Napa Cadi

When traveling, it’s not unusual to wonder what it would be like to live somewhere else, especially if that place is particularly horrible or desirable.  Not surprisingly, when I’m in wine country (which is decidedly desirable), I often wonder what it would be like to live there and I savor any glimpse into the Napa lifestyle.

In the wine trade, a visit to wine country can be punishing, ie  six tasting appointments a day.  Beginning with barrel tasting at 9am (followed by a tour of the vineyard, the tank room, the cave, the tasting room, repeat) and culminating in a lavish dinner of too much food and wine–the day is long.  Multiply that times 7 and you get serious fatigue and more than a few pounds in the course of a week.  My Napa Valley lifestyle would definitely not include six wine appointments a day and would only involve barrel tasting once I had my own winery.  What it would include is some of the amazing food that we have had and which contributes greatly to the quality of life there, as well as weekly mud baths and lots of time hanging with friends and friends’ dogs.

Sunshine Grocery

I would base myself in Yountville, central to Napa town and Calistoga, for easy access to restaurants and shops.  Imagine arising every morning and heading to  Thomas (French Laundry) Keller’s  Bouchon Bakery in Yountville for a pistachio brioche…Shopping every day at the Sunshine Foods market in St. Helena—choosing which loaf of fresh baked bread and selecting a local olive oil to go with.  For lunch, I would have a BLT from Oakville Grocery every other day, because on the even days, I would be at Taylor’s Refresher for shrimp tacos or a tex-mex burger.  That is, except for Fridays, where I might join the boys—Ray Coursen, John Arns, Herb Lamb—for a bite & bottle at Mustard’s or Redd.  I might even have to have that BLT for breakfast occasionally, in order to fit in all these good places to eat.

Lunch at Taylor's Refresher, St Helena

More often than not, nights would be spent at Bottega (in Yountville), rather than the French Laundry.  Not because it’s the best food, but because it’s the most comfortable—and I might not be alone in that assessment, because the place is always packed.  Not, however, in an elbow to elbow way, but in an every-table-is-full way that lets you know Michael Chiarello has hit upon the perfect formula of good food and cozy atmosphere—and on a grand scale, which is hard to pull off in such a big place.  Another indication of Chiarello’s brilliance is that he only marks up the wines the slightest bit and charges a nominal corkage.  Genious!  One can enjoy top Napa wines for not much over retail, or, if you’re a winemaker, bring your own to share with friends.

Lunching, spa-ing, sharing wine with friends–that is my idea of Napa: Unplugged.  As we move into our busy season on Nantucket, doesn’t that sound appealing?!

For inspirational images of the characters that make up the real Napa Valley, check out Bill Tucker’s book, NAPA:  Behind the Bottle.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/42404405@N06/

Mark & I with Denis Toner of the Nantucket Wine Fest, and Ray Coursen of Elyse, at Bottega

my crush, Joel Gott

I was reading a wine blog recently and the writer referred to her  “wine crush”—and she was not referring to stomping grapes.  That made me think of Joel Gott, who I would say is my current wine crush.  He is one of the coolest, cutest and busiest winemakers in Napa.  He makes an $18 Zin they call “The poor man’s Turley”. When we met, he was wearing a killer preppy vintage green tweed blazer. Not getting a photo with him is one of my life regrets.

When you are born in a place that the rest of the world envies, you are considered a “native” of that place and other people will always be jealous.  If you are born on Nantucket Island, you are a considered far, far superior to all the other people in the world, including those that moved to the island when they were 6 days old or have lived on-island for 55 years.  If they weren’t born here, they’re not “natives”.

Joel Gott is a Napa native, but the pedigree is only part of makes him so cute.  His grandfather was the winemaker and President of Inglenook.  His Mother started Montevina out of their basement.  His Dad began as the first cellar rat at Sterling and worked his way up to CEO, and also founded Corbett Canyon.  Joel’s wife, Sarah, was the winemaker at prestigious Joseph Phelps and Quintessa.  They have kids who will probably grow up to do cool things.

Joel Gott makes great wine for the $.  He owns a car wash , the beloved Palisades Market in Calistoga, and, most famously of all, Taylor’s Refresher.  Yes, the original Taylor’s in St Helena and the spiffy one in the Ferry Building in SFO and one in Oxbow.

Taylor's Refresher, St Helena

I don’t know which I love more: his Zin or his Texas Burger w/ Jack, fresh guac and pickled jalapenos paired w/ sweet potato fries?  What I do know is that combined they make for the perfect lunch.

I can accept that he is married, I don’t mind that he makes some bulk wines and I am happy about his recent deal with Trinchero.  I only hope that he will stay the same cool, down-to-earth dude making really good, smartly priced wines that I presently have a crush on.

I ♥ Joel Gott!
http://taylorsautomaticrefresher.com/

photos courtesy of: http://www.volunteer.blogs.com/winewaves/