The “Less is More” Era Arrives in 2009
This is not so much an event as it is a pervasive feeling that I think is the biggest factor of the year affecting the wineries and related businesses in California and Napa Valley wine country. I hear about it from my friends, my adult children, financial wizards, etc. Our spending habits were out of control and the recession rocked us back to sensible saving and spending behaviors. The recovery may be underway, but this feeling is likely to stay a long while. It is why people are buying wines under $20 or ordering a glass of wine for dinner rather than a full bottle. It is why folks decide to stay at a budget motel instead of an expensive B&B or why they decide on a day trip to the Napa Valley rather than a weekend visit. It means dropping out of that wine club that sends out those expensive wines every four months. Read the rest of this entry »

Sonoma County, Mendocino, and Paso Robles are doing their best to attract wine country tourists and they are outspending Napa by a large scale. Not long ago, most folks traveling to California wine country were under the impression the Napa Valley was the only game in town. Could it be that people are opting to go to these other wine regions because they are being led to believe that the Napa Valley is too chic, too expensive, or too crowded. Bottom line, tourism is down in the Napa Valley. So in the works is a plan to have Napa hotels and B&B’s being asked to pay an assessment to fund a tourism business improvement district. This likely means we’ll see a little bit more tax on our Napa Valley hotel bill that should generate some 4 million dollars to promote tourism. Stay tuned.

Calistoga Happenings

Talk about no tourists, we spent a couple of days in Calistoga last week and as one tasting room worker said, “things are dark” around here. The popular Brannan’s restaurant was practically deserted except for bar patrons. By the way, Janelle says Brannan’s makes the best Manhatten she has ever tasted. They call it the Branhattan. The secret ingredient we found out is the Punta E Mes Vermouth. Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Mike Beltran has been collecting wines for 40 years. His collection is dwindling because he sells or trades most of his older wines. A couple of months ago while searching in the deepest and darkest part of his cellar he finds a bottle of 1959 Inglenook Charbono. Anything Inglenook prior to 1964 is special. For those not familiar, Inglenook was the premiere winery of California up to 1964. Its 1941 Cabernet Sauvignon was listed in Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of the century with a 100-point rating. John Daniel Jr. was the winemaker and ran the winery during its heyday when suddenly and tragically he sold Inglenook in 1964 to Allied Grape Growers, essentially a jug wine producer. From there is was downhill for the Inglenook label. In 1975 Francis Ford Coppola purchased the old Inglenook winery and vineyards and today it’s called Rubicon Estates. The Inglenook name is still in the hands of a big conglomermate wine company but the majestic mansion, surrounding vineyards, and the wines made are once again magnificent. Read the rest of this entry »

The biggest news this month is the approval of the Calistoga AVA. This is a huge win for the wineries that garner their grapes from the Calistoga area. Wineries like Chateau Montelena who have vineyards in Calistoga will benefit and be able to use Calistoga on their wine label, provided that 75% of grapes come from the that AVA. Biggest loser is Calistoga Cellars. This winery has been in existence for ten years and has a tasting room in Calistoga but their wines are made from Central Valley vines. The Feds will give them three years to change their name or start making wine from the Calistoga AVA. This ends an approval process that started in 2004.

The Oxbow Public Market will be getting a new tenant. It will be C Casa, a new style Mexican restaurant run by Catherine Bergen, Napa culinary entrepreneur and founder of “Made In Napa Valley.” Out is Rotisario at the end of the year and C Casa will open in its spot in March of 2010. With the economy such as it is and the demise of next-door neighbor Copia, the Oxbow Market so far has not lived up to expectations. We’ve visited on four occasions during the week and on each visit the place has been a bit somber. It was patterned after the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace but has yet to replicate its popularity.

Read the rest of this entry »

In December everything in wine country comes to a slow crawl. People are busy with holiday shopping and activities, the vines are brown and looking dreary, and the weather is not always the best for a getaway in the beautiful Napa Valley. Despite all this, we think there are many reasons why December is a great time to visit wine country. Read the rest of this entry »