Unpacking Napa -- Corporate or the Little Guy

It's wonderful when a brand new reader gives you an idea for a post. What happens though when she gives you just enough information to know that you have a topic, but don't know if it is how she wanted you to cover it.

To most Americans, when they thing good wine, they think Napa Valley. Wedged among among a number of smaller mountain ranges, primarily the Mayacamas and Vaca, and plentiful bodies of water including San Pablo Bay that provides for the massive diurnal temperature differences in the southern part of the valley, Lake Berryessa in the northeast, and the Napa River that winds its way through the county, its a near perfect setup for growing, in particular, Cabernet Sauvignon that made Napa famous. With its now seemingly permanent drough-like conditions, hot summers with cool nights in much of the Valley, and enough natural sources of irrigation, winemakers are able to produce high alcohol content, ultra-expressive wines the likes of which are rarely seen elsewhere. While many traditionalists hate it, these bombs have become the signature American wine.

As a result, wine drinking tourists from all over the country and many parts of the world want to visit Napa Valley and its wineries. This has driven up wine prices precipitously, but that increase in price and price potential has caused another phenomenon -- the rise of corporate-owned wineries that have taken over the family-owned establishments.

As much as I would like to criticize the families that owned the wineries, it's hard to blame them. For many who bought and farmed the land 40 to 70 years ago, the original owners have died and their children just weren't interested. Even for those who are still active, they're not young anymore and I'll be the first one to tell you that I don't have the energy I had 50 years ago. 

What would you do if you had a winery for which you originally paid $1million or less and someone walked up to you and offered you more than 100 times that? If you said you would ignore the offer and continue on, I'm not sure I believe you.

So, when wine-drinking tourists visit Napa Valley, they go on their way to visit a bunch of wineries. Often, that is on a guided tour and often with many other neophytes to the wine tourist adventures. So, you'll be shuttled around in a passenger van for a day (or more if you choose more) to about half a dozen wineries. 

Early on, you notice a stark difference. At some, there are massive wine bars at which you stand and get far less than individual attention. Some nice person who has probably been working in that tasting room for 3 months or less and will be gone somewhere else in another 3 months explains your options. They pour you the first glass, give you their rehearsed lines about what you are supposed to taste, and return a few minutes later to ask you which wine you are on. As they serve you your last glass, they ask you what you would like to take home with you. While you might recognize the names you are drinking, it's highly likely these wines are no longer crafted the way they were before one of the large wine corporations acquired them.

It's not likely you will be taken to one of the usually far smaller family-owned and operated establishments that made me fall in love. The hallmark there is the personal treatment you get. If you really like something, they are happy to pour you a bit more. Your server knows the wines from that winery. It's not unlikely that they will have been there for several years. The owners treat them like a daughter or son or perhaps they are an owner or daughter or son. They will sit or stand and talk with you about the wines, learn about you, and tell you about them. You might hear about how they got into the business and about the evolution of their winery. They'll serve you wines in which they are personally invested and the pride will show. Three in particular stand out to me (as usual, I won't give names).

On our second trip to Napa Valley, rather than doing a group tour, we did an individual one -- just the two of us. At one of our first stops, we were greeted by a middle-aged lady. Our driver announced us and we looked around to see one other couple in there. As our hostess poured us each some Sauvignon Blanc, we made acquaintances. She wanted to know about us, what we liked (that has evolved over time), what we didn't. She asked what we thought of each wine. She gladly poured us more if we wanted. We had a very personal experience. In fact, it was so personal that the first time we went back, they closed the tasting room for our visit that started with breakfast in the proprietor's home on the property. That is family-owned.

The next one was one we really knew nothing about. We once had a bottle of their wine in a restaurant, really liked it and endeavored to visit. It took two years of trying. Our instructions were to drive to a particular landmark and pull over and park and call. The rain was coming down (this was late April) in a way that Napa rarely knows. It was near blinding. Pulling out, we did as we were instructed. Go past the white picket fence, make a U-turn, look for a tiny opening, and head up the side of the mountain. Arriving at the top, a young gentleman greeted us. He took us inside the most pedestrian tasting room, if you could call it one, and there we saw 13 opened bottles of wine. I just opened them when you called was what he told us. We asked him how many people were coming to visit that day and he informed us that it was just the two of us. Everything was there for us to enjoy and while he wanted to sell us wine and he did, the experience was so personal. On our next visit there, we had lunch with his dad while tasting their wine.

Finally, there was another winery that had just gotten some off-the-charts stellar reviews on their wine. Located in a you can't get there from anywhere place, they only take one party at a time. Our host was youngish and had fallen in love with the wines of this winery before starting to work there. After tasting for about 20 minutes, we asked if the winemaker was around and if he migth have 5 minutes to talk with us. We were told he was busy, but he might come through. And he did. And we talked for 90 minutes tasting with us. And, on his way out, he grabbed us a bottle of wine from a storage area and told us to take it with us to have back at our bed and breakfast that evening. The wines there are very pricey as this is exclusive and difficult to work land, but the few bottles we have had have been exceptional. And, we will never forget the bottle we were gifted for presumably just being nice, interested, and interesting (I know, none of you think I am any of those things).

So, that's the little guy. 

Do me a favor. If you go out there, find some time to look up and patronize the little guys.