Wappo Restaurant is Closed

One of our favorite long-time restaurants, Wappo Bar & Bistro, has closed its doors in Calistoga. For years this restaurant with its eclectic menu has been a favorite of locals and visitors alike. So far, we have been unable to find out why the restaurant closed. Was it the economy, the competition, or just the time to end a good long stretch of serving up fine dining? We hope it was the latter. We will surely miss Wappo.

Hurray for Michael Chiarello and the Bottega Restaurante in Yountville

San Francisco Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer gave the newly-opened Bottega Restaurant in Yountville a Three-Star rating (Excellent). In his review, Michael Bauer praises the outstanding cuisine as well as the star power of owner and chef Michael Chiarello. Michael Bauer also cited the wine list as extensive and well priced. He also noted that, despite the economy, the restaurant was packed with diners. Congratulations to Michael Chiarello and his staff. The review is at sfgate.com.
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There is trouble ahead for Napa Valley wineries in 2009 and maybe beyond. You might think that all California wineries will suffer equally, but Napa wineries may be more vulnerable. A trip to the Napa Valley costs more than going to Paso Robles, Mendocino, or the Russian River wine region. Lodging and restaurants are more expensive, tasting room fees are higher, and on average, the cost of a bottle of wine is more expensive in the Napa Valley.

Since January we have been to the Napa Valley on three separate occasions. Granted we always visit during the week but almost every tasting room we have been into has been empty, void of visitors. Where are the tourists? In each tasting room we have heard the same lament about winter months being slow, but never this slow. The outlook for visitors the rest of the year does not look good. The San Francisco Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is predicting a drop in European and Asian travelers and in corporate travel by U.S. companies. No company wants to look bad for taking unnecessary travel junkets. More tourists are traveling on a beer budget.

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Piña is a little tiny winery on the Silverado Trail located about a mile north of Oakville Cross Road. We would never have discovered this winery were it not for a free tasting coupon we found at the Visitor Center in Napa. The owners of the winery are the four Piña Brothers. The winery is not their main business, as they are better known in the Valley for their vineyard management skills. Their vineyard management company has an impressive list of clients that includes Pahlmeyer, Cafaro, and Showket to name a few.

The most delightful characteristic of this family-owned winery is the very casual atmosphere that permeates the winery. Our host on that day was Clair Palmer, a retired agricultural chemist and wine lover. Clair is waiting by the doorway “Welcome to Piña, this is how Napa Valley used to be,” he exclaims. Everything is all in one room, barrels, equipment, and a makeshift bar for tasting.

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A beautiful way to spend a day in the Napa Valley is to visit wineries along the Silverado Trail. One of our favorite wineries along this route is the Clos du Val winery. The winery is located in the Stags Leap AVA in a lovely setting against the eastern hills of the Napa Valley. Clos du Val is one of the earliest wineries along the Silverado Trail with its inaugural vintage, a 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon. Like nearby neighbor, Stags Leap Cellars, this Cabernet was one of six California wines entered in the famed “Judgment of Paris” wine tasteoff of 1976. Back in those times, there were less than 30 quality wineries in the Napa Valley. Today, the winery is still owned by Bernard Portet, who along with American businessman John Goelet founded the winery in 1970. The winery has 150 acres in the Stagg’s Leap region and an additional 180 acres in the Carneros region.

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Hello Wine Friends!

Friday the 13th is almost upon us and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  This time around, I’ve got something more exciting on my mind than black cats, bad luck and machete-weilding hockey-mask wearing murderous maniacs (although that is pretty exciting!).  This Friday will be the debut of my new weekly video series, “Judd’s Enormous Wine Show.”  The episodes will showcase the intriguing, mysterious and often weird world of wine as seen through my somewhat twisted lenses.  It can be seen at www.juddshill.com, www.juddsenormouswineshow.com, and the Judd’s Hill Facebook page. A new episode will be posted each Friday and I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy them.  Look out!

If you find yourself in Napa, come on by Judd’s Hill, have a little wine, take in the view and, who knows, you may end up in the pictures!

-Judd Finkelstein

Judd’s Hill, Napa Valley

www.juddshill.com

When you think of big wine companies or conglomerates in the Napa Valley, most likely Trinchero Family Wines would not be your first thought. Yet this family-owned winery, with Bob Trinchero as the patriarch, has been steadily gaining ground in the California wine scene and especially in the Napa Valley. Within the past couple of years, Trinchero has acquired Folie a Deux winery and Napa Cellars. These two wineries share a tasting room in Yountville on Highway 29 right next to Mustard’s Restaurant. Folie a Deux’s original winery location and tasting room is now the site of the Trinchero Napa Winery. At this location, Trinchero is building a 20-million-dollar winery complex that will rival that of any winery in the Napa Valley. It is sure to be a favorite visitor attraction. Read the rest of this entry »

The 16th annual Mustard Festival began in earnest on January 31 and will run through March 28th with various events. The idea behind the Mustard Festival is to promote tourism in the Napa Valley during the “quiet” time of the year. The weather is always iffy and the vines are all dormant, so tourists tend to stay away during these winter months. In April bud break occurs and spring flowers awake, and once again all is right in the world of the Napa Valley.

Mustard Field Near Whitehall Lane

The 18th annual ZAP Festival drew its usual mass of crowds to Fort Mason in San Francisco on a very beautiful and sunny Saturday, the last day of January 2009. The ZAP festival is strictly for Zinfandel lovers. An amazing 250 wineries were packed into two pavilions at Fort Mason pouring their Zinfandel wines. Luckily for us, we were part of the media and were able to get into the 10am to 1pm session for trade and media only. After that, the public comes in, and it becomes almost a tasting frenzy of 10,000 or so thirsty wine lovers searching for the perfect Zinfandel wine.

For three hours we tasted and spit out about 100 different Zinfandel wines from 70 wineries. One thing for sure, the economy has not driven down the price of Zins. Most of the ones we tried and liked were well above the $25 mark. The Turley Napa topped the list at $75. What a wonder they were pouring such an expensive wine. Could the reason be because no one is buying a $75 Zinfandel given the present economy? Read the rest of this entry »