DESTINATION CALIFORNIA:
NAPA
VALLEY
"CRUSH"
TIME
Vineyards
cover Napa Valley's
rollinghills
All
around that famous wine
growing area known as NapaValley,wineries
concentrate on harvest time. Just before the
leaves begin
to turn, those fragile grapes, hanging heavily from the vines of
hundreds of
vineyards across the valley, are finally ready for the wine making
process.
Meanwhile, contents of specially chosen barrels in vineyard
‘cellars’ are bottled and displayed, ready for tweaks and critiques.
Fall is
tasting time in NapaValley.
Fall Crush
season
brings the biggest rush of visitors, resembling the elite version of a
pub crawl, but Napa is a
year-round destination.
More than 120 wineries open to the public distribute
over 400 brands. Along with the excellent wines, visitors are drawn by
their tasting room décor,
architecture, artwork and
elegant landscaping. Connoisseurs flock to
Fetzer, Mondavi, Benziger, Domaine for sips of the new cabs and
chardonnays, while leaving time to discover what the less publicized
smaller vineyards have produced.
Dedicated oenophiles are also
‘foodies,’ and Napa shines
in
that field, too. Think
internationally
known French Laundry(named
once again among the top five restaurants in the world) and the
Michelin starred La Toque
for starters. Charming inns, unique spas, museums, farmers' markets and
shopping for unusual
arts and crafts are all part of a week in Wine Country.
Napa
comes from the language of the area’s
native Wappo
Indians, and means ‘land of
plenty.’ They had at their disposal—rivers
full of
fish, verdant forests, rolling hills, a gentle
climate and fertile soil
for crops. However, life
did not remain
serene in this newly found Utopia. Word of all these attributes quickly
spread,
and by the late 1840s the
Wappos
no longer had the valley to themselves, thanks to an
invasion of lumber
mills and
quicksilver mines.
The Silverado
Mine dried up in 1875 after
just three years of operation. Then in 1893, an
outbreak of phylloxera, a serious grapevine disease, crippled many of
the 140 wineries
in existence at that time. But the most devastating blow came in
1920 when the notorious
Prohibition law was enacted. Only a handful of vintners survived this
crisis by
selling sacramental wines to churches and grapes to home brewers.
After a
shutdown of 13 years,
the valley regained its purpose through hard work
and determination.
Today, the name Napa Valley has become
synonymous with great California wines, sought by consumers all over
the world.
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NAPA--OLD TOWN, NEW LOOK
Shepp Fountain, in the
riverside courtyard of Napa River Inn, tells the history of Napa and surrounding valley via thousands of
colorful
tiles. This mosaic mural by Alan Shepp depicts Napa life from the Wappo Indians on to those
first Italian grape growers. Tiles trail on the
ground to
indicate the Napa River flowing with plenty. No longer a bystander, Napa is now headquarters for day tours to other
wine country
points.
Resurgence began with the November, 2001
opening of
Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. Copia’s
beautiful design of
glass and open spaces offers changing displays representing the
wine/food/ arts
theme. Wine
Spectator’s
lobby bar offers free tastings twice daily, and high-tech wine
‘machines’
dispense a taste, half glass or full glass via purchased card. Cooking
classes, herb
garden walks, wine pairing luncheons, wine classes (including making
your own), movies, outdoor performances,
a gift
shop and Julia Child restaurant all form the Copia experience.
The historic
riverside 1884 Hatt Building, formerly a grain then a flour mill, now
houses Hatt Market and upscale Napa River Inn. Grain chutes,
storage
tanks and
other antique equipment cleverly blend into today’s structure, keeping
history
alive. Other tenants include General Store
with a
patio café, Sweetie Pies bakery serving breakfast and lunch,
boutique shops and
two upscale restaurants.
The
massive Oxbow
Public Market, a recent addition next to Copia, features rows
of stalls where 22 vendors sell everything from cheeses to
chocolates. Authentic
tools at Olive Press remind one of Napa Valley’s other thriving business; and Anette’s
yummy sweets
draw
crowds. A spacious deck at Oxbow Wine restaurant overlooks the river,
while its
counterpart Hog Island Oyster Company occupies the
street
side. Farmer stands are manned outdoors seasonally. Inside, Oxbow
Produce
displays fresh organic and local harvests daily.
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