Napa Valley news

Harvest Ups and Downs
At the annual Napa Valley Vintners Association Harvest Report, jubilant vintners gave glowing reports, touting the 2009 vintage to be perhaps one of the best in recent years. But that report came the day before the big rains of Tuesday, October 13. The Valley had 3 inches of rain in areas and many growers were worried that the heavy rains would cause mold and perhaps ruin this so-called perfect vintage. But then, Mother Nature did an about face and heated things up on Friday. Winemaker Cathy Corison on twitter: “Sun out and 80 degrees. Lots of Cabernet still out in the valley- this should bring it home safe and sound.” But Cathy also reported the challenge was getting tractors into the muddy vineyards to pick grapes.

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Can you Negotiate Wine Prices These Days?
A friend of mine returned from a recent trip to the wine country and told me that he had bargained for a case of wine. He started out by saying He’d take six bottles of a wine when he knew he really wanted a case. Then he added quickly “will you give me a case for whatever…?” The person agreed and all were happy. Next time you hit a Napa Valley Winery or any winery for that matter, think about giving bargaining a try. It just might work. These are hard times out there for the wine industry and inventories are stacking up. Did you see the story on the CBS Evening News about Fetzer’s Inventory?

More hardships to Come? — Smoke Taint 2008 Harvest
I recently heard from one Napa Valley Vintner that the 2008 Pinot Noir grapes he had purchased from an Anderson Valley grower all contain smoke taint. He was adamant that no matter how much filtering he did, it would not completely remove the smoke taint. Forest fires plagued Northern California last summer and for many days smoke permeated the air in various portions of California vineyards. Will this so-called smoke taint add to the woes of the 2008 harvest already victimized by frost?

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On the Economy
I’m hearing on the business news that some economists feel we may have hit the bottom of the recession and will now experience a slow road back to recovery. We are also hearing about more people taking “day vacations.” On a recent trip to the Napa Valley, it was hard to tell if business was getting better. On a Tuesday night, at the Bottega Restaurant we found no signs of a recession. The restaurant has been booked solid nightly since its opening in December. But the next day at Redd it was a different story. The restaurant was much less busy from what we had experienced in the past. By the time we had finished dinner at 9 pm, there were plenty of empty tables and the bar was deserted.

At the Oxbow Public Market on a Wednesday afternoon, the place was absolute dead. Honestly, there were more workers in the market than customers. I wonder whether this place is going to make it. Maybe the weekends are different, but these merchants need a hefty dose of daily customers to make a go of it. We purchased some meats at the Fatted Calf and the merchant told us that things are very slow during the week.

Just outside the entrance to Domain Chandon in Yountville is where one balloon company launches its early morning rides. We were on a morning walk when we spied six balloon rides getting ready to take off. That surely looks like a positive.

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Chateau Montelena
Here is a bottle shocker. In July Jim Barrett announced that he had sold Chateau Montelena for better than 100 million dollars to a French wine company. Apparently, something went terribly awry and the deal is over, finished. Jim Barrett announced that he plans to keep the winery and make all the revamps needed to restore the winery to its former glory. This struck us as an amazing turn. Just a couple of days ago our latest Wine Spectator arrived and, in it, an article detailing how the new owners planned to revitalize Chateau Montelena. This apparently caught everybody off guard. Could this be a “Bottle Shock II” movie in the making?

Fewer Visitors to Napa Valley?
We are in the Napa Valley for a few days and the local Yountville Sun has an article about the recently released report on the economic impact of the Napa Valley Wine industry. The wine industry contributed a whopping 10.9 billion dollars to the Valley. This is based on 2006 data. You would never know it judging by the tasting rooms we have visited in the Napa Valley the last couple of days. We were the only visitors at Goosecross, William Hill, Havens, and Hopper Creek wineries. There was one other couple in Rutherford Hill, brought there by a van service that picks up tourists at the Napa hotels. The driver told us that business is down and the tour company is looking for new ways to drum up business. We asked at each tasting room how the economy was affecting visitor traffic. The answers were all the same. There are fewer visitors and they are buying less wine.

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