city this family might have been lost.”

If not for the quick responses of every individual involved, their unwavering help, and the chance MRI that miraculously caught his tumorthe beautiful, active, and happy Fernando may not be with us today spreading his infectious joy and love.

Ariane Gage, Inside Napa Valley

On Page 29, Fernando Valdes Gonzalez, center, with his family: mother Maria Gonzalez, father Luis Valdes, and siblings sister Estrella, 6, and brother Dylan, 2. Below, Fernando and his family with some of the many of the medical professionals and county and hospital workers who helped support the boy and his family through his illness. Back row: Ginger Gregory, Teacher, Napa Infant Program; Dr. Kendal Nelson, Pediatrician; Maura Snider, Napa County Public Health Nurse; Dr. Joseph Carrillo, Pediatrician, Harvest Pediatrics; Maria Gonzalez, Mom (holding her youngest child Dylan); Yissel Lopez, Social Worker, QVH Care Network; Soledad Alvarez, infant educator, Napa Infant program; Margarita Contreras, Community Health Aide, Napa County Public Health. Front row: Fernando Valdes Gonzalez ; Luis Valdes, Dad; Estrella Valdes- Gonzalez , sister; Margaret Kuffel, OT, CCS MTU Clinic.

RETRO AROMA

Eighty Four takes the vintners back to their roots

L . P I E RC E C A R S O N | l pc arson@na pa new s . com

32

D

oug Shafer and Elias Fernandez aren’t winemakers who dwell on the past.

They could, however, considering the success they’ve achieved in a three-decade-plus association at Shafer Vineyards that has consistently produced some of the area’s best wines, ranging from remarkable Red Shoulder Ranch chardonnay to the Hillside Select cabernet sauvignon from the estate vineyard in the Stags Leap District.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, both Shafer and Fernandez have been itching to do something different, something new.w “We wanted to have some fun,” Shafer said.

“We wanted to go back to our roots,” adds his wine cellar sidekick, Fernandez.

Over the years, the two industry veterans have mused about the possibilities, “the fun of doing this or that,” Shafer continues. “Yet it made no sense to add more varietals to the Shafer label … (which) might prompt issues for our distributors.”

So Doug approached his family with the idea of launching a new brand, a new label of limited production grape varieties Shafer doesn’t market.

The reaction, says Doug, was “great — you should have done this five or 10 years ago.”

Shafer and Fernandez said that in addition to overseeing the Shafer wine program they could also “have some fun” launching a new small-scale brand. “We didn’t want to be in competition with ourselves,” says Fernandez.

Shafer Vineyards was founded in 1978 by John Shafer, who fled the canyons of the Windy City with family in tow to start life anew in the Napa Valley. Doug began working with his dad in 1983 and hired a recent UC Davis grad, Elias Fernandez, to help with the winemaking effort in 1984.

“For 32 years, we’ve been doing the same thing,” the oldest Shafer son said. “Elias and I wanted to do something new … to tackle something challenging.”

He recalled that “the early years were tough … (but) we were able to innovate, to experiment. It was fun to share. There were spontaneous conversations about the wines others were making, what they’d tried that worked, and what didn’t.

Dad would come to us and tell us what he’d tasted at some event the night before and what a winemaker told him about the process that got them to that wine. That led us to the path we’re now on, the path that allows us to do what we do best.

“Now, Elias and I are having conversations we haven’t had in 20 years. And, we recall those earlier days when everything didn’t run as smooth as planned.”

One of those early days they often point to is Elias’ first day on the job. Doug had ordered the harvest of 30 tons of chardonnay from the family’s vineyards the previous day. The Shafers had a new

press, purchased to handle the ‘84 crush. On the first day of use, the press broke, and as a result, had to be worked manually.

“We were up all night … took turns catching a couple of hours of sleep,” Doug recounts. “My mother brought us food so we’d have the energy to finish.”

Both men laugh, and quickly turn to talking about and tasting the efforts of their new venture, Eighty Four Wines — the name referencing the year the pair began their enological journey.

The first wines they made for their new venture were a couple of reds, a malbec and a petite sirah.

Just released and joining the other two is an albarino, made from a Spanish variety grown on their Red Shoulder Ranch in Carneros, where the winery’s chardonnay is a mainstay.

“We planted 4 acres of albarino in 2012, and this is our first harvest (2015),” said Shafer. “We gave it just four months on the lees in stainless steel barrels — no oak, no malolactic fermentation — so that the resulting wine would be fruity and refreshing. This is our first wine with no oak.”

A lively, juicy wine with refreshing acidity, this initial albarino “is springtime in a bottle,” says Fernandez. “The aromas and flavors are silky, sunny citrus blossom, white peach, honeysuckle and dried apricot with a touch of lavender. We wanted to show you can make great albarino in cabernet country.”

Pr o d u c t i o n of Eighty Four Wines 2015 albarino was limited

Acknowledging the year they began working together at Shafer Vineyards, Doug Shafer and Elias Fernandez have launched a new brand, Eighty Four Wines, with limited production of albarino, malbec and petite sirah wines.

to 150 cases, with the wine retailing for $28 a bottle.

Petite sirah has a long history with Napa Valley growers, Shafer points out. “We first became acquainted with it in the 1980s as a homemade wine local grapegrowers made and stored in their basements. The wine can be a burly wall-of-flavor unless tamed to allow its subtler, delicious dimensions and inherent elegance to emerge.”

“The varietal that needs to be tamed,” is how Fernandez describes petite sirah. “It’s a meal in itself.”

He caught up with Shafer one day in the cellar and told him, “I got it — I know what it needs — four years in oak.”

“No way,” Shafer replied. “Yes way,” insisted Fernandez.

“Well, we’re 50/50 partners in this — no one trumps the other,” Shafer said. The petite sirah got its four years in oak barrels before release.

A rich, intense, dark, massive wine made from hillside fruit from estate and Oak Knoll vineyards, the 2010 Eighty Four Wines petite sirah spent another year in the bottle prior to being offered to the marketplace. Production amounted to 300 cases, with retail price at $65.

In contrast to the petite sirah, malbec — though dark in color — “emerges from initial fermentation soft, supple and juicy,” said Shafer.

“We gave it 20 months in 50 percent new oak to allow it to take on a bit of heft and richness and to speak purely of its varietal character, a generous mix of black and red fruit.”

A grape that is used most often to blend with cabernet sauvignon, malbec at Shafer Vineyards is an important component of its merlot wines.

Made from grapes grown in Stags Leap, Oak Knoll and Yountville tracts, the 2012 malbec offers soft, silky tannins as part of its juicy, refreshing palate.

Production of the 2012 Eighty Four Wines malbec was 600 cases, with the wine selling for $48.

Shafer and Fernandez say these new wines speak to two friends “going full circle — making wine together, tr ying new things, doing what we love.”

Eighty Four Wines can be found in a limited number of retail stores and restaurants throughout California, and can be purchased online at EightyFourWines.com.

33

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as Alcobas — the debut of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Luxury Brand Collection in Napa Valley — has scheduled its opening in St. Helena for September.

And with it comes the debut of the resort’s signature restaurant, Acacia House, the highly anticipated wine country debut of Chris Cosentino, San Francisco chef/restaurateur renowned for his offal cookery and butchery.

A comprehensive multi-million dollar renovation and construction project on the site of the former Grandview Hotel & Spa, located south of the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus, the new luxury resort is a joint venture of Presidio Companies and Las Alcobas Hotel Group.

The new hotel features 68 luxurious guestrooms and suites — all with fireplace-adorned outdoor terraces overlooking the neighboring vineyards and Beringer winery — and includes 10 rooms featuring outdoor soaking tubs situated on private balconies.

Interiors designed by award-winning international design firm Yabu Pushelberg are appointed with custom furniture, Rivolta Carmignani linens and oversized spa-like bathrooms with soaking tubs and showers. Clean and modern finishes in natural tones, as well as the use of warm, organic materials like oak and woven jute, promote a fresh, relaxing feeling, the management team pointed out.

Paying homage to the heritage of Las Alcobas, guestrooms will also feature a selection of handmade soaps and in-room amenities such as market bags crafted in Mexico City, where the brand’s award-winning flagship hotel is located.

“We want to create a lasting impression for our guests and pamper them as if we welcomed them in our own home,” noted Samuel Leizorek, co-developer and founder of Las Alcobas Hotel Group in a press release issued Wednesday. “Our specialized experiences, unique amenities, and

a wellness center where treatments include ancient healing, artisanal handmade products, and an apothecary-style aromatherapy blending bar, according to Dave Shipman, a veteran of the local hospitality industry who is general manager at Las Alcobas.

The spa will feature four single-treatment rooms, a co-ed steam room, a couple’s treatment suite with a private steam room, men’s and women’s locker rooms, and indoor and outdoor relaxation areas. The hotel’s corresponding fitapproachable service will only enhance what is ness center will offer state-of-the-art equipment, already a spectacular destination.” and a dedicated studio for yoga, breath work Chef Chris Cosentino — who will create and meditation classes. The cabana-lined outmenus and man the door pool will also serve stoves at Acacia House as a place for guests — has teamed up once seeking a bit of sun and again with business partrelaxation. ner Oliver Wharton. The “We’d like our guests e’d like two men own and operate to enjoy their own San Francisco’s acclaimed authentic Napa Valour guests Cockscomb restaurant. ley experience during to enjoy their own Set in a historic proptheir stay, whether erty dating to 1907, dining aside locals at authentic Napa Acacia House — the our restaurant, slowing Valley experience building’s original name down at the spa, at a — reflects the rustic private tasting with one during their stay, atmosphere of the former of our vintner friends, inn, updated with modor taking in the vinewhether dining ern elements to showcase yard views from the aside locals at our Cosentino’s renowned comfort of their own combination of bold and room,” says Shipman. restaurant, slowing balanced flavors.

Of note to area down at the spa, at a Cosentino says his residents is the propermenu at Acacia House ty’s 2,200-square-foot private tasting with will capture the prevailevent barn, available ing seasonal sensibility for private events for one of our vintner of wine country with a up to 100 people. The friends, or taking in selection of small and venue is equipped with larger plates designed to an interactive demonthe vineyard views complement a diverse stration kitchen and from the comfort of Napa Valley wine list celbuilt-in AV, and is ebrating both established dividable by two fulltheir own room. and emerging brands. size soundproof walls.

The chef and his Outside, a smaller event Dave Shipman, general manager business partner will lawn can be reserved for also oversee additional intimate wedding cerefood and beverage commonies and events, and ponents at Las Alcobas including an on-site on the Acacia House Verandah small groups can artisan bread program; breakfast, pool, lounge enjoy a private outdoor dining space. and room service; banquets and catering; as well Las Alcobas is located at 1915 Main St. and as picnic baskets and musette bags for cyclists. is offering special opening rates starting at $695 The serenity of the surrounding landscape for fall and beyond. For more information, visit is emulated at the 3,500 square-foot Atrio spa, lasalcobasnapavalley.com.

W

35

Submitted photo

From left, Alycia, Riana, Angelina and Giovanna Mondavi.

Mondavi sisters make their mark S TO RY B Y PAU L F R A N S O N

36

S

ometimes it seems that there are a lot of Mondavis in Napa Valley, but four who aren’t well known today are soon going to become much more prominent.

Angelina, Alycia, Riana and Giovanna — the four daughters of

Marc Mondavi of Charles Krug Winery — have been chosen as honorary chairwomen for Auction Napa Valley in 2018.

Having four siblings chair the important event is significant, but that’s only a part of what the busy sisters are doing.

All four are partners in Dark Matter, unusual long-aged wines made from their immediate family’s vineyards.

In addition, Alycia is general manager of Aloft, a premium Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon distinct from Charles Krug wines.

Riana is northern sales manager for C. Mondavi and Family, the family brand that owns Charles Krug and CK Mondavi as well as CR Cellars and Purple Heart.

Giovanna (Gigi) lives in Boston and works in the financial world, but also is involved in Dark Matter.

Angelina also makes Fourth Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon with her second cousin, Rob Mondavi, grandson of Robert Mondavi and son of Michael Mondavi.

All are the fourth generation of Mondavis in the wine business in the valley. Their great-grandparents were Italian immigrants Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, who bought Charles Krug in 1943. Cesare and Rosa’s sons, Robert Mondavi and Peter Mondavi Sr., were brothers.

The four Mondavi sisters are also the granddaughters of Peter Mondavi Sr., who died earlier this year at 101 after quietly pioneering many innovations in the Napa wine industry.

AN INEVITABLE DIRECTION? It’s hardly surprising that the girls ended up working in wine.

They received their first paychecks for 25 cents an hour, starting when they were 10, as apprentices working around the winery cleaning tanks, soaking bottles, pulling samples, routing hoses, and even running analyses under the direction of Grandpa Peter, father Marc and Uncle Pete. They also worked in the hospitality center.

At that age, they probably weren’t really aware of their legacy: Charles Krug winery is the oldest still-extant winery in Napa Valley and remains one of the largest family-owned wineries in the valley and one with a reputation for innovation.

All of the daughters went off to study, creating a virtual executive suite: production (Angelina), sales (Riana), marketing (Alycia) and finance (Giovanna), but the family has a rule that everyone has to work somewhere else for at least two years before joining the family business.

ANGELINA MONDAVI Angelina Mondavi, 33, attended Villanova University and majored in chemistry with a minor in business.

Her first job after graduation was with Hess Collection, where she worked as a lab rat during harvest.

She next took a harvest position at the Yalumba Wine Company in Barossa Valley, Australia. While in Australia, she earned a master’s degree in oenology and viticulture from the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus.

She became assistant winemaker at Pine Ridge Vineyards in 2007, where she worked with Stacy Clark, now winemaker at Charles Krug.

Angelina was even de facto winemaker for six months after the winemaker left, although respected winemaker Craig Williams helped out.

Angelina next joined Jayson Woodbridge at One True Vine, LLC in 2010 as assistant winemaker, responsible for Hundred Acre, Cherry Pie and Layer Cake.

“I discovered that I liked being outdoors.

I didn’t like being confined to an office.

My wine nerdiness began coming out,” she admits, and her sisters agree jokingly. “She’s the quiet one,” said Riana, who is the opposite.

Earlier this year, Angelina left One True Vine to set up her own wine consultancy, A. Mondavi & Co. “My focus is small-volume, high-quality clients who make 500 to 1,000 cases from their own vineyards. They’re more committed and interested in the wine, and you don’t have to search for good fruit.”

She also is the winemaker for Dark Matter Wines, and co-winemaker for Fourth Leaf.

Suzanne Becker Bronk photo

Angelina Mondavi and her cousin Rob Mondavi created the Fourth Leaf brand. The four sisters are also partners for Dark Matter wines, seen on Page 36.

ALYCIA MONDAVI Alycia Mondavi, 31, graduated from the University of San Diego with degrees in marketing and management in 2007.

She earned her paralegal certificate in 2008 and worked in a law firm in Napa Valley.

She considered becoming a lawyer before choosing wine, but that legal experience has proven useful as she pursued her wine career.

She also worked as an assistant to marketing consultant Kathy Simpson at Cognoscente Fine Wine Marketing helping clients promote their ultra-premium wines. “This helped me get my hands around cult wines,” said Alycia.

In 2012, she joined C. Mondavi & Family, managing the family’s high-end brand Aloft.

In addition to her full-time job with her family’s company, she oversees the marketing and customer relations for Dark Matter Wines.

She has also started working with Kathy Simpson in marketing consulting again.

RIANA MONDAVI Riana Mondavi, 28, manages Northern California regional sales for the family’s portfolio.

37

She developed a passion for food and traveling during high school, but she decided to try her hand in wine sales only after she graduated from Villanova University Business School in 2009. That was a terrible year to look for a job, as the market had just crashed.

Fortunately, she was hired as a wines sales associate Miami for Southern Wine & Spirits, the country’s largest wine and spirits distributor.

She was assigned to on-premise sales in one of the most aggressive sales territories in the country. “They just sort of threw you to the wolves to learn the business,” said Riana, but admits that it was fun.

She added, “I couldn’t do the job I do now without that experience.”

After spending two years learning wine sales, she joined her family’s business as northwest regional sales manager for C. Mondavi & Family in Seattle in January 2011.

Suzanne Becker Bronk photo Riana moved closer to home in fall 2014 and Alycia Mondavi is general manager of Aloft, a Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon distinct from manages Northern California regional sales for Charles Krug wines the family’s portfolio. She lives in Walnut Creek.

She oversees sales and brand management for Dark Matter Wines.

The sisters have chosen innovative packaging best. The 2012 is the current release. It sells for to further set the wine apart. “We want it to $155 per bottle in three packs direct only.

GIOVANNA MONDAVI look different,” said Angelina.

They don’t plan to expand production or Giovanna Mondavi (Gigi), 23, spent her The zinfandel sells for $100 per bottle and add varieties. high school years at Brentwood College, a the cabernet $185, each in three packs. boarding school on Vancouver Island in British AN ERA OF PEACE Columbia.

ALOFT WINE The Mondavi family is known for strong She continued her education in Boston, After a soft 2008 release, Marc Mondavi opinions and disagreements, but the sisters and in 2015, she graduated from the D’Amore relaunched 2009 Aloft cabernet with 100 cases seem to have overcome that background.

McKim School of Business at Northeastern in 2011. Thomas Brown now makes 300-400 “Sometimes we do argue and yell, but then University. cases of the pure cabernet from the pick of Marc it’s all over, and we move on,” said Alycia, Having completed three six-month intern- Mondavi’s 25 acres of vineyards on Howell adding that their mom often gets involved ships, she decided to stay in Boston to focus her Mountain. when they disagree. Riana agrees. “We can career in sales with MFS Investments. “HopeThe wine is not made at Charles Krug, come to agreement,” she said. fully, she’ll bring management skills to us one although the family owns the brand. It’s dis“We’re all really passionate about our day,” Riana said. tributed in three states as well as California and work, but we realize that we shouldn’t cross Gigi manages the social media and assists in sells for $150 in three-packs only. over into each other’s work. We’ve learned to the daily operations of Dark Matter wines.

One ironic benefit of the brand is that it’s respect each other,” said Angelina. the only one in the family’s portfolio that is The same is true of past problems with the DARK MATTER WINE exported; the Krug name is verboten due to other side of the Mondavi family. “The family Angelina worked with winemaker Jayson Krug Champagne, and the Mondavi because drama is behind us,” said Angelina. “We’re a Woodbridge to create the first vintage of Dark of the “other” Mondavi wine company. This is close circle of a family now.”

Matter Howell Mountain zinfandel from 2 giving Alycia useful experience. “We’ve tradeThe sisters will have plenty of opportunity acres of their parent’s vineyard in 2006. marked the name all over the world,” she noted. to disagree and agree as they manage 2018 Under the tutelage of their father, Marc It, like Dark Matter, is also sold direct to Auction Napa Valley. To get experience, AlyMondavi, the four sisters launched the wine consumers, another area relatively new to cia is chairing the e-auction this year, and her from 2 acres of their parents vineyard in Charles Krug, but one that is expanding with mother Janice is recruiting the big lots.

2012. the lure of its renovated tasting room.

And there are more Mondavis coming.

Each vintage is barrel-aged for four years Their uncle, Peter Mondavi Jr., has two chiland bottle-aged for an additional two years FOURTH LEAF dren, Lucio, 21, at Stanford Business School prior to release, far longer than most Napa Fourth Leaf is a small brand created by and Lia, 19, at Harvard. No one is betting Valley wines.

Angelina Mondavi and Rob Mondavi. The first that they won’t join the family business some Staying true to the winemaking style wine was 90 cases produced in 2011 from vine- day. of Dark Matter wines, the sisters recently yard on Atlas Peak owned by Rob and his sister In addition, Angelina is getting married in launched a mountain cabernet sauvignon Deena, and from Angelina’s family vineyard on June, so one day we may have more Mondavis from their parent’s vineyard.

Howell Mountain. in that clan. And it should be noted than Rob They picked just enough grapes for 140 Since then, they’ve produced about 150 cases and Lydia Mondavi have two young sons, too. cases, and call the wine Dark Matter Limitless. per year, and find half from each side works The fifth leaf of Mondavis is emerging.

38

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An insider’s account of the protection of the Napa Valley When Richard Mendelson first visited the Napa Valley in 1979, the wine industry was well into a glorious revival after the debacle of Prohibition. Ahead lay the arduous task of defining and preserving this tiny valley, which had been named the crown jewel of

American wine regions.

Mendelson, a young lawyer in love with wine, plunged into the work. Now, nearly four decades later, he has stepped back to tell the story of a place in “Apellation Napa Valley, Building and Protecting an American Treasure.”

He recounts the story of Napa Valley as no one else ever has in a stunningly beautiful, intelligent and insightful book published this month by Val de Grace Books.

Mendelson grew up in Florida, studied at Harvard, and discovered wine in, of all places, England, when he spent two years at Oxford University.

England, he notes, provided “a wealth of opportunities” to learn for someone whose wine-drinking had been limited to “Mateus rosé and jug wines.” Beyond the cellars of Oxford he discovered tastings in London at Christie’s and Sotheby’s and courses offered by the London Wine and Spirit Trust.

When he finished at

Oxford, he went to that most romantic wine region, Burgundy, where he found a job working for Paul Bouchard, of Bouchard Aîné & Fils, founded in 1750.

While he did find romance in the vineyards — his wife, Marilyn — he also plunged into the challenge of mastering the complex and often bewildering world of the European government wine regulations, in particular the appellation system used to define and organize wine regions.

This work would serve him well when he returned a year later to the U.S. to study law at Stanford.

“As the Paris Tasting [of 1976] revealed, a wine renaissance was underway in America, led by the Napa Valley,” he writes After three years in Europe, “I was ready to return to the United States to witness firsthand this New World transformation...I had no idea how deeply and how quickly I would be drawn into the crucial battles that would help define the future of the Napa Valley and, in a larger sense, the future of the American wine industry.”

Mendelson tells the Napa wine story from its beginning, in the mid-19th century when the first white pioneers began planting grapes. It moves through Prohibition to the revival of wine-making and its transformation to a global player on the wine stage.

With realization that the little valley represented a national treasure, as fragile as it was beautiful, came the inspiration to protect it with the creation of the first- in-the-nation Agricultural Preserve.

Next came the work of defining the Napa

‘A national treasure’ S A S H A PAU L S E N | s p auls e n@na p a n ew s . c o m

42

Valley, the creation of the appellations.

With the American “wine revolution” of the 1970s, Mendelson said, “it was inevitable that we would adopt an a an appellation system and that Napa would lead the way,” Mendelson writes.

Much is often written of the vintners’ challenges in dealing with Mother Nature, but droughts and floods and earthquakes can often pale in comparison to the ordeals of dealing with government bureaucracies, in particular the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — people who don’t taste wine, Mendelson notes but nonetheless have jurisdiction over considerable elements of the wine industry, including the approval Kurt-Inge Eklund photo of appellations.

And then there are Richard Mendelson is the author of the newly published “Appellation Napa Valley” from Val de Grace Books. the people.

“Napa Valley has one been a melting pot of experienced winemakers, by cartographer Sarah MacDonald, original longtime farmers, second-career professionals, drawings by Emily Bonnes, and photography and purebred capitalists, so it is not surprising by Robert Bruno, and Kurt-Inge Eklund. that there were numerous competing visions “It’s a book about locals and by locals,” Menfor what Napa Valley stands for and how it delson said, introducing his supporting cast at apa Valley has one should evolve,” writes the diplomatic Men- a book launch at Stags Leap Wine Cellars that delson. “The constant and sometimes illogical was attended by legends of the valley, such as been a melting pot shifts [were] enlivened by an array of colorful Warren Winiarski. of experienced winemakers, characters.”

“We’re all friends and admirers,” said Linda longtime farmers, secondWith the precision and clarity of a lawyer, Reif, director of the Napa Valley Vintners. career professionals, and but not, thank goodness, with the legal jar- “Through all the ups and downs, Richard has purebred capitalists, so it gon, Mendelson weaves all of these elements stood up for what’s right and what’s possible.” is not surprising that there together. Interspersed with the intricacies of Mendelson’s publisher, Paul Chutkow, who creation appellations from the extraordinarily called Mendelson the Napa Valley’s consigliere, were numerous competing varied geography of one little valley are tales of said, “I don’t think any one else could have writvisions for what Napa Valley outwitting the wily Fred Franzi, (“Sour Grapes”) ten this book.” stands for and how it should and mediating disputes between the cool acaMendelson, who continues to practice law, evolve. The constant and demic Warren Winiarski and the free-spirited and directs the Wine Law and Policy Program sometimes illogical shifts Carl Doumani (“the Hatfields and the McCoys at UC Berkeley’s School of Law, acknowledged of Napa Valley”) and their dispute over Stags — that the challenges continue for Napa Valley: [were] enlivened by an array “Stag’s, Stags’ and Stags” — Leap name rights. water, climate change, traffic and protecting of colorful characters.”

The result is a masterful and compelling the Napa name from creative foreign wine- exccrpt from Appellation Napa Valley account of the real story behind a little valley makers. “But Napa Valley is a true national that today attracts visitors from around the treasure and if we accept it as such, then I think world today and evokes alluring images of glam- the future for Napa Valley is bright.” our and luxurious lifestyles.

And there’s more: Mendelson’s book is beau- Editor’s note: The earlier version of this tiful, a large-format work, elegantly designed story incorrectly identified Richard Mendelby Dorothy Carico Smith, and rich with son’s academic studies at Oxford. He was a works of art that include detailed color maps Marshall Scholar.

N

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Did music festival make local cash registers sing?

JENNIFER HUFFMAN j hu ffma n@napanew s . com

D

epending on which local businesses you ask, BottleRock 2016 was a boom orw bust. Some reported higher sales, while others said the suffered.

Business owners seem to agree that BottleRock,which attracted well over 100,000 attendees, is a good thing for the valley, but many wished it wasn’t held on Memorial Day weekend, which is already a popular holiday.

Baris Yildiz of Ristorante Allegria said his restaurant slowed down during prime concert hours, but picked up between 10 p.m. and midnight.

In a “if you can’t beat them, join them” tactic, Yildiz hosted a booth inside the Expo.

Offering food from both sites helped make up for slower hours at the First Street restaurant, even if it was more work on his end, he said.

However, there is one thing he would like to see changed. “It shouldn’t be on a holiday weekend,” said Yildiz. Memorial Day is already one of his busiest weekends, he said. “Why not have the concert on a different weekend?”

“Devastating” was how Troy Pelzl, managing partner of the Jimmy Vasser Chevrolet-Toyota dealerships, described BottleRock’s effect on his

weekend sales.

Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest car events of the year, he said. Manufacturers spend a lot of money to drive business to the dealerships. But Pelzl said his customers “did not want to deal with the traffic,” real or imagined.

Most dealerships can expect to double or more a normal weekend’s business on Memorial Day weekend. Instead, “We did barely half of what we would do on a regular weekend,” he said. “It was not good.”

While he thought BottleRock seemed well-organized, “If it was done on another weekend, they could be successful and the dealership could be successful at the same time.”

Kevin Massie, owner of Napa Ford, said his dealership didn’t get the usual “lift” from Memorial Day vehicle sales either. “If they did it on another weekend, it’d be better,” he said.

He thinks locals, afraid of getting stuck in traffic, avoid Soscol Avenue. He even warned some shoppers by phone about getting snared in festival traffic coming into Napa.

However, “my observation is that once you get into town, the traffic is not highly impacted,” said Massie.

At Angele restaurant on Main Street, lunch business during BottleRock was up significantly,

BottleRock rocks?

45

Many people brought blankets to sit out on during the performances at BottleRock.

said Kelly Mitchell-Jacks, general manager. In fact, Angele opened earlier over the weekend to accommodate those out before the festival began, she said.

“However, our evening business is quite slower than what it would be on a normal weekend,” she said. That’s disappointing, she said.

“As most restaurants do, we look forward to our holiday weekends to really drive up business,” she said. “We would prefer to see the festival on a different weekend.”

BottleRock was a great for her business, said Becky Anderson, owner of Miyamo boutique on First Street. “There were a lot of people in town — we were really busy in the mornings and early afternoons.” Sales at her clothing shop “were definitely up over last Memorial Day weekend.”

Justin Dragoo of Latitude 38 Entertainment, the festival’s producer, said limitations on the Expo calendar and other community events like graduation, the Home and Garden show at the Expo, NASCAR weekend and Auction Napa Valley influence when the festival can be held.

“The weekend that works best for Napa Valley community calendar is the last weekend in May,” which is not always Memorial Day weekend, he noted.

BottleRock 2013 was held on Mother’s Day weekend and BottleRock 2014 fell on Memorial Day weekend. BottleRock 2015 was not on Memorial Day weekend. BottleRock 2017 is scheduled for May 26-28, 2017 which will be Memorial Day weekend.

Dragoo said that most of the business he has talked to said they were “abnormally busy” right before and then right after the festival. Other business owners are using new tactics to reach those ticket holders including special events, after parties and promotions.

46

Maria Sestito/Register

“We want all of downtown to thrive because of all the new people coming to discover the city of Napa,” said Dragoo. Festival producers are attempting to survey this year’s ticket holders to find out the extent to which they experienced other Napa Valley attractions, he said.

“New people are discovering downtown Napa and realizing that when they come for an event like BottleRock, there’s so much more to see and do in Napa Valley than just go to the music festival,” said Dragoo.

“We’re encouraged by that. If we can make BottleRock become ingrained within the community and have everybody benefit from the new people coming to town that will make us very happy,” he said.

“I understand his perspective,” said Pelzl of Jimmy Vasser Chevrolet-Toyota, “but not only does it cost the business in the dealership, but when you figure the sales tax revenue on the sale of a new vehicle, it costs the city as well.”

“Something has to be done,” said Pelzl.

Carrie Bowman, owner of Napa Valley Wine & Cigar on Silverado Trail, said her business was down 50 percent over a normal Memorial Day weekend.

“Usually it’s a huge tourist weekend for us,” but not this year.

In addition, her parking lot had major clean-up issues, she said. In the mornings after the festival, she found trash, feces, toilet paper and paper towels.

“I think it’s absolutely one of the worst weekends they could pick to do it,” said Bowman.

Hotels are booked by BottleRock visitors and “there’s nowhere for the other people who would normally be here supporting restaurants, wineries and shops,” Bowman said.

“I’m irritated that there has not been any consideration for not only us but all businesses in the

valley,” she said.

Dragoo said Bowman’s report of litter was news to him. “We were not aware of any incidents like that, but anybody that would like some assistance with clean-up should call or email us. We will make sure that any issues are taken care of as quick as possible.”

Rick Molinari of Molinari Caffe said that his business was up double or triple from Thursday to Tuesday, before and after the Memorial Day weekend.

“BottleRock totally helps us a lot,” he said.

“It’s a good customer base, a good vibe.”

“You have to be prepared for it,” he advised.

“Find a way to pull locals in,” such as promotions or incentives, he said. “The locals think they can’t come downtown” but from around 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., there’s plenty of parking and things to do, he noted.

Chris Sakellariou, owner of the Olive Tree Restaurant on Silverado Trail, said he was “very upset.” Due to a lack of customers, he lost an estimated $3,500 in revenue.

“For three days we had no business,” he said.

“They should do it some other place with more room,” such as a vineyard or area away from the city.

“If I can afford to close up next year, I will,” he said.

Barry Dinsmore, general manager at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, said he supports BottleRock, but “it definitely seems to be impacting business,” even UpValley.

“My business goes up 25 percent on a holiday weekend,” he said. This year, “we were down.”

“The locals are hunkering down. They stay away because they think it’s madness. In fact it’s not madness. The reality is, it’s easier to drive around that weekend.”

“It’d be great if they could just not have it on Memorial Day,” he said. “Every hotel would sell out anyway, so have it another weekend when they get another chance to all sell out and then on Memorial Day weekend all the businesses can thrive.”

From a lodging standpoint, BottleRock went well, said Clay Gregory, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley. Among his constituents, “everyone felt they had a good weekend — better than a normal Memorial Day weekend would have been.”

Because there was more demand this Memorial Day weekend, lodging properties got higher and better rates than normal, he said.

“Overall, we’d still like it if it was on a different weekend in May,” he said. “If we could, we’d pick Mother’s Day weekend. That’s the weakest weekend in May for lodging.”

Regardless, “I think they’ve done a really good job of being reflective of the Napa Valley. And it brings a demographic that is a little younger than our average visitor, and hopefully they will come back time and time again.”

Dining in the Napa Valley

47

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Whether you are planning your next wine release party, hosting a small elite gathering, entertaining your best clients, or planning a destination wedding, we look forward to collaborating with you to create a truly exquisite dining experience.

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ummer time is great for eating and drinking—fresh ingredients mean splendid food, warm weather means a cool cocktail is a welcome treat.

Here’s a dish from a Napa chef and drink from a famous Yountville restaurant to make a Napa Valley summer that much more fun.

Chicken Empanadas Bernardo Ayala, Owner/Chef Napa Valley Bistro Tortilla ingredients

• 2 C Maseca flour (corn flour) • 1 tsp. salt • 1 tsp. flour • 1 tbs. bacon fat • ¾ C warm water

Filling Ingredients • 1 lb. oven-roasted chicken breast • 1 onion, diced and sautéed • ½ bunch cilantro, chopped • 1 C cheddar jack cheese, shredded • 2 pasilla peppers, toasted, peeled and diced • 1 tbs. achiote chili paste • ½ C boiling water • Salt and pepper

Summer delights Instructions 1. In a large bowl, mix by hand the Maseca, flour, salt and bacon fat. After these are well mixed, add the warm water. Incorporate until a dough forms. Let rest for 10 minutes. Form 2-3 ounce balls of dough and mash them in a tortilla press (or use a rolling pin and roll them until they are about ¼ inch thick).

2. Add the achiote chili paste to the boiling water and stir until it is completely dissolved. Put the roasted chicken in the freezer for 15 minutes then dice and chop the chicken into small pieces. Add the onions, cilantro, pasilla peppers, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish by adding the achiote-flavored water and mix to incorporate.

3. Put 2-3 ounces of the chicken filling on top of a tortilla. Fold in half and press the edges with a fork to seal.

4. Pan fry or deep fry the empanada in oil until golden brown.

5. Serve garnished with your favorite ingredients. At the restaurant, we garnish with black bean puree, cabbage slaw, tomatillo-avocado salsa, lime crème fraiche and guajillo chili salsa.

The “Theodore J. Mooney” cocktail Jeff Gillis, Director of Food & Beverage Lucy at Bardessono Hotel & Spa The cocktail is featured on Lucy Restaurant & Bar’s signature cocktail menu inspired by the classic “I Love Lucy” and was created to honor National Bourbon Month in September.

• 2 oz Makers Mark • 1/2 oz lemon juice • 1/2 oz agave • 1/2 oz sweet vermouth

Muddle 2 blackberries, shake all ingredients together. Double strain and garnish with a blackberry flag.

49

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ALA CARTE BAR MENU Smaller portions of your favorite dishes served at our bar.

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Happy “Day” Thank you for your ongoing support.

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50

11am-6pm

Brunch at the Carneros Farm Family-style service complements garden-inspired menu S A S H A PAU L S E N s pa u l s e n @n ap an e w s.c om Every once in a while, it’s fun to play tourist, to see this valley as visitors do; but that’s not why we went to brunch at Farm last week.

Farm at Carneros Inn launched its brunch a few weeks ago with locals in mind, said executive chef Aaron Meneghelli, a Napa native who oversees the culinary team at the upscale resort in southwest Napa.

“We wanted to do something a little different,” Meneghelli said, as he brought out samples of the dishes he’s devising for the brunch service.

It will be a changing menu inspired by what he finds in the Farm gardens and from local producers, he said.

What won’t change, however, is the vista from the veranda at Farm. You can eat inside, but on a perfect sunny Sunday, few brunchers were opting for this. It was far more pleasant to sit in the shaded porch and watch bocce players while sipping one of the Farm brunch cocktails.

Even these, Meneghelli noted, take their inspiration, if not their ingredients from the Farm gardens: Farm carrots are in the Ox Heart, along with Uncle Val’s botanical gin, apricots, and ginger beer. The Bloody Mary, too, gets its smoked tomato juice out of the gardens. I opted for a taste of the Mimosa, which combines sparkling wine from Domaine Carneros down the street with either peach or orange juice.

I followed this with a wonderful Chablis (Willam Fevre, 2014) from the brunch wine list.

But to get to the food: Rather than offer a traditional brunch buffet, Meneghelli has designed an inventive family-style menu. The way it works is that a table can choose four dishes to share from an extensive menu. The portions are generous: One of the four items we chose was the Blueberry Crostada, and each person got an individual pastry, plump with fresh berries and garnished

with lemon zest and creme fraiche.

The menu goes from light to decadent choices. On the lighter side, some of the options offered on this particular Sunday morning were Deviled Eggs with Siberian Caviar, Beets and Berries with fresh ricotta, garden greens, pistachios and granola, and Roasted Aspara g u s served with hen of t h e

woods mushrooms and sunny-side-up eggs.

A favorite at our table was the Avocado Toast, a colorful dish served on rye bread with smoked salmon, capers, pickled pearl onions and garnished with garden flowers.

“We make everything that we can in house,” Meneghelli said, noting that the breads are house-made, as are the capers and pickled vegetables. “The salmon, of course, isn’t from Farm, but we did smoke it here.”

The local favorite Silverado Trail strawberries are featured in the Buttermilk Biscuit dish that comes with house-made foie gras mousse.

Eggs? There are several choices. Scrambled eggs were dished up on a tasty flatbread drizzled with creme fraiche and trumpet mushrooms.

Another of our hands-down favorites, however, was the simple Bacon and Eggs, which Meneghelli scrambles soft, using a French technique that involves stirring them as you cook them. The “bacon” was prosciutto chips, tucked about in the eggs, which were finished with a sprinkling of white truffle powder.

I would have been entirely happy with just these eggs and the Chablis, but we digressed into two other dishes as well. The perfectly decadent Brioche French Toast with caramelized bananas and candied pecans, and the Lobster BLT, a lavish serving of the crustacean served on a fresh house-baked roll — that was another favorite.

As you can see, it’s easy to rack up the favorites here. We had to pack up half the meal to take home. We wanted to be able to move to play bocce before we left.

Other offerings that day included Shrimp and Grits, Cavatelli Pasta Cabonara with a house bacon and cured egg yolk, Seared Alaskan Halibut, Smoked Chicken and Waffle with pepper jelly and maple syrup, and possibly topping the decadent list, Crispy Duck Confit with poached eggs and pickled ramp — a frisee salad for a healthy touch.

Farm at The Carneros Inn, previously only open for dinner, is serving Sunday brunch at the newly renovated outdoor patio and with a round of bocce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $45 per person.

The Carneros Inn is at 4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa. To reserve a table, call 707-299-4880 or book through OpenTable. Bocce courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For information, visit FarmAtTheCarnerosInn.com.

Trinette Reed Photography

Chef Aaron Meneghelli of The Carneros Inn.

51

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Red Rock North

Tim Carl photo

The newly opened Two Birds One Stone restaurant, located in the recently restored Freemark Abbey just north of St. Helena on Highway 29, has outdoor dining and yakitori-styled grills to cook California-inspired cuisine that has a distinct Japanese influence. Inset, A variety of grilled skewers are on the menu of Two Birds One Stone.

St. Helena restaurant combines California, Japanese cuisine

Taming fire at Two Birds One Stone TIM CARL

J

ust north of downtown St. Helena, housed in the newly renovated Freemark Abbey Winery, the Two Birds One Stone restaurant has been buzzing since it opened on June 19. The unique menu concept stems from two of the managing partners’ vision: chefs Douglas Keane (Cyrus) and Sang Yoon (Lukshon and Father’s Office in Los Angeles), whose passion for Japanese and California’s wine-country cuisine has merged to create something surprising.

“Sang and I have been friends for years, and when this opportunity came up we were both really excited to bring something completely new to the valley,” Keane said.

So he and his partner brought together an experienced team, including Nick Peyton, his former partner at Cyrus, and together they’ve created a Japanese-yakitori-inspired restaurant that is not typical when it comes to expected Napa Valley fare.

“We think of Two Birds as a fine-casual restaurant that serves California-inspired cuisine that has Japanese influence,” said Yoon.

“We didn’t think that the Napa Valley needed 54

The interior of the newly opened Two Birds One Stone.

Tim Carl photo

another Euro-centric restaurant — there are so started exploring this area and found there were many great ones already — and coming from very few Asian-inspired restaurants.

Los Angeles I was a little surprised when I “Doug and I both think that the proximity

of fresh vegetables and other amazing local farm products fits perfectly with the clean flavors and techniques of Japanese cuisine. We also believe these flavors open up a new element in many of the wines made in the area.”

Yakitori restaurants are typically casual eateries that offer small plates of grilled chicken and vegetable skewers, but Two Birds has expanded the concept to include the chef ’s variety of influences, creating items such as Wagyu short ribs with Korean barbecue ($17) and chicken thighs with Thai-basil vinaigrette ($10).

The menu also includes fine-dining dishes such as a foie gras parfait with cherry blossom gelée ($12) and warm duck-egg custard with lemon verbena and crab ($14). Many of the offerings have a distinct “farm-to-table” sensibility, like the “Tucker’s Daily Harvest” with edamame puree and aerated tofu ($13).

“I really enjoy growing for these two talented chefs,” said Taylor Tucker, the farmer who has been known as the “vegetable whisperer” ever since his days curating the French Laundry gardens. “It is so much fun providing a palette of produce for them and seeing their creative sparks. Although they may have certain ideas for a dish, they are flexible and adapt to what we may be harvesting on any given day. From a farmer’s perspective, this is a dream collaboration.”

In the main dining room, guests sit at simple but heavy wooden tables that are large enough to accommodate plenty of plates and glasses. The sound level of the room is comfortable with plenty of open space. Food and drink orders are given to computer-tablet-toting waitstaff who encourage sharing items.

“My favorite dish of the evening was the chicken meatballs,” said Brandon Sharp, executive chef as Solbar, Calistoga’s only Michelin-rated restaurant. “They were tender and velvety, and the soigné knife work on the scallions showed off the kitchen’s finesse. Just because something is uncomplicated doesn’t make it easy (try drawing a perfect circle in freehand).”

“I think the flavors of all the food were tasty,” said Staci Printz from Angwin. “Some of the textures were distinctly Japanese (like the foie gras that was creamy), which will take a little getting used to. The scallion pancake and the kale salad were delicious. All the dishes were unique and different and not like the other things you get in the valley, so this is a nice addition.”

“Better than expected — and I expected a lot from this A-level team,” said Dave Yewell, a grapegrower from St. Helena. “My ‘Forbidden Rice’ was perfect — chewy, not crispy.

My wife and I ordered five things, but there are 25 more that we want to order. Each of the dishes was complex and rich, full of

Inside the kitchen at Two Birds One Stone.

umami flavors, giving them a distinct Asian element.”

Most of the food is cooked over specially designed yakatori grills that are fueled with a mixture of wood, including binchotan charcoal from Japan.

“Technology has provided cooks the ability to regulate temperature to a 10th of a degree, but what we’re doing at Two Birds is learning to tame fire,” said Yoon. “The Binchotan provides an even heat that is smokeless and is the standard for yakatori. Here we’re adding in some local oak and even grapevine clippings to impart our own special blend of smoke to flavor the food.”

Beyond the unique food offerings and techniques, the wine program is innovative as well.

“We want to celebrate local winemakers and wineries, and not just a few,” said Kevin Reilly, master sommelier and general manager.

“So we created a by-the-glass wine program that will rotate 12 different local winemakers’ passion projects, such as Steve Matthiasson’s rose of grenache, syrah and mourvedre made from grapes grown in Napa Valley and Dunnigan Hills (Yolo County).

“Because we can’t carry all the wines from all the wineries, we have no corkage policy for any Napa or Sonoma wine (one bottle per person). That way, if you are local or a visitor you can just bring in your favorite local bottle and we’ll open it for free.

“We do have a few bottles of wines for sale on the list, but these are for the folks that want to try something from outside the region. This also means that we are not competing with our local vintners. It’s a new approach, but our hope is that people get comfortable bringing in their own bottles.”

In addition to the 12 wines, there are 12 beers on tap ($5 to $7), from local craft brewers. Wines can be ordered in 5-, 13- or 26-ounce pours. Prices for the 5-ounce pours range from $9 to $18. The cocktail program

Tim Carl photo

focuses on Japanese whiskies and may include accompaniments such as umeshu (a liqueur made from Japanese apricots) and yuzu (an East Asian citrus) honey.

The space is broken into a series of distinct social gathering places: bar, banquette, main dining room, private dining space and the outside area.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant has been redesigned with SB Architects, along with interior design firm Brayton Hughes Design Studios, the Two Birds team and the building’s owners, Jackson Family Wines. The building retains its historic nature but brings with it a simplicity that has almost a zen feel to it.

“We were tasked with preserving the overall historic look and feel of the building,” said Jim Brenza, project architect. “By keeping the stone walls in place and using the steel columns and trusses, we’ve been able to create a modern update while keeping the original integrity intact. The long, linear skylights in the roof provide openness and light.”

The indoor dining room seats 80, with 35 additional seats on the outdoor patio, which is complete with its own yakitori grill. There is comfortable seating adjacent to soft-sounding fountains and modern fire sculptures that both provide an intimate setting and help mitigate the traffic from nearby Highway 29.

There are many reasons to be excited about Two Birds One Stone. And like all new restaurants, there are sure to be slight modifications and adjustments.

“They have a million great ideas, from the outdoor bar to the tablet POS system,” said Sharp. “And given my experience, the Napa dining public will be more than happy to tell them which ideas work best.”

“We’re not afraid to stroke the cat backwards,” said Yoon. “And we believe people will find Two Birds a wonderful addition to what is, of course, already a fantastic food culture. I’m really looking forward to the road ahead.”

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Steel buttresses supported the tilted west wall of the historic winery building at Trefethen Family Vineyards after the 2014 earthquake. The building, built in 1886, is slated to reopen next spring after extensive repairs.

J.L. Sousa, Registerphotos

Trefethen Family Vineyards vintner Hailey Trefethen leads a tour of the historic winery building that was damaged in the August 2014 earthquake.

Trefethen winery recovering from quake in fine style H OWA R D Y U N E h yun e@n ap an e ws.com

O

ne of the most dramatic images of the Napa earthquake is becoming one of the most visible signs of the area’s recovery – and visitors will be able to see inside for themselves, starting early next year.

Those walking or driving past the historic wooden winery building at Trefethen Family Vineyards in north Napa see a silhouette as sharp and upright as it has been for most of its 130 years.

Gone is the dogleg westward tilt the West Napa Fault violently bent into the structure on Aug. 24, 2014, corrected last year with a system of steel braces and jacks.

With the winery building righted on the outside, Trefethen is working on an interior overhaul of the redwood building the company says will allow wine-tasting guests to return in the first quarter of 2017.

A new concrete floor has been poured on the ground floor, with similar flooring to follow upstairs. The building has received a new roof, original windows are being repaired or replaced, and the structure is due to receive an elevator and modernized climate control, plumbing and electrical systems, according to Trefethen spokeswoman

Mimi Gatens.

Shadowing the Trefethen building’s wooden support beams is a new web of supports, a “moment frame” composed of steel beams and brackets to take on the structural load and resist future seismic shocks.

On reopening, tastings will be moved from the ground floor to the second floor, where visitors will gain a panoramic view of the vineyards in the Oak Knoll district. Winemaking equipment will trade places with the tasting area, moving to ground level.

Trefethen’s showcase landmark, which opened in 1886 as the Eshcol winery and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been closed since the the 2014 quake bent the lower level 4 feet to the west. With no hardware to bind support posts to the foundation, several columns fractured and stayed in place only by the force of gravity, leaving the building in a state that was “one more aftershock or one more seismic wave away from being disastrous,” according to Kevin Zucco, a structural engineer consulting the winery.

Within two weeks workers assembled a web of vertical and diagonal steel beams to buttress the leaning west wall, giving Trefethen time to devise a repair plan. By April 2015, a team of workers had prepared a combination of supports and jacks intended to slowly, gently raise the aged redwood back upright.

Damage from the 2014 earthquake left the Eshcol building at Trefethen Family Vineyards leaning 4 feet to the west. The building, built in 1886, formerly contained offices, the tasting room and barrel storage.

In fact, the straightening process did not need to be so gradual after all, recalled Hailey Trefethen, who works in winemaking and viticulture operations for the family-owned winery.

“That building wants to be straight,” she said during a Thursday tour of the building. “This process that we thought would take a month only took five days. People laugh when I say this, but it’s probably straighter than it was before the quake.”

As the old Trefethen building enters the final months of its renovation, the winery has begun hosting guests at another historic part of the property – the garden-lined, Arts and Craftsstyle villa that was built around 1920 and later became the home of Catherine and Eugene Trefethen, who revived the wine estate in 1968.

Tastings inside the house began June 16 – the first-ever public use of the space – replacing a large banquet tent where the winery had hosted its customers since the quake.

Trefethen is accepting guests inside the villa only by appointment, but expects to allow drop-in visits again when the Eshcol building reopens, according to Hailey Trefethen. Afterward, the villa will remain open for “premium” experiences such as the tasting of reserve wines, Gatens said.

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‘Flavors of home’ L . P I E RC E C A R S O N | l pc arson@na pa new s . com

I

t wouldn’t stretch the truth to say that Kadriye Baspehlivan was raised in the kitchen.

Her parents owned and operated a small restaurant in Istanbul, the city where she was born.

Young Kadriye (CAHD—ree-a) loved helping the women in the family not only with meal preparation but, as she grew older, sticking her nose into the restaurant kitchen.

So it surprised no one in the family when the young Turkish woman chose culinary arts as her profession.

That decision would lead to Kadriye Baspehlivan becoming the first woman from the Bosphorus to take charge of a restaurant kitchen in the Napa Valley.

It was not an easy route that she chose — although the welcome she received from restaurateurs Yusuf Topal and Ali Yildrum now prompts memories of home. The two men are the driving forces behind Tarla — where Kadriye is executive chef — and Napkins in downtown Napa.

The road to Napa Valley for Tarla’s chef began a decade ago when she met and fell in love with a native of Turkey who was living and working in California — Fresno, to be exact. The couple married in their native land and settled nine years ago in Fresno where husband Murat was employed.

Kadriye had been working not only in her parents’ restaurant in Istanbul but in other popular establishments in this city, like Rome, built on seven hills. Married life was swell, but she missed the challenges and camaraderie of the commercial kitchen.

To pursue a chef’s career in the United States, Kadriye and Murat agreed that some formal education was required. “We decided it was important that I should go to one of the best (schools), and that was the Culinary Institute of America (at Greystone in St. Helena),” the soft-spoken chef said.

After she enrolled at CIA Greystone, Kadriye went looking for a job locally. “I wanted to work while I was a student, so I knew Tarla was a Mediterranean restaurant and I stopped by,” she continued. Opening chef Michael Powell welcomed her to the culinary team.

While she had developed important culinary skills in her native country, Kadriye wanted to hone them with some of the best instructors in the field as well as get practical experience in a busy restaurant kitchen. But that goal came with a cost. She studied and Please see Flavors, Page 66

58

Sasha Paulsen, Register photos

This Turkish salad — a mix of diced seasonal vegetables and herbs along with pomegranate seeds, spices and pomegranate molasses — is traditionally served with kebab. The spice of the salad is an ideal counterpoint to the minced lamb of the kebab, says Tarla proprietor Yusuf Topal.

Stuffed vegetables are a staple of the Turkish diet.

Tarla executive chef Kadriye Baspehlivan features an artichoke stuffed with English peas, carrots and dill, served with a chardonnay syrup sauce.

A yummy appetizer now on the menu at Tarla is Tamara Salata, accompanied by beet chips. It’s the chef’s version of a salmon pate, topped with pungent salmon roe — a great way to begin a meal at the First Street restaurant.

Tarla executive chef Kadriye Baspehlivan cuts into fresh-from-theoven Perde Pilavi, a specialty of Siirt, a city not far from Turkey’s Syrian and Iraqi borders. To be offered as a special at Tarla, this celebratory parcel — stuffed with spiced chicken, almonds, currants, herbs, spices and perfumed rice — takes time to prepare and employs age-old cooking techniques the chef acquired in her native Turkey.

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A

sk most Americans what they know and like about Japanese cuisine and most will recount their experiences eating sushi.

A more knowledgeable few might relate other fast-food encounters, such as dining on soba noodles or tempura dishes.

Half a century ago in this country, the so-called Japanese dining experience would have focused on sukiyaki, known in Japan as the “friendship dish,” as the combination of bite-sized pieces of meat, vegetables, noodles and tofu appealed to foreigners.

Yet Japanese cuisine is a whole lot more, even though its main ingredients are simply rice, vegetables and fish.

At the beginning of this decade, we began to see a new style of Japanese eatery popping

up, the izakaya.

At the annual Culinary Institute of America conference in St. Helena nearly six years ago — where the focus was on all things Japanese — the arrival of the izakaya was spelled out by a young San Francisco chef, Nick Balla, who, at the time, operated one in the Mission.

Balla informed us that basically an izakaya is a Japanese small plates spot that traditionally serves sake.

A bit of research showed the Japanese izakaya

concept came about first in the 1980s — informal dining and social places patronized by mostly men. Today, everyone goes to the izakaya for drinks and small bites.

And now, the izakaya has come to downtown Napa, thanks to chef Curtis Di Fede, a true disciple of the cuisine in the Land of the Rising Sun. As one might expect, the concept of the izakaya is rooted in recent tradition but not afraid to let in new ideas.

Initially in Japan, izakayas were places to get cheap food, where you’d pay one price for all you could eat and drink. Throughout Japan, that has evolved into places to go for good food and drink served in an informal setting. That’s the model Di Fede is following in his new downtown Napa izakaya, the first of its kind in wine country.

Foodies flock to valley’s first izakaya L . P I E RC E C A R S O N | l pc arson@na pa new s . com

Bob McClenahan photo

60

One of the menu staples at Napa’s first izakaya is ramen, a hearty noodle soup that incorporates a wealth of complementary ingredients, evidenced in the Paitan Ramen. A constantly rotating selection of ramen will be featured at Miminashi.

“If you wanted to describe the food, you would find grandmother-style dishes and basic sauces … a lot of popular dishes,” Balla told the CIA conference. “In this country, I guess the best description for izakaya would be a mix of a place serving tapas and American dive bar.”

Pulling open the massive hand-carved Mount Fuji poplar door to enter Miminashi from Coombs Street, the diner should not expect to find the dive bar as described by Balla. Rather, one encounters a highly stylized dining room and imposing bar — the latter a 22-foot-long arrow anchoring the eatery below two peaked ceilings that represent Buddhist and Shinto temples.

A convivial collaboration between Di Fede and designer Michael McDermott, Miminashi’s design incorporates natural and reclaimed woods typically found in the traditional Japanese izakaya. The bar and tabletops Bob McClenahan photo are beveled 5-inch-thick solid wood slabs with Using a mix of poplar, Douglas fir, Japanese pine and maple woods, the interior of Miminashi is an hand-wrought steel bases. earthy stylized design that is earning kudos from diners. It includes a binchotan grill and two peaked An open binchotan grill provides background to the omakase counter seating for five while booths emphasize privacy along the opposite wall. Including the bar, Miminashi can accommodate up to 80 diners at dinner.

A front window on Coombs dispenses Sightglass coffee in the morning, Japanese soft cream in a variety of flavors throughout the day.

Asked about his shift from cooking Italian — he was an opening partner in Napa’s Oenotri — to Japanese, Di Fede said he’d “always wanted to do a noodle bar. In 2013, I went to Japan and fell in love with it. I feel it’s similar to Italy because of the dedication to craft — the Japanese are more disciplined, however.”

When he and former partner Tyler Rodde opened Oenotri, “we brought a quite different concept of Italian restaurant to downtown,” Di Fede said. “I want to do the same with a Japanese restaurant.”

NO SUSHI AT MIMINASHI Diners can order a variety of raw fish at chef Di Fede’s new izakaya but it doesn’t come to the table as sushi. In fact, there’s no sushi on the menu at Miminashi. Rice here is served in bowls, such as donburi, or is fried, and offered with seasonal treats like soft shell crab.

The menu — a quarter of which changes daily — features everything from donabe (clay pot dishes) to yakitori (chicken skewers that spotlight every part of the fowl, from wing to tail, breast to gizzard, skin to cartilage).

Yakitori skewers ($5-$9) also incorporate beef tongue and rib as well as trout belly.

There’s Japanese-style fried chicken (katsu, $18), and a couple of ramen options ($16).

The chicken and pork gyoza (dumplings,

Bob McClenahan photo

The imposing “Mount Fuji” entrance and door — hand-carved from poplar — along with a simple neon kanji sign, mark the entrance to Miminashi.

$11) incorporate savory ginger and garlic and will be a must-have dish for return visits to the new izakaya.

Numerous items are cooked on a robata grill, which uses binchotan coals (white charcoal produced from oak, elm and maple wood). On a recent visit, binchotan roasted asparagus ($13) was served with black garlic, wakame, puffed rice, fried egg and shaved bonito. Keep your eye on the bonito shavings

as they dance on the plate due to the heat generated by just-off-the-grill asparagus.

Binchotan grilled skirt steak was the main ingredient in the evening’s abundant donburi ($16).

As with most restaurants in Japan, a tasting menu, or omakase, is offered at Napa’s izakaya. The phrase means, “It’s up to you.”

Continued on Page 67

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1 Photos by J.L. Sousa/Register

Banner on the Napa Valley Opera House announcing the opening this fall of Blue Note Napa.

The answers Here are the answers to our Where in the Valley quiz from Page 10.

Mount St. Helena Golf Course in Calistoga.

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Above, Napa Valley Wine Train post office car. At left, The Napa Valley Register’s former office on Second Street.

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Craft brewer coming to town

An artist rendering of the planned Stone Brewing facility in the Borreo Building.

Robert Becker with Digital Frontier for Napa Design Partners.

Stone Brewing to be in Borreo landmark S E A N S C U L LY ssc u l l y@napanews . com Stone Brewing, one of craft beer’s most recognizable brands, will open a new brewery and restaurant in downtown Napa’s historic Borreo building as early as next spring.

“The historic Borreo building is the perfect space for us to put down our roots in Napa,” Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of the San Diego brewer, said in a release announcing the project. “Not only is it literally made of stone, it’s one of downtown’s most iconic links to the 19th century and a landmark that’s been vacant for the past 15 years.”

The brewery will offer the full line of Stone’s core beers, typically known for their robust hoppiness and strong alcohol, but will also offer unique beers available only in Napa.

“We recognize the high quality of wine that comes from the region and the appreciation that Napa Valley locals and visitors have for fresh, well-crafted drink. We are elated to become a contributing part of such an artisanal town,” said Koch. He has been vacationing in the area for 20 years and has scouted locations in Napa

County, including a previous attempt to locate at the Borreo building.

Stone, founded in 1996, is the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States by volume, according to the Brewers Association, a craft brewing trade group, and number 15 even when compared with non-craft brewing giants such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. It is among a handful of U.S. craft brewers expanding in a major play for national and international business. Stone is building a large brewery on the East Coast, in Richmond, Virginia, that should more than double its capacity, and has plans for one in Berlin, Germany as well. That would give Stone the ability, unusual among craft brewers,

J.L. Sousa/Register file photo

The Borreo Building at Third Street and Soscol Avenue will be redeveloped for a restaurant.

to reach all 50 U.S. states and all of Europe.

The Borreo building, built in 1877, is owned

by West Pueblo Partners, which bought it from the city this year after planners in January approved its request to add a restaurant and brewery on the site. Several possible restaurant plans have been rumored since then, but the exact operator of the brewery has been a closely held secret.

“Our mission has been to bring this historic building back to life as a vibrant, active site, while integrating the river as the center of 63

downtown,” said Michael Holcomb of West Pueblo Partners in announcing the Stone deal.

“It is an absolute bonus that it can as serve as a catalyst to Napa’s emerging presence in the beer world.”

West Pueblo Partners is a real estate group based in Napa, headed by John Nichols of St. Helena, and Holcomb and Kevin Teague, both of Napa. The project was designed by a local team: Steve Cuddy and Sarah Marshall from Napa Design Partners, civil engineer Ryan Gregory from RSA+, structural engineer Chris Jonas from ZFA and project manager George Nielson, Nielson Construction.

“After more than two and a half years of working on the purchase, plans, permitting and leasing, we are excited to finally start construction and are even more exited about opening the building to the public,” said Teague. “This will be a great spot for locals and fans of craft beer.”

The Napa facility and the new Virginia plant are Stone’s first breweries outside of San Diego County. The main brewery is in Escondido and there is one small facility in Liberty Station, on the waterfront in San Diego. Company officials say production is maxed out at the Escondido brewery and the Liberty Station operation is too small to distribute widely.

The Napa brewery will produce beers primarily for service in the Borreo building, but it is possible it may produce kegs for a few local accounts, Stone’s Director of Hospitality Steve Robbins said, including the Napa-only specialty beers the brewery will make.

“If you want to get those really cool beers, you’re going to have to go to Napa to get them,” he said.

The one major logistical headache for the new brewery is parking. The Borreo building sits on a narrow triangular parcel wedged between the Napa River, the Third Street Bridge and Soscol Avenue. The small handful of parking spaces on the site will be sacrificed to allow delivery trucks to get supplies into the brewery.

There will be a drop-off spot for customers, but no onsite parking.

Robbins said the company is not worried about the lack of parking. They are expecting locals to walk in, and the nature of beer tourism is such that visitors coming to town specifically to visit the brewery are likely to either come by bus or walk in from area hotels and parking garages.

Napa Mayor Jill Techel said the building would have been challenged by parking no matter what use was picked for the site.

“We knew about that with that site,” she said. “We needed to have a destination that people would walk to.”

Stone plans to operate the restaurant in the building, but details are still being worked out, Robbins said. The specialized nature of the 64

Submitted graphic

The Borreo’s west side would receive a patio and six overhead doors, three on each floor.

equipment needed for the brewery means it will take many months to build and install, so Stone has time to develop details of the food service.

They do not, however, plan to partner with an outside chef or food service company.

“We are not looking to have a marquee chef,” Robbins said.

The new brewery vaults Napa into the competitive and lucrative world of craft beer and tourism. Although neighboring counties, particularly Sonoma, are home to nationally and internationally famous breweries, wine-centric Napa County has been relatively slow to embrace the malt-based beverage. The county’s largest brewer, Napa Smith, isn’t even ranked in the top 50 of craft brewers nationally on the Brewer’s Association annual list. Smaller producers, such as Napa Palisades, Downtown Joe’s and Calistoga Inn, serve primarily their own brewpubs and a few limited local accounts.

“We believe this is an untapped sort of market,” Robbins said. “We really like to find areas that are untapped.”

Local business and tourism officials hope the new Stone Brewery will prove to be a major draw for the worldwide market for beer tourism, much as are other Northern California

attractions such as Bear Republic’s original pub in Healdsburg, Lagunitas Brewing’s taproom in Petaluma, the Anchor Brewing plant in San Francisco, and the brewery and restaurant complex at Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico.

Several companies specialize in beer-related bus tours in the San Francisco area, and the Stone brewery in Napa is sure to become a stop for them. Major craft brewers in the region draw tens of thousands of visitors per year in addition to their local customers. The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has estimated that the 23 breweries in that county alone generated $169 million in economic activity in 2013 and supported at least 770 jobs.

Napa Chamber of Commerce President Travis Stanley described the deal as “quite a coup” for West Pueblo Partners, and noted that craft brewing is one of the nation’s fastest growing industries. According to the Brewers Association, independent American craft brewers contributed almost $60 billion and 424,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in 2014.

“The economic impact of this decision by co-founders Steve Wagner and Greg Koch to make us [downtown Napa] a part of their future growth business plan is very significant,” he said.

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FLAVORS From Page 58

worked in Napa while her family — husband and young son — remained in Fresno.

So she returned to Fresno upon graduation from the two-year CIA program. “But I went home knowing Yusuf promised me a job when there was an opening,” she added.

As the chef in charge of the Tarla kitchen, Kadriye intends to “bring the flavors of home” to locals and valley visitors.

“I want to prepare seasonal Turkish food for the American palate,” she said. “That’s why I studied at the CIA ... to learn and (then) provide Turkish food that people here can enjoy.”

“We believe in each other,” interjects Tarla owner Topal. “Our goal is not to make big menu changes. We have a Mediterranean menu that our regular customers enjoy. But Kadriye wants to perfect it, and also add a few new dishes that reflect her culture.”

Chef Kadriye talked about a special large knife — called a zirh — that she uses for chopped salads and for preparing a number of meat dishes.

Meats are minced, she said, never ground in Turkish cookery.

She said diners can expect all manner of dolma, as Turks enjoy stuffing most of their vegetables.

She promised enginar — an artichoke appetizer

Sasha Paulsen/Register photo

with peas, carrots and potatoes — would show up soon on the summer menu, along with tarama salata, a tasty pate featuring salmon and its roe.

On a recent afternoon, the chef whipped up a lip-smacking seasonal dessert — stuffed fresh apricots with apricot chardonnay sorbet, mascarpone crema, pistachio paste and mint gastrique.

That should prove a crowd-pleaser.

Not only is Kadriye happy manning Tarla’s stoves, she’s glad that her family — including eight-year-old Furkan — now lives in Napa. As for her parents, they’ve sold their restaurant “so now they can take care of the grandkids.”

WHAT’S NEW AT TARLA Besides a new chef in charge of his kitchen, Yusuf Topal is offering free meal delivery throughout the day. Provided free within an approximate

three-mile radius of the downtown eatery, deliveries are offered with an additional charge beyond that radius.

As he and his partner look forward to Tarla’s fifth anniversary, Topal has brought brewmaster Saul Loza on board as he revs up Tarla’s microbrew operation with both ale and lager offerings.

Formerly with the Napa Smith operation, Loza not only is an accomplished brewmaster, he’s a consulting winemaker. Topal plans to offer Loza’s ales and lagers to other eateries in the area.

The catering operation is also growing at Tarla, with meals prepared for both business and festive occasions in the valley.

Topal has also developed dinner and concert packages with Napa’s Uptown Theater. For $104, concertgoers can first dine at Tarla and then enjoy a show of choice — in a choice seat —at the nearby Third Street venue. Add wine pairings with the meal, and the cost is $129 per person.

On top of that, Topal and his new chef are cooking up Turkish Nights at Tarla, when diners can feast on multi-course Turkish dishes accompanied by Turkish and Greek wines while being entertained by a bevy of belly dancers. Topal expects Turkish Nights to kick off in a month or so.

Meals are served at Tarla continuously from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Tarla is located at 1480 First St., Napa. For reservations, call 707-255-5599.

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Assorted yakitori — skewers of chicken and most of its parts — are featured on the menu at Miminashi. At right Chef Curtis Di Fede serves this izakaya

Continued from Page 61

The omakase menu is set at $100 per person — you leave the decisions up to the chef who consults with diners before creating the evening’s menu for you and your friends.

Di Fede’s izakaya is a new dining experience for Napans. It might be best to let the servers know if you have any allergies and then just follow their lead. The staff is well schooled in the izakaya menu — and Di Fede is but a few steps away, eager to share his newfound joy in Japanese cookery. Ask

questions — then enjoy.

One thing Di Fede did point out was the distinct izakaya chopstick offered at Miminashi.

Note that one end of the chopstick is used to pick up food from the communal plate, the other to bring food to the mouth.

As for the name he’s chosen for his new eatery, Di Fede said Miminashi is a blind ear-less minstrel rooted in Japanese folklore, well known to natives of Japan. Fast-forward to present-day ramen shops where chefs wrap towels around their heads, appearing ear-less.

On yet another important front, wine director/sommelier Jessica Pinzon has put together

a cellar of wine to pair well with the izakaya menu. It’s about two-thirds international, onethird domestic, complemented by an extensive offering of sakes for all palates.

Miminashi serves lunch Monday through Friday and opens for dinner at 5 p.m. all seven days of the week. For those craving a late-night bowl of ramen, hours on Fridays and Saturdays are 5 p.m. to midnight.

A simple neon kanji sign informs diners that Miminashi is located at 821 Coombs St., Napa, on the back side of the historic Napa County courthouse. For reservations, call 707-2539464.

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Sharing tasty fare

Dining at Napa’s Basalt restaurant is a social experience

L . P I E RC E C A R S O N lp carso n @ n apa news.c om If the idea of sharing fried oysters, oxtail tamals and a juicy, slow-roasted pork shoulder with friends and neighbors is your idea of dining out, then the new Basalt on downtown Napa’s Riverfront is the ticket.

Artfully redesigned to fit the space that once was Fish Story, the new restaurant is the very model of dining in these times of social networking.

Basalt is all about sharing — from the attractive plates presented by the culinary team to the pleasantries recited by you and the people enjoying the airy space on the bank of the Napa River.

A project of the Moana Restaurant Group, Basalt reflects a lifestyle notably present in the cultures of Mexico, Italy and Spain — that cooking and dining is a lot more fun when shared by family and friends. Designers from San Francisco’s Rapt Studio let that philosophy guide them.

The result is evident in a communal table that seats up to 22, a player piano-themed lounge studded with high tops, an exceptionally long bar with 19 stools, plus a 70-seat riverside patio — none of which are on a reservationist’s docket. Drop in, grab a table and enjoy is the restaurant mantra, says General Manager Jonathan Wendorf, an affable young veteran of Bay 68

Nick Vasilopoulos photos

Above: Diners meet at the communal table at Basalt. Top: Basalt executive chef Esteban Escobar’s chorizo and clams is served over toasted noodles at the new downtown eatery in Napa’s Riverfront.

Area hospitality.

Don’t worry, the hosts at Basalt will certainly take your call to reserve a table because there’s a large section of the dining room set aside for

those who plan ahead. With more than 200 seats and the ability to turn tables at least twice a meal, there’s plenty of room for both walk-ins and those who reserve.

When you do show up, the first thing you’ll notice — other than the attractive remodel — is the host welcoming you to “bah-SALT.” If you’re a native or have lived here for some time, you might think these new restaurant folks are putting on airs. After all, one of area’s best known businesses was “BAY-salt” and one could infer these young people at the door don’t know much about Napa history.

But feel free to chat up Wendorf and his dining room staff. They’ll quickly inform you that while the new restaurant’s owners pay tribute to Napa’s heritage on the plate, the restaurant name references the extrusive igneous rock that was mined here, not the company that oversaw quarry operations.

The man in charge of Basalt’s kitchen, Esteban Escobar, learned the folks at Moana were in the market for a chef up to the challenge of developing a menu for a 215-seat restaurant in the Napa Valley. To Escobar, that means on a busy weekend night the kitchen might have to feed more than 500 diners.

Nick Vasilopoulos photo “I like this kind of pressure,” the eager young Esteban Escobar, right, executive chef of the newly opened downtown Napa restaurant Basalt, enjoys a chef said recently. And he’s also eager to move moment in the kitchen with Eric Markoff, corporate chef of the Moana Restaurant Group. his wife, Sarah, a manager at Oakland’s Wood Tavern, and young daughter, Evelyn, out of the of head-butting with my parents. So I enrolled wind on my face … the smells … the feel of the East Bay. At the moment, he’s searching for a in college, in mechanical engineering.” city … it was a life-changing moment.” home to rent.

While in college, Escobar “worked at a lot Once he’d earned his toque, Escobar worked Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Escobar of greasy spoons as a busser and server. Then an as a line cook at a number of Bay Area eateries. says his penchant for breaking bread with oth- opportunity for kitchen work presented itself. I “Then, on the weekends I staged (volunteered ers can be traced to Sunday found myself on the line one to work for free) at others just to see what those suppers with extended family. day and never looked back. chefs were doing,” Escobar adds.

Asked just how many people So I moved to Dallas with Next, he was hired by Steve and Mitchell would turn up to cook and eat my girlfriend … I loved the Rosenthal to join the kitchen crew at wellevery Sunday, the chef pointed immediate challenge of deci- known Postrio in San Francisco. He followed out that his mother is one of sion-making.”

Mitchell to Town Hall where he would eventu14 siblings. “They would all He knew he needed some ally take on the role of executive chef. come with their spouses and proper training to secure maybe two or three kids each decent jobs, so Escobar LINKING PAST AND PRESENT … it was easily 40, probably enrolled at the California The menu at Basalt acknowledges the flavor more. Although, today, as they Culinary Academy. profiles associated with the valley’s earlier setget older they do it less and Asked why he chose San tlers while hopefully appealing to today’s palless because it is a lot of work.”

Francisco, Escobar recalled ates. Chef Escobar said dishes were developed “But growing up, Sunday visiting his brother in the city by someone with “both feet firmly planted in was a huge deal … boy is my at the age of 14. “I knew I’d California, (with the addition of ) a Spanish family loud. I was always in the never forget that … I tried or Mexican accent. The entire menu promotes kitchen … pestering. I liked Filipino food, other things the idea that people like to share … that’s what to eat but didn’t realize I was I’d never eaten before. When people are doing these days.” developing a passion for cookFor example, bar bites (all $7) include an Nick Vasilopoulos photo I thought about cooking, ing. I don’t know how many Basalt bartender Jason “Buffalo” what came to mind was those addictive pumpkin seed spread to be slathered times I got spanked for sticking LoGrasso — a veteran of a number seemingly exotic things I on grilled flatbread, fried garbanzos with pimenmy fingers in the food. Now I of well-known San Francisco remembered from San Fran- ton, blistered snap peas with a chili garlic glaze, wish I’d had a notebook with restaurants and watering holes — cisco. So my (culinary) focus cocoa-spiced almonds and chicharrones with me because this was a definite has put together a tempting drinks was on San Francisco.” lime salt and honey. menu at the new downtown lounge learning process.”

Escobar informed his The extensive appetizer offerings ($11-$16) Escobar’s father is an engi- and restaurant. One is Bee’s Knees, brother that he’d decided to range from lettuces tossed with grapefruit, avocado featuring Spirit Works gin, lemon, neer, his brothers as well. He local honey and lots of flowers. study at the California Culi- and honey or asparagus, strawberries and queso thought he’d follow on their nary Academy. “My brother fresco to adobo-marinated chicken wings with path. told me how to take BART cilantro cream. You could opt for roasted beets “I never thought I’d wind up in the kitchen from the Oakland airport and to get off at the dusted with pepitas and crumbled cotija, napped — until I got to college,” he recounts. “At first, Civic Center station,” Escobar said. “I vividly with avocado crema, or Swiss chard pancakes I wanted to be a musician … that led to a lot recall coming up the stairs to U.N. Plaza … the with mint pea creme fraiche. Fried oysters get 69

Adobo Marinade This is a classic adobo. I use this recipe as my go-to marinade for pork or shrimp, especially if it is done on a grill. This marinade lends especially well to the char from open flame. Slice pork butt thin and marinate overnight. If shrimp is your fancy, it can be marinated right before it hits the grill. Either way, I highly recommend using a good tortilla to finish your meal.

• 6 ancho chilies, seeds and stems removed • 2 dried chipotle chilies, stems removed • 4 dried guajillo chilies, stems and seeds removed • 2 fresh serrano chilies • 1 tsp. whole cumin seed • 3 cloves • 1/2 stick cinnamon • 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns • 1 tsp. dried oregano • 6 cloves garlic • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar • 1/2 cup water • 2 tsp. salt In a heavy cast-iron skillet, toast all the spices until fragrant and transfer to a blender.

Next, in the same skillet, toast all the chilies until dark and roasted. Be advised, the chilies will make the air spicy so you’ll want to open a window. Transfer to the same blender as the spices and add the liquid ingredients.

Blend to a smooth paste. Season with the salt.

This will last up to four days in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer.

— Esteban Escobar, executive chef, Basalt

Blistered Snap Peas This is a perfect little snack for dinner parties or accompaniment for a family-style feast. This recipe is best when the snap peas are at the peak of their season, which is when they are the sweetest.

• 1 pound snap peas, stemmed • 6 cloves garlic • 3 arbol chilies, stems and seeds removed • 2 guajillo chilies, stems and seeds removed • 1/4 cup water • 1/2 cup sugar In a heavy cast-iron skillet, toast the garlic until soft and almost burnt. Transfer to a sauce pan and add the chilies, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until the chilies are soft.

Blend to a smooth paste.

In the same hot skillet, add a scant amount of oil and heat until it smokes. Add the peas and cook aggressively for 2 minutes, stirring so all sides begin to blister. Transfer to a mixing bowl and glaze with the chili mixture. Finish with a nice sea salt of your choosing. I prefer fleur de sel.

— Esteban Escobar, executive chef, Basalt

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The roasted beet salad on the menu at Napa’s Basalt incorporates avocado crema, cotija cheese and pepitas. It’s featured on the current spring appetizer menu.

Nick Vasilopoulos photo

some spice from deviled aioli plus blistered pickled peppers, while toasted noodles serve as a bed for chorizo and clams. King trumpet mushrooms give added heft to the flavorful oxtail tamal.

Entrees to share include savory achiote-cocoa marinated black cod ($27), masa dumplings with artichokes and sunchokes ($23), Sonoma duck breast with morels and English peas ($35) as well as grilled hanger steak complemented by horseradish chimichurri and confit potatoes.

Larger main courses to share include a whole roasted Tai snapper drizzled with molasses vinaigrette ($58), slow-roasted pork shoulder on fava bean cakes with braised cabbage and tomatillo salsa ($50), plus a whole roasted Mary’s organic chicken with black bean pepper salad and lacinato kale ($48).

In addition to a selection of house-made ice creams ($7), desserts ($9) at Basalt include strawberry tart with basil custard and pistachio brittle, coffee pot de creme with dulce de leche and Marcona almonds, carmelia mousse with chocolate cake and caramelized rice, plus ricotta cake with yogurt sorbet and lime meringue.

The wine list at Basalt is extensive, with a wide range of Old and New World selections, including an eclectic mix of cellar offerings from area vintners. While there are only 10 wines offered by the glass, a half-dozen whites and roses are featured on tap.

FRONT OF THE HOUSE Born and raised in Napa, general manager Jonathan Wendorf has assembled an energetic, well-versed service crew, including quite a few seasoned members of the local hospitality industry.

Wendorf admits he was attracted to the hospitality industry because he’s “a people person” and enjoys the interaction of restaurant staff and patrons.

His first job was at the Green Valley Country Club where he began refreshing midday salad bars and wound up serving diners in the prestigious Oak Room. He joined the

front-of-the-house staff at Domaine Chandon in 1998, where he remained for several years.

He helped open Press in St. Helena and sheepishly admits to “nearly catching the place on fire” when he prepared a table-side baked Alaska.

He committed to a career in fine dining when he became a member of the dining room staff at Masa’s in San Francisco, and went on to manage a pair of chef Michael Tusk’s San Francisco restaurants, Quince and Cotogna. Locally, he worked with chef Michael Chiarello at Bottega and opened Torc in downtown Napa with chef/ owner Sean O’Toole.

Wendorf met his wife, Fiona, while she was a host at Quince. The couple have an 18-monthold daughter, Blythe.

He finds it “amazing” that he can easily schmooze with both pillars of industry and celebrities in the dining room, noting that he’s been given Harrison Ford’s private number and helped with personal requests from people like James Spader and Kanye West. “This is something I enjoy.”

Another veteran of Bay Area hospitality is anchoring the new bar. Acclaimed bar wizard Jason “Buffalo” LoGrasso presides over the happening bar scene, offering customers such tempting cocktails as London gin and celery soda, green tea vodka and limonata, mezcal and prickly pear soda, Japanese whiskey and Ramune soda, amaro and pistachio cream fizz along with rye whiskey and sarsaparilla. Served in an iced retro mug is the establishment’s mint julep, made with wine barrel-aged bourbon, mint and cane syrup. Fans of the negroni swear by the one prepared by Buffalo and friends.

At present, Basalt opens for dinner daily at 5 p.m., serving Sunday through Thursday until 10, until 11 on Fridays and Saturdays. Lunch and brunch service will begin by summer.

Basalt is located at Third and Main streets in downtown Napa. For reservations, call 707927-5265.

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Southside café lights up southwest Napa Paul Franson photos

Eatery is a place for community to get together PAU L F R A N S O N Southwest Napa has a new gathercoffee roaster before choosing Wrecking place: Southside Coffee Bar and ing Ball,” he added.

Irma and Morgan Robinson are Café.

Much of the decor was created the owners of The project of chef Morgan Robby local artisans, like the communal Southside café on inson and his wife, Irma, who also table made of reclaimed oak staves Old Sonoma Road. own adjacent Smoke Open Fire caterfrom Justin Meyer’s first fermentaing, Southside is more than a place tion tank. to grab breakfast, lunch or coffee. It’s Local flower arrangements by creating a center for a local commuMonkey Flower are for sale, as is nity.

Morgan’s roasted nuts, and Wrecking Southside occupies a much-reBall coffee and Kilogram tea. modeled former upholstery shop that started out as a gas station in THE FOOD AT SOUTHSIDE 1948 on Old Sonoma Road at FootSouthside serves breakfast until hill Boulevard in a small strip mall it closes at 3 p.m. every day, and anchored by Lola’s Mexican Market. the same is true of its limited lunch Although the Robinsons first menu. envisioned it as a coffee bar, the conThe café has a tiny service kitchen, cept expanded. It now includes inside but Smoke’s commercial kitchen in seating and a deck with tables and shade.

Morgan Robinson said. the former Foothill Café is only a few feet away, The café is anchored by an imposing La MarIt’s the only place in Napa where you can so the offerings are freshly made. cotto espresso machine in a custom rose gold get Wrecking Ball Coffee, a cult favorite from The food is a blend of Latin and Californian color. “It’s the Maserati of espresso machines,” San Francisco. “We tried every major third-wave with many local ingredients.

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Chorizo Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits • 1 poached egg per serving • Buttermilk biscuits, recipe follows • Chorizo gravy, recipe follows • Fresh cilantro

Blackberry Farms Buttermilk Biscuits The Southside menu focuses on made-from-scratch items.

Jorgen Gulliksen photos

Breakfast, for example, features buttermilk biscuits, house-made granola, strawberry toast, English pea toast, huevos rancheros with Rancho Gordo beans, chilaquiles and biscuits with Spanish chorizo gravy or a ham and cheese or veggie breakfast sandwich. Prices are $3.50 to $11.

Lunch includes a Cuban sandwich ($12), roasted mushroom panino ($10) or green or farro salad ($7). Morgan expects to introduce and expand the menu shortly.

In addition to a number of coffee drinks, Southside offers agua fresca, Mexican hot chocolate, Kilogram tea, Mexican Coca Cola and three local wines, Truchard Roussanne ($12), Frog’s Leap rosé ($10) and Cultivate Pinot Noir, plus beer on tap and in the bottle (mostly $5).

This list is also likely to expand.

THE LATIN INFLUENCE The Latin influence is easy to understand when you realize that although Morgan is blueeyed and was blond as a baby, he was born near Mexico City and spent his first years there. His family moved to Santa Barbara when he was 5.

He’s now a U.S. citizen and admits that he can’t speak Spanish.

Irma, on the other hand, comes from a Mexican-American family. She was born and raised in South San Francisco, where her grandmother ran a Mexican restaurant.

Although he’s best known here for his live fire cooking, Morgan Robinson had classic training at New England Culinary Institute and more than 25 years of experience, including at The Ritz-Carlton/Aspen, with Donna Scala at Bistro Don Giovanni, and Philippe Jeanty at Domaine Chandon.

After tiring of long hours at restaurants, he became a winery chef at Cakebread Wine Cellars and then was at Franciscan Estates for eight years.

He started his Smoke catering service in 2008, and does full catering, not just over open fires, though he has a custom-made grill for that purpose.

He even prepares classic French-inspired meals, and fixed 5,000 pounds of fried chicken at BottleRock.

Irma Robinson manages many aspects of 74

the businesses with a focus on marketing and events. In the late 1990s, Irma moved to Melbourne, Australia, where her passion for food and wine began.

Irma moved to Napa in 2001 and met Morgan at Cakebread. She held marketing and management positions at Domaine Chandon, Darioush and Quintessa before joining him to manage Smoke and now Southside.

They also imported South American wines before exiting that business to develop Southside.

They have two children, 9-year-old Ariana Alma, and 6-year-old Francisco David, so they value closing Southside at 3 p.m. to be with their family.

Both Morgan and Irma are sociable, and like connecting with their neighbors at Southside.

They greet people who come to the café, and many show their thanks.

“Thank you for making our neighborhood cool,” said one visitor.

Old colleagues and friends from the Robinsons’ restaurant, winery and catering days often stop by. “It’s important to us for them to come and be happy,” said Morgan.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR SOUTHSIDE The Robinsons are still working out the kinks, including adding more tables and shade outside as well as landscaping to provide a more inviting experience.

They already held their first fried chicken evening last Friday and will repeat that on the first Friday each month from 4 to 7 p.m., but you have to order by Wednesday. A whole chicken – 10 pieces – is $25, coleslaw is $6, and potato salad $8.

They also plan occasional themed pop-up dinners, and they note that they can host events in the evening, catering the food and serving wine thanks to their wine license.

Morgan and Irma Robinson just opened the doors a few weeks ago, but they’re already finding many fans. They invite everyone to stop by, but also welcome suggestions for additions, too.

Southside is at 2770 Old Sonoma Road in Napa. Call 707-492-3733 or visit SouthsideNapa.com.

Yield: 12 • 3½ cups White Lily flour, a low protein flour • 1½ tsp. cream of tartar • 1½ tsp. baking soda • 1½ tsp. salt • 2/3 cup butter (Robinson uses Clover) • 2 cups buttermilk • 1/2 cup very soft butter In a large bowl measure together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Cut in butter. The mixture should be the texture of coarse cornmeal, with lumps that are small but visible.

Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add buttermilk.

Gently fold the flour mixture and the buttermilk together.

Turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Pat it gently into a circle. Spread very soft butter over 2/3 of the surface .

Fold the dough in three parts and roll out into a rectangle.

Fold in thirds again and roll to a rectangle at a 1-inch thickness and cut with the 3-inch round cutter. Place on a buttered, papered sheet pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Brush with melted butter after removing from the oven.

Chorizo Gravy Yield: 1 Quart • 1/2 lb. Ernesto’s ground pork chorizo • 1/4 cup diced onions • 1 garlic clove • 1 quart Bechamel (recipe below) • 1 tsp. Worcestershire • 1 tsp. salt • Fresh lemon juice to taste Render chorizo over medium high heat. When rendered, add onions and cook for 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add Bechamel. Return to low heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add Worcestershire, salt, and lemon juice to taste.

Bechamel • 4 Tbsp. butter • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour • 3 cups hot milk Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Then add the flour and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add warm milk and stir.

To assemble: To serve, cut a biscuit in half, ladle 3/4 of a cup of gravy over the biscuit. Top with poached egg and finish with fresh cilantro.

— Morgan Robinson, Southside café

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