Inside Napa Valley: Fall/Winter 2021 by Napa Register

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napa valley Fall/Winter 2021

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inside

napa valley 8

Buy Nothing

A Filipino Christmas

Post-pandemic Hanukkah

Living the Life

The Ultimate gift guide

Natural artists

Getting to know you: Chief Jennifer Gonzales

A life of service

Crossword

Anette’s celebrates 30

Finding your happy hour

A renaissance man

A gluten free dream

Holistic health

Full-bodied whites

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Holiday season once again S E A N S C U L LY D i re ctor of Ne w s C onte nt

i. Here I am still sitting in as editor for this issue as Napa Valley Publishing searches for a new president and ad director to take over for the retiring Davis Taylor. We’re hoping for some news on that front in the February 2022 issue. In the meantime, we’ll bring you the same SEAN eclectic mix of SCULLY news and profiles and features that have made Inside Napa Valley such a hit over the years. This issue, we’ll take a look at a variety of holiday traditions, including the colorful celebrations brought to American 6 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Canyon by the vibrant Filipino community. We’ll see how Jewish houses of worship are adjusting their holidays to COVID, and we’ll visit with a club that preaches “Buy Nothing” for the holidays. We’ll look at some overthe-top gift options from here in Napa and beyond and we’ll explore the long spiritual history of the Winter Solstice. We’ll help a beloved downtown institution celebrate 30 years. We’ll look at sparking wines to celebrate the season and ask why full-bodied whites are the perfect pairing for fall and winter tables. We’ll visit wineries who had to reimagine their harvest celebrations this year and meet some friends who are helping Napans choose the

perfect happy hour. We’ll visit with some interesting local characters, including a multi-faceted winemaker, artists who use found bits of nature in their work, and a local vet who has turned his struggles with alcohol into work combating substance abuse. And we’ll get to know Napa’s new police chief, Jennifer Gonzales. We’ll meet a Calistoga mother who turned her passion for baking into an unusual new business, and a woman using traditional healing arts to spread wellness. Author Tim Carl will take a look at our plant-based food future. And as always, we’ll bring you some of our favorite articles of the last few months from the Napa Valley Publishing family

of newspapers. So take a moment to enjoy celebrate the return of the holiday season and join us for this edition of Inside Napa Valley. On the Cover: Holiday time returns to the Napa Valley, courtesy of Bob McClenahan, bobmcclenahan.com. Editor’s note: Many of you will be receiving this edition by mail, the sixth time we have distributed our free quarterly magazine to postal customers in and around Napa. If you like what you see and want to be part of supporting local journalism, please consider becoming a member at napavalleyregister.com/members. FALL/WINTER 2021

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Buy Nothing Napa Group seeks to build a hyper-local gift economy I S A B E L L E S C H M A LT Z

undreds of Napa residents connected through Facebook are helping to create a hyper-local gift economy, known as the Buy Nothing Project. Buy Nothing was created in 2013 by two friends from Bainbridge Island, Wash. It has since become a worldwide movement with millions of members from multiple nations. The project follows a “gifting economy” model, where goods and services are given freely (not sold or traded) and are offered without any expectation of profit or personal gain. It’s a relationship-driven model that focuses on sustainability and helping neighbors. “You give from your own abundance,” said Lilea Heine, administrator of the local Buy Nothing Project Napa. Heine’s Facebook group serves most of the city of Napa. “This community seems like just a simple Facebook group, but I quickly discovered that it is so much more than that,” said Buy Nothing Napa member Katie Henries-Meisner. “It supports a lifestyle I have long believed in, but previously struggled to practice.” Henries-Meisner works as a curriculum writer for a non-profit called Discovering Justice, based out of Boston. 8 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

ABOVE: Lilea Heine’s porch is filled with Buy Nothing Napa gifts ready for pick-up. LEFT: In December 2020, Lilea Heine was teaching preschoolers virtually. As part of their celebration before going on winter break, the class had a “crazy hair” day. Heine’s shoes, earrings, sweater, and tinsel were all gifts from the Buy Nothing community. Submitted photo

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Lilea Heine’s family created a more sustainable holiday season last year by sourcing items from Buy Nothing Napa—including their tree and decorations. Gifts were wrapped in reusable cloth bags made by Heine and her children. In this photo, Heine’s children are holding up a bag filled with the total landfill-bound waste from their holiday celebration. “Having a Buy Nothing Holiday also meant having a holiday that was gentle on our planet,” Heine said.

Recently, Henries-Meisner used Buy Nothing Napa as inspiration for curriculum units she was creating for young students. The purpose of the units was to teach justice and advocacy, and for young children to think about what a “just world” would look like, she explained. “I wanted to present kids with some sort of example — some way to visualize a sort of utopia where everyone is treated with kindness and gets what they need. And then it came to me,” Henries-Meisner said. “There is one place on earth where I see a just world in action, and that’s this group.” Heine started the Buy Nothing Napa group in February 2020, having no idea of the pandemic ahead. “It was actually excellent timing,” she said. Local resident Maria Giusti joined Buy Nothing Napa at the end of April in 2020 — a mere month into the pandemic. “A friend told me about it and said the group reminded her of me and how I’m always giving away my things freely,” Giusti recalled. “I was excited to find a whole group 10 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

that thought the same way as I did about gifting. To give without attachments!” In the early months of the shutdown, members of Buy Nothing Napa helped one another by giving away small desks and other tools for at-home learning. Other members, with kitchen expertise, offered cooking classes via Zoom. Another offered to repair broken bikes. Giusti has given a wide range of items — from extra food in her fridge to her grandmother’s antique purse. “I even knitted a rainbow scarf for a member’s child who had it on their wishlist. The gift of one’s skill is a fabulous experience,” she said. Napa resident Melissa Officer joined Buy Nothing Napa in June of 2020. Since then she has received many wonderful items from fellow members including a Stokke Tripp Trapp chair for her toddler, homemade jams, a queen-size bed and mattress, as well as toys, and books. She has also given an abundance of items including pantry food staples, kitchen

appliances, a propane BBQ, clothes, and dishes. Most recently, Officer gave away a pink tote bag filled with fun surprises like a rhinestone pendant, unused skin care products, and other self-care items. “I chose to give it to someone who gifted it to their mother going through chemotherapy,” Officer said. “It feels wonderful to give things to someone who is really happy to receive it and put it to use.” Belonging to the Buy Nothing community has been a “gift in and of itself ” during the pandemic, Officer said. She’s formed friendships with several fellow group members, and her husband and kids have met more people, too, by walking and biking to pick up items. “I actually just happened upon the group,” Officer said. “I feel really lucky to have found it when I did because shortly thereafter the group reached its cap of 1,000 people and closed the membership.” Membership is capped at 1,000, Heine said, to keep the group small enough for everyone to really get to know one another. This way, no one is “lost in the shuffle,” Heine said. Because of this cap, a second Buy Nothing Facebook group was formed to serve Napa neighborhoods. That group, called Napa North/Vintage High District, is still open to new members. The Buy Nothing Project has established strict guidelines for all of its chapters to follow, including a boundary map that administrators must adhere to. Maria Giusti is one of the helpers who assist Heine in moderating the group. “Sometimes we spend hours communicating about a post and how to be sure it fits within all our Buy Nothing guidelines,” Giusti said. To ensure the gifting economy model is followed, any posts offering to buy, sell, or trade goods or services are removed. “The way the Project is structured is really unique,” Heine said. “It’s not for everyone.” When it is safe, Heine said she hopes to coordinate in-person meetings (perhaps Halloween costume swaps or potlucks, for example) for members of Buy Nothing Napa Heine said multiple members have told her how grateful they are to have a “sense of community” and a connection to their neighbors, particularly during the past year. “Gratitude” posts, as they are known, are common and encouraged as part of the Buy Nothing Project. “It’s pretty amazing what the community can do for itself just by leaning on its members,” Heine said. FALL/WINTER 2021

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Holding onto their

HERITAGE

Winners of the 2019 Parol contest at Vallejo High School.

Rozzana Verder Aliga‌

Filipino Christmas traditions bring families and community together in American Canyon R AC H E L R A S K I N - Z R I H E N Though it focuses on marking the same miraculous occurrence as in the West – the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem manger – Filipino Christmas traditions have their own unique flavor, figuratively and literally. In other words, if there are Parols, the Simbang Gabi, the Belens and bibingkas – it’s probably Christmas in the Philippines or the Filipino American community. According to several Napa and Solano County area Filipino-American community leaders, Filipino Christmas starts in the fall and stretches through the first of the year. “Christmas starts in September,” said Elmer Manaid, president of the Fil-Am of 12 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

American Canyon club. “There’s a saying – Christmas starts once the months ending in ‘bur’ start. I think we have officially the longest Christmas season – ‘till January. Christmas trees and lights start going up in September. Christmas lanterns made out of bamboo and colored paper that kids make in school. Christmas music starts playing on radio stations. And it carries on until the first Sunday in January, with the Feast of the Three Kings.” Living in American Canyon since 2007, and the owner of a business providing residential care for disabled adults, Manaid offers one possible explanation for the

longer holiday season. “Remember, we don’t have Thanksgiving and other holidays, like Halloween,” he said. There are other possible factors, as well, he said. “I grew up in Manila, and was urbanized, but in the rural areas, many live a very simple life – farmers, agriculture business – working very hard, out in the fields tending their animals – and the end of the year is the harvest. (Christmas) celebrates and gives thanks for a bountiful year. It also comes near the end of the typhoon season. We get about 100 typhoons between June and November, and by December they’re FALL/WINTER 2021

grateful for surviving. Mostly, I think it’s a celebration of a good year.” The Filipino holiday season typically kicks off with Parol-making events, said Lucy “Luchi” Marte of American Canyon, who teaches Filipino language at Vallejo’s Jesse Bethel High School. As the area’s unofficial “culture bearer,” Marte also produces an annual Parol Festival. Parols are Christmas lanterns that represent the Star of Bethlehem, and are hung outside of people’s homes as an expression of shared faith and hope,” she said. “There is no greater symbol of the Filipino Christmas than the parol.” “For Filipinos, making parols marks the beginning of the Christmas season,” Marte said. “We want to celebrate and continue the tradition so that the next generation will not forget this beautiful tradition.” The word Parol comes from the Spanish word, “Farol,” or “lantern.” Its history can be traced to the Pinata, she said, the idea for which came from Spain to Italy in the 1300s, to Mexico and finally to the Philippines in the late 1500s, when the Spaniards brought it along with Christianity to the islands. “The parol was originally used to light the way to church where Filipinos attended the ‘Misa de Gallo’ or “Mass of the Rooster,” which is held on Dec. 16, Marte said. Parols are traditionally “made from bamboo sticks and rice paper and sometimes cellophane with a tassel at each point, like a shooting star,” she said. “Candles were originally used to light the inside but now variations of lights are used.” Like many who grew up in the Philippines, Manaid treasures many fond memories of Christmas there. “Growing up Catholic – and 90 percent of the Philippines is Catholic – Christmas Eve mass was the biggest tradition everybody did, before dinner at midnight,” he said. “The dinner is called ‘bountiful dinner,’ or ‘Noche Buena.’ Holy Family Catholic Church in American Canyon does this still. I think there’s very strong support among the Filipino community to keep these traditions.” Like Marte, Manaid said many Filipino traditions resulted from the islands being a Spanish colony 300 to 400 years ago. “The dinner is my favorite part,” he said. “The food that really binds the family and the whole community together. It’s very communal. There’s a lot of sharing – food, music, celebrations – it’s not just a family event, and I think that translates to how in FALL/WINTER 2021

Submitted photo‌

Luchi Marte, John and Arlene Collins, Raven Guilas ( Parol Virtual Competition Winner 2021), AC Mayor Leon Garcia and wife Eva.

Kobby_dagan, Dreamstime.com‌

Traditional Parols, or Christmas lanterns, on display in Manila, December 2014.

this small diaspora really, Filipinos try to bring that community everywhere we go.” Manaid described bibingkas – a rice pancake topped with cheese and sometimes coconut shavings – as his favorite holiday fare. “I loved it as a kid,” he said. “People would set up food carts outside of church and you could smell it cooking outside. And I remember looking forward to getting out of church and getting some of that. It makes Christmas official.” The holiday food was big in the Aliga household, too, said retired U.S. Army Col. Nestor Aliga of Vallejo, who works with veterans groups around the area. Bibingkas in the Aliga family, are rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves and baked in clay pots, and a favorite treat. “I grew up in a small town in northern Philippines until 1967,” Aliga said. “We did not have electricity so we cooked by burning wood. I still remember the unique taste/ flavor that the banana leaves and local wood smoke would leave on the food.” As the eighth of nine siblings, one had to be quick on the draw to get the goodies,

he said. “On many dinners, I would sneak and store extra food under my shirt because there seemed to be very little food left if you are not fast enough to eat,” he said. “One time, my mom ordered me to get up to get something and most of the food fell on my tsinelas or shower shoes. So I gingerly walked around a corner to try to save the food but our skinny, underfed dog ate it before I could save any.” Manaid and Marte both said they prefer the less “commercialized” Filipino Christmas tradition to the American version. “I think the part where Christmas in America is very commercial – about who gets the nicest gift, has the most lights, the tallest tree,” Manaid said. “In the Philippines it’s simpler and therefore more meaningful. People put up what they have. It’s maybe more sacred than commercial. It’s about the birth of Jesus there more. The western influence is of Santa and reindeer. There it’s the birth of Christ. No elves or reindeers. A lot of that has changed, though, honestly, with the prevalence of western influence.” Filipinos take great pride in their Christmas traditions, and work to keep them alive in the United States, but they are gradually becoming more Western, Manaid said. “I’d have to say it’s the pride of the Filipino to say ours is better, bigger, more solemn, but to tell the truth, it’s really the same because in the past 50 years there’s been a strong western influence with media, social media and the western Christmas has really been adopted. Many used to go home just for Christmas because they don’t feel it’s as meaningful to do it here.” This, Manaid said, is one of several reasons why many Filipinos hang on to the old ways. INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 13

“It’s a heritage thing,” he said. “The history; the beauty will all die out if we didn’t continue it. Our children would lose that sense of identity if we didn’t carry it on.” At 40, Manaid said he can already see the traditions disappearing. “People my age or older – people born here of my age — are lost because when their parents migrated they were thinking that assimilation was the best strategy for fitting in, and they didn’t teach their kids the language or the culture,” he said. “Now that whole idea is changing. These people feel lost. I know I’m not like them, but they wish they knew the music, the language, the clothing, the culture. Now that they’re raising their own children with as much of those things as they can.” And it’s not just passing the traditions to the next generation that’s important, he said. It’s in the sharing and understanding across cultures that allows for respect and acceptance. “The more we share our culture with people willing to know about it, the better we will all get along and respect each other,” he said. “The goal is to minimize the hate.”

14 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Garciajunel86, Dreamstime.com‌

Christmas Belen from handicraft store in Quiapo, Manila Philippines, 2019

BELOW: Filipino Catholics attend a dawn mass Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 to start a 9-day novena leading to Christmas in a tradition that dates back to the 19th century at a Catholic church at suburban Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines. Bay Area Filipinos attend similar services and say they try to hold on the elaborate Christmas traditions of their ancestral homeland. Bullit Marquez‌

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Hanukkah P in a time of

COVID Local institutions plan for cautious return to in-person celebrations

R AC H E L R A S K I N - Z R I H E N

andemic or no pandemic, Hannukah will come this year as it has annually for more than 2,000 years. The people who celebrate it may have had to rethink ways of doing so, but most, including some in the Napa Valley Jewish community, plan to observe the remembrance of a long-ago miracle either way. For instance, Rabbi Elchonon Tenenbaum, of Chabad of Napa Valley and Touro University California Campus Rabbi, said the plan is to do something in person, but outdoors. “This year, we’ll do something for Hanukkah outdoors,” Tenenbaum said. “Usually, for

the past five years, we have celebrated in downtown Napa, in the Veterans Park, at 3rd and Main, but for 15 years we have gathered in different locations downtown.” The observance of Hanukkah, Chabad style, involves lighting a giant menorah, and enjoying entertainment, sufganiyot (special jelly donuts) and latkes (potato pancakes with sour cream or applesauce), as well as “kids crafts, music and good cheer,” he said. Hanukkah this year runs from Nov. 28 through Dec. 6. Last year, though, for the first COVID Hanukkah, volunteers Please see Hanukkah, Page 18

Sara Tenenbaum colors a Hanukkah decoration in 2014 during the Menorah lighting ceremony at Whole Foods Market in Napa. 16 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

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Submitted photo‌

Don and Suzy Krieger, Pat Singer, with Latkehs and apples sauce inb 2018.

Gordon Lustig leading blessing songs in 2018.

Submitted photo‌

HANUKKAH From Page 16

delivered Hanukkah packages to community members, Tenenbaum said. This year will likely be a hybrid celebration, to accommodate those who want something in person as well as those not ready for crowds, Tenenbaum said. It’s too soon to say exactly what form this second COVID Hanukkah celebration will take, he said. “We don’t know yet what we’ll do this year,” he said. Officials at Napa Valley’s other main Jewish organization, Beth Shalom synagogue, are hopeful something in-person can be safely pulled off, Rabbi Niles Goldstein said. “It’s still several months off, and there are still concerns with physical proximity,” said Goldstein, who has been the shul’s clergyman for about four years. “Hopefully we will have a gathering with people lighting the menorahs and with food and fun, but we don’t know if we’ll be able to do that. We’ll have to see what things look like (later in the year).” A typical Beth Shalom Hanukkah celebration involves a party — like those done worldwide — celebrating both a military victory of a Jewish family called the Maccabees wresting control of the Second Temple in Jerusalem from the much larger forces of the Syrian Seleucid Empire – as well as “the miracle of the oil.” As the tale goes, when the Maccabees regained control of the 18 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Luke Simon-Fotouhi spins his dreidel as the congregation of Temple Beth Shalom join in singing the dreidel song on the last day of Hanukkah in 2012.

David Issever lights the menorah in 2013 before a crowd in the Shops at Napa Center in observation of Hanukkah. Hanukkah, which coincided with Thanksgiving this year, was celebrated publicly in Napa with latkes and donuts and the lighting of the menorah followed by a performance by Jewish rapper Ari Lesser.

more than two millennia, no matter what else is going on in the world, is significant, he said. “This light has never been extinguished, even in the worst times in Jewish history,” Goldstein said. And like the Jewish leaders in other strife-ridden Hanukkahs past, this generation of Jewish leaders will come up with a way to carry on, he said. “Like everywhere, COVID has thrown a wrench into our plans, and I don’t know how we’re going to handle it. I suspect we’ll do a hybrid model,” he said. “A lot of this will depend on how the situation evolves over the next couple of months.” Tenenbaum said some positives have resulted from the shift many religious leaders, including Jewish ones, have had to make to continue doing what religious

institutions do. And this is something apropos of Hanukkah. “The idea of Hanukkah is to bring positive energy, and we need this more than ever,” he said. “Symbolized by the lighting of the menorah just as it’s getting dark, Hanukkah brings joy, light, and good spirits to humanity, publicly and at the moment of light and dusk. We bring the light in the battle against darkness. We need to shine the light on the darkness now, more than ever, and humanity can benefit from this tremendously.” For information on Chabad of Napa Valley, or Touro, contact rabbi@tu.edu or call (707) 4925993, or (707) 363-6451. For information about Napa’s Beth Shalom synagogue, contact office@cbsnapa.org or call 707.283.7635.

Former Rabbi Lee Bycel greets members of Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa on the last day of Hanukkah in 2012.

Temple, they needed to rededicate it, and for this, they needed special oil. But there was just one surviving vial of this oil – enough only for one day. Somehow, though, the oil in that vial lasted the entire eight days it took to produce more holy oil and get it to the Temple. Hence, the eight days of lighting the Hanukkiah or special eight-branched candelabra (plus one for the candle with which to light the others). “Usually, it’s a Hanukkah party, with menorah lighting, latkes, apple sauce and a big, fun party,” Goldstein said. “Last year (because of the COVI-19 pandemic), we did it from home via Zoom. It was great to see everyone, but not nearly as celebratory as a gathering in person.” The fact that this commemoration goes on, worldwide, for

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HANDS & HAIR C O L I N M AC P H A I L I always wanted short curly hair like Finlay Galbraith. Ours was straight. Mom liked our hair long and refused to give us a haircut after August. “It’ll help keep you warm for winter.” Wild shoulder-length hair was more likely to see you lose an eye in a November gale than incubate your ears. The West Coast of Scotland was pretty conservative, and my three brothers and I all had long hair, which made us odd. A farm wife once asked me if I was “Finlay’s girlfriend?” Luckily he was as mortified as I was, so it never came up again. We didn’t have much leverage with our Mom because we lived 25 miles from the nearest barbershop, and my folks had no money for such an extravagance. When we got haircuts, the heavy silver scissors came out, and we sat in a chair outside the back door. The crisp rip of the blade through my hair is a distinctive sound that I forgot I missed till recently. When I went off to university in Edinburgh at 19, it was the first time anyone other than my mother had cut my hair. I went to a place in Tollcross called “Curl Up & Dye” because I thought it was clever. The haircuts were pedestrian. In Edinburgh, hairstyles spoke volumes about social status. I lamented never having the firm bouffant hair of the “chaps” who played “cricket and rugger.” Guys who looked at home in a scene from “Downtown Abbey” or “Brideshead Revisited.” When we arrived in Calistoga, I started going to Richard’s small shop. It’s been years 20 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Colin MacPhail‌

and years now. I go next door reasonably regularly too. Teresa has had a massage studio beside Richard’s for a long time. Both places are hidden behind the main street, so they are local haunts. Teresa and Richard are oldtime Napa residents who spent their childhoods here. As a young girl, Teresa was given a horse and rode free on the open lands near Rutherford in the Western hills of Napa Valley. Richard was one of a large tribe, and he describes a feral upbringing where, as a young boy, he would take off into the hills of Knights Valley and spend all day fishing in the small creeks. Both Teresa and Richard are strong, self-sufficient personalities. They remain solid as wave after wave of lifestyle-seeking devotees washes up and around the edges of Napa like a rising surge in a tidal pool. Richard expounds on all aspects of life while you sit in his chair, and his language can get loud and salty. It’s a place where the allure is the recycling of tidbits, but you are aware that you may

become subject matter too. Next door, you lie on the couch and glimpse crystals nearby, with dream catchers on the walls, as soothing instrumentals play. Unlike Richard, Teresa’s hands work silently. What different paths these independent spirits chose. She heals with her hands, Richard offers vital social lubrication. He also quietly does a myriad of small good deeds for his older clientele. His gestures are a matter of fact, and he requires no accolades. Occasionally as I lie almost dozing off in Teresa’s room, I can hear Richard’s muffled cursing on the other side of the wall. You can almost make out the conversation over the soothing sound of whales singing. Richard told me once that a lady who went to Teresa offered to pay Richard for an hour’s work if he would take a long lunch while she got a massage. He had some very choice words for that idea. I love that the walls are perennially thin in a small town. Because of COVID 19, Sarah has been cutting the

family hair outside our back door. It’s a surprisingly intimate ritual, and the bond it forms between us surmounts the guilt I feel about not having gone back to Richard’s yet. Sarah bought some clippers that have an impressive number of gaudy plastic attachments to shape your head. She trims my hair to have a silver rat in the middle of my head surrounded by two shallow inlets of pink skin. Every time, she very generously calls me her “silver fox,” so I like her bedside manner. It’s a short cut which is good. I still have hair envy when walking around Calistoga. The sturdy shock of silver-gray on the Branum twins, the handsome black luster of the Hispanic lads, Clive’s everlasting blondbrown, or the snow-white perfection of Tim Carl’s coiffe. But I like my gray hair more than I ever have. Maybe that’s about being at peace with yourself and one of the good things about getting older. Colin MacPhail is a wine consultant and writer who lives in Calistoga. FALL/WINTER 2021

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The ultimate in

GIFT-GIVING Looking to splurge? Here are some ideas from near and far L AY N E R A N D O L P H

t is the gift-giving question as old as time — what do you get for someone who has everything? When someone already has what they want and need, the challenge is finding something meaningful and thoughtful or something that will blow them away. And after everything we have been through in the last two years, now is the time to make some dreams come true. If you need a good dose of inspiration, here are some ideas to please even the most discerning person. ONE-OF-A-KIND GIFTS‌

Submitted photo‌

DIEGOKOI‌

Adopt An Olive Tree: Tre Olive Three cousins from Calabria united to rejuvenate the family business of olive production, modernizing the way to distribute their products globally by offering 22 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

adoptions of their olive trees. Francesco Falvo’s Calabrian olive groves have produced olive oil since 1934, and he lived among them until his passing last year at 93 years old. For decades, he cultivated, pressed, and produced oil that he then sold to northern producers to label as their own. Three of his grandchildren inherited the groves, brothers Joe and Michael Maruca and their cousin Diego Fazio. Instead of selling their high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil to other brands, they created Tre Olive. Their offering includes the ability to adopt an olive tree — or give the gift of adoption to another. Their adoption package arrives with photos of the adopted olive tree tagged

with your name, along with an adoption certificate and certificate holder. They also include three 500 ml tins of Tre Olive extra virgin olive oil so you can taste the goodness right away. In the Spring, your tree’s olive oil arrives after harvest and pressing. Adoption packages range from $79.99 to $199.99 for one year. There are many olive products to choose from as well: super-aromatic rosemary-scented olive oil soaps; gorgeous gift boxes of Italian condiments like Calabrian chili paste, pesto, and olive tapenade; and beautifully packaged olive oil sets including balsamic vinegar, spices, spreads, and dipping dishes. Marc Forgione, Michelin Star Chef of FALL/WINTER 2021

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GIFT From PAGE 22

Marc Forgione, American Cut, and Peasant restaurants, describes the Tre Olive olive oil as “slightly peppery but also round, sweet and well-balanced with incredible body. Because it’s from a single estate, you can fully taste the terroir of the region; if you close your eyes, it’s like an instant momentary trip to Calabria.” treolive.com

Zhukovsky, Dreamstime.com‌

The French Laundry, Yountville

J.L. Sousa, Register‌

Judd’s Hill Winery, located at 2332 Silverado Trail, for Where in Napa Valley.

Become A Winemaker: Judd’s Hill Budding and wanna-be winemakers will love the chance to craft a barrel of Napa Valley wine from the vineyard to the bottle — you do not need to own a vineyard or be a winemaker to make wine at Judd’s Hill. Their Microcrush program features a client-tailored grape-to-bottle winemaking process with premium fruit from Napa Valley. Lucky gift recipients meet one-on-one with award-winning winemakers and join harvest, crush, punch-downs, regular tastings, blending sessions, and designing a custom label for their bottles. Most of the sourced fruit is from Napa Valley vineyards, and clients can pinpoint the AVA and style of wine they prefer. If you want a personalized case to give as a gift right away, they have set aside some premium finished Judd’s Hill wine barrels specifically for those who do not have time to go through the entire winemaking process. All you must do is create a label that your recipient will love. Your giftee will have an unforgettable experience crafting their cuvée at Judd’s Hill. Pricing depends on the appellation, varietal, and market rate, but the one-barrel (24 cases) price tag ranges between $4,000 and $5,000. juddshill.com/microcrush 24 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING‌ One of the pandemic benefits was realizing that we could have almost anything delivered to our home. Subscription boxes are so popular that you are sure to find one to fit your intended recipient perfectly, and they are the gifts that keep on giving. Here are two options. Cheesemonger Connoisseurs of fine cheeses will delight in the curated small batches of artisan selections and traditional offerings. Founders and certified cheesemongers Laura Downey and Chris Palumbo source their cheese from small American farmers and cheesemakers and work with trusted European importers and distributors to source authentic artisan cheeses. Build your own box, select a subscription package, or purchase a one-time Classic or Signature Box. The Classic Box is pure cheese from the world’s absolute best producers, and the Signature Box includes three rounds of cheese, plus jam, spread, or charcuterie, along with artisan crackers. Boxes range from $75 to $95. cheesemongerbox.com/pages/about-us Journeyman Meat Co. According to Journeyman Meat’s website, a journeyman comes from European tradition dating to medieval times, when traveling artisans traded their skills in exchange for hospitality. Today, Journeyman Meat’s boutique Italian salumeria trades its skills for purchases from appreciative customers and nationwide acclaim from the likes of USA Today and Wine Spectator. It is not unusual to find couples huddled together over glasses of wine and a charcuterie board. But it is their subscription box that has become the talk of the

town after months of staying in place. A one-year quarterly subscription starts at $108. journeymanmeat.com/shop-salumiand-gifts EXPERIENCES‌ French Laundry Gift Experience Card Dining at Napa Valley’s French Laundry is a bucket list item for many, and a gift to feast there will be the ultimate date night surprise. With a choice of three levels: Silver, Gold, or Black, the French Laundry Experience Cards can include amenities like nine- to 18-course tasting menus with Champagne and extraordinary hand-selected wine pairings by French Laundry sommeliers. The crème de la crème, the Black Card, includes a BMW car service and a gift from Chef Thomas Keller. Price begins at $1,600. finessethestore.com

Explore The Grand Circle Gifts of experiences need tangible presents too. To show your plan to travel the West, notably, the Grand Circle, give “The Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle, Utah & Arizona.” Written by historian, author, and outdoors person Daniel S. Pierce, this beautiful book details a drivable FALL/WINTER 2021

circuit of national parks, state parks, and national monuments in the Grand Circle: Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The early 20th-Century illustration styles by Joel Anderson and Anderson Design Group set the mood for a back-to-nature vacation for friends and family. Softcover books $29.99, hardcover books $49.99. andersondesigngroupstore.com Pet DNA Kits Giving the gift of a DNA kit can be tricky for humans — however, if your human is game, it can be a super special surprise. But pet DNA kits are pure fun. Who doesn’t want to know everything they can about their fur baby? Embark DNA Kits for dogs and human DNA kits from Ancestry start at $99. embarkvet.com THE GIFT OF LUXURY‌ Fendi Peekaboo Iseeu The Fendi Peekaboo is an icon, along with the Baguette and the Hermes Birkin Bag. The name alludes to the design that allows one side of the bag to fold down to peek inside it. The entire bag can be

Withgod, Dreamstime.com‌

customized: the material, exterior and interior color and design, and the ultimate personalization: a monogram. The latest “It-Girl” is the Fendi Peekaboo Iseeu. When she designed the Peekaboo, Fendi’s CEO, Silvia Venturini Fendi, said she was “looking for a traditional yet modern contemporary shape, able to satisfy the most sophisticated women.” The Peekaboo Iseeu follows the general Peekaboo design but uses a softer leather to allow it to drape even lower, revealing a removable (and monogram-able) interior pocket that snaps into place on the stiff center partition. Add your recipient’s discreet initials to the pocket to make this bag even more thoughtful and one-of-a-kind. Prices start at $4,900. fendi.com

Petrossian Caviar Gift Set For the caviar lover or holiday host in your life, this set from Petrossian offers everything you need to prepare a caviar feast fit for luxurious holiday celebrations. Once you select your caviar(s), you can pair it with a variety of accompaniments. Some options include smoked salmon, smoked trout filet, smoked duck breast, Berkshire pork and black truffle salami, Petrossian caviar cream, chocolate figs, baguette toasts, mini blinis, and crème fraîche. The Petrossian Gourmet Celebration starts at $623. petrossian.com/gift-baskets-samplers Traveling Personal Trainers Give the ultimate gift of health and fitness to your friend or loved one. Napa’s Bare Health and Fitness, run by husbandand-wife team Matt Kathol and Tessa Mini, offers a full-day health analysis followed by an extensive, customized roadmap to your personal health goals. The program includes cardio, postural, strength, and stretch tests, as well as a nutrition evaluation. The one-day, 10-hour Health Intensive Day costs $2,000. barehealthandfitness.com

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INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 25

A bit of Napa in

every piece JESSICA ZIMMER

Courtesy of Sahoko Yui

Napa artist Sahoko Yui cleans and boils local berries that she gathered to paint her artwork. 26 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

he Napa Valley is filled with artists who incorporate local flowers, berries, wood, and grapes into their work. Fall is a special time of year, as artists are able to gather materials that bring back memories of the summer. They are alsoo able to develop ideas based on their experiences outdoors. John Bonick, an abstract painter, said several of his recent paintings and sculptural pieces are built on conduits of energy and flow. “Over the past several years, I have developed a vocabulary of imagery that centers around ropey forms. I sometimes refer to (these) as ribbons or channels of energy. Sometimes they are stacked on top of each other, sometimes they crisscross the picture plane in seemingly random directions, layer upon layer. I also create three-dimensional pieces, 10-foot-tall wine bottles, using pruned grapevine to weave around an interior structure,” said Bonick. One of Bonick’s wine bottles is by Gott’s Roadside in Oxbow Public Market. Another was recently featured on the Napa Art Walk. Bonick said he has also been photographing daybreak every morning from different natural settings for approximately 11 years. “I take photos every morning just before sunrise. It’s my long-term project, Daybreak Napa Valley. Mostly I take them just in front of my house. I also drive around in the area, down to the Napa River, or at other vineyards in the Carneros (region),” said Bonick. Israel Valencia, who usually creates photographs, has been working on a series that FALL/WINTER 2021

Couresty of Sahoko Yui‌

Napa artist Sahoko Yui shares paintings she made with dyes created from local plants.

involves printing members of Movimiento Cultural de la Union Indigena, a Vineburg-based nonprofit, onto grape leaves, pokeweed leaves and hydrangeas. “I’m using a sustainable, natural process that involves exposing the leaves to sunlight. These pieces recognize the work that indigenous people originally from Mexico and Guatemala have done in Napa to pick grapes,” said Valencia. Valencia said the leaves come from grape vines in a Napa vineyard, “a few at a time, taken from different varietals.” The other leaves and flowers came from his garden. During the fall of 2020, Valencia also started collecting burned branches, trees, seeds, and other vegetation from locations affected by the Glass and LNU Fires. “I have a number of photographs of these burned pieces, which show the resilience and beauty of local plants. Another project I’m working on is the Thorn Box series, a set of balsa wood sculptures that house items from the garden. I love how the color of pomegranate blossoms doesn’t fade as the flower dries. The blossoms stay red and the color deepens,” said Valencia. Sahoko Yui, who completed an artist residency at the Blake Garden at the University of California, Berkeley, has begun creating natural dyes from pokeberries, privet berries, and elderberries gathered from neighbors and public spaces in Napa. “The pokeberries make magenta, the privet berries a purplish color, and the elderberries a bluish-purple color. I also create a bright yellow dye from Oxalis flowers. If you add baking soda, the dye turns orange. I am experimenting with dying muslin fabric, silk, and wool. Eventually I want to create clothing with these dyes that I will share with the community,” said Yui. Yui studied food waste at the University FALL/WINTER 2021

of California, Davis while completing her Ph.D. in geography. She said her goal is to reuse and honor natural materials. “The images and colors I create will eventually fade. That represents people giving back to the Earth,” said Yui. A World of Wood Napa’s wood artists spend their days slightly differently, dividing their time between collecting wood and determining how to shape pieces. One of the most important tools for a wood artist is a lathe. This large piece of equipment fastens the wood between two rotating spindles. A lathe allows an artist to cut, sand, drill, and turn the wood. Gerda Shupe, who creates fancy cutting boards, turned bowls, salt and pepper shakers, and trays, said she is always looking for wood from Napa County trees. “I belong to the Bay Area Woodturners Association (BAWA), a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. They send out a “Wood Alert” when a tree or thick branches are getting cut down. That lets wood artists know to be there at a certain time to get pieces from oak, beech, carob, elm, and buckeye,” said Shupe. Shupe said she loves to take a tree stump and turn it on the lathe into a bowl. “With that kind of wood, it is always a surprise how beautiful it turns out,” said Shupe. Bob Zlomke, who makes furniture and cabinets, said wood tells the story of the tree from which it came. “Recently I was able to get wood from a live oak cut down to plant a vineyard. There was a prominent growth area around the base of the tree, very dramatic and irregular. It made the most beautiful slabs. It Please see Piece, Page 28

Courtesy of Bob Saxby‌

Napa artist Bob Saxby turns a bottle coaster.

Gerda Shupe‌

A round cutting board made from local wood by Napa artist Gerda Shupe.

Courtesy of Bob Saxby‌

Napa artist Bob Saxby turns an ikebana centerpiece.

INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 27

A rectangular cutting board made from local wood by Napa artist Gerda Shupe. Gerda Shupe‌

Napa artist Gerda Shupe in the shop, ready to make pieces from local wood. Courtesy of Gerda Shupe‌

PIECE From Page 27

also helped that the wood had little tunnels zig-zagging through it, created by wood-boring beetles,” said Zlomke. Zlomke said he and his wife keep an eye out for odd pieces of wood with a story to tell. “My wife Evelyn has a wonderful eye for an evocative shape or texture. Nowadays these character pieces work well in fine furniture. People like the things that we used to call defects,” said Zlomke. Bob Saxby focuses on creating bowls, pepper mills, and wine bottle stoppers. “Most of the wood I use is native to northern California and southern Oregon. I prefer madrone, maple, carob, and black walnut,” said Saxby. Saxby said he gets scraps from a local 28 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

working with wood that has swirls of alternating dark and light colors. Carob and camphor have sections with dark red and cream. Walnut has a chocolate brown interior offset by a milky white,” said Saxby. Saxby, who also works with leather, said the key to woodworking is to pay attention to what the wood wants to do. “Wood has a grain and fibers. You can make the wood work with you or fight you. It’s a constant dance when you work with wood. It has a mind of its own,” said Saxby. Bonick said his philosophy toward working with natural elements is slightly different. “When you spend time in nature, you try to replicate it in any way possible. This gives you a peaceful feeling. Yet it can take a lot of physical and mental work to do that,” said Bonick. Bonick said his advice for artists who want to feature natural elements is to pay attention to what fascinates them. “I ask myself, “Why am I drawn to the same objects or experiences or imagery over and over again?” The reason is I have an internal connection to them that I may not even understand. Artists who want to create work that reflects something they love should keep observing that object or thing. They should stay true to themselves and let that element help them find their path,” said Bonick.

Israel Valencia‌

Napa artist Israel Valencia shares work from his series of imprinted leaves as well as from “Boxed Life,” a separate series that incorporates local plants.

arborist who cuts down trees along entire streets. “The wood must be processed in a week. Otherwise it begins to split and crack. I love

Robert Zlomke‌

“Bridge on Fire” table by Napa artist Robert Zlomke.

FALL/WINTER 2021

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GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Napa Police Chief Jennifer Gonzales

Favorite pet? Dogs… big, fat, fluffy, friendly dogs! Last vacation? Haha... um, is that a joke? Hmm, vacation… yeah something before the pandemic no doubt unless you count a quick escape to the ocean. Most exotic vacation? Swimming in cenotes, tubing/floating down an Amazon River and exploring the Mayan ruins (that you cannot access anymore due to preservation needs). What do you want to do when the pandemic is over? Connect with humans! I miss freely connecting through social interactions. What do you sing when nobody is around? I think my singing is outlawed in California and all of the connecting states but it’s likely something from Prince, Metallica, Eminem, or Jack Johnson (don’t judge!) Guilty pleasure? Vegging on the TV binge watching “Star War”s (Original trilogy, later films, “Clone Wars,” “Rebels,” all of it! MTFBWY!) What do you hate that most people like? I can’t say I hate them but I’m not a fan of snakes, rats, lizards or other critters as “pets.” If they’re in the wild, it’s their home and I respect that but they don’t ever need to use my address as “home.” What do you like that most people hate? Jar Jar Binks (IYKYK) What cop shows/movies get it right? “Breaking Bad” made it so your could smell the room they were in (yuk)! Why law enforcement? It’s what I have done my entire adult life. I get to engage with others, it’s exciting — no day is ever the same, and we are always up for an adrenalin filled challenge. Favorite thing about Napa? The people! When we moved here it was an instant and familiar feel. For the last almost seven years, everyone has been so welcoming and open to involve the new comers.

Submitted photo‌

30 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

If you had one wish, what would it be? I wish we could all be more helpful and patient with each other! Especially in a post-pandemic world. Folks are so quick to react without understanding… take a breath and don’t respond without absorbing something from others first.

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Submitted photo‌

Bill Chadwick in the Army.

Submitted photo‌

William Chadwick photo with wife Joelle

TURNING HIS LIFE AROUND K AT Y H AU T E

Napa vet serves his community, mentors others in his journey of sobriety

trip down Memory Lane with Napa resident William “Bill” Chadwick is a bit like flipping channels on a television. Some episodes of his life resemble a scene from the popular 32 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

television comedy series “Cheers,” except that Chadwick’s version wasn’t always funny and he was seated at a barstool instead of behind the bar like Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. Other episodes are drawn straight from the film “Charlie Wilson’s War,” a much more serious drama about covert operations in Afghanistan. Chadwick, who spent 25 years in the military, actually served in the U.S. Military in Afghanistan and although

neither Tom Hanks nor Philip Seymour Hoffman was tapped to play a character based on him, an actor did portray one of Chadwick’s deputies. And while not everyone can say their life has elements of a top grossing film or sitcom, there are aspects to Chadwick’s life that most of us can relate to. “I’d walk down main street all the bartenders knew me,” Chadwick recalls. He seemed destined for success

from an early age and his military career began at West Point where he enrolled at age 18. Chadwick continued afterward in the Army. The first 10 years he was in the military were a challenging period for our country and the military was still recovering from the after effects of Vietnam, according to Chadwick. Chadwick spent 22 years on active duty: he joined the Army’s special forces in the 1980s and later worked under cover for a different agency. Looking back Chadwick recalls the challenges those who serve long periods face including being away from family, being exposed to extreme temperatures, moving across long distances, enduring wrenching physical pain and loneliness. “Being a soldier is hard work,” he explains. One of the side effects of the intense demands of the job is alcohol abuse. “People were just trying to numb themselves,” he recalls. One of the only ways to relax during assignment in Germany was the officer’s club. Eventually in the late ‘80s there was a movement to “deglamorize” alcohol and discourage excessive drinking. Chadwick believes he could have been a better role model as a lieutenant and then a captain “I was not tough on people about drinking. I was pretty much in FALL/WINTER 2021

my disease,” he says. Athletic activities and touring local attractions were alternatives to social drinking and Chadwick started to plan a lot of actives for his unit during weekends. A life-long runner, Chadwick remembers periods of heavy drinking when he would offset his hangover with long runs. The turning point came April 20, 2010. “I was living here in Napa … it had been a really stressful time period. Chadwick was on the road a lot spending a lot of time out of the country. On the night of the 19th, he was outside grilling chicken and it was taking forever. His wife saw the bottle of gin he was hiding behind him that he had been hiding in the garage Chadwick credits his wife Joelle for holding him accountable. “She said what are you doing? The next day he went to an AA meeting. Chadwick believes that he’s a living miracle. As a result, he’s taken on a leadership role in the Napa County Advisory Board on Alcohol & Drug Programs. It’s important to consider if Napa has larger problems that other counties where alcohol use isn’t as big a part of the wine and tourism industry. Chadwick is still learning about all of the programs that Napa County offers but recalls benchmarks he learned while in the military. “Three drinks in three hours over three days” was considered risky behavior, he explains. As a private citizen, he wonders who sets the barometer for tolerance of alcohol abuse in our community. The ABAD committee supports county staff and hears regularly from the sheriff and city of Napa Police as well as the county mental health director and the committee for mental health. County programming can assist teens, schools, families as well as adults. Chadwick hopes to assist as the county pivots from protecting the families of the ill or FALL/WINTER 2021

alcoholic dependent to educating the community from a public health. Chadwick looks to Lindsey Stark, deputy director of the county Health and Human Services Agency, for information and feels that the committee should be the advocates to help raise awareness about available programs. Having a voice, advocating is part of Chadwick’s nature, “l like people to listen to me to.” Chadwick started learning more about a private rehab facility in Angwin through its director Bob Crutcher, who was the former owner of Serenity Homes , which closed about 10 years ago. Another local mentor is Jason Pahlmeyer a local winemaker, who, Chadwick says “has continued to be my strength and inspiration.” Pahlmeyer is many things, both fun and cocky, according to Chadwick, “I want to be him when I grow up.” Meeting Carter Surrette, the director at Duffy’s in Calistoga, which Chadwick describes as similar to Serenity but more homespun. Chadwick has spoken several times to guests at Duffy’s who working through their own detox process. Chadwick says the key factor in his sobriety was the desire to live. “I was Beat Down so low I couldn’t get any lower. I was going to die. I was going to kill myself or kill someone else,” he explains. Chadwick can list the “stupid things” he knows were tell-tale signs of his issue with alcohol. “It was catching up to me,’ he says Eventually his doctor warned him that he was facing serious health consequences. Chadwick’s healthy behaviors, including running 24 marathons and doing triathlons, wasn’t enough. Unlike many Napa Valley retirees, Chadwick doesn’t see winery work in his future, “I never was much of a wine drinker. “ Although he has taken relatives to visit wineries, Chadwick demystifies the whole winery experience

to a simple concept: tasting. For him, wine is “a liquid you put it in your mouth.” For Chadwick, his sobriety has been hard won. “If you can find balance and keep drinking that’s the key. If you can’t have two drinks and walk away leaving half a glass a wine, then you have a problem,” he says. It took a while for Chadwick to return to visiting local bars. Chadwick returned to Zuzus to check in with bartender Mick Saliers, who took a while to remember that his friend had changed his ways. “He’d always get a glass ready for me because he knew what I drink.” Life has provided lots of adventure and Chadwick treasures experiences like visiting the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. “It’s one of my favorite places in the whole world. Whenever I got to Jordan we go down early in the morning. I love to be there down in the Suk when the sun comes up.”

Submitted photo‌

William Chadwick, left, running his first San Francisco Marathon.

It’s awesome to consider that people have lived in that valley for 6,000 years, he said. In addition to serving on ABAD, Chadwick still serves on the faculty at the Army’s graduate school in Monterey.

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some nostalgic Insta photos 41 Allow

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competitor 10 Any of three for Fiona Apple

Universal Crossword Edited Amanda Rafkin 13, 2021 Startbyat the End byNovember Brendan Sullivan

ACROSS 44 Back of 1 Navigates the neck some moguls 45 “In my recol5 Cavatappi lection ...” or ziti, e.g. 47 Least 10 Buzzing honorable pest 50 Fencing 14 Prefix that sword that’s means 3/4 vowels “very small” 51 Team sport 15 Font that with a flying sounds like disc a Disney 57 Provoke princess 58 Student 16 Repetitive getting onelearning on-one help method 59 Watch sound 17 ___-bitty 60 Moon 18 NAACP goddess co-founder 61 ___ Park, Ida B. Colorado 19 Stratford62 Native upon-___ Nebraskan 20 Computer 63 Swirling directive current like mkdir 64 “Thou ___ for “make not steal” directory” 65 Tear apart 23 Dynamic DOWN start? 1 Huffy state 24 Any of 11 2 Actress ACROSS Egyptian24 Any of 11 Egyptian 47 Least honorable and animal 50 Fencing sword that’s 3/4 1 Navigates some moguls pharaohs pharaohs vowels Mara 5 Cavatappi or ziti, e.g. 25 Role-playing video gameactivist with a flying 10 Buzzing franchise 25 pest Role-playing 3 On51 Team thesportway disc 14 Prefix that means “very 30 “It is the ___, and Juliet is video game 4 Tofurky 57 Provoke and small” the sun!” 58 Student getting one-onfranchise tempeh 15 Font that sounds like a 31 Show off one help Disney princess 32 “Keep it down!” 30 “It is the 35___, bacon, e.g. 59 Watch sound 16 Repetitive learning Out of whack 60 Moon 5 Get ridgoddess of method and Juliet 37 Ais really, really long time ___ Park, Colorado 17 ___-bitty the sun!”38 Japanese electronics by61 means 62 Native Nebraskanof 18 NAACP co-founder Ida B. brand 63 Swirling current 31 Show off deception 19 Stratford-upon-___ 40 Hashtag for some “Thou ___ not steal” 20 Computer directive 32 “Keep it nostalgic Insta photos6 Pi64 times 65 Tear apart like mkdir for “make 41 Allow radius directory”down!” 44 Back of the neck DOWN 23 Dynamic 1 Huffy state 45 “In my recollection ...” squared, 35 start? Out of whack 37 A really, really for a circle 34 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY long time 7 Window 38 Japanese ledge electronics 8 Absorbent

42 11 Starbursts? 12 Make amends 43 13 Is inclined (to) 21 Not virtually, 45 virtually 22 Poles on a sailboat 25 Major 46 achievement 26 Metrical foot for the word 47 “afoot” 27 Weather notification, 48 perhaps 28 Tennis star 49 Osaka 52 29 Garment 53 similar to a kurta 32 Injury that 54 might be treated with 55 antivenom 33 Excessive publicity 34 Did some 56 weeding 36 Muscle jerk 39 Person up 2 Actress and activist 21 Not virtually, virtually inanimal a tree? Mara 3 On the way 4 Tofurky and tempeh bacon, e.g. 5 Get rid of by means of deception 6 Pi times radius squared, for a circle 7 Window ledge 8 Absorbent powder 9 Unsuccessful competitor 10 Any of three for Fiona Apple 11 Starbursts? 12 Make amends 13 Is inclined (to)

Mansions and their grounds What’s left over Rhyming May 1 celebration in Hawaii Prefix with “gram” or “graph” Small, valveless trumpet Audible way to read Get up Rear end Singer James or Jones “I ___ for you!” Supply and demand subject, for short Scraped (out)

22 Poles on a sailboat 25 Major achievement 26 Metrical foot for the word “afoot” 27 Weather notification, perhaps 28 Tennis star Osaka 29 Garment similar to a kurta 32 Injury that might be treated with antivenom 33 Excessive publicity 34 Did some weeding 36 Muscle jerk 39 Person up in a tree? 42 Mansions and their

grounds 43 What’s left over 45 Rhyming May 1 celebration in Hawaii 46 Prefix with “gram” or “graph” 47 Small,valveless trumpet 48 Audible way to read 49 Get up 52 Rear end 53 Singer James or Jones 54 “I ___ for you!” 55 Supply and demand subject, for short 56 Scraped (out)

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30 sweet success years of

Anette’s Chocolates has prospered despite much adversity over the years

CRAIG SMITH

nette’s Chocolates is celebrating 30 years of business in Downtown Napa, having opened in December 1991. Anette Madsen Yazidi, Brent Madsen and Mary Stornetta serve and create amazing artisan chocolates and truffles for locals from their storefront at 1321 First Street. “We are astounded that it has been 30 years already. We’re extremely thankful that our families and decades of loyal customers have shared in the love of our creations. They’ve stuck with us throughout the ups and downs of downtown Napa’s changes,” said Anette. And the family-run business has seen it all—from the many empty store fronts of the ‘90s, to floods, earthquakes, fires, road directional changes and what seemed for years like it would be never ending construction on First Street. Then, add

Anette’s location inside the Oxbow Market.

36 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

COVID-19. “We’ve managed to weather the storms,” said Anette. Anette, Brent and Mary pride themselves on creating small-batch, exquisite quality chocolates, salted caramels, sauces and gourmet ice creams. Brent is the Master Chocolatier and Mary is the GM for wholesale, which includes wineries across the country, niche shops and specialty products for Williams Sonoma. Anette manages their two retail shops at First Street and inside the Oxbow Public Market. Along the way, Anette’s Chocolates has won 13 “SOFI’s” awards (Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation,) considered to be the Oscars in the world of specialty foods. Many of those honors are for various varieties of Anette’s brittle as well as their chocolate dessert toppings. Heady stuff for a family-run business. Brent is wonderfully innovative and a Master Chocolatier, who came into his own when he began making truffles, which people loved. The popularity of those got the business owners’ wheels turning. “It occurred to us that we could take our delicate truffle ganache centers and make a dessert topping pourable over ice creams, cheesecakes and fresh strawberries. And that is what Brent did. ” said Anette. After experimenting for months, he perfected what is now known as “Brent’s Cabernet Chocolate Wine FALL/WINTER 2021

Sauce.” It is the perfect blend of chocolate and wine. Locals loved it, asked for more, and Brent delivered. Five additional flavors followed, each with their own creative twist, from silky amaretto, fruity raspberry, to dark chocolate laced with brandy. Each topping is distinctive and decadent. For a true indulgence, Brent created “spoonable dessert topping.”. Somewhat thicker, they are perfect by the spoonful or enjoyed over a favorite dessert. And then came the brittle. “Craft beers have become very popular,” said Anette, “and we started wondering how we could incorporate them into our products. Brent began to experiment with blending beer into brittle. The results were amazing.” How amazing? Five of their Gold Medal awards have come from Brent’s Brittle, which now features a number of flavors. “Beer brittle may be the most popular,” said Anette, “but chile lime tequila

Anette’s coowners Anette Madsen Yazidi and Mary Stornetta.

tortilla, chardonnay, and cashew coconut brittle are right behind it.” “A few years into the business, we began planning how we could expand beyond our retail shop. We reached out to wineries, gourmet and artisan shops and attended specialty food shows in both New York City and San Francisco,” said Anette. “Our efforts brought great rewards.” The pandemic has devastated many businesses, and Anette’s was profoundly impacted as well.

“We were partly closed for several months and had to lay off 75% of our employees,” said Anette. “The stress of sickness, family and employee health, negotiating how to get supplies, pay continued mortgage and expenses, create new COVID-friendly sales options, operate on reduced hours with fewer employees and longer shifts, the lack of child care and closed schools has been extremely stressful. We are fortunate that our children returned to Napa to help and available staff stepped

up. We’re very thankful to have landlords that reduced rents and assisted when they could.” Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2021, Mary expressed a very “Welcome return of our wholesale customers.” Anette added, “We are happily busier than expected and are surprised at how many local Californians have visited Napa over the past year.” Anette’s recently remodeled their 1321 First St. store with a beautiful 20’ glassed counter for chocolates and an exquisite back wall depicting flowing chocolate. They are open seven days a week at both shops. They are firm believers in downtown Napa. “Brent, Mary and I grew up in Napa and raised our families here. We love all Napa has to offer,” she said. “We are fortunate to have our business here.” Craig Smith is executive director of the Downtown Napa Association.

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FINDING YOUR

happy place

Left to Right: Justin Hefley, Lori Hill, Rebecka Anderson

Submitted photo‌

Finding a perfect happy hour hangout in the Napa Valley just got easier thanks to the ingenuity of three local friends

inding a perfect happy hour hangout in the Napa Valley just got easier thanks to the ingenuity of three local friends. Justin Hefley, Lori Hill, and Rebecka Anderson work in technology for the Napa County Office of Education. While these friends always enjoyed a good happy hour after work, it wasn’t easy to mix it up and find new places. Hill tried her best to keep an updated list of restaurants and bars on her phone, but that method was falling short. 38 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

I S A B E L L E S C H M A LT Z That’s when this trio of tech experts came up with “Happy Hour Napa,” a website where all of the Napa Valley’s happy hour listings can be found in one place. “We currently have 33 listings and have identified nine more that we’ll be adding soon,” Hefley said. “We really strive to have the most up-to-date information and are continually working on the site and regularly confirming the info.” Visitors to HappyHourNapa.com can start their search by entering their zip

code or by selecting a specific day of the week. Listings can be narrowed down further by selecting filters like “outdoor seating,” “pet-friendly,” “live music,” and more. Each restaurant and bar listing includes photos, detailed descriptions, and a copy of the happy hour menu. To collect all of this data, Hefley, Hill, and Anderson personally visit each business during happy hour. They order the Please see HAPPY, Page 40 FALL/WINTER 2021

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food and drink specials, take pictures, and write a paragraph or two about the atmosphere and overall experience. “The photos and descriptions are particularly helpful for folks that may have never been to Napa and want to get a sense of the look and feel of the restaurant,” Hefley said. Originally, the team hoped to debut the site in the early summer of 2020. “COVID really put a screeching halt to our website plans,” Hefley said. “Not only did it affect the Napa restaurant scene but also our ‘real’ jobs working in educational technology.” While it was disappointing to delay the launch, Hefley said they were “completely consumed” by helping teachers, staff members, students, and families adapt to virtual teaching and learning. “It was a very stressful time so we really didn’t have the capacity to focus on the development of the website, with all the craziness happening around us,” he said. Hefley, Hill, and Anderson resumed working on the website in January of 2021. But with most restrictions still in place, progress was slow-going. Hefley said the bulk of their data collection and web work occurred between April and July of this year. “We knew on June 15 the state would be opening back up so that was a goal post for us,” he said. “But we still had to wait for bars and restaurants to bring back their happy hour specials.” Prior to the pandemic, the group started planning the website during “Happy Hour” meetings at various Napa restaurants and bars. “Of course we had to do our research and sample the happy hour specials,” Hefley said. “Those meetings produced some pretty good ideas (or so we thought at the time) and we had a lot of fun in the process.” Once COVID shut things down, the friends conducted virtual meetings, which may have been more productive but definitely not as fun, Hefley said. “We really missed the camaraderie that happens when you can hang out with friends after work and unwind with a cocktail and some good laughs,” he said. The Happy Hour Napa website did a soft launch with friends and family on July 8. In the first couple months, the site received approximately 1,425 visitors. Daily, 40 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Some of the colorful cocktails served at Napa’s Gran Eléctrica.

Bob McClenahan‌

Brix cocktails include the Oakville Grade, made from Charbay green tea vodka, St. Germain, ginger beer and egg white.

the site receives 10 or so visitors — a low number, Hefley admits, but they have yet to invest in paid advertising. For now, the trio has been passing out business cards and posting about the website on social media. They do plan to invest in marketing in the future. “Right now, we’re just focused on trying to attract visitors to the site,” Hefley said. According to their analytics, about 50 percent of the website’s visitors are located in Napa. “We think the website is a great resource for locals and tourists alike,” Hefley said. “Whether you are a local or a tourist, the website provides a low cost way to enjoy food and drinks with your pals.” Initially, Hefley, Hill, and Anderson were thinking the Happy Hour Napa concept would be perfect for an app. “But since we weren’t app developers and we didn’t have the funds to hire one we had to go a different direction,” Hefley said. “We decided on moving forward with the website because we had the skill and capacity to do so.”

TIM CARL PHOTOGRAPHY‌

The long-term goal, however, is still to create an app for Happy Hour Napa. “The timeline for when an app might happen is really contingent upon if we are able to find a developer willing to work for equity or as a partner,” Hefley said. When asked which Napa restaurant or bar was their personal happy hour favorite, each group member provided a different answer — but they all agreed that well-designed outdoor spaces interested them the most. One of Hill’s top spots is Farmstead. “Their outdoor bar, shady grove, and beautiful gardens are perfect on a warm summer evening—and dog friendly, too!” she said. A “great” happy hour experience will have a “fun vibe, tasty appetizers, and interesting cocktails at a fair price,” Hill said. People want a “relaxed” atmosphere, she said, where they can “catch a game or just catch up with friends.” Among Anderson’s favorite happy hour spots is Gran Electrica, which offers a mango margarita, a fun patio space, and a tasty appetizer of olives stuffed with sausage. “For me it’s not just about who has the cheapest drink or eats,” Anderson said. “I prefer patio locations, and I prefer establishments that offer specialty cocktails on their happy hour menu — something beyond a well drink.” Hefley is a fan of Tra Vigne Pizzeria. “Their secluded outdoor patio offers mature trees and umbrellas for shade, patio heaters for those cool St. Helena nights, and bocce ball courts for some friendly competition,” he said. The great thing about happy hour in the Napa Valley is it’s hard to go wrong, the group agreed. Local restaurants and bars are all top-notch, and having a website with a comprehensive list makes it all the more convenient. “We’re pretty spoiled here in Napa,” Hill said. FALL/WINTER 2021

‘THE COUNT

has returned to Napa Valley’ Jean-Charles Boisset plans a Napa tasting room S A S H A PAU L S E N s p auls e n@nap ane w s . com

ean-Charles Boisset first made his mark in Napa Valley with his purchase and renovation of Raymond Vineyards. in St. Helena (love that red velvet room). Then he livened up Yountville with his tiger skin print and crystal tasting room that anchored his JCB Village. Next he brought new life, excellent groceries, more wine, pizza, and a wine history museum to the site of the historic Oakville Grocery. In August, we had news of his plans to create a grand, multi-faceted experience (cafe, brewery, spirits tasting, and more) for Calistogans and visitors in the town’s old Depot, a building he later bought outright. Finally, Boisset will be coming to the town of Napa. Fi r s t St re e t Na p a h a s announced that Boisset will open a tasting room for his Buena Vista Winery in the 1929 Gordon Building in downtown Napa. As always, the energetic vintner will combine his love of history (and especially California history) with a Frenchman’s innate appreciation of the good things in life, especially when it comes to food and wine. Also, fun. Boisset painstakingly restored Sonoma’s Buena Vista Winery, believed to be California’s first premium winery. Now, in partnership with Earth & Sky Chocolates, Boisset plans to create a novel Chateau Buena Vista to taste its wines. “When Buena Vista was FALL/WINTER 2021

Jean-Charles Boisset is the owner of Raymond Vineyards, Buena Vista Winery, Oakville Grocery and DeLoach Winery, in California. The Boisset family also owns considerable property in his native Burgundy.

founded in 1857, it spanned from Sonoma to Napa,” Boisset said, “and we have always dreamed to re-establish the winery with a permanent destination in the Napa Valley, in addition to our St. Helena Vineyard. “ T h e h i s t o r i c Go rd o n

Building is the ideal Napa destination to unveil our a new vision of Chateau Buena Vista, which pairs the dream of Cabernet Sauvignon, caviar, and chocolate, in collaboration with our friends at Earth & Sky chocolates,” he added. “The Count has returned to Napa Valley!”

“The Count” is the equally colorful Count Agoston Haraszthy, (1812-1869) Buena Vista’s founder, who reportedly died when he was eaten by a crocodile in Nicaragua but who is frequently seen, in his present-day incarnation, at Buena Vista. The Gordon Building is a two-story, 20,000-square-foot structure on the northeast corner of First and Coombs streets. Originally constructed in 1929, it received an addition in 1935. The Spanish Colonial Revival building with Spanish Renaissance décor and detailing is on the National Register of Historic Places. Zapolski Real Estate and Trademark Property Company bought the aging building in November 2013, and this spring completed a full historic renovation including rehabilitation of its façade, lobby, interior and structural elements. Developer Todd Zapolski said that he and the team are “so excited” about the Boisset project. “Jean-Charles is known for his commitment to the Napa Valley, made evident by his thriving brands and businesses throughout the area.” Chateau Buena Vista will occupy 1,190 square feet of the Gordon’s retail space, as well as the 605 square foot mezzanine. The storefront will feature displays from Earth & Sky Chocolates, and a tasting area and wine bar where Cabernet sauvignon tastings will be offered along with chocolates and caviar pairings. The project is slated to open in November. INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 41

Winemaker Christopher Carpenter brings varied life experience to his art

Lokoya Cardinale 2016 Alex Farnum

A QUINTESSENTIAL RENAISSANCE MAN B K AT Y H AU T E

artender. Biologist. Musician. Winemaker. These are just some of the monikers that Christopher Carpenter acknowledges. His raspy soft-spokenness and rugged lumberjack-esque charm add to his mystique: he’s as layered as the complex wines that he blends often from mountainous regions. His forte (pun intended) is molto forte. According to Wine Educator Karen Wetzel, mountain fruit produces more intensely flavorful wines but requires more work and is more costly to produce. “Being above the fog line means mountain fruit enjoys a cooler but sunny, long growing season. Grapes are more complex, 42 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Music & Wine: Chris Carpenter’s top picks Favorite musical genre: Mostly roots rock styles Favorite Classical musician: Itzhak Perlman Favorite Contemporary musician / group: Avett Brothers or Trombone Shorty If you were a rockstar who would you be? Elvis, without the overbearing father and prescription drug issues.

leading to more intense, flavorful wines. The steep mountain slopes require everything to be done by hand from pruning to harvest, which makes these wines more costly to produce but highly coveted,” says Wetzel. Napa resident Rochelle Ronay appreciates the quality of

If you were a classical composer who would you be? Beethoven What are you drinking now? Coffee Have you had any cool music experiences recently? I met Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) in Hawaii, that was cool. “Rumors” was my first vinyl purchase with my own money in 1977.

Carpenter’s winemaking and calls Lokoya’s spring mountain cabernet her favorite wine. She also enjoys the cabernet at Cardinale which features mountain-grown grapes from Mount Veeder and Howell Mountain as the foundation for the blend. If he hadn’t been antagonized

as a child riding his bicycle to trombone practice, Carpenter might have entranced audiences with his musical arrangements. Instead, he’s become renowned for the expressiveness of his wines. Writers note his finesse: his ability to balance myriad factors that affect his best known wines which are grown in mountainous regions. Carpenter may not be the first winemaker to be compared to a composers or an orchestra director but in his case it is truly a fitting metaphor. Rather than abandoning his lifelong passion for music, Carpenter has incorporated it into his winemaking process by listening to classical music when he blends the varietals after fermentation. FALL/WINTER 2021

Alex Farnum‌

Music does more than just fuel his creative energy. “It helps me shift from left brain thinking to right brain thinking,” says Carpenter. “Most of the time I am thinking analytically, financially or logically — that’s all left brain stuff. When I sit down at the blending table, I can sit that way and be creative.” Music has almost exactly the same fundamental elements as wine: texture, structure, expression. The elements of sound have direct parallels to wine as well. When we met to discuss his career, Carpenter had just completed three weeks of blending. “I turn the music on and I start thinking about those sounds and how music has both lows and highs, timbre tone, a beginning, middle and end. It’s part of music’s power, “how it turns you on emotionally and physically and ultimately what type of memory it creates,” he explains. Research backs up this line of thought. Both sound and taste can trigger memory; aromas and flavors can also evoke moods. There’s a group of crossover concepts like harmony, notes and tones are used to describe wine and flavor terms like sweet and bitter are also applied to musical moods. Certain sounds and flavors or aromas possess the power to evoke moods and take us back into the past. We can compare a light, fruit-driven wine to an upbeat melody and a full bodied “brooding red” to a “dark piece of music in a minor key,” according to Jo Burzynska, Editor of Wine NZ magazine, Wine Editor for the New Zealand Herald’s Viva Magazine. FALL/WINTER 2021

Wines taste smoother when the music they are paired with have the same mood, but when the two are mismatched, the wines can taste harsh and astringent, according to research done by Clark Smith, a Californian winemaker and wine technologist. Smith conducted trials where participants sampled 150 different wines paired with 250 different songs, How can you tell what music goes with what wine? It takes sensitivity to discern the mood of a wine. “Anybody can tell happy music from sad from angry from romantic from lustful,” writes Clark. “Wines are the same. Cabernets are angry, Pinots romantic, Rieslings cheerful. After that, it’s trial and error. Pay particular attention to astringency: the smoothness or harshness a wine displays when tasted in a specific musical environment. You don’t need more than a few seconds to sense the effect,” according to Clark. We’ve all heard about food and wine pairings but the idea of pairing wine with music is still new. “Each component of the experience complements the other,” if it’s done correctly, says Hoby Wedler. When it comes to sensory awareness, Wedler is an expert. An entrepreneur who holds a PhD in chemistry from UC Davis as well as an adjunct professor at Napa’s Culinary Institute, Welder agrees that wine and music are mutually compatible. “Beautiful harmonies and flavor are easier to create when my mind is in the right place,” says Please see MAN, Page 44

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Wedler, but “sometimes I just want to rock out.” Wedler curated a unique presentation at the Summit for Beverage Professionals where he paired wine with music from the Dave Matthews Band songbook with wines by Sean McKenzie (Dreaming Tree Wines). “Sound is way more than sight evocative of memories and experiences ,” says Wedler who has been blind since birth. “So when something really triggers us we are alarmed and bought to a different place we are able to ponder something in a different way,” explains Wedler. But when it comes to winemaking, the comparison is also about overcoming complexities and creating balance and harmony. Winemaking is a creative art and a science that incorporates math and chemistry as well as farming techniques. It’s the perfect pursuit for a renaissance man like Carpenter’s whose path to winemaking was far from linear. He could have ended up elsewhere had he decided to try the surf culture he enjoyed in Southern California. However, his three degrees combined with a desire to create something drew him to Napa. “When I blend I listen to classical. I usually put KDFC on and let them drive the mix.” “Mountain wines tear it up,” he says citing a few examples, “Aerosmith meets Zeppelin meets Van Halen.” “Cardinale is a classical Beethoven or Mozart depending on the year,” he say adding another, “Shubert.” His musical tastes are still expanding thanks to the influence of his daughters, Maggie, 17, who plays violin, and Sadie, 21, who is a singer, plays piano, violin and guitar and his wife Tina shares the family appreciation for music. He isn’t immune to the musical tastes of friends are also an influence. “I have learned to appreciate 44 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

pure country,” he shares. Recently, Carpenter has gotten into singer songwriter Brandi Carlisle, whose style and vibe impressed him. “She has an incredible amount of soul.” Although Carpenter clearly has diverse musical tastes, he can pin down his favorite band, The Allman Brothers. He listens to every type of music on his off time, and of course there are wines in his own portfolio that can be compared to rock and roll. “Musically all of the live sessions that were happening on line as well as the chats with various artists” helped Carpenter get through the pandemic and restrictions due to the corona virus. During his early years while working at bars like Butch McGuires and Schuba’s in Chicago, he started exploring and appreciating food and wine in Chicago and Little Italy, where one of his server buddies worked who knew wine. The biology degree he received from University of Illinois in 1987 led him to medical equipment sales and he could have risen in the ranks except that he wasn’t eager to settle down in Indiana. Even though he has long considered Chicago his home, he was almost lured to San Diego for graduate school. “It is highly unlikely that I would have gotten my MBA but I would have been a really good surfer,” jokes Carpenter. Both his MBA (University of Chicago, 1990) and biology degrees inform his processes as a winemaker as do his childhood experiences. He and his mother moved frequently and he wasn’t always

Alex Farnum‌

treated kindly while he was growing up. “When you moved to a new town you were the new guy for the next few years; that was really difficult.” Carpenter’s openness is tied to the time he spent in the predominantly Italian and Irish area around Boston when integration brought inner city students from the Roxbury neighborhood in busses. “That’s framed a lot of my life, how I approach people and cultures and being open to other things,” he reflected. By the time they moved to Iran he found it liberating. “Being in that really different culture gave me an appreciation for otherness (other than Americans) that’s carried me for a number of years.” Carpenter earned his Masters from University of California, Davis in 1998 and chose to study the science of the plant. At the time it seemed easier than learning the science of wine (the two programs are now combined). “That was one the most serendipitous and smart decisions that I have ever made,” Carpenter reflects. “Knowing the farming side has served me incredibly well in the entire time of my career.” Carpenter would love to make wine in Italy again. He was able to gain practical experience in Italy during a six month internship at Antinori family winery Tignello, outside of Florence in Chianti. Extra studies at Davis allowed him to complete all of the oenology courses and he gained extra experience in the winery at Domain Carneros and the vineyard at Domain Chandon. Although wine only grows in temperate regions between the latitudes of 30 and 50 degrees, the seasons are reversed in some places

south of the equator and creating a continuous, almost non-stop cycle for Carpenter. Five of the red wines Carpenter is responsible are in the Napa Valley (Lokoya, La Jota, Mt. Brave, Cardinale and Caladan) one in the McLaren Vale in Australia (Hickenbotham) and a new project in Washington state. The rigors of this type of schedule might border on over commitment, but “Part of who I am is doing and exploring as much as possible,” he shares. Even though life is good and his job is too (he’s been with Jackson Family Wines for over 20 years) he really isn’t ever satisfied. Making time for family and volunteer commitments has also been important and Carpenter has served on the board of youth symphony in Napa, the Napa Valley Language Academy and recently joined the board of the Festival Napa Valley. He helped broaden the Slow Food Movement in the Napa Valley and served on the board of the local chapter from 1998 until 2006 as well as the board of the national Slow Food in 2003 which he chaired from 2006 through 2012. Although he does’t make wine in Bordeaux or France, Carpenter does have a presence there thanks to the Cité du Vin, a state-of-theart museum dedicated to make the living and universal heritage of wine accessible to the broadest possible audience which opened in 2016. Although he hasn’t been able to visit, Carpenter is one of 30 winemakers who shared their testimonies to create a virtual tour of the world of terroirs in ten different regions. For many years, Carpenter honed his bartending skills at Rutherford Grill on Friday nights when he was in the Napa Valley. Restrictions on travel and the restaurant and wine industries made it impossible to keep his semi-regular place behind the bar. Locals and travelers alike took pleasure at the fortuitous chance to help him stay connected to his roots. FALL/WINTER 2021

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YOU’LL SHOOT

YOUR

EYE

OUT! Napa Valley Museum showcases dangerous toys of yesteryear J E S S E D UA RT E jduarte@sthelenastar.com Science kits containing real uranium. Glass balls that make a fun noise when you slam them together. Heavy, sharp-pointed darts that can be hurled at metal hoops or annoying little brothers. What could possibly go wrong? The Napa Valley Museum in Yountville is inviting visitors to ponder that question with its new exhibit, “Dangerous Games: Treacherous Toys We Loved As Kids,” which opened in September and continues through Feb. 13. Executive Director Laura Rafaty said the exhibit was inspired partly by a June 2020 Sports Illustrated article about the resurgence of backyard games during the pandemic. “The backyard used to be a world of adventure all its own,” Rafaty said. “My big takeaway from this is how different things are today from when a lot of us were kids, when we could just run wild. Our parents didn’t know where we were all day. We just needed to come back in time for dinner.” Boomers will feel a whiff of nostalgia for the carefree summer days of lawn darts, which 46 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Jesse Duarte, Star‌

Napa Valley Museum staff members Jonathan “JON” Fetzer, Executive Director Laura Rafaty and Alexander Belmont stand in front of a giant lawn dart featured in the museum’s new exhibit, “Dangerous Games: Treacherous Toys We Loved As Kids.”

Jesse Duarte, Star‌

The Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kids doll, one of the hottest toys of Christmas 1996, was recalled the next year after the doll’s mechanical jaws started chomping kids’ fingers and hair.

packed 23,000 pounds of force per square inch, and Red Ryder BB guns, which, as any fan of “A Christmas Story” knows, could shoot your eye out. Millennials will marvel at the violent, pre-feminist, molten-hot, toxic and even radioactive toys that are unthinkable in today’s era of fretful parents

and trigger warnings. Creepy Crawlers enabled kids to manufacture scary-looking plastic bugs using molds and a little oven. Burns and noxious fumes resulted — as did plenty of good clean fun. Super Elastic Bubble Plastic was popular in the ‘70s. The child would put stick a ball of

liquid plastic on one end of a straw, blow into the other end, and make a bubble. “The problem was the plastic contained toxic chemicals, and if you breathed in the fumes you would get high,” Rafaty said of the contraption, which resembles a meth pipe. The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was an inspiration to budding scientists during the Cold War, but the little sample of uranium ore wouldn’t pass muster on today’s toy market. It did, however, pass muster with Napa County Sheriff ’s Office Bomb Squad Sergeant Chris Pacheco, who visited the museum last Thursday with a Geiger counter and found no radiation present in either of the ‘50s-era science kits that were said to contain uranium ore. “Sergeant Pacheco put our minds at ease — his Geiger counter remaining blessedly silent when passed over the objects,” Rafaty said. “This tracks with information we received from experts in nuclear energy at the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, who assured FALL/WINTER 2021

Jesse Duarte, Star‌

Ouija boards have been popular and controversial for decades.

us that these objects were not as dangerous as their reputation might suggest, and indeed they inspired many kids to pursue STEM education.” Also considered problematic today: candy cigarettes, toy guns that look just like the real thing, and glass Clackers that could just as accurately have been called Shatterers. Even Hula Hoops were associated not just with occasional

back injuries but with lascivious hip gyrations that could corrupt innocent young minds. As the Indonesian authorities who banned them put it, they “might stimulate passion.” And then there were the occult-tinged toys like Ouija boards and magic 8-balls that were criticized for putting kids’ very souls at hazard. Rafaty said she compiled a list of toys she wanted for the

Jesse Duarte, Star‌

This ‘50s-era Pipe Shooter, which shoots darts, would be considered problematic in today’s toy market.

Lawn darts, popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s, packed 23,000 pounds of force per square inch.

show and gave it to Thurlow Washam, one of the museum’s donors, who went on an eBay buying frenzy. Brought together in one place, the collection evokes memories of a time and place where kids were granted more independence — for better or for worse. “It’s about remembering

what it was like when you were free and easy,” Rafaty said. “The pre-helicopter parent days.” The museum is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 55 Presidents Circle in Yountville. You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.

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The future of food is Napa’s Dutch Door serves several plant-based options, including salad bowls that include nuts, beans, seeds and grains. Tim Carl‌

plant-based TIM CARL

Technology, public tastes are pushing us in a healthy new direction In late 2021, select McDonald’s restaurants in Europe started serving the “McPlant” (or the P.L.T., for plant, lettuce and tomato), which is a 100% plantbased burger. How soon this will be available in the United States 48 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

remains unclear; however, what has become certain is that the options for plant-based meals at restaurants and at home continue to expand and improve. Fast or fancy, the future is planty McDonald’s is not the only fast-food producer to dip its toe into offering plant-based options. A&W now offers a burger made with non-animal Beyond Meat, while Panda

Express has started making orange chicken from Beyond Chicken at a few of its U.S. locations. Burger King offers a plantbased Impossible Whopper at its nearly 8,000 locations across the country. Order any meal at Taco Bell “fresco style” and it arrives without dairy. Starbucks has its Impossible breakfast sandwiches, and Peet’s Coffee makes its vegan breakfast sandwich with mungbean-based Just Egg.

Even Long John Silver’s seafood chain is experimenting with plant-based crab cakes and fish fillets at select locations. An increasing number of new plant-based fast-food joints are springing up — Amy’s Drive Thru, Plant Power Fast Food and Burger Patch, for example. Napa-Valley-based Gott’s Roadside is replete with vegetarian options. It’s just not fast-food chains FALL/WINTER 2021

that are offering animal-free options, either. Many of the fanciest of fancy restaurants are now offering up alternatives to meat, cheese and dairy. New York’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant has recently gone meatless, and there are now 12 Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurants worldwide, five of them strictly vegan. Beyond eateries, grocery stores report double-digit yearover-year growth in the category. Increasing demand, health, environmental concerns and animal cruelty all combine to help fuel a green rush. Why are these historically animal-centric food businesses turning to plants? First, there is a growing demand. A January 2020 Gallup Poll highlighted that 23% of Americans are eating less meat, with young people skewing heavily in that direction. According to a report by the Plant-Based Foods Association, plant-based milk is worth $2.5 billion in the United States, making up 15% of overall sales in the category, and nearly half of sales (45%) in natural food stores. Plant-based meat is growing but is currently behind

versus conventional diets (duration ≤ 24 months) on weight status, energy metabolism and systemic inflammation in healthy participants, obese and type-2 diabetes patients.” They found other benefits, too, including a “modulation of the gut microbiome towards a favorable diversity of bacteria species.” That said, the new onslaught of highly processed plant-based products has not yet been thoroughly studied to determine if these items carry similar risks as do more traditionally processed products, many of which have been linked to negative health outcomes. Next, both companies and the public are increasingly concerned over the negative environmental impacts of growing meat, dairy and eggs. For example, a 2018 University of Oxford study showed that cows’ milk required nearly 70% more water, emits twice as much CO2 and takes more than 15 times as much land than does making the equivalent amount of almond milk. There is also a growing concern about the ethical treatment of animals farmed for food. The

Tim Carl‌

Napa’s Compline provides a range of colorful plant-based options, from root-vegetable soups to mushroom risottos.

plant-based milk at $1.5 billion. The benefits of eating a plant-based diet are clear. A 2019 study in the journal Nature found “…robust evidence for short- to moderate-term beneficial effects of plant-based diets FALL/WINTER 2021

United Nations reported that more than 70 billion animals were slaughtered for food in 2019. This doesn’t include fish. A 2015 Gallup Poll showed that almost a third of Americans (32%) believe that animals

Napa’s Compline’s mushroom risotto.

should be given the same rights as humans, while 62% report that animals deserve some protection but can still be used for the benefit of people. The report highlighted that the strong animal-rights view was up from 2008, when only 25% thought the rights of animals should be equal to those of humans. And whereas in the past non-animal protein-rich products were considered lacking flavor and texture, that is changing. In recent years a deluge of new animal-alternative products have entered the market — from artisan cheeses and charcuterie to faux beef, pork, chicken and fish that are becoming hard to distinguish from their originals. Many of these innovative new products are being developed by venture-capital-backed startup companies who expect to see massive financial returns from products that tap into even a small sliver of the enormous traditional product categories. Some refer to this influx of investment as the new “green rush,” in reference to the gold rush of the mid-1800s. To highlight the green rush, in late 2021 Oatly, a Swedish company that makes milk, yogurt and ice cream from oats, became a publicly traded company with a valuation now hovering around $15 billion. A few years earlier, Beyond Meat was the first plant-based food company to go public. On the first day of trading the stock skyrocketed nearly 200 percent, and it has grown steadily ever since. The point is that the interest

Tim Carl‌

in plant-based alternatives is strong, global and likely to continue to expand. There are pressures that go counter to the prevailing trend toward eating more plants. These include personal preferences, a misbelief that plants don’t provide enough protein, views about masculinity, and family and/or religious traditions. Most of the factors bucking the trend are rooted in either societal norms or in an individual’s psychology, and both have the potential to change over time. Even the most ardent carnivore is likely to soften his or her stance, especially if they can’t tell the difference between a burger made with animal flesh and one made with pea protein. And for those of you shaking your heads at this, conjuring up an argument that there is just no way a human can get enough protein without eating a daily serving of animal flesh, just remember that elephants, gorillas, hippos and giraffes all do just fine as herbivores. The benefits of eating more plants and less meat are clear — better health, less impact on the environment, less killing of animals and fewer opportunities for animal-borne diseases to infect humans. There is no turning back. The future of food is plantbased, and by the look of how things are going, the quality, taste and texture of those future foods will be delicious and nearly indistinguishable — or even better-tasting — than the original. INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 49

apa’s year-round balminess would make it difficult to remember that winter even exists, but for the steady shortening of the daylight hours and the growing excitement of the holiday season. It’s fairly common knowledge that many December holidays are connected to the winter solstice in one way or another, but few of us probably realize just how much, or why. Solstice celebrations are increasing in popularity, so I set out to learn a bit more about the winter solstice and why people are drawn to celebrate it. What exactly is the winter solstice? In scientific terms, a solstice – of which there are two per year – marks the maximum or minimum declination of the sun, i.e. the farthest north or south from the equator the sun reaches due to the Earth’s tilt. Also due to that tilt, the solstices are opposite for each hemisphere: the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice is the southern hemisphere’s summer solstice, and vice versa. When we have our longest night, Australia is enjoying its longest day. Solstices are not to be confused with equinoxes, when day and night are of equal length, and we mark the beginning of spring or autumn. The solstices fall around June 21 and Dec. 22, and shift around a bit because the astronomical year is actually 365.25 days long. Our other reminder of this slight irregularity is the Leap Day we enjoy every four years. And if you want to get really technical, a solstice occurs at an exact time of day or night, depending on your location. Our winter solstice this year is Dec. 21 at precisely 7:59 a.m. It’s easy for us these days with our million-dollar telescopes and sophisticated measurement techniques to pinpoint the solstices, yet ancient humans were surprisingly good at measuring astronomical readings as well. The most famous example of an astronomical calendar is 50 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Submitted photo‌

A decoration in the home of Napa resident Jennifer, who celebrates the Winter Solstice.

WINTER SOLSTICE

THEN & NOW The longest night of the year has a spiritual significance that stretches back into prehistory E L AY N A T RU C K E R Stonehenge in England, but there are many such structures throughout the world that clearly indicate ancient astronomers knew about solstices and equinoxes, and they were important enough to devote monumental works to these seasonal moments. At Stonehenge, the sun rises behind the entrance so the light goes to the center of the ring, and it has long been speculated that solstice celebrations took place there. Newgrange in Ireland is similarly aligned with the winter solstice. Most historical solstice celebrations that we know about centered around the summer

solstice, but there is evidence that many ancient winter solstice celebrations marked the birth of a powerful god. In India, Maghi is celebrated in January to mark the sun’s entrance into Makara, what we know as Capricorn. Yalda night is one of Persia’s oldest traditions, celebrating the victory of light over dark as the days begin once again to lengthen. The Hopi of northern Arizona celebrate Soyal, when they welcome the kachinas, protective mountain spirits. In the ancient Inca Empire, Inti Raymi was the time to pay homage to the sun god, where fasting was followed by offerings and sacrifices at sunrise.

As we move closer to the Common Era, we note that the Roman feast of Sol Invictus, a Syrian god adopted by the Roman pantheon, took place on Dec. 25. Sol Invictus fell right after the Saturnalia, an epic feast that included the exchanging of gifts. Dec. 25 is also traditionally the birthday of Mithra, an Indo-European deity of light. It’s a bit controversial to say that Christians co-opted these polytheistic holidays, and since no one really knows for sure that’s what happened, it’s more interesting to note the various similarities and commonalities of these varying traditions, and to see how diverse peoples folded their old customs into new rituals. Take St. Lucy’s Day, for example, which I read about in Katherine Maye’s wonderful book, “Wintering.” Now celebrated on Dec. 13, it used to be held on the winter solstice. There are a couple of legends around St. Lucy, one of which sees her wearing a crown of candles while bringing food to Christians hiding in the catacombs of Rome during the Great Persecution. In an alternate legend, her refusal to marry signed her death warrant, and she was burned at the stake, possibly with her eyes having been gouged out, either by herself or her would-be husband. Yikes. But what’s so interesting about St. Lucy’s Day, in the context of our winter solstice exploration, is that fire, white gowns with red sashes, and wreathes of candles are all pre-Christian Norse winter solstice traditions. Yule is the Wiccan celebration of the winter solstice and begins the Wiccan year. It is traditionally a fire festival, to celebrate the return of sun and light. You’ll probably recognize the word Yule, most commonly associated with the yule log, another pre-Christian tradition that was folded into some Christian celebrations. In Wicca, God is reborn at Yule after having died at Samhain (now associated FALL/WINTER 2021

with Halloween), and the Goddess is now known in her guise as the Mother instead of the Crone. The word Yule itself is a bit of a mystery; it could be Germanic or Norse, but it certainly predates Christianity. So why celebrate the winter solstice now, when there are so many other holidays around the same time to choose from? For Napa local Jennifer, who no longer felt at home in the religion of her birth, deciding to follow a different spiritual path was a measured and careful decision. Jennifer is a member of The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, and practices a naturebased path. She was drawn to OBOD because of its strong devotion to the earth as our Mother, “and that we should honor her and take care of her.” All creatures of nature are valued as unique and perfect in their own way; Jennifer appreciates the respect inherent in the path of Druidry that validates each

Mondan80, Dreamstime.com‌

The inti raymi 2009 in Cusco, Peru

individual’s own journey. Solstices, moon phases, and seasons are a way for Jennifer to connect to our Mother, to the earth. Winter solstice in particular is a favorite time of year for her, as it offers the “chance to get together with friends or family to have a simple moment within the midst of the absolute

craziness of Christmas.” Jennifer, her husband, and children host a Winter Solstice Dinner each year, with a theme, a special cocktail, and a dessert she doesn’t usually make. Attendees “bring an idea of something that they would like to banish from the past year,” which they burn in the fire with the yule log

Jennifer makes. Creating the yule log can be its own ritual. Jennifer picks the log she wants to use, cleanses it in her home, and decorates it with rosemary, cedar branches, cinnamon, holly, and red and green twine. One careful note: Please see SOLSTICE, Page 52

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Rolf52, Dreamstime.com‌

Celebration of Saint Lucy in Sweden.

Rhbabiak13, Dreamstime.com‌

The Yule Goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. It`s origin may be Germanic pagan and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typically made of Straw. Saint Nicholas stands near this one at Old World Wisconin`s Christmas event in Eagle, WI.

SOLSTICE From PAGE 51

make sure anything you decorate your yule log with can be safely burned in the fire. When the weather is clear, the log, along with those bad things you want to banish, is burned outside, with wishes for the coming year thrown in afterwards. A wood stove inside will suffice as well. Jennifer decorates her house for the solstice season from about mid-November through January. White, green, red, gold, and silver are the colors of the winter solstice, and she places cedar branches beneath the welcome mat so those who enter her home are blessed. A decorated tree, another ages old tradition that Christians enjoy as well, is a prominent feature. 52 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.

I asked Jennifer if the winter solstice is something she would celebrate alone, but she says that for her it’s really all about community. Winter Solstice is a chance to get together with people you love in a calm atmosphere, when little is

1000words, Dreamstime.com‌

expected of you other than to enjoy yourself and be in the moment with your loved ones. The opportunity to discard what oppressed you in the past year and send your hopes for the new year into the universe is cathartic. This resonated with

what Katherine May writes in “Wintering:” “I am staying away from others because I don’t know what the New Year will bring, and I’m afraid and don’t have the grace to conceal it … a welcome sense of insignificance amid a congregation of people; a lifting of the obligation to endlessly do, if just for an hour.” She notes that prayer and meditation can seem too insular, while ritual and communal celebrations can be just as healing. As far as Jennifer knows (and my extensive Google searching confirms), there is no communal winter solstice celebration in Napa. Perhaps there one day will be; certainly, more and more people, especially during the last two years, are turning back to nature and community as strengthening forces in their lives. Families of mixed faith are also increasing, so a nondenominational celebration is appealing. In my day job as a bookseller, the holiday season is associated mainly with a sense of busyness and stress, so putting aside a quiet night for family, friends, reflection and introspection, sounds like a balm. Winter solstice, with is sharply cold, longest night of the year and the promise of new light dawning, may just be the reset many of us deeply crave. FALL/WINTER 2021

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Local

bubbles

Napa County producers both honor tradition and break rules with sparkling wine JESS LANDER

hen it comes to the holiday season, the wine spotlight inevitably shines on bubbly. The go-to choice for New Year’s celebrations, it’s also the perfect companion for seasonal parties, big family dinners (as a general rule, when in doubt, pair food with sparkling wine), and even Hallmark Holiday movie marathons enjoyed in sweats with a cheese plate. Ma n y p e o p l e s a y t h a t such festive occasions call for Champagne, while others reach for more affordable California standbys (easily purchased at your local grocery) from well-respected sparkling houses like Chandon, Mumm, and Schramsberg. But those aren’t the only options. The growing acceptance of 54 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

sparkling wine as more than just a special occasion beverage has prompted smaller Napa Valley wineries to make their own sparklings with a focus on quality that can rival Champagne. Some are even experimenting with alternative grape varieties beyond the traditional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, offering a fun, adventurous, and typically affordable bottle for open-minded bubbleheads. So in the spirit of shopping local and supporting the little guy, here are six locally-made sparkling wines that are guaranteed to put a twinkle in Santa’s eye and keep the celebrations going through a notso-silent night. Each is available through the respective winery, though you can also find some (and others) at Be Bubbly, Napa’s sparkling wine lounge on Second Street.

Artesa Winery

Brendel Wines

READY TO PARTY Carboniste 2020 Gomes Vineyard Sparkling Albariño $28 The brainchild of Dan and Jacqueline Person (Dan formerly made wine as Schramsberg), Carboniste was founded to disrupt the California sparkling wine industry by doing things differently. First and foremost: they aren’t trying to model themselves after Champagne. “The biggest difference between California and Champagne is that Champagne doesn’t have this sunshine, this warmth,” said Person. “There’s a richness and ripeness in California that they don’t have in Champagne. Carboniste produces half a dozen or so sparkling wines, but one of their most interesting is the sparkling Albariño, made from the aromatic white grape that’s most prominently grown in Portugal. Dan Person said they thought Albariño would make great sparkling wine because it’s “fresh and bright and exhibits the sunshine of California.”

Brendel Wines

He describes the wine as “electric passionfruit,” that’s especially powerful and vibrant when it’s young. The bottle features an octopus on the label, which also just so happens to be a great pairing with this wine if you feel like getting extra fancy this holiday season. carboniste.com Brendel Wines 2019 Young Leon Frizzante Rosé $35 Since the grape originates from Piedmonte, Italy, most California wine lovers have never even heard of Grignolino, Please see BUBBLES, Page 56 FALL/WINTER 2021

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BUBBLES From PAGE 54

let alone know how to spell it or pronounce it. But Brendel Wines, a new brand from Master Somm Carlton McCoy, Jr. and the Lawrence family (who recently purchased Heitz, Stony Hill, and Burgess) has made an intriguing sparkling wine out of it. The project was inspired by a Napa Valley pioneer named Leon Brendel, who made Grignolino from a small plot of land in the 1950s, which was later sold to Joe Heitz. “All Brendel selections were created to reconnect consumers with celebrated roots in the Napa Valley,” said Brendel brand manager Cassandra Felix. The result is a stunning pink-orange hue with aromas of tart cranberry, watermelon, and crushed mandarin orange. Quite the opposite of an aged Champagne, it’s vibrant and refreshing on the palate with a mild natural tartness from the grapes — which are also organic and biodynamically farmed from their estate vineyard in St. Helena. Brendel Brand Director Cassandra Felix suggests popping open either (or both!) of these wines at a holiday cocktail party “with light dishes such Prosciutto e Melone or a fresh feta, watermelon and arugula salad.” Brendelwines.com Grassi Wines 2019 Sparkling Ribolla Gialla “Valentina’s Block” $150 for a 3-pack The Italian white grape Ribolla Gialla is grown most prominently in Friuli in northeast Italy and is a rare find in Napa Valley. It was first brought to California by a man named George Vare, who like so many of the smugglers of his time, brought vine cuttings of the grape over in a suitcase in the late 1990s. The co-founder of Luna Vineyards, Vare was a mentor to the Grassis, who have 56 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Carboniste‌

produced a still Riobolla Gialla in his honor for more than a decade. The idea to make a sparkling version started out as an experiment with friends in 2018 when, according to proprietor Cassandra Grassi, they made some “very primitively” in the cellar. Loving the results, they made it official the next year, this time utilizing the traditional Methodé Champenoise. The grapes are sourced from a small, one-acre block planted on Grassi’s Soda Canyon estate. A super-expressive wine with notes of white flowers, tangerine, and green apples — plus a hint of nuttiness — this bubbly has great acidity and Grassi recommends enjoying it with seafood. “Our family does a seafood spread for Christmas Eve, with crab, oysters, and smoked fish, and the sparkling pairs great with all of it,” she said. grassiwines.com CROWD PLEASERS Frank Family Vineyards 2016 Brut Rosé $55 If you’re looking for a more traditional sparkling wine option that’s a good substitute for Champagne, Calistoga’s Frank Family Vineyards has a long history of crafting limited bottlings of sparkling. While most wineries lack the equipment and time to do the labor-intensive process at their winery (thus sending the juice off to a custom production facility), Frank Family does it all in-house. Since 1958, sparkling wines have been produced in their centuries-old stone building and winemaker Todd Graff has been doing so since 1990 using the traditional Methodé

Champenoise. “We do it all ourselves, from building up the yeast for tirage bottling to extended aging, riddling, and disgorging,” said Frank Family winemaker Todd Graff. “These wines are aged on the yeast for four years and you can really see the difference.” Like Napa Valley’s most prominent sparkling wine houses, Frank Family looks to the cooler Carneros region to source the best grapes for bubbly. The Brut Rosé is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, has great texture, acidity, aromas of toast, raspberry, and green apple, and flavors of red berries and citrus fruit. Frank Family produces three other sparkling wines, including a Blanc de Blancs and a red sparkling. frankfamilyvineyards.com Cuvaison Winery 2017 Brut Rosé Methodé Champenoise $50 Across the street from the famed chateau Domaine Carneros, Cuvaison Winery is also making small lots of their own sparkling wine from their estate, utilizing the traditional method. “We are not blending our wine from several lots or vintages,” explained Cuvaison winemaker Steve Rogstad. “Our bubbles are always vintage designated and come from a single lot. In this way, they reflect not only our approach to making sparkling wine from our estate, but they capture the nuanced differences in vintages from year to year.” This Brut Rose is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and spent two years aging on the yeast before disgorging, which gives this wine the classic yeasty, brioche notes, plus orange peel

and lemon meringue. Rogstad suggests keeping it classic when pairing this bubbly with food. “I love oysters, the brinier the better. The saltiness and richness of oysters are a perfect foil for the acid and bubbles in the sparkling wine,” he said. “Or, crème fraiche on salty potato chips with caviar is a pretty seductive pairing with our sparkler.” cuvaison.com EXTRA SPECIAL Artesa Winery 2013 Codorníu Napa La Jefa Late Disgorged Sparkling Brut $100 In celebration of Artesa Winery’s 30th Anniversary, the winery just released their first late-disgorged sparkling wine, La Jefa, which aged on the lees (dead yeast cells) for seven long years — a true rarity in Napa Valley. La Jefa is a tribute to a longstanding tradition at Raventós Codorníu, Spain’s oldest winery that dates back to nearly five centuries (the Codorníu family founded Artesa in Napa’s Carneros region). “At Raventós Codorníu, there is a luxury range of sparkling wines called ‘Ars Collecta,’ which symbolizes the legacy of almost five centuries of Codorníu oenological mastery. The masterpiece of the collection is named each year for the number of vintages harvested at Codorníu,” explained Artesa winemaker Ana Diogo-Draper. “In tasting the current vintage released, which at the time was 456, there were a few blocks from Artesa’s 2013 harvest that, while typically blended into our Brut, stood out as exceptional, which inspired us to try and create a sparkling wine at Artesa on par with the 456.” The long aging gave this wine a round, creamy mouthfeel and a complexity that’s often found in Champagne. For pairing, Diogo-Draper suggests cold cracked crab, one of her family’s holiday traditions. artesawinery.com FALL/WINTER 2021

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Low-alcohol wines

TAKE OFF Napa Valley brand Sovi has launched its first non-alcoholic wine, a sparkling rose.

Courtesy of Sovi

SAM JONES sj ones@napane w s . com

Consumers seek lighter options as lifestyle choice

quick walk through any grocery store will lead you through a labyrinth of low-calorie, guilt-free alternatives to our favorite processed, frozen and canned foods. And now, even the wine aisle may be succumbing to the trend as alternative options become available. “I think there is an overall wellness trend in this country, and I think younger people’s access to information has led to expectation of information,” said Dale Stratton, president of the Wine Market Council. The Wine Market Council is a member-led industry group, providing an avenue for research of interest-based on group inquiries. The WMC has been around since the late 1990s, with a member base of producers, growers, importers, distributors, retail shareholders and more. Using member dues, the group then funds third-party research in a couple of different ways. “The first one we do every other year, and we do a major tracking study of the wine 58 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Dealcoholizing Wine How it works: “It’s called vacuum distillation and basically what it does is it boils the wine in a vacuum at like 85 degrees, so not super hot, but enough that it can boil off the alcohol,” said Littauer. “Then out comes the alcohol, which is clear and that can be sold off as brandy, and then what’s left is the wine with the alcohol removed from it.” Littauer says that quite a few wineries in Napa also use this technique to bump their ABV percentages down before bottling, and that Sovi just removes it entirely. This means a longer time in the vacuum, rather than a warmer temperature. “Because it’s in a vacuum, it traps off that ethanol,” said Littauer.“[So] when you’re cooking with wine and boiling off the alcohol, it goes into the air, but in this case, you capture it.”

consumer. This gives us a very good view as to who the wine consumer is, how they act, what their demographics are, and it’s pretty in-depth,” said Stratton. “The second thing that we do is one-off pieces of research throughout the year based on input from our members, whatever hot topic that may be.” A recent WMC one-off report looked into the role of wine in a “wellness lifestyle,” asking alcohol consumers a series of questions about their drinking habits, values related to wellness, and general perceptions of different types of alcohol. “Some of the things that came out of this research were that there is a segment of the population who is definitely focused on moderating alcohol as a means to improve their health, and wine is

part of that,” said Stratton. One question asked targeted participants why they say they are drinking less wine than a couple of years ago, with responses broken into core wine drinkers, marginal wine drinkers, and infrequent wine drinkers. The most common answers from all groups were “exercising,” “worklife balance and managing stress,” “moderating or eliminating sugar intake,” and “reducing or avoiding artificial ingredients.” Similarly, another question assessed which wellness attributes participants associated with different types of alcohol, including beer, hard seltzers, spirits and wine. Other than the option “none” — which had an overwhelming majority of responses for all questions — wine trailed behind seltzers and spirits in the

“low calorie,” “low carb,” and “less sugar” categories. However, for those dieting or “watching what they eat,” seltzer and wine tied as good options. Beer and seltzers were also both perceived as lower in alcohol than wine. Interestingly, though, when asked which was the healthiest of the alcoholic beverages, wine took the lead over two-fold. Low-alcohol and non-alcoholic wines have been showing up on the market in recent years, allowing brands to expand their repertoire to non-, infrequent or particularly conscious drinkers worried about additives or consumption. (Read as: hangovers.) According to IWSR research, low-alcohol wine volumes more than doubled in 2020 in the United States. Internationally, some brands produce wines that just-so-happen to have low-ABV, while others like Kim Crawford Wines have created products specifically to fit this niche. Here in Napa Valley, for example, St. Helena’s Mind & Body Wines sells low-calorie and low alcohol wine, and Napa’s new brand Sovi specializes entirely in non-alcoholic options. “It was important for us to create these wellness-minded wines with fewer calories and less alcohol because consumers were asking for it,” said Brittany Haning of Mind & Body. “We pride ourselves on listening to consumers and giving them what they want, and consumers resoundingly were reaching out for a low-calorie, low-alcohol wine that better fits their lifestyles and helps them reach their wellness goals.” This lifestyle compatibility component fits not only with fitness and exercise but to other FALL/WINTER 2021

environmental factors as well, according to WMC research. When asked for their reasons for drinking less alcoholic beverages a couple years ago, many participants attributed the decrease to not finding themselves in as many social situations, not enjoying drinking anymore, the fact that it makes them physically feel bad, due to a medical condition, or because of the presence of young children at home. For Sovi specifically, young mothers were expected to be the largest demographic of customers before launching their product. “[But] the number one reason any of us consume what we consume is because we like the way it tastes, and so the key to these low-calorie wines is that they’ve been able to keep that taste,” said Stratton. “It can’t just be taking wine, adding some water in and making it thinner — That just doesn’t work.” But Sovi co-owner, Julia Littauer, knows that she and her

husband are up against a not-sogreat reputation of odd-tasting, booze-free drinks. “Not every wine that you remove the alcohol from is going to taste good,” she said. “It’s actually pretty difficult to find a wine that, when you remove the alcohol, it doesn’t just taste like watered-down grape juice.” Littauer is a certified sommelier, though, so she says she is especially careful when picking and boiling down wines to dealcoholize them. She initially worked in the spirits industry, but ended up getting the wine bug and landing a gig at Corkbuzz wine bar in New York City. She “realized I didn’t want to work in restaurants anymore because it’s a tough life,” she said. ”I moved out here and landed in Sonoma, and I worked for a Treasury Wine Estates.” Here she met her husband, who also worked for TWE in direct-to-consumer marketing. After putting a ring on it, they

took a leap and attended Cornell’s Business School — the Johnson Graduate School of Management — and graduated side-by-side last year. It was at Cornell that the idea for Sovi started to blossom. “It was kind of a gradual realization while we were working on a different concept and talking to a lot of people,” she remembers, “Everyone was drinking less ... and there were so many reasons that they were drinking less.” Neither Littauer or her husband Alex are non-drinkers, but the duo wanted to provide an option for those who are and even those that just want to avoid mid-day fuzziness after lunchtime drinks. She says that some people thought they were crazy when they pitched the idea of a non-alcoholic wine — and honestly, some still do — but there was also a subset of people who thought it was a really cool idea. “We accepted from the beginning that this was never going to

be for someone who is super serious about wine,” she said. Since launching the first Sovi wine, a sparkling rose, this March, they have been learning more and more about their clientele and what they are looking for. While young moms are buying their wine as expected, so are older folks looking to skip the buzz and people not fond of the effects of drinking. “It wasn’t as young of a demographic as we thought, but these are people who drink wine regularly,” she said. This month Sovi is launching their to-be-announced second product, which will be a dealcoholized red blend, and the pair are looking forward to creating more and more varietals as they master the finicky process of de-boozing wine. You can reach Sam Jones at 707-256-2221 and sjones@ napanews.com.

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INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 59

Cyrus Hazzard, executive vice president of Crocker & Starr Winery, speaks at a fall 2021 winery event.

Emma K. Morris‌

REIMAGINING

HARVEST Wineries adjust fall safety protocols in the time of COVID JESSICA ZIMMER In fall 2021, Napa Valley wineries treated guests to creative, innovative harvest celebrations, developing “best practices” to guide a range of other businesses. Linsey Gallagher, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley, said in fall 2021, wineries leaned in heavily to embracing al fresco dining and socializing experiences. “Holding events totally or partially outdoors has increased wineries’ capacity. This helped guests and staff to be safer and everyone to be more comfortable,” said Gallagher. The use of parklets, terraces, and patios in particular has helped wineries host small clusters of 60 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Emma K. Morris‌

Maya Joye, cellarmaster, welcomes guests for a tasting event in the cellar at Crocker & Starr Winery in fall 2021.

guests. Serving individuals who come together and already knew one another allowed events to run

more smoothly. Gallagher said the easing of restrictions and welcoming back of

wine club members “out of Zoom purgatory” also expanded the drive-in market past Sacramento and San Jose. Daniel Klopfenstein, marketing manager of Fantesca Estate & Winery in St. Helena, said incorporating winemaker talks into Fantesca’s 18th annual ‘Hands on Harvest’ provided guests a deeper understanding of practices during harvest season. “Brief walk-throughs of the winery’s cave, temporary tasting spots in the vineyard, and having every member of our team vaccinated enabled us to create a great Please see HARVEST, Page 62 FALL/WINTER 2021

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Bin 415 Private Tours‌

Michael Lagau, founder of Bin 415 Private Tours, gives a private cave tour at Viader Vineyards during harvest 2019. Fantesca Estate & Winery‌

Maria Rohe, estate host at Fantesca Estate & Winery, holds a large format bottle of the 2019 Fantesca Estate Chardonnay.

Cyrus Hazzard‌

A sign reminds guests to wear masks at Crocker & Starr Winery in fall 2021.

HARVEST

Alexander Rubin Photography‌

Opening celebration for the new visitor center at Cakebread Cellars in November 2019.

From PAGE 60

experience,” said Klopfenstein. Klopfenstein said Fantesca started preparing for reopening months in advance. Hospitality staff and winemakers connected with wine club members through virtual tastings through 2020. “Communication throughout the year kept us connected. That allowed us to learn what people wanted and expected. We loved having the conversations that helped us make events private and exclusive,” said Klopfenstein. Food stations and space to relax A celebration with 450 guests was a little over the top for fall 2021. To manage the event better, Crocker & Starr Winery scaled back its early September Carnivus Maximus to 300 guests. “We had separate food stations, requested that groups travel with their ‘pod’ throughout the event, and required one person in the group to buy tickets for all the pod’s members. This allowed us to hold an enjoyable and unique celebration,” said Cyrus Hazzard, executive vice president of Crocker & Starr Winery in St. Helena. Hazzard said all staff for the event had to be masked and vaccinated or show proof of a negative test within 72 hours. Guests were required to adhere to the same rules. “Crocker & Starr staff worked hard to think up safe entertainment, including a live band that was properly distanced from the audience. We had games that small groups could play 62 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Bin 415 Private Tours‌

Guests on a Bin 415 Private Tour in a Napa vineyard in 2019.

together, such as giant Jenga and ring toss. We gave out prizes and had a range of local culinary faire options, (including) whole roasted pig from Smoke and paella from ZuZu,” said Hazzard. Hazzard said it took months to secure labor and supplies. “Costs were up and labor was short. However, we moved forward with Carnivus as it is a celebration of our loyal members. Ultimately attendees were safe, healthy and enthusiastic to celebrate together,” said Hazzard. Hazzard said Crocker & Starr plans to use similar social distancing strategies throughout the holiday season. “Bales of grass, later donated to a local rescue farm for goats, encourage social distance. Signs for each table made guests feel the dedicated space. The signs also show people where to go so they meet the right party. Attentive staff who move from table to table (are) appreciated to maintain guests’ separate spaces,” said Hazzard. At Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford, winery staff are thankful to have two new beautifully landscaped courtyards to hold events. “We developed these in 2019. One is in the center of the winery and the other is on the

south side, with a large 150-year old Valley Oak tree. We’ve held many private, seated tastings in these spaces,” said Aime Dunstan, event and business development manager of Cakebread Cellars. Dunstan said the winery also premiered a 90-minute “Wines & Vines” sustainability tour. “This is a walking tour where guests can learn about our Napa Green certification and sustainable practices in the winery and vineyards,” said Dunstan. Another factor that has helped Cakebread manage events is scaling back large events, from approximately 675 to 150 people. “We designed smaller events including Sips of Spring, Rosé All Day, and Summer FriYAYs. We capped each event at 50 guests,” said Dunstan. The summer FriYAY! series included weekly social hours held on Friday afternoons with live music. Each attendee had a reserved seat to enjoy a wine and food pairing. Guests of Sips of Spring and Rose all Day received mezzo boards of crudites, cheese, and charcuterie at small tables paired with a flight of wines. Every guest received a take-home crystal glass. When the rainy season came and indoor experiences were not permitted, Cakebread Cellars offered a “Winter Comfort” experience. “We (provided) complimentary take-home blankets, a flight of Chardonnay paired with warm gourmet sandwich bites and soup, and outdoor heaters,” said Dunstan. FALL/WINTER 2021

Dunstan said Cakebread Cellars’ Oct.16 Family Harvest Festival was a mix of summer and fall elements. “We required masks for guests and staff indoors, allowed guests to remove masks outdoors, and hired a live band to play an appropriate distance from the audience. We also offered safe arts and crafts activities for children. There were wine and food pairing stations with prepared bites for adults,” said Dunstan. Dunstan said guests’ expectations and level of awareness about safety have evolved over the course of the pandemic. “We want to listen to our guests’ needs. That’s why we keep an eye on the CDC’s and Napa County’s protocols. We find out ways to adhere to them that allow our guests and staff to enjoy their experience,” said Dunstan. Adjusting tours, understanding approaches One of the hardest jobs in the hospitality industry during the pandemic is developing private tours. Tour guides who introduce guests to different wineries must learn each winery’s rules and approach to COVID-19 safety. Michael Lagau is a certified sommelier and the founder of Bin 45 Private Tours. His business specializes in private Napa and Sonoma

Cakebread Cellars‌

Brian Streeter, executive chef of Cakebread Cellars, prepares sliders for Cabernet Day, which the winery celebrated in late August 2021.

wine tours from San Francisco. Lagau said he is constantly receiving new information and adjusting itineraries. “Thank goodness for the great relationships with wineries that we have established before the pandemic. It’s fortunate that we have no shortage of beautiful wineries that trust us to bring in guests willing to abide by their rules,”

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FoR VoTInG uS naPa VaLLEy’S FaVoRITE MoVInG anD SToRaGE CoMPany!

said Lagau. Lagau said he has enjoyed seeing the different types of outdoor and distanced experiences that Napa Valley wineries offer. He especially likes “vineyard immersion tasting” where guests get to see the vines up close and taste the grapes. “We are very busy and the demand is high for harvest events. This is good, after the fires and smoke we had last year,” said Lagau. This fall, Lagau was happy to see many out-of-state guests coming to the Napa Valley. Guests came from as far away as Texas and Florida. “We’re also seeing a heavy increase in visitors from Southern California, people interested in taking road trips to Napa. These new visitors want to buy wine. They help with the recovery from drive-in visitors who wanted to relax all day,” said Lagau. Lagau said another positive change is Bay Area residents’ interest in private tours. “Usually 75 percent of our business is from people visiting San Francisco and coming up to Napa and Sonoma. This year, we’re seeing people from the San Francisco Bay Area wanting to attend harvest events,” said Lagau. “We’re happy to introduce them to smaller boutique wineries.”

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J E S S E D UA RT E jduarte@sthelenastar.com

hen it came to the late singer Wesla Whitfield and her husband/piano accompanist Mike Greensill, it was always hard to disentangle the music from the love. That’s one of the lessons of “The Whitsill Scrapbook,” a comprehensive and abundantly illustrated survey of the couple’s personal lives and careers in the world of jazz and cabaret. The St. Helena couple launched the project shortly after Whitfield became ill with cancer. By the time she died in 2018, she and Greensill had written their autobiographies up until the point they met. After she died, Greensill discovered her old diaries, which offered her views on performing and recording. “In her memory I was determined to finish it,” Greensill said. “So I did the rest, writing about our creative life and our personal life.” The creative life included more than 20 recorded albums and countless gigs: the Plush Room in San Francisco, the White Barn in St. Helena, Silo’s in Napa, Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, and the Map Room of the White House during a Clinton-era luncheon. The guest list was illustrious but the piano “sounded like crap,” Greensill recalls. On the personal side, the book offers an intimate glimpse into the couple’s 32-year marriage, punctuated by the illustrations Whitfield frequently drew for her husband. They are by turns affectionate, self-deprecating, droll and bawdy. Their relationship began on strictly musical terms, the English-born jazz pianist backing the California-born, classically trained interpreter of the Great American Songbook. 64 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

PARTNERS IN MUSIC AND LIFE Greensill recalls collaborations with late wife, Wesla Whitfield

Mike Greensill and Wesla Whitfield in 2002.

“She taught me to appreciate the song’s story, and I taught her how to swing more,” Greensill said. “The two of us coming from those different directions made a better one.” They played together for three or four years before they became romantically involved. Both were married to other people at the time.

AP photo/Jim Cooper‌

“As I say in the book, one day we were out for a drink after a show and she pulled my tie and we kissed and we realized, oh, there’s something else going on here,” said Greensill. “I’d always admired her as a talent and as a person. Looking back I figure I was probably always in love with her.” “There’s no better training for

marriage than being someone’s accompanist in stressful situations,” he added. Although Whitfield always hesitated to discuss it in interviews, the book describes the senseless and apparently random shooting in 1977 that left Whitfield paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life. Greensill decided not to spare any gory details of life as a paraplegic, right down to the awkward carrying out of various bodily functions, because he suspects that everyone’s curious but afraid to ask. “I don’t know how much she would have allowed in there … but I didn’t want to leave anything out,” he said. “I think she would have been OK with it.” For as difficult as it was, Whitfield’s disability didn’t define their marriage, Greensill said. “I fell in love with a woman, not a person in a wheelchair,” he said. Whitfield similarly wanted to be recognized as a singer, not a singer in a wheelchair. She was convinced that the wheelchair hurt her career, no matter how much people tried — or pretended — to ignore it. “She often said, ‘We should get into Christian music. Then everybody would feel sorry for me and we’d make a fortune,’” Greensill recalled with a laugh. Greensill always enjoyed taking solo turns while Whitfield took a break, but for the most part he was happy to play sideman. Saying he wrote the book on jazz/cabaret piano accompaniment wouldn’t be an exaggeration — it’s called “Playing for Singers” and he published it in 2013. Greensill tailored his playing to complement Whitfield’s vocals, which critics praised for their pure tone and lack of ostentation. “Very pure, no melismas, no screaming last notes — well, very few,” Greensill said of Whitfield’s singing. “We were both purists. FALL/WINTER 2021

It’s the song that matters, and the story the song is telling. She always wanted to show that and not herself, in a way.” “Which isn’t a good thing for show business success,” he added. The book contains detailed notes on the recording of each album, from who played what to who didn’t like the cover design. If you want to know who was responsible for the eerie, atonal bassline on Whitfield’s 1999 recording of “Blue Moon” — one of the highlights of her career, in Greensill’s opinion — the book has your answer. (Spoiler alert: It’s Michael Moore.) There are accounts of recording sessions both blissful, like the “Let’s Get Lost” album featuring saxophonists Gary Foster and Ken Peplowski, and surreal, like the collaboration with the Kronos Quartet in a vast studio where Greensill could scarcely see the other musicians. Writing the book gave Greensill a chance to revisit favorite albums like “With a Song in My Heart,” a compilation of Rodgers and Hart tunes, and “Message from the Man in the Moon,” featuring only Whitfield and Greensill. Jazz aficionados, cabaret buffs and fellow singers adored W h i t f i e l d — To n y B e n nett called her a “wonderful singer” — but she was never a household name outside those circles. Every time the couple felt like they were on the verge of a big break, circumstances intervened. Like the time in 1994 when they were booked for a three-month, six-nighta-week residency at the famed Oak Room in the Algonquin Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. C B S Su n d a y Mo r n i n g inter viewed Whitfield for a 9-minute piece that was FALL/WINTER 2021

Submitted photo‌

The late singer Wesla Whitfield and pianist Mike Greensill recorded more than 20 albums together as a married couple.

scheduled to run the week they opened, but it got preempted by breaking news. It finally aired the week they closed, in time to pack the last few shows but too late to vault Whitfield’s career to the next level. Instead they had a loyal but niche fanbase, rave reviews from critics, and “big crowds in small rooms,” as Greensill said. Greensill hopes the new book will help the music they made live on. “My dream is that in 50 years if some young nerd who likes American popular songs finds this in a used bookstore … maybe he’ll go listen to some of (Wesla’s) records,” Greensill said. Greensill will be selling “The Whitsill Scrapbook” at a booth at Friday’s St. Helena

Submitted photo‌

Wesla Whitfield and Mike Greensill in their St. Helena home. Paralyzed from the waist down by a gunshot wound, Whitfield always wanted to be known as a singer, not a singer in a wheelchair, Greensill says.

Farmers’ Market. It’s also available at mikegreensill.com and via email at mikegreensill@gmail.com.

You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@ sthelenastar.com.

INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 65

House of Saka Spark has a live resin emulsion, which CEO Tracey Mason says allows you to, “get the benefits of the full plant.” “So when you have an isolate, you have isolated the THC so you are just getting that one psychoactive effect,” she said. House of Saka‌

CANNABIS AND WINE MEET

Entrepreneur transforms Napa wines for new market

SAM JONES sj ones@napane w s . com

fter working in the wine industry for 30 years and innovation for 15, Tracey Mason was looking for a change of pace — and chemistry. The wine-to-weed pipeline grabbed a hold of Mason, and she quickly learned how the wine and cannabis industries were similar and differ. With her current venture — House of Saka — Mason is able to combine these worlds as co-founder and CEO of a de-alcoholized, cannabis-infused wine company. “After a certain point, with any kind of industry, you have kind of been there, done that,” she said. “With wine, there is only so far you can go. There’s certainly packaging innovation, but it is still a pretty traditional industry, and for someone like me that is hyper-creative, it felt kind of limiting after a number of years.” Founded in 2018, House of Saka offers three different cannabis-infused wines, one of which includes a live resin emulsion which Mason says intensifies the high. Saka Spark MIMOSA — which combines a sparkling Chardonnay with Mimosa-strain cannabis, is 66 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

accompanied with orange blossom and tangerine essence to tie the flavors together. The other two offerings are Saka Pink and Saka White, both of which have base wines sourced from Napa Valley. “Through our contacts we have been able to get our hands on some beautiful wines, we remove the alcohol, and then through a lot of R&D we are able to create something that is a real, wine-like experience without the negative effects of alcohol, which is what we were really trying to achieve,” Mason explained. “What we do is we take a highly refined cannabis oil, and we break it down into microscopic particles that are both highly bioavailable and self-homogenizing,” she said. “Think about a chain-link fence: If you have a beach ball and you try to throw it at the fence, it is just going to bounce back at you. But if you take a bunch of marbles and throw it at the chain-link fence, they are going to go through.” Mason says these particles then marry themselves to the water — or in their case, wine. Since these base wines have

their own presence of terpenes and proteins, House of Saka had to come up with a proprietary emulsion to ensure the concoction is stable. Due to this house emulsion and the nature of beverage-based edible cannabis, Mason says the CBD, or in the case of their Spark blend, THC, is then absorbed in your stomach lining, resulting in an onset of effects in just 5 to 15 minutes. “Just like a glass of wine,” said Mason. Another company in the area, Sip C, also uses Napa Valley wines for their de-alcoholized emulsions. However, instead of using a full cannabis or THC extract, SipC’s “SipCozy” wine is infused with 40 mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract. Their emulsion is made with sunflower lecithin, ultrafine coconut oil and plant-derived emulsifiers in addition to the hemp, with a 12 fluid ounce pour clocking in with a potency of about 20 mg. Thus, SipCozy drinkers experience the calming effects of CBD, without the psychoactive effects of THC. While the effects differ between their products, both

SipCozy and House of Saka say they seek to serve female cannabis users, who have historically been left out in product development, marketing and the like. In her work in the cannabis sphere before founding House of Saka, Mason first realized how this sect of consumers were neglected, and wanted to take advantage of the existing demand. “It was very clear that there was a big gap in addressing the emerging female consumer,” she said. “[But] that’s the fastest-growing consumer in cannabis ... There also was a real gap in luxury branding, and so we felt we could really carve out a niche by creating a brand that marries those two things.” Mason refers to her brand as more “House of Chanel” than “weed this, weed that,” and said their products aren’t for a wake-and-bake type of cannabis user. The wines — even though the alcohol has been taken out — are the star, with the physical benefits playing as sidekick. “Everyone has had a bad edible experience where you take one and you wait and it doesn’t do anything, so you take another one and then you end up getting way too high ... It is different with beverages because the onset effects come on really quickly, and it gives you incredible information on how to self dose,” said Mason. “House of Saka is really the only Napa Valley (cannabis beverage) brand, and it’s not because of Napa Valley cannabis ... It’s because we are using Napa Valley wines.” You can reach Sam Jones at 707-256-2221 and sjones@ napanews.com. FALL/WINTER 2021

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INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 67

Fi and Me

BAKING CO.

Tim Carl LLC photos

Calistoga home business creates delicious gluten-free desserts

ecent polls show that 20 million Americans are sensitive to eating gluten, with more than 65 million seeking to reduce gluten consumption in their daily diets. And yet — even in the Napa Valley, where delicious food is only second to sublime wine — there have been few options for those seeking gluten-free desserts. But no longer. Calistoga native Laurel Rios has recently launched Fi and Me Baking Co., which is wholly dedicated to crafting delectable baked goods that are devoid of gluten. Some are made without dairy or eggs, making many of her items 100% plantbased. “I think I got my sweet tooth from my grandfather,” Rios said. “He always had a ‘secret’ kitchen drawer full of Ritter Sport chocolates, and so when I learned I’d developed a severe gluten allergy, I was devastated. There few gluten-free options out there and sometimes you just need a really good cookie.” Reimagining the future During the early days of the pandemic, the Rioses, like many young families, were forced to reimagine their normal lives. Rios 68 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

TIM CARL

Owner of Fi and Me Baking Co., Laurel Rios crafts delectable baked goods with the help of her daughter Sophia (Fi) and husband, Gustavo. The business was a fixture at the Calistoga Farmers Market in 2020 and 2021 until health issues forced a brief hiatus. Rios hopes to return early in 2022.

had taken a leave from work at a local winery because she worried about exposure. Her husband, Gustavo Rios, executive chef at Solage, was spending more time at home while the restaurant was closed, and their six-year-old daughter, Fi (Sofia), was home,

too, learning remotely while the schools were closed. “Family comes first,” Rios said, “and with all that time I came to realize that I had an opportunity to redefine what our future might look like.” FALL/WINTER 2021

Fi and Me Baking Co. owner Laurel Rios at her home kitchen in Calistoga.

Instead of facing the uncertainty of remaining within the tourism industry that was whiplashing between ever-changing rules and shutdowns, she shifted gears. By starting her own at-home business she’d be able to be with Fi during the days, and the extra hands would provide needed help. Starting a baking company felt like a perfect solution. “Growing up I’d always found a lot of comfort baking with my mother and grandmother,” she said. “And then in college when I was stressed out I often turned toward making cookies as a coping mechanism — plus I loved sharing what I’d made with others. It gave so much joy on both sides.” As with many successful entrepreneurs, Rios combined her natural talents and interests to solve a problem. How might she care for her family while remaining safe and at the same time provide a bit of pleasure and relief to the community? “It was like an a-ha moment,” she said. “I could basically take care of a bunch of issues at the same time.” In July 2020 she obtained a license as a cottage food operator — a county requirement for someone who produces or packages food products at their residence — and began making cookies, doughnuts, coffee cake and muffins. The entire family was involved. As Rios dreamed up inventive FALL/WINTER 2021

items and tweaked recipes, Fi and Gustavo helped where they could and often became the taste-testers. Later that summer Fi and Me Baking Co. set up a stall at the Calistoga Farmers’ Market with Fi working the crowd. On that first day they sold out within two hours. “It was really something — the community was just so supportive,” she said. “And to see someone with gluten sensitivity bite into a doughnut or slice of coffee cake and smile — there is just nothing better. Plus, it turns out Fi is not shy when it comes to sharing her opinions on her favorites with customers, which is also fun to see.” Within a few months production had grown with new products and increased demand. A few local businesses expressed interest in selling her products, and by the end of 2020 nearly a dozen businesses in addition to the farmers’ market were featuring Fi and Me baked goods. Napa Valley destinations such as Sam’s General Store, Cal Mart, Oakville Grocery, the Napa Valley Roasters, Brown Valley Market, CAMi Art and Wine gallery and others all found they couldn’t keep the products on the shelves for long. “People love Fi and Me — we often sell out within a few hours,” said Carl Dene, owner of Sam’s General Store. “These are just the kind of high-quality locally made products that we like to support and share with our customers.” By early 2021 the demand for Fi and Me products had gone through the roof, with weekly production soaring from a few dozen items to nearly 400. The family kitchen transformed into a production site, full of equipment and specialized ingredients stacked into orderly towers. Rios often worked 14 hours a day to keep up with demand. And then they couple found out they were pregnant. That led to a brief hiatus in the business, though Rios hopes to be back at it next year. “We are so excited that our Fi & Me family is growing and that we are adding another little girl to the mix, but unfortunately due to complications with the pregnancy, our Baking Company will be on a small hiatus until at least Spring 2022,” she said in October. “We look forward to be back on shelves and see your smiling faces then. Until then, it’s not goodbye, just a “see you later”!” The break leaves delicious memories of the baked goods – and anticipation for the return. Is everyone who has experienced the quality, depth and utter deliciousness of any Fi and Me baked goods as torn as I am to

pick a favorite? For me the non-deep-fried doughnut ($3.50 each) sprinkled with grated coconut and freeze-dried raspberries is a mind-blower. And yet the sour cream coffee cake ($4 apiece) makes me rue the days I cannot enjoy its silky texture alongside a cup of English tea. Or when the mood strikes, the crispy-chewy oatmeal cookie ($3.75 each) is a benchmark for the genre. Yes, each item seems a bit expensive at first, but given the satisfaction associated with every bite, the amount of time and care put into each and the cost of ingredients (gluten-free flour can cost many times the cost of regular flour), each baked good from Fi and Me Baking Co. is actually a steal.

Although the demand is there, it is unlikely that you will ever see Fi and Me Baking Co. goods widely distributed. In a world that often feels full of cottage businesses looking to cash in on their initial success, the Rioses are bucking the trend, satisfied to make a limited amount of what has become small treasures for those in the know. “We started this to support and enhance our lives together — both for our family and our small community,” Rios said. “And we are just fine keeping it small enough that it remains a source of joy for all of us, including our new baby Luna, who is expected in February.” INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 69

Coach, teacher and

HEALER

Napa Valley’s Linda Burquez brings physicality, traditional training to healthy living

TIM CARL

For nearly three decades Napa Valley native Linda Burquez has been helping improve her clients’ strength, health and wellbeing. Through a collection of ancient and modern techniques, she is able to craft personalized programs meant to revitalize and heal. Among her specialties is the Chinese practice of qigong. “Qigong uses slow, graceful movements to promote a healthy flow of energy in the body,” Burquez said. “This helps the nervous system to relax, the body to heal, the mind to think more clearly and the spirit to laugh more frequently.” When she was growing up in St. Helena, her father, Herb (who passed recently), was a beloved coach at the local high school. Her mother, Geri, was a practitioner of yoga and meditation, so maintaining a healthy mind and body had been just part of her upbringing. “My father taught me the importance of maintaining a strong body and how to move like an athlete,” she said, “and my mother taught me the importance of remaining nimble and how to focus. The combination was great, and only later in life did I realize how their emphasis helped shape my path.” Change of plans After graduating from high school, Burquez headed north to attend college in Washington state. Her idea was to become an environmental scientist, but when she learned that her career path might involve politics if she intended to fight for broad societal changes, she reconsidered. She thought there might be a more personal way to improve peoples’ lives and lead to peace in 70 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

the world. “Many of my professors where disillusioned,” she said. “Yes, they were brilliant and were teaching, researching and making positive impacts on helping improve the environment, but with the state of the world, it was clear to me that if I took their path it would mean getting political and that I’d be going to war every day, and that was just not me.” To gather her thoughts and decide her next steps, she took a leave of absence from college and headed to Mexico. The regenerative power of nature was something she’d always taken for granted at home in the Napa Valley but having lived the busy student life and working part time as a cocktail waitress, she felt a deep desire to reconnect with nature. “Growing up in the valley I think I’d just come to imagine that most places were going to be closely in tune to the natural world,” Burquez said. “I really needed to reconnect with nature, and I also felt I needed to continue exploring the world, too.” Chance encounters She and her boyfriend packed up their backpacks and headed to Mexico, where they planned to live frugally, travel the countryside and camp where they might. Speaking little Spanish at the time, the two adventurers drifted from village to village, often sleeping in a tent as they traveled into the southern part of the country. “The Maya lands had the biggest impact on me,” she said. “I felt as if my ancestors were guiding me on the journey to discovering my purpose in the healing arts.” Burquez found camping in the jungles of Chiapas and on the

beaches of Oaxaca exhilarating. She found being in sync with the rhythms and cycles of the natural world revitalizing, bringing her a sense of balance she’d never experienced before. One morning, waking early to take in the sunrise, she left the tent and strolled down a vast, nearly empty stretch of beach. There she met another wanderer from California — an “energy healer.” “We met out in the middle of nowhere and I don’t even remember her name, but her initial instruction helped me decide my path,” she said. “She taught me some of the basics of energy healing, and that just felt right. It brought me back to myself and seemed like a practice that I might dedicate my life to exploring and sharing.” Becoming an expert When she arrived back in the states, she began studying at New Mexico’s school of Natural Therapeutics and followed that with time in Austin, Texas, where she learned to teach Nia dancing and Pilates. From there she moved to Boulder, Colorado, to study homeopathy. By then it was clear to her that a mixed approach — qigong, Pilates and Nia — was a powerful combination that provided a range of options for her ever-growing client base. In 2001, Burquez moved to Nevada City and opened a 2,000-square-foot training center. Called the Core Movement Center, it fast became a thriving community hub for qigong training, Pilates and mind-body practices. By the time she’d sold the business in 2012 it had grown to house numerous additional instructors, all of whom served hundreds of clients. But even

with a quickly expanding business, she somehow found time to gain yet another skill — a doctor of medical qigong physician’s license granted from China via the International Medical Qigong College (IMQC), based in Tennessee. During her training she often worked remotely with long-time qigong practitioner, instructor and founder of IMQC, Bernard Shannon. Eventually she completed 2,000 hours of qigong training and assisted at the college, ultimately teaching the first year’s curriculum. Emerging from the program, she felt that disharmony and disconnection with one’s body and nature can often be the source of ailments and alienation. “The prevention of disease and promotion of wellbeing are often our greatest challenges,” she said. “Keeping an active body is important, but so is maintaining space in our lives for meditation, peaceful movements, connection and balance.” Going high tech Today, Burquez teaches in-person classes throughout Northern California. However, because of the pandemic she now often uses FALL/WINTER 2021

We Service the BrandS We Sell!

Tim Carl LLC‌photos

technology to reach many of her students. Using Zoom and YouTube, she now instructs students around the globe, developing customized daily practices and workout regimens based on individual needs. I have known her since we grew up together in the Napa Valley. In school we were friends, but we had lost touch as our paths took us on different journeys. Eventually, however, we reconnected in Calistoga while teaching — she a range of fitness classes and me mostly leading meditation sessions. Meditation is known to be a beneficial practice; however, sometimes it’s hard to find the time and space to sit down and follow your breath during the day. But qigong is different. Since working with Burquez myself, I’ve come to think of it as an active, gentle form of meditative movement that I now incorporate into my daily workout routine. She was game to share her gifts with our readers, so we met on location at the Sonoma Coast to take some photos and film a short video. When we arrived, the day was overcast and gray. I had pictured clear skies and a setting sun for the photo shoot, and yet the fog and mist seemed entirely appropriate. FALL/WINTER 2021

“I love the ocean — its power and serenity,” she said as she readied to begin the instruction. “We’re live,” I said as I switched on the camera. She burst out laughing. “Yes, we are,” she said. Then she quieted, and her posture shifted into the relaxed standing qigong position called the “Wuji posture.” This looks relatively simple, but it does take practice. The feet face forward, knees are slightly bent, the spine is aligned and the arms are at one’s side. Once in position, she took a slow, deep breath. “OK, to begin let’s breathe into our lower abdomen,” she said to the camera. “We will begin our practice today by ‘pulling down the heavens,’ and as we practice, imagine waves washing away tension or stress.” As she spoke I mimicked her movements. Within only a few short minutes I felt a warm, pleasant energy flow through my limbs. Not the jerky, bubbling energy of caffeine but instead a warm tingle that reminded me that, even with a world that sometimes seems a cacophony of sights and sounds pressing in on us, moments of peace and tranquility are accessible. It is only possible, however, if we take the time to slow down, breathe deeply and practice.

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Historic trove of BUTTONS

Napan becomes unlikely caretaker of family collection

JENNIFER HUFFMAN j huf f man@nap ane w s . com

Mark van Gorder appreciates family history as much as the next guy. But van Gorder recently received a special “inheritance” — passed down from his great grandmother — that has left him somewhat at a loss: a button collection. And we’re not talking just a jar of buttons. Van Gorder is now the caretaker of more than 3,000 buttons, some more than 100 years old, of all shapes and sizes and made around the world. His great-grandmother, Lorena Jones, collected them since she was a little girl, according to his aunt and mother, said van Gorder. Many of the buttons have been carefully sewn onto large cardboard button display cards, organized by subject, material or place of origin. Van Gorder’s not a button aficionado, but some of the fasteners are quite remarkable, he said, especially those hand-painted or engraved. “The idea that somebody hand-made that button, from who knows how long ago,” amazes him, said van Gorder. This collection comes from a different time, “when buttons obviously meant something.” Perhaps they indicated wealth or status, such as working as a doctor or soldier. Usually only the affluent could afford handpainted buttons on a fine wool or fur coats. The buttons range in size from smaller than a pea to several inches in diameter. They’re made of glass, vintage plastics, wood, silver, porcelain, shell and bone or ivory. One set of small buttons was 72 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Most of the buttons are sewn onto large cards, and sorted by material, country of origin or theme.

Jennifer Huffman photos, Register‌

Mark van Gorder of Napa looks through a button collection that belonged to his great-grandmother. The collection (which includes 3,000 buttons) recently passed down to Mark, but he’d like to find a proper home for it, where the objects can be accessible to those who appreciate buttons and button history.

saved from the fire after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, said a handwritten note. Others came from Japanese and American military uniforms. One set features hand-painted flowers on porcelain. Two buttons have old photographs in them. The buttons come from countries including China, Japan, the former Czechoslovakia and Siam, England, Scotland, the U.S. and elsewhere. “The effort that was put into these things,” is extraordinary, said van Gorder. “It’s the fine detail in such a small piece of work. To me, they’re all art. That’s what I think is the most fascinating.” “They’re not just utilitarian. They had big meaning to someone.” Buttons don’t have the same importance today, he said. “I don’t look at my buttons on my shirt. That’s why I think these are interesting.”

Yes, it’s a family collection, but van Gorder said he’s not the right person to become the ultimate caretaker of such buttons. He’s not inclined to frame thousands of buttons to display on the walls of his Napa home. And he’s not one to collect things, admitted van Gorder. His family isn’t insisting that he become the permanent caretaker of the buttons, either. Perhaps a museum would like the collection, van Gorder wondered. Or a fashion school or textile education center? After all, an artist or worker made these buttons — some many, many years ago, he said. “And their work is still here today,” said van Gorder. “It feels like some should be preserved and shown for their artwork.” “I don’t know if there’s any that are hugely valuable but we don’t know quite what to do,” with the collection, said Laura

van Gorder, Mark’s mother. Laura van Gorder noted that her grandmother, who was born in 1894, lived during the Depression. While her grandmother’s husband worked as an electrician, the family wasn’t well off, Laura van Gorder said. “I think originally she collected (the buttons) because she thought eventually they’d be worth more than they were at the time.” Her grandmother didn’t have the means to travel to the far off countries the buttons came from, so perhaps the little fasteners were her way of “seeing” the world, said Laura van Gorder. As the decades passed, “None of us really thought to ask her what she planned to do with them,” she said. Mark van Gorder said he’s going to continue to try and find the right home for the collection. “It just doesn’t seem right to me to just let them sit in a bucket,” he said. You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com FALL/WINTER 2021

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INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 73

Matching the

ﬂavors of fall

Emma K. Morris

Sean McBride (left) and Juliana McBride (right), winemakers and co-owners of Crosby Roamann Winery in Napa, toast one another with a Crosby Roamann red.

Full-bodied white wines bring out the best in foods: tips for the perfect pairing

JESSICA ZIMMER

apa’s full-bodied white wines highlight the savory, umami tastes of autumn favorites, from roast turkey and squash to oysters and duck. There are a wide range of full-bodied white wines to explore from different areas

74 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

of the valley. Catherine Bugue, vice president of education and co-owner of Napa Valley Wine Academy in Napa, said full-bodied white wines can have a higher alcohol content, like 13.5 percent or above. The high amount of alcohol adds

Sean W. McBride

A selection of wines from Crosby Roamann Winery with an elegant charcuterie board.

FALL/WINTER 2021

a rich texture to the wines. Napa Valley wineries also make crisp, leaner white wine styles. Carneros Chardonnays are a regional favorite. The grape has an affinity for the cooler, ocean-influenced temperatures. “While Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc hold the most plantings, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Semillon, Viognier and other white grapes are also grown in the Napa Valley. The wines made from these grapes in Napa Valley often have a silky texture. Viognier in particular is known for its aromatics,” said Bugue. Bugue added that often, flavors in Chardonnay wines come from the expertise of the winemaker. “Oak influence can add these flavors as well as provide more body to the wine,” said Bugue. The cooler growing areas for white wines include Coombsville, Carneros, and Oak Knoll. There acidity is maintained in the grapes. This translates to acidity in the wines. Wines grown in cooler areas usually have citrus and stone fruit flavors. Warmer growing areas include Yountville, St. Helena, Rutherford, and Calistoga. “(Here) tropical fruit flavors can be found in some of the wines, along with a fuller, richer texture,” said Bugue. Bugue said producers often create a balance by blending wines from warmer areas with wines from cooler areas. Sean McBride, co-winemaker and co-owner of Crosby Roamann Winery in Napa, said he searches out the “less voluptuous, overpowering” white wines for those that are “more tactical, with more race to them.” “You want a wine that leaves more of an impression under the tongue. You need that break of acidity,” said McBride. McBride said one of his favorites is the Watson Ranch Chardonnay made by Arnot-Roberts, a winery based in Healdsburg. “This Chardonnay is grown in the most southern part of Napa County on a hillside. It’s FALL/WINTER 2021

LEFT: Catherine Bugue, vice president of education and co-owner of Napa Valley Wine Academy, pours a set of wines for students to taste. Courtesy of Catherine Bugue‌

BELOW: Helen Keplinger, winemaker (left) and DJ Warner, general manager (right), both for Keplinger Wines. Keplinger Wines‌

a really tight Chablis-style Chardonnay. It doesn’t have that soft, buttery character that comes from converting malic acid to lactic acid. It has more of a bite,” said McBride. HOW TO EXPLORE FULLBODIED WHITE WINES Vincent Morrow, master sommelier and wine director at PRESS in St. Helena, said full-bodied white wines should not be served extremely cold. “Chill the wine to the lower to mid-50s to start. The floral, aromatic grapes will blossom over time and the texture will come out more. The more you chill a white wine, the thinner and leaner it will taste,” said Morrow. Morrow said a home chef should taste a full-bodied white wine before cooking. “This type of wine will keep about two to three days after opening it. You can use a Repour or other type of preservation device to extend the drinking window,” said Morrow. Morrow said his favorite full-bodied white wines include Pott Wines’ Viognier from Mt. Veeder and Truchard Vineyard’s Roussanne from Carneros. “Aaron Potts’ Viognier is a tense, aromatic example from Mt. Veeder, whereas Annie Favia’s Suize Viognier is a fuller-bodied example made from grapes grown in Amador County. I also like Helen Keplinger’s Eldorado, a blend of Viognier, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc wines grown in a variety of vineyards. Supporting Napa winemakers sometimes means going beyond the vineyards in Napa Valley,” said Morrow.

Please see FALL, Page 76 Derek Flegal, winemaker at Tamber Bey VIneyards, with the 2019 Deux Chevaux Vineyard Chardonnay. Tamber Bey Vineyards‌

LEFT: Andy Erickson, winemaker, in the vineyards at Oakville Ranch in Oakville. BONAFIDE‌

BELOW: Seared duck breast with green olives pairs well with a full-bodied white wine. Sean W. McBride‌

FALL From Page 75

MAKING A FULLBODIED WHITE WINE Derek Flegal, winemaker at Tamber Bey Vineyards in Calistoga, said his process to create Deux Chevaux Chardonnay is a good model for making a full-bodied white wine. “Deciding when to pick is important. That moment encapsulates the potential of the wine. If you pick earlier, you’ll retain more acidity. I’m trying to find that point where the grapes are ripe and flavors have fully developed enough to make a complete and richly styled wine. (I also want to keep) enough acidity for length and freshness,” said Flegal. Flegal said Tamber Bey goes direct to press. “(There’s) no destemming or crushing. We are careful with how hard we press the grapes. If we press too hard, we lose freshness and get bitterness,” said Flegal. Flegal added Tamber Bey “barrels its Chardonnay down dirty.” This means the winery puts the wine in the barrel the same day the grapes go to the press. “We keep all of the lees and like to age the Chardonnay in 76 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

a more reductive environment than other wines. The lees help mitigate oxidation and add an inherent richness to the wine. We do not stir the lees,” said Flegal. Flegal said it is a hard job to offset the richness that a full-bodied white wine develops. “The Chardonnay ages 14 months. It’s bottled the year following the vintage, in December. We make sure we keep the wine taut and fresh by aging on lees. Then we pull the wine up to stainless steel tanks a few months before bottling. (We do this) once we’ve achieved the texture we’re looking for,” said Flegal. Flegal said the complexity of the 2019 Deux Chevaux reveals the care and time that went into its profile. “It’s a rich wine, with notes of white flowers, jasmine, and subtle hints of honey. It has a palate of Bartlett pear, vanilla, and apple butter. You can sense the aromas of ripe pineapple, cinnamon, and brown sugar,” said Flegal. BEST FOODS FOR PAIRING Full-bodied white wines go well with many different dishes. The key lies in how the foods are prepared. “A salad (with a) creamy element such as ... rich, savory scallops, creates a great textural

symmetry between the wine and the dish,” said Bugue. Bugue said this is the reason she likes to pair Chardonnay with a white cream pasta sauce. She also enjoys having Asian-inspired dishes with aromatic whites. “Aromatic whites often focus on the purity of the fruit. (They) have refreshing acidity,” said Bugue. Bugue said a home chef should match acidity levels in a food and wine pairing. “If the food is too acidic, it may make the wine seem flabby,” said Bugue. McBride advises matching a full-bodied white wine with “perfect, roasted French-style chicken with crispy brown skin.” “Full-bodied white wines are also good with roasted root vegetables, whole or pureed with a little cream, thick-cut bacon coated in brown sugar, and pork loin. You’re looking for the thicker kind of chops or steak. A full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc would go well with any type of shellfish, including crab, cioppino, and oysters. Oysters are in season between September and December,” said McBride. Morrow said he likes to pair full-bodied white wines with fall dishes that contain walnut, caramel, maple, and pumpkin. “Home chefs may also look to Alsatian dishes from northeastern France for inspiration.

This part of France borders Switzerland and Germany. Cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts with bacon and apple cider vinegar (are) good examples. Parsnips are also a favorite ingredient for a full-bodied white wine. You want to make sure the dish has a contrast of spice and a little bit of sweetness,” said Morrow. Flegal had a cautionary note about pairing. “Avoid too much spice or bitterness. It can accentuate acid, alcohol, or oak,” said Flegal. Flegal said home chefs should focus instead on healthy, occasional bites of richness. “Incorporate goat cheese and toasted nuts into a salad. Avoid vinegar-based dressing,” said Flegal. Flegal said he sometimes gets help by visiting the Calistoga Farmers Market. He often goes there to ask vendors what produce they think will work. “The Calistoga Farmers Market is a good place to support local growers and find people who understand wine,” said Flegal. FALL/WINTER 2021

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INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 77

The Wappo people consumed Buckeye nuts when acorns were scarce. Poisonous when raw, the buckeye nuts need to be processed by grinding and extensive leeching before they can be consumed. Kathleen Scavone

STEP INSIDE A NATIVE AMERICAN

GARDEN

K AT H L E E N S C AVO N E

id you know that along with hiking trails adjacent to the creek, camping and seasonal swimming, there is also a Native American Garden to explore at Bothe Napa Valley State Park? The Native American Garden is 3/4 acre of easy strolling, located next to the Visitor Center. The flora tells a story of plants that are still important today for many indigenous cultures, and they inform us of plant’s uses as food, ceremony, basket weaving and medicine. The garden was founded years ago by an honored Wappo elder, Laura Fish Somersal and KK Burtis, supported by the dedicated hard work of many, including former Napa Valley State Park Association members, Park Manager Jason Jordan and Park Steward, Jay Jessen. As you explore the garden, 78 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

look for the interpretive signs that name some of the plants significant to the Wappo and Patwin people. California black oak remains an important food source for many. Known as a staple food, acorns were typically harvested each fall when they were left in the sun to dry for several weeks prior to being pounded into flour with a mortar and pestle. The leaching process was an imperative step prior to consuming the food, as it was vital to remove the bitter tannic acid contained in acorns. Much of the processing took place beside a water source, such as a creek, when a sand basin was prepared to hold the flour as water was poured over the meal. The acorn meal was quite a versatile food, as it was prepared into little cakes, breads and a kind of mush. It is surprising to know that acorn meal was sometimes

Bothe Napa Valley’s creation tells stories of people who once thrived in Napa Valley. cooked inside a woven basket. Special rocks were heated in a fire, then they were retrieved with a utensil made especially for this purpose. Next, the rocks were placed in the basket of acorn mush and stirred continually, until the meal was cooked so as not to scorch the basket. Although there were around 20 species of oaks throughout what is now California, the preferred oaks here were black and tanbark oak. Acorn meal provided families with nutrient-rich food, since it contains fat, protein, iron, calcium and other vital minerals. The Grey pine, or ghost pine, has a lifespan of around 200 years. It was a versatile tree, used for food, medicine, twined baskets and more. Its seeds, or nuts could be consumed both raw or roasted after they were cracked with a special tool known as a hammerstone.

These calorie-rich seeds are full of protein, and, like acorns, can be stored for long periods of time. The massive clawed cones made for a good fuel, and, when the cones were immature they were concocted into a kind of syrup by first roasting for a time. Grey pine’s branches were utilized for cooking utensils, while its needles were sometimes put to use as a type of bedding and floor covering. The tree’s roots and sometimes its branches could be twined in basketry. The madrone tree with its distinctive, naked appearing tan-toorange smooth bark can be found thriving in northern California, north to British Columbia. The tree, which grows to heights of 20-50 feet is sometimes confused with the smaller, red manzanita, which also has smooth bark that peels as a protection against harmful insects. The berries produced by madrone trees were both consumed fresh or ‘cooked’ in a basket before eating. A type of cider was also enjoyed by not only the local people, but also by the Miwok, Pomo, Salinan and other California tribes. To gather berries, the high branches were given a shake or hit with a special stick, then collected in a basket held below the tree. Some preferred to chew the tannic berries, but not swallow the astringent delicacy. It was common, when concocting cider to pound the berries before straining into a water-tight basket into which heated rocks were added and continually stirred to cook the berries and release their flavor and nutrients. In other areas of California the berries were fashioned into necklaces, and also used as bait when fishing for steelhead. Among the 20 specimens thriving in Bothe’s native plant FALL/WINTER 2021

Kathleen Scavone photo‌

Blossoms from the redbud tree, which was highly prized for basket-making.

The Miwok and Cahuilla people chewed on madrone’s leaves in order to alleviate stomach ailments, while others made a concoction using the bark of the madrone as a wash for sores.

garden is hazelnut. These delicate and delicious nuts were enjoyed fresh or roasted, while their study vegetation was included in a variety of baskets such as traps, baby carriers or burden baskets with which many items could easily be carried. It’s hard to believe, but poison oak growing in the garden, which abounded then as now, was utilized as a stain for the bulrush roots that were incorporated into basketry. The plant’s roots were also employed as basket material. Buckeye nuts, those shiny, brown orbs, were consumed

basket making. The redbud, in the legume family has showy pink-magenta flowers in spring and grows up to 20 feet in height. Around 20 different indigenous groups prized the plant for their baskets. Redbud plants were cut, or coppiced to manage the plant’s growth and to aid in providing the strait switches needed for basket making. Redbud was typically harvested in spring or summer, when its bark was removed and utilized as twine. The branches were split, then coiled and ‘cured’ for around a

Kathleen Scavone photo‌

when acorns were sparse. Poisonous when consumed raw, they needed to be processed in a similar way to acorns, through leaching for hours after being ground with a mortar and pestle. Buckeye nuts, like the soap root that grows in the park’s garden, were used in lakes and waterways to stun fish. First the buckeye nut or soap root bulb was mashed, then tossed into the water, making the fish easy to harvest. The redbud tree found in the garden is a fine example of a highly prized plant used for

year. When it was basket-making time, the redbud coils were soaked for pliability and cleaned prior to weaving. When weaving redbud, the plant was considered an excellent material for the structure and the warp or foundation of a basket, and weft, in coiling and twining methods. Come see what else is growing in Bothe’s native plant garden. By telling their stories in a multidimensional manner, it quietly initiates visitors into the cultures of the Wappo and Patwin peoples who once thrived in this valley.

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We’ll always have Paris S A S H A PAU L S E N

The anniversary of Napa’s most famous blind tasting After all the hoopla and celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, one had to wonder if there was anything new left to say as, this year, the 45th anniversary arrived. Certainly it was a great thing that two Napa Valley winemakers — Mike Grgich then working at Chateau Montelena and Warren Winiarski founder of Stags Leap Wine Cellars — made wines that surprised the world when they scored more points that French wines in a blind tasting by French experts in Paris. On the other hand, it was 45 years ago; and Napa, I believe, does not have to be the guy forever wearing his letterman jacket from when he scored a touchdown against Vintage, especially if it was in 1976. It was curiosity — what was yet unsaid? — that propelled me over to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for a 45th anniversary lunch. Also, as Margrit Mondavi used to say, “You know the wine will be good.” Angela Duerr, founder of Cultured Vine, had organized two days of events on Oct. 5 and 6. Her inspiration had come from meeting Steven Spurrier, the British wine merchant, who, along with the American Patricia Gallagher, put together the 1976 tasting. They, along with George Taber, the only journalist who covered the event in Paris, had never got their just thanks, she told the lunch crowd dining in the Fay Vineyard that set Winiarski, these many years ago, on the road to making memorable wines. Spurrier passed away last March but his widow sent a message of thanks. Patricia Gallagher, who has lived her adult life in France, did come over for the lunch, and she provided an interesting thing I’d never heard: “I thought of it,” she explained, referring to the tasting. “It was my idea.” She was good-natured about it; but she was the American who had been paying attention to what was happening in the Northern California wine world. She also said that after the tasting was concluded, she and Spurrier both just went back to their shop and then went home, with no idea what they had started. The other interesting tidbit came from 80 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

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NAPA NEWCOMERS

ump

A fresh start

Submitted photo‌

IN A NEW TOWN J I L L WA L L AC E - C O O PE R

Couple reinvents themselves, finds acceptance and peace in Napa For these thriving midlife Napa Newcomers, their belief that ‘life is all about new beginnings’ continues to unfold like a fairytale.

82 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

When Brian Bouchelle and Brian Hale moved into a beautiful 1901 Victorian on Third Street in late August, the warm reception from neighbors was almost overwhelming. “We’ve both moved to a certain extent in our lives,” said Brian B., “but nowhere have either one of us experienced this level of hospitality

and acceptance. Everyone has been beyond friendly and welcoming. As a gay couple, we’ve received nothing but love and kindness.” The pair hail from Yuba City, not far from Sacramento where Brian H. had lived his entire life. Brian B. relocated to Yuba City from Orlando 15 years prior, to open up a West

Coast national sales office while working as the national sales director for The Walt Disney Company. “I was working from home for 14 years,” he says. “Long before it was cool.” When they first met, Brian H. was planning his retirement from the California Franchise Tax Board, where he had

FALL/WINTER 2021

worked as an analyst for more than 32 years. They would soon discover that their backgrounds are very similar. Both men were divorced, having been married to their wives for more than 20-plus years. They both had two children and value their roles as fathers above all else. Each of them grew up in conservative environments where being homosexual was either dangerous and/ or unacceptable. They both married women whom they loved a great deal and raised families that they always wanted. “Our wives were our best friends,” says Brian B. However, there came a point in their parallel lives when hiding and denying who they were any longer was unbearable. Both men came out in their mid-late-forties; Brian H., who had been married to the pastor’s daughter since his early 20s, divorced in 2012 when his children were already young adults. Brian B. and his wife split up not long after arriving in Yuba City. And although the experience was ‘horrible’ for them both, they prioritized and maintained close bonds with their children. When the two met, Brian H. was recovering from a broken engagement and was admittedly ‘cautious’ about entering a new relationship. However, after their first date, each one of them were smitten and knew in their hearts this was the lasting love they had been searching for. In less than three months, they were engaged and Brian H. moved out of Sacramento for the first time in his life. And although the commute to Sacramento every day was definitely challenging, he agreed they would stay in Yuba City for the next four years, when Brian B.’s youngest would be off to college. Their lives blended effortlessly, with both sets of children accepting, welcoming and embracing their dad’s new spouse and family. Both men are very close to their moms, and each matriarch (Brian B. is the youngest of six brothers) instantly accepted and adored their son’s new spouse. Brian B.’s mom was living with them while FALL/WINTER 2021

Submitted photo‌

battling an illness and unfortunately passed nine months after their marriage in June of 2019. “What a gift that I had that short amount of time with her,” said Brian H. She referred to Brian H. as ‘the son that was given back to me (one of her six boys had passed away).’ When the pandemic hit, Brian B. had just recently completed his on-boarding training with his new employer, The Venetian Las Vegas. And although he felt very fortunate that his income wasn’t impacted, his work in business development and group sales came to an abrupt halt. “I’ve always believed that life is about new beginnings,” he says. “During the pandemic, it was so awful, there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It made me pause. I knew I have to reinvent myself. This is not what I want to do with my life. I want to be in a creative place, a community, a chance to explore at an older age what I’m capable of.” He soon discovered an exciting new prospect; the Napa Valley Wine Train and River Terrace Inn (both owned by Noble House Hotels & Resorts) were in need of an area director of sales. This was the perfect opportunity to combine all his creative skills he’d acquired throughout his career in

catering, event planning and sales into one job. He connected with a former business colleague who was now with the Noble House Hotels, and within a week, he had landed the position. “We’re doing weddings, reunions, birthdays – so many options to create these fabulous private events for people, on both the train and the River Terrace Inn,” he says. “They want that Napa experience and I can give something that’s uniquely different. This is so much fun—I’m having a blast in the twilight of my career. I keep pinching myself, just like I did at Disney.” The company required Brian B. to be local, so a relocation from Yuba City to Napa was necessary. “When he told me he got the offer and we would need to leave town much sooner than originally planned, I told him, ‘Accept the job before they change their mind.’” laughs Brian H. Their timing for finding the Victorian was flawless. They made the decision to lease vs. buy at the same time the owner posted the vacancy of two large renovated local homes. They saw the properties right away and fell in love with the 1901 house that featured an additional wing added on in 2003 with a gourmet

eat-in kitchen, large living area and very large lot for a downtown residence. “I saw the kitchen and was sold,” says Brian B., who loves to cook (he already frequents the farmers market and Fatted Calf). Brian H. has enjoyed gardening and creating beautiful landscaping his entire adult life, so the generous lot offers a lot of opportunity to add their own personal touch on the property. There are two decks off the bedrooms upstairs; perfect for morning coffee and evening cocktails. And although they’ve had little time to do anything but unpack dozens of boxes, the word is getting out about their arrival and neighbors are dropping by to say hello. “Being in Napa has been like the ‘stone soup’ parable,” Brian B. says, “but with wine.” For Brian H., who was married for 28 years and rarely traveled due to his wife’s disability, the move has painted retirement in a whole new light. “The last 10 years have been the most exciting time in my life,” he says. “I’m looking forward to finding a new job, a new industry to plug into. I’ve been told I would enjoy working in hospitality at a winery; that’s certainly a possibility. We’re also going to be traveling more, something I’ve done very little of in my lifetime. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to live this adventure.” Both have been touched by the local community. “The spirit; the sense of resiliency comes across,” said Brian B. “It can obviously be perilous living here; the locals have been through a lot. Napans are hearty stock. They don’t sweat the small stuff.” Both are enjoying their good fortune and relaxing into the easy vibe of the city. “I was amped up when I got here,” says Brian B. “I thought I had to prove myself. But it didn’t feel right. I had to breath, slow my roll and let things happen. Just relax and enjoy this place. It made a huge difference.” INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 83

Executive Chef Gustavo Rios with a sample of the dishes he and the Picobar team have created for Picobar.

Mexican food

ﬂair WITH

NAPA VALLEY

Gustavo Rios’s menu shines at Solage Resort’s new Picobar TIM CARL

Months before the pandemic hit, Calistoga’s Solage Resort had begun a major overhaul of its property that included extensive pool renovations and the construction of new rooms and a new restaurant. Now open, the

new eatery — Picobar — provides guests with a casual alternative to their more formal flagship restaurant, Solbar. Tapping Executive Chef Gustavo Rios’ artistic-culinary creativity and Latinx heritage, the

poolside cafe is now serving up exceptional examples of what can happen when you blend Mexican street fare with equal parts European culinary technique and Napa Valley flair. “We started thinking about this before the pandemic hit, and it’s sure nice to have it completed,” Rios said. “We’ve been able to get the entire team involved — 98% of whom are originally from various parts of Mexico — and so the range and depth of options is pretty unique.”

CHEF GUSTAVO RIOS In 2018 the owners of Solage (Flynn Holdings) and the managers of the resort (the Auberge Resorts Collection) sought reinvigoration. After opening with a big splash in 2007 the resort and restaurant had seemed to stall after the departure of Chef Brandon Sharp in 2015. Many of the chefs and cooks from Sharp’s team had also departed, including Rios. Wisely, the resort rehired many of that former kitchen team. Growing up in Ensenada, Baja California, Rios had learned to love the vibrant flavors, textures and colors of fresh seafood. When he turned 12, his family immigrated to the United States so that

Bunuelos are cracker-crisp fried dough fritters sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar and served with cajeta and Mexican chocolate dipping sauces. Tim Carl LLC photoa

Picobar, Solage Resort’s new poolside cafe, is open to the public.

84 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

FALL/WINTER 2021

his father could complete his Ph.D. at the College of William and Mary. Without speaking much English and in a community that had little experience with foreigners, Rios found that food and cooking created a place of common ground. Like many of today’s top chefs, Rios started working in restaurants at an early age, eventually training under some of the finest culinarians (Thomas Keller, Brandon Sharp, Patrick O’Connell), where he learned and honed his classic French cooking skills. Today Rios’ style is a wonderful amalgamation of his culinary and cultural heritage — from his early years spent immersed in coastal communities in Mexico and the United States and then cooking a variety of styles, including nouvelle and locally focused cuisines. The combination has resulted in expertly prepared dishes that are visually striking with an intensity of flavors that are compelling and nuanced. This newest project — Picobar — provides Rios with a new palette from which to create. Whereas the cuisine of Solbar provides a fine-dining experience, the new poolside cafe allows guests to experience Mexican street fare through the eyes of Rios and his team. The cocktails — many of which include smoky mezcal tequila — are equally as exciting as the food, with each drink seemingly having its own origin story. Just ask head bartender, Eddie Garcia, about the “Spirit of the hare,” a delicious $17 concoction that includes “400 conejos mezcal joven,” green Chartreuse, lemon basil, spicy black pepper and paleta de fresa. Perhaps my favorite for how it looks and tastes is the “Elephant’s Memory,” a mixture of smoky mezcal, earthy turmeric, spicy ginger and sour lemon topped with an artistic swirl of charcoal cappuccino art. FALL/WINTER 2021

strawberry and the tiramisù-like tres leches cake ($10), delicious with roasted bananas, cocoa powder and vanilla sponge.

ABOVE: Picobar tacos include avocado, al pastor, duck mole and the Sol Original with petrale sole, sweet and sour cabbage, cilantro and spicy aioli. LEFT: Freesias con crema with Coke Farms poached/ sundried strawberries and a meringue dome is served with vanilla whipped Chantilly cream.

THE FOOD‌ The focused menu has three sections, but in truth that’s just an artifact of habit. The entire menu is one that is built around relatively small plates that focus on single themes. Prices range from $6 for “Brentwood” street corn on the cob covered in lime aioli and salty cotija cheese, or up to $25 for the most vibrantly colored ceviche I’ve ever seen — full of Gulf shrimp, blue crab and other seafoods in a slurry of pureed yellow tomatoes, creamy chunks of avocado and crispy cucumber. For $22 there’s a bowl of crunchy-chewy corn chips and whipped avocado that serves as a reinvention of guacamole, topped with roasted seeds, nuts, savory goat cheese and sprinkled with a confection of colorful edible flowers. An aguachile includes a thin layer of Baja kampachi, sliced cucumbers, mint and serrano chilies that is bright and fresh ($20), albeit more of a taste than a meal. The queso, made using Cowgirl Creamery Mount Tam triple cream cheese, provides a gooey Napa Valley take on a Mexican classic. The taco options include a local favorite, the Sol Original

($16) — two chewy soft tortillas filled with crispy-fried petrale sole, sweet and sour cabbage, and mild aioli. Two must-tries from this section of the menu include the duck-mole tacos (stuffed with Liberty Farm’s duck slow-cooked confit) with nutty, cocoa-infused mole sauce, pickled onions and sesame seeds ($18) and the al pastor, with Niman Ranch spit-roasted pork, guajillo chili marinade and charred pineapple ($15). Probably the most surprising menu item is the ahi tuna tostada ($22) with avocado, jicama, radishes and sesame salsa matcha. This is a delicate take on tuna crudo with a splash of tamari soy sauce that pairs surprisingly well with many of the mezcal-infused cocktails. Desserts include crispy freesias con crema ($15) with Coke Farms poached/sundried strawberries and a meringue dome, served with fluffy vanilla whipped Chantilly cream. The bunuelos ($10) are cracker-crisp fried dough fritters sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar and served with cajeta and Mexican chocolate dipping sauces. The fruit juice popsicles ($8) include a choice of mango chili, lime, or

FINDING PICOBAR‌ Deciding to dine and imbibe at Picobar is easy (although a bit pricy, the answer is yes!), but finding it is less straightforward. The eatery sits within a cabana-like space near the resort’s large outdoor pool. Residing inside a section of the property that is surrounded by a fence, it appears at first glance to be accessible only by guests. It has key-accessed gate, although it remains unlocked and opened to the public when Picobar is open. There are also limits to what non-hotel guests might do once they do enter the space. Whereas the pool and hot tubs sit mere feet away from the dining area, they are off limits to non-hotel guests, as are the smaller cabanas and poolside lounge chairs. The bocci court is open for public use. One possible solution to this source of confusion would be to allow the Picobar menu to be available at the nearby Solbar restaurant, with its outdoor, non-gated patio dining. However, at this time that’s not possible as both venues remain strictly separate. My guess is that the resort’s experienced management team will figure out a solution to what seems an avoidable possible barrier to enjoying Picobar’s exceptional offerings. In a world that has been turned head over heels by the pandemic and what seems to be yearly wildfire trauma, drought and political tension, Picobar represents a wonderful reminder that with strong leadership, a vibrant team and a dedication to craft and the finest ingredients, tasty things can happen. When different cultures come together, they can form a culinary experience that is more than the sum of its parts. Solage Resort is at 755 Silverado Trail N, Calistoga. INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 85

Eddy turns smoke-tainted grapes into brandy A N N E WA R D E R N S T The oft-used cliché of making lemonade out of lemons takes on a wine country twist as one local winemaker found a way to deal with climate change, wildfires and the smoke that destroyed some red grape crops in 2020 due to smoke taint. “It’s taking a tragic situation and making something positive out of it,” said longtime winemaker Tom Eddy, at the family vineyard just northwest of Calistoga. The new phrase may be something along the line of “when given fire and smoke, make brandy,” or at least that is how Eddy is fighting his way out of smoke-tainted wine. Brandy is typically made out of grapes or other fruit that becomes a wine base. The most common grape used for brandy and cognac is Ugni Blanc, or Trebbiano. Fruity wines turn out the best brandy, Eddy said. Similar to how the word Champagne can only be used to define a sparkling wine made in the Champagne region in France, cognac must be made in Cognac, France; otherwise it is brandy. Eddy used 2020 smoketainted Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and a little Pinot Noir to produce his brandy, that can’t legally be called brandy just yet because it needs to age for two years. It came out of a giant copper still at Griffo Distillery in Petaluma at 160 proof, about twice the level at which it will be sold. One month after the liquid dripped out of the still it tasted good. “I was shocked at how smooth it was,” he said. Eddy is so excited about the quality he decided to make 86 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Submitted photo‌

Tom Eddy, Jenny Griffo and Jason Gerard at Griffo Distillery in Petaluma.

LEFT: Tom and Kerry Eddy, co-owners of Tom Eddy Wines, pictured in “Kerry’s Vineyard” just outside Calistoga. Elise Aileen photo‌

brandy every year and add it to the portfolio of his eponymous Tom Eddy Wines. The name, label, and branding of the brandy are yet to be determined, he said. It’s not the first time Eddy has made brandy, though most of his career is steeped in wine. He worked at spirits company Hublein after he graduated from UC-Davis with a degree in fermentation. There was a huge still there, 100 feet tall, and it was scary, big and loud, he said. But he managed it. While at UC-Davis he may have caught the brandy-bug from James F. Guymon.

“He was considered the guru of brandy,” Eddy said. And Guymon was Eddy’s college advisor. In the early ‘80s Eddy worked with Jack Davies of Schramsberg Vineyards to produce a brandy that ended up being a one-time-only project. Davies had a “love affair” with brandy and cognac and approached the famed Rémy Martin in France to work in partnership on a special brandy. The result was RMS California Alambic Brandy, released in October 1985. A 1987 L.A. Times story reported that the cost was “$22 a bottle, a thenunheard-of-figure in the domestic brandy market, where most products sell for less than $7 a bottle.” Eddy has had his own lifelong love affair — with fermentation — that started before he was of legal drinking age. “I fermented everything,” he said. “If I could pour sugar on my tennis shoes in my closet to

get them to ferment I would.” When he was 15, he made a deal with his dad. “I said I’ll mow both lawns and wash the Chevy if you’ll take me to the liquor store,” promising to not get drunk on whatever he chose to have purchased for him. The fascination with fermentation rode by his side as he got to know a good friend of his parents, Ralph Kunkee, a microbiologist and professor of viticulture and enology at UC-Davis. “He was my inspiration,” Eddy said. By the time Eddy was 23 he was a connoisseur of California brandy. And now, practically coming full circle, he has his own California brandy that tastes better than lemonade, but you’ll have to wait a bit to buy it. Anne Ward Ernst is a longtime journalist and former editor of The Weekly Calistogan. Contact her at GlassHalfFullByAnne@gmail.com. FALL/WINTER 2021

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Joseph Phelps Vineyards‌

Joe Phelps, the patriarch of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, was a builder that first came to the Napa Valley to build another winery. John Marsh Davis was the architect on that project and he and Joe hit it off instantly. Davis would then design the Phelps family faciltiies.

The varied architecture of Napa Valley wineries SAM JONES s j one s @nap ane w s . com

Owners make a statement with designs and materials When the Peju family first moved to Napa nearly 40 years ago, they found that their new home was the true definition of farm country. The grape-growing properties in the area were called ranches, not vineyards, but over time this cow-town perception would change as tourists flocked to the area. “We’ve watched orchards transform to vineyards and wineries emerge across the valley and into the hills,” said PEJU’s Christine Lilienthal. “With this growth, property values escalated and landscaping became more manicured … However, the sense of community and agriculture remain at the core of this beautiful valley.” Work done by the The Napa Valley Ag Preserve has ensured the preservation of the valley’s wine country through zoning ordinances and perpetual conservation 88 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Sam Jones, Register‌

The California mission style architecture was key to the design ideas of Dennis and Judy Groth, who would complete their family winery in 1990.

agreements, but that is not to say that development has been insignificant. From a handful of commercial wineries in the mid-1800s to the 400-some that

exist today, the Napa Valley terroir has since hosted plenty of intriguing, intentional and innovative buildings, each with their own goals in mind. Futuristic fortresses, FALL/WINTER 2021

underground operations and everything in between seems to have a place in Napa Valley, whether they sit highway-side or are tucked away from the main stretch of road. THE DESIGN‌ As with many wine families, the Groths of Groth Vineyards & Winery also came to the valley before many commercial entities had staked their claim on the surrounding property. After a successful career at Atari Corporation, Suzanne Groth’s father Dennis uprooted the family to start up their very own winery, working alongside architect Robert Gianelli to bring the business to fruition. Drawn to the style of the Spanish missions along the El Camino Real here in California, Gianelli and Mrs. Groth worked together for about eight years to design and obtain the proper permits for the winery. In 1990, the light pink (now peach) mission-style winery was finished, complete with a tower, paneled ceilings and the iconic curved roof. “I always attribute them being raised here in California and going to school in the public school system as part of their reason for choosing California Mission as the design,” said Groth. “As they were meeting with an architect and trying to figure it out, what was on their mind was California, and if the state were to have a type of architecture, they felt like that was it.” The inside of the winery building is colorful and bold, filled with Groth’s paintings, interesting furniture pieces found by the architect, and is stacked with large, circular windows overlooking the estate vineyard and courtyard. “The missionaries were bringing in the townspeople and having gatherings, and they would put these courtyards in place a lot of the time,” said Groth. “They would just use whatever they had on hand, so that’s why you see all the clay roof tiles, the pillars, the adobe archways … it really took them by hold as a young couple.” Similarly, the Jarvis couple and their son William also took up residence in Napa and began pursuing their own winery in the post-Judgment of Paris ‘80s, and ultimately broke ground in 1990. An ambitious endeavor, Jarvis started tunneling into the mountainside and was able to construct an underground cave space large enough to encapsulate the entire winemaking process. “It was intended to supplement the winemaking by giving you very controlled and consistent temperature and humidity conditions,” said the now-grown William FALL/WINTER 2021

Flora Springs‌

With a striking pattern and shape supposed to emulate the traditional wine cave model, the Flora Springs tasting room grabs the attention of those driving by on Highway 29.

Jarvis. “We’re really trying to control every aspect as much as possible, and this was an extension of that.” The cave’s main tunnel makes a full loop around the winery, passing by the winemaking lab, crush and storage facilities and tasting rooms in one rotation. “One of the main reasons for that was so that the winemaker is never more than maybe 150 yards away,” said Jarvis. With a shout, you can hear just about anyone you need to inside the Jarvis caves. That is — if the underground waterfall isn’t running. “As they were tunneling into the mountain, we ran into a natural underground stream,” said Jarvis. “That gave us the inspiration to have this waterfall and stream running through the caves.” Jarvis says this also helps regulate the cave’s humidity, as these higher levels tend to result in less lost liquid in the aging process. Just a few steps outside these seemingly rustic caves though is the “Crystal Chamber” filled with amethyst and quartz treasures, and if you look up at the ceiling, will find Jarvis’ dad’s addition of a fiber optic chandelier. “My parents have always been very hands-on in the wine-making process, and I’ve followed in their footsteps,” he said. Less traditional than the wine cave model is the Seussical architectural work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, which is on display on Silverado Trail’s Quixote Winery. Marked by its vibrant hues and funky stature, Quixote is the brainchild of Carl Doumani, who owned and restored Stags’

Leap Winery from 1970-1996. You won’t be able to find a single straight line, even floor or uniform pattern at Quixote, as Hundertwasser made it a point to ensure that nothing was perfect. After the winery was completed, he even went in with a hammer to crack any floor tiles or columns that seemed too good to be true. Because of the absurdity baked into every room and walkway at Quixote, the building took 10 years to complete, but ultimately stuck pretty closely to the original modeled design. Mosaic tiles round out the structure, with a stupa-like metallic topper popping out of the roof. Ten miles northwest is the also-eccentric tasting room for Flora Springs, which emulates the cave style of Jarvis with the asymmetry and playful nature of Quixote. Right alongside Highway 29 at the gateway to St. Helena, Flora Springs certainly grabs the attention of those driving by. A striped mound-shape, the tasting room differs significantly from the surrounding bistros and minimalist exteriors. “We wanted the building to feel like the entrance to a wine cave built into a mountainside, so we used bent plywood to give the structure its curvature and painted the outside to represent the natural geologic striations of the earth,” said founder John Komes. “The name Flora Springs combines the name of Flora Komes, my mother and our matriarch, with the natural springs that run in the western hillsides, so we wanted to capture the natural energy of the springs as well.” INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 89

The original model for Quixote Winery still sits inside the building.

Komes has a background in construction, so he wasn’t too hung up with the building process and was sure to incorporate a laid-back meeting space outside on the backside of the facility. “Beautiful wine caves have and always will be a draw for guests to the Napa Valley, so it’s nice to be able to offer a sense of that with our tasting room, but our outdoor patio and rooftop deck have a different sensibility,” said Komes. THE MATERIALS‌ In construction, the materials you are working with are just as important as the architectural design. For the sustainability-driven CADE Winery — owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Gordon Getty and John Conover — this meant incorporating materials like recycled steel-concrete mixed with fly ash, a coal by-product that reduces the use of cement, cork flooring, recycled insulation and the like. As Napa Valley’s first organically farmed, LEED Gold Certified estate winery, CADE worked with architect Juan Carlos Fernandez to be as “least intrusive as possible” to the surrounding environment during construction, which was completed in 2009. “When we first built, we only removed two trees from the entire property,” said Conover. “We wanted to sort of blend in, embrace the steep hillsides and forest surrounding us … We loved the impact of the astonishing view of the entire Napa Valley below, and wanted to design an experience around that for guests who visit from all over the world.” The result is a sleek, futuristic, almost-hidden winery building that curves alongside the mountain. At the highest point is the tasting patio and salon building with an infinity pool overlooking the vineyard, and at the deepest is the cave where all the winemaking magic happens. Wherever you are at CADE, you are surrounded by the natural environment. “The way that Juan Carlos was able to capture that with the framing of the long 90 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Sam Jones, Register‌

concrete wall and the tasting salon building, as well as the infinity pool’s ever-changing reflection, is really the breathtaking factor that moves our guests on a daily basis,” said Conover. In the vein of sustainability also is the principle of reuse and restoration, something that the family behind Joseph Phelps Vineyards understands all too well. Initially built in the early ‘70s, the Joseph Phelps historic building has been renovated multiple times since construction, with the largest update taking place between 2013 and 2015. However, the towering ceilings and wooden beams persist. “We really tried to stay true to our heritage in terms of style and architecture while making updates and more modern innovations as time passes,” said third-generation Phelps, Elizabeth Phelps Neuman. “We tend toward ageless aesthetics, but it is always fun to see where we started, and how looks cycle back into style, such as 1970s fonts used on tasting room materials and wood beams.” “Joe Phelps, our father and grandfather, is our foundation,” she said. “So while we are now thinking ahead to our next 50 years, it is so important to us to preserve and honor our past, including the redwood used from the original winery building and much of the original design.” THE DETAILS‌ Every winery has its own sense of style, with different artwork lining the walls or patterns lining the floors. But some Napa Valley entities take these details up another notch, like Fibonacci sequence Easter eggs tucked throughout the Mira Winery property or the emblematic “To Kalon” archway and bell tower at Robert Mondavi Winery. Rutherford’s PEJU is one of these over-achievers. Back in 1981, PEJU patriarch Tony Peju was roused by the Los Angeles River and Garden Center — then known as Lawry’s California Center — designed by architect Calvin Straub. “Tony reached out to him, and although

Straub was near retirement, he agreed to design the present tower at PEJU and the remaining second tower that the winery plans to build,” said Lilienthal. “Tony and Herta (HB) Peju are also both avid gardeners, and to help offset the hard work of starting a winery with very meager funds they turned to planting and growing as a source of relaxation and joy.” Peju had an entire vision for how his winery’s visitors would walk through the gardens, all oriented around three specific design features. First, guests would enter through the sycamore tree-lined drive and wind to the parking lot, and from there would walk through the willow creek to a koi pond before meandering through a second gate called “Balanced Movement.” “Guests take in the shimmering water fountains, [and] they then cross a bridge to enter the 50-foot-high tower topped with a copper roof,” said Lilienthal. Inside, a German stained glass piece depicts three muses in a garden. Outside, sculptures are scattered throughout the grounds. “Tony Peju has always been drawn to beautiful images,” said Lilienthal. “He met sculptor Welton Rotz and was captivated by the beauty of his work and decided to add them to the gardens.” Rotz’s work was taken from Greek mythology and the stories of Demeter and Persephone, and Lilienthal says it was mostly done in Carrara marble. “Tony suggested to Rotz that the works could be enhanced with a water feature, which was incorporated into all three pieces at PEJU,” she said. “The other important artist is Phillip Dizick, who mostly worked in bronze.” Dizick’s work at PEJU includes the winery gate, a sculpture of a woman sleeping on her side, bronze nymphettes, a mythology-inspired carving of a PEJU’s leading lady pouring wine, and a functional bench. The property is also home to Grecian pillars depicting Athena and Aphrodite, a copper roof and vintage light fixtures for the tower. “The Peju family believes beauty and artistry, including the physical setting, form part of the overall wine tasting experience,” said Lilienthal. “It also makes the experience of visiting and tasting wine in Napa Valley more approachable to the connoisseur and the novice by offering more to see and do ... the presentation is about engaging all the senses.” You can reach Sam Jones at 707-256-2221 and sjones@napanews.com. FALL/WINTER 2021

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t wasn’t clear if Raven, the 3-year-old Scottish Terrier owned by Napa Valley residents Cary and Vicky Gott, would survive the rattlesnake bite. The dog yelped in pain as its neck ballooned with internal swelling when the toxin took effect. Immediately the Gotts grabbed their phones. Vickie dialed the vet’s office to inform them they were on their way while Cary called Len Ramirez, owner of Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal. “For the last couple of years we’ve had to place shovels strategically around the yard to dispatch any snakes we find,” Gott said, “but these snakes were big and there were more than just one or two, so we called in the

A ‘bumper year’ for rattlesnakes Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal is busy capturing and moving vipers to safe new locations TIM CARL professional.” Based out of Auburn, Ramirez is no stranger to such calls. Every year from February to October he’s on call 24/7, stopping his fevered pace only when the snakes go into hibernation during the winter months. Ramirez has been wrangling vipers throughout the

state — including in the Napa Valley — for more than three decades. His ability to find, capture and humanely transfer the snakes to undisclosed wilderness locations has garnered him the loyalty and respect of many in the region who want to protect pets and people but who also understand that snakes play a vital role in maintaining healthy

ecosystems. I am no stranger to Ramirez’s talents. From 2008 through 2014 I used his services for a vineyard and winery that I had co-founded and run. My initial impression that he was professional, highly effective and a pleasant person to be around, has only been reinforced throughout the subsequent years. A BUMPER YEAR FOR RATTLESNAKES‌ “Between the recent fires and this year’s drought it has been a bumper year for rattlers,” Ramirez said. “We are seeing more of them than ever.” In a typical year, Ramirez estimates that he captures more than 1,200 snakes, whereas this year he’s predicting over 1,500. Driving a fire-red pickup

Tim Carl LLC photos‌

Through Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal, Len Ramirez is achieving his goal by educating his clients on snake-safe practices and by transporting the potentially deadly snakes to uninhabited locations, allowing the reptiles to live out their lives far from civilization. 92 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

FALL/WINTER 2021

Len Ramirez, the owner of Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal, is busy capturing and removing the snakes to safer locations.

Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal Len Ramirez 916-201-1524 ramirezrattlesnakeremoval.com ramirezrattlesnakeremoval1@gmail.com License #007-881171

emblazoned with his logo, Ramirez — with his rugged, confident demeanor, sunbleached cowboy hat and snake boots — looks as if he has stepped out of a movie. And that’s not far from the truth: He has been featured on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and dozens of TV news programs as well as in newspapers. FROM TENNIS TO SNAKES‌ How does one decide to become a rattlesnake wrangler? When Ramirez was growing up in Cupertino, his mother worked for AT&T and wrote fiction while his father was a professor at De Anza College. Like many young people at the time, he watched a popular television program called “Wild Kingdom” and felt a kinship with the mission of the show — to educate people and protect animals. “I’ve always wanted to be of service,” he said. “I promote all living things.” Through Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal he is achieving his goal by educating his clients on snake-safe practices and by transporting the potentially deadly snakes to uninhabited locations, allowing the reptiles to live out their lives far from civilization. When Ramirez was 15 years old, almost as a prank, he created a homemade shirt that read, “Rattlesnake Search and Rescue.” The shirt got attention but didn’t result in much business. Falling back on his talents as a tennis player, for the next 10 years Ramirez rose in the ranks, eventually moving to Santa Cruz and becoming a FALL/WINTER 2021

Gary Gott holds Raven, a Scottish Terrier that survived a recent rattlesnake bite.

tennis pro, teaching students and playing against the likes of John McEnroe Jr. During those years Ramirez’s interest in snakes only grew. He had a few as pets, including an “enormous” boa constrictor, but his teenage dream of having a business focused on the serpents seemed out of reach. In a twist of fate, the Santa-Cruz fires of 1985 struck near his home, forcing him to relocate his pets. Placing the boa around his neck, he jumped on his mountain bike and headed down the road. “I was riding along with this huge snake around my neck and a crew from the San Jose Mercury News drove up and snapped a few photos,” he said. “When I saw that photo on the front page the next day a lightbulb went off.” Ramirez kept his day job but began building his business into one that today claims to be “the only licensed, bonded and insured rattlesnake removal company in California.” Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal services many communities and has numerous partnerships throughout the region, often being called in by the likes of the California

Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Forestry, law-enforcement agencies, CAL Fire and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. BEING A GOOD SCOUT‌ It had been a week since the snake had bitten the dog, and we walked the Gott’s property looking for any remaining rattlers. Ramirez had already captured three snakes, including a 4-foot-long “healthy” specimen. As we toured the site, the snake wrangler highlighted areas of concern — a rocky area within the garden, a loosely coiled garden hose, a dark corner, a pile of dead branches. A dog’s bark made us all turn as Raven trotted our way. The dog was wagging her tail and looked no worse for the wear. “Raven seems perfectly fine, and that’s great news,” Cary Gott said, grinning as he picked up the dog. Ramirez grinned, too, giving the dog a pat on the head, but then his expression hardened. “She’s very fortunate, but there have been a lot this year that haven’t been so lucky,” he said in a somber tone. “So far

this year I’ve seen 38 dogs, two horses, four ponies and a llama killed by rattlers in Northern California, and we still have a few months to go.” Gott nodded slowly and set down the dog, who sniffed warily at Ramirez’s boots before heading back inside. “You just never get used to snakes,” Gott said, smiling at Ramirez, “but it’s certainly nice to have options.” To ensure safety in the coming months, Ramirez recommends bringing pets in at night to avoid confrontations with nocturnal snakes and carefully examining the area before doing any outdoor work or allowing children out to play. “Rattlesnakes have always been here and will always be,” Ramirez said. “These creatures play a vital role in a healthy ecology by keeping rodent populations in check. They are shy animals that prefer to be left alone; however, they can’t be tolerated when it comes to threatening people and pets.” As we walked and talked, Ramirez’s eyes continued to scan the area, pausing often to examine a spot more closely. “Keeping vigilant is about being a good scout,” he said. “Scan, look before you step, see before you reach. No one is exempt from rattlesnakes, especially this year.” INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 93

A HOME FLIP FOR THE BOOKS Price of south Napa home jumps $254,000 in four months

JENNIFER HUFFMAN j hu ffma n@nap ane w s . com efore this June, the house at 2331 Arthur St. in south Napa had seen better days. Much better

days. Years of deferred maintenance had taken a toll on the modest three-bedroom, one-and-a-halfbath dwelling. Windows were broken. The walls were heavily scuffed. Floors were damaged. The kitchen and bathrooms were heavily worn and outdated. The previous owner had lost the 1,075 square-foot home to foreclosure, according to Michelle DiChristopher, the Folsom-area realtor who sold the house for the bank that came to own it. In June, 2331 Arthur St. became a small part of Napa history: it was the least expensive home sold in the city that month. Priced at $399,000, potential buyers were lined up for the chance to take on the house, which was described as “uninhabitable.” At the time, DiChristopher said she received 10 offers on the house. “It was a bidding war,” she said. The house sold for a whopping $95,100 over asking for a total of $495,000. The new owner would flip the home, DiChristopher said at the time. However, when that new owner suddenly had to bow out, weeks later they then sold the home to yet another house flipper, DiChristopher said. That second sale price was $527,000. That buyer, SMITH GNG LLC, then spent the next 60 days and an untold amount of 94 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

money remodeling the house. On Sept. 1, the house was listed again, this time for $749,000. Today, the house has never looked so good. With new paint, a new front door, and outdoor styling, it has curb appeal galore. “It was a total gut job down to the studs,” said listing agent Joey Esplanada of Sequoia Real Estate in Pinole. “Everything is pretty much new … the windows, doors, roof, new central heat and air and fencing.” The home features the “perfect marriage of modern convenience and midcentury design,” said the listing by Esplanada and colleague Ricardo Velazco. Other features include drought-conscious landscaping, quartz counters, stainless GE appliances, a deep sink with a faucet that operates at a touch and LED lighting and motion sensors. The kitchen and bathroom gleam. “This is a prime Napa location — walking distance to River Park Shopping Center and a quick drive to South Napa Market, Century Center, and premium outlet stores,” downtown and Fuller Park. Over Labor Day weekend, and also the BottleRock music festival, the agents hosted an open house. About 15 parties toured the home, giving good reviews, but as of Wednesday, they had received no offers. “I wish we did,” said Esplanada. “It seems like the market has cooled off a bit,” with school starting and other seasonal changes. Yet, he remains confident.

“Our expectation is that it will sell for above list price,” said Esplanada. “But it may take around 30 days, especially in south Napa.” Velazco said Napa continues to be a prime destination for home buyers. For example, “I have clients of mine selling houses in Walnut Creek, and they want to move to Napa.” “It’s the vibe,” he said. Napa Valley offers a different lifestyle than the more congested central Bay Area, he said. In addition, “Downtown Napa is really coming up, and it’s where a lot of people want to go. We want to come to Napa because we don’t want to be in a cement jungle anymore.” These buyers want a turnkey house, he said, because it’s all-new. “A lot of (buyers) don’t want to deal with an old sink and laminate countertops. They want instant gratification. It’s all done and they get to enjoy it.” While this home may become a successful flip, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, in 2020, home flipping dropped nationwide. The 2020 U.S. Home Flipping Report showed that 241,630 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped in 2020, down 13.1 percent from 2019 to the lowest point since 2016. The number of homes flipped in 2020 represented 5.9 percent of all home sales in the nation during the year, down from 6.3 percent in 2019 to the same

Submitted image

In June, this south Napa home, once in “uninhabitable condition,” sold for $495,000 — $96,000 over the original asking price of $399,000. It was the least expensive home sold in Napa in June. Today, home has been completely remodeled and is for sale for $749,000. It’s located at 2331 Arthur Ave., near Imola Avenue.

percentage seen in 2018. The declines in the number of homes flipped in 2020, as well as the portion of home sellers represented by investors, marked the first time since 2014 that both measures decreased annually. While flipping activity declined, gross profits and profit margins shifted in opposite directions. Profits rose in 2020, but profit margins dipped—the third straight year that returns on investments declined. Homes flipped in 2020 typically generated a gross profit of $66,300 nationwide (the difference between the median sales price and the median amount originally paid by investors). That was up 6.6 percent from $62,188 in 2019 to the highest point since at least 2005. But the typical gross flipping profit of $66,300 translated into just a 40.5 percent return on investment compared to the original acquisition price. “Last year was a banner year for the U.S. housing market, with the apparent exception of the home-flipping business, which saw its fortunes slide a bit more in 2020. Home flippers did still make a nice profit on investments that generally take around six months to turn around—just not as much as they did in the previous few years,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com FALL/WINTER 2021

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Changes at Cuvaison M I R A A DVA N I H O N E Y C U T T

Napa’s pioneering winery gets a makeover There is an old expression that “everything old is new again.” That certainly applies to Cuvaison Estate Wines. The Carneros winery is among a rare group of nine Napa Valley wineries established in the 1960s that have operated in the valley ever since. Founded in 1969, the family-owned Carneros winery has quietly continued to produce distinctive estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, yet, over time, the label may have gotten lost in the onslaught of dazzling new wineries vying for the accolades of the wine press and public. Forgotten no more, the historic grande dame is coming on the radar of the younger generation. “Millennials have discovered it,” says Dan Zepponi, president and CEO of Two Estates Wine Collective, which includes Cuvaison and its sister winery Brandlin Estate in Mount Veeder. “We have built a brand around a sophisticated yet approachable luxury product,” Zepponi said. “We have so much here we have

Mira Advani Honeycutt

Dan Zepponi is president and CEO of Two Estates Wine Collective, which includes Cuvaison and its sister winery Brandlin Estate in Mount Veeder.

to start unlocking the secrets.” It’s one of those triple-digit Napa Valley days and Cuvaison’s cool barrel room turned temporary tasting room is packed with a new generation of wine aficionados rediscovering the pioneering estate. The tasting room is undergoing a facelift and is scheduled for a grand opening at the end of September. The barrel room sports a smart contemporary look with

an alcove furnished like a small private lounge, which is where I meet Zepponi. Cuvaison, he comments, is one of the shapers of Napa Valley. Among a plethora of brands in the valley, the elbow room gets a little tighter to differentiate yourself. “But when you are among nine wineries in 1969, you’re working together in shaping what Napa Valley should be.” Cuvaison was founded

by Thomas Parkhill and was acquired by the current owners, the Shmidheiny family, in 1979. Zepponi regales us with an interesting detail about the Swissbased family, which has been in the wine business for four generations. The worldwide spotlight on Napa Valley created by the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting got matriarch Adda Schmidheiny interested in the region. “She came to Napa and was captivated by it,” says Zepponi. So much so that she took a handful of dirt in her kerchief back to Switzerland and convinced her family that Napa wines should be part of their portfolio. “My guess is she probably went to Mondavi and picked up dirt from To-Kalon,” Zepponi muses. Over the years, members of the Schmidheiny family have been working with Cuvaison long distance with limited annual trips to the winery, but have fully relegated the operations to their team led by Zepponi. “They are very keen on hiring local talent,” said Zepponi who has earned the nickname “a winemaker’s president.” “Most people come to a president’s position from a sales and

The new Cuvaison tasting room opened in September. Gabriel Radu

96 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

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Gabriel Radu‌

Cuvaison vineyard and pond in Carneros.

marketing business; few come from the production side,” says Zepponi, whose father Gino Zepponi co-founded ZD Wine. “I really understand what winemakers need.” Throughout his career, Zepponi has overseen numerous tasks from managing winemaking and viticulture to production for such companies as Beringer Wine Estates (now Treasury Wine Estates), Canadian-based Mark Anthony Group and Vintage Strategies. Napa’s veteran Steve Rogstad, at the helm of winemaking, is marking his 17th vintage at Cuvaison. The portfolio of wines expresses the purity of Carneros’ cool-climate terroir, wines that are balanced seamlessly with acidity and vibrant fruit. The fog and the breeze sweeping off San Pablo Bay cool the vineyards planted on gently sloping hillsides dominant with Diablo clay soil. We tasted some recent vintages. The 2017 Brut Rosé, Méthode Champenois, is a pale-hued blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fragrant with raspberry and cassis with hints of toasty brioche. The 2019 Chardonnay Méthode Béton for the first time uses the technique of fermenting in concrete eggs. (Béton is French for concrete). While concrete eggs have been used for Sauvignon Blanc, 2019 was the first vintage for Chardonnay, Zepponi explains. Made from three different clones — the Old Wente, the Dijon 95 and Dijon 548 — the wine FALL/WINTER 2021

The view from the patio of the tasting room at Cuvaison.

expresses floral aspects of juicy stone fruit with a snappy minerality. The concrete fermentation that drives the lees contact gives the wine a layer of creaminess on the palate. The 2018 Pinot Noir is an elegant wine, a carousel of cherry and plum flavors with notes of lilac and hints of allspice. I am surprised to hear that in addition to the plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Cuvaison has devoted eight acres to Merlot. “This was a big Merlot house in the early ‘80s,” Zepponi remarks. The cool climate 2018 Arcilla Merlot (named for Arcilla clay soil) is a rich and elegant wine with silky tannins, evocative of white pepper, rocking with

bright black cherries, leading to an earthy, spicy finish. Anchored by a scenic pond, Cuvasion’s 400-acre estate sits on undulating hillsides cooled by the marine influence from San Pablo Bay. The 210-acre vineyard planting is sculpted into a mosaic of 20 blocks of Chardonnay and 17 of Pinot Noir with smaller blocks dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah. A ne w state-of-the-ar t 32,000 square-foot winery was constructed in 2009, specifically designed to handle small lots. The gravity-flow winery, equipped with three concrete eggs and 60-some tanks for individual fermentation, allows each vineyard block to have a vessel specifically selected for

Robert Holmes‌

that wine. In addition to the solar-powered winery, the vineyard is certified Napa Green Winery and Fish Friendly Farming, the latter a certification program for agricultural properties managed to restore fish and wildlife habitat and improve water quality. The soon-to-open cantilevered VIP pavilions are designed to float above the pond so the guests can get an immersive experience of the thriving ecosystem, the flora and fauna, birds and wildlife, egrets and otters in the pond. “We are heavy on experiencing this estate,” Zepponi comments. ‘Everything is made here, grown, aged and bottled on this property.” INSIDE NAPA VALLEY | 97

$10 million donation to NVC S A S H A PAU L S E N s p auls e n@nap ane w s . com

Wine Spectator funds expanded wine education complex

he Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation is donating $10 million to Napa Valley College to support the construction and expansion of the school’s Viticulture, Wine and Technology program. The program’s teaching spaces will become known as the Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex at Napa Valley College. The plan includes the construction of a new state-of-theart sensory classroom as well as the conversion of an existing classroom into a modern wine laboratory for instruction and production. An existing historic building will be renovated and expanded to include indoor and outdoor spaces for hospitality, marketing, and sales courses, in addition to a public tasting room. The college’s Viticulture, Wine and Technology program has an annual enrollment of 800 to 1,000 students, and a five-acre vineyard and commercial winery. Students in the program can obtain a certificate or a two-year associate of science degree, specializing in viticulture, enology or wine marketing and sales. The majority of students are already actively working in the wine industry and taking classes to advance their careers. Marvin Shanken, editor and publisher of The Wine Spectator, said the goal of the magazine’s scholarship foundation is to support and train future leaders in the wine industry. The foundation, established in 1982, has donated more than $20 million in grants 98 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

David Hanawalt Architect‌

An artist’s rendering of the proposed Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex at Napa Valley College from David Hanawalt Architect.

David Hanawalt Architect‌

The Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex will include a new state-of-the-art sensory classroom and convert an existing classroom into a wine laboratory, with additional indoor and outdoor spaces for hospitality, marketing and sales courses and a public tasting room.

and scholarships, including support for UC Davis students and for programs at Sonoma State University, Washington State, Cornell University and the Culinary Institute of America. Earlier this year, the foundation donated $100,000 to the Roots Fund, a non-profit organization that aims to open

a pathway for members of Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities into the wine business. In a phone interview, Shanken said although he has visited the valley since the 1970s and chose to open a Wine Spectator office in downtown Napa, it was only in the past five years that he became

aware of the programs at the community college. “If there was ever an educational institution poised for significant contributions to the growth of the California wine industry, this is it,” Shanken said. “It is our hope that the door for learning opens wider for young adults from all walks of life, providing a platform for future leadership in the wine industry.” Shanken added that he also hopes the gift will lead to more recognition and support of the NVC program from the wine community. “Napa Valley College’s VWT program has long been supported by our community,” said Malcolm deSieyes, president, Napa Valley College Foundation, which was founded in 1968 to increase community awareness and provide financial support for the college and its students. “ T h e Tre f e t h e n f a m i l y were early donors and helped spearhead contributions from others, including the Napa Valley Vintners,” deSieyes said. “The program wouldn’t be where it is today without their funding. This incredible gift from Marvin Shanken and the Wine Spectator will build on those earlier investments.” “The Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex at Napa Valley College will provide the physical and technical infrastructure necessary to support innovative programs and expand the reach of those programs,” said Ron Kraft, president of Napa Valley College. “We have made significant investments in the program and buildings over the years, but this generous gift from Marvin Shanken will allow us to truly make our VWT program state-of-the-art.” FALL/WINTER 2021

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