As financial markets shrivel and jobs wither away in the icy blast of recession, some aspects of the wine industry nevertheless appear to be plumping up like grapes in season: According to press reports in Wines and Vines and winebusiness.com, growers in Napa County are seeking to add some 1,000 additional acres of vines, while a 1 million-gallon custom crush plant is under construction on the Sonoma side of Carneros.
Napa County officials have to approve (or deny) much of the proposed new plantings, because these vineyards are largely planned for hillsides that fall under strict erosion-control rules. But the custom crush facility, owned by Carneros Vintners—itself owned by The Vintners Group, founded by the family behind the mammoth Lodi Vintners custom crush plant in the Central Valley—expects to be ready in plenty of time for this season’s harvest. Starting at 1 million gallons, the Carneros plant will be capable of expanding to three times that capacity as business increases. And why shouldn’t business increase? Even in hard times—perhaps, especially in hard times—people need to raise a glass of wine.
Meanwhile, for those who still have some cash to flash, Wine Country has plenty of elbow room in its luxury arena these days. The “guest experiences director” at the just-opened Bardessono Inn & Spa in Yountville (see “Hometown Luxury”) will welcome you to your solar-heated, geothermally cooled, hypoallergenic room with organic linens and “deep green” appointments. The new inn charges $600 and up for one night. Seem steep? Consider that the developers spent an estimated 10 percent more than a conventional, non-green-seeking version of the project would have cost. It’ll take a while to make back the costs on this one. Meanwhile, your $600-and-up brings you not only the room—equipped for spa services as well as for private comfort—but round-the-clock room service, French-pressed coffee, “spa butlers” and a hospitality team helmed by Roger Young, an alumnus of Yosemite’s venerable and adored Ahwahnee Hotel.
Although it replaces the farmstead and vineyard that gave it its name, the Bardessono has to be a boost for the little town of Yountville, which derives much of its income from hotel taxes. And there’s good news for diners, too, with the Bardessono’s new restaurant joining Redd, Hurley’s, Bouchon and the rest of the stars in Yountville’s constellation of high-end eateries. Staffed with veterans who’ve worked with Alice Waters, Michael Mina and other ultrachefs, the inn’s food and beverage staff includes a mixologist, certified sommelier and even a culinary gardener, edible-flower expert Noel Lopreore, who superintends a half-acre certified-organic garden off-site as well as four large beds on the Bardessono property.
Another new hotel, the Westin Verasa in Napa’s eastside Oxbow district, offers Napa Valley visitors a more affordable but still lush lodging experience. With walking access to downtown, many restaurants, the Wine Train and the ever-changing Oxbow Public Market, the Westin also has conference and party facilities and two restaurants: Ken Frank’s famed La Toque, relocated from Rutherford, and the more informal Bank bar, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from Frank’s kitchen.
And while you’re luxuriating in the Napa Valley, why not skip the crowds and try some high-end wine touring? For $275 apiece, including up-valley limo transportation, Bennett Lane Winery offers an impressive tasting program called “Varietals, Fruit and Flavor.” On a press run-through last fall, we tasted reds and whites with winemaker Rob Hunter and hospitality manager Stefanie Longton. (My favorites were the fragrant white Maximus and the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.) They then invited us into the cellar for a “sensory evaluation seminar” that included smelling different components (brown sugar, dried cherries, fresh raspberries, French oak, dust and so on); after which we were each presented with four glasses, one each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah and one for blending.
We used pipettes and measured flasks to help calculate the blends we created, and then Hunter and Longton actually made up a take-home 750 mL bottle of each blend, labeled with the name of its creator. After that, we had some grilled chicken and salads, and Hunter toured us through the Bennett Lane “petting vineyard,” showing us the leaf shapes of different varietals and even letting us taste some late-hanging grapes. A streamlined version of this custom-blending tour, without the vineyard walk and sensory evaluation seminar, is available for $175: Ask for the “Put a Cork in It” experience, at (707) 942-6684 or www.bennettlane.com.
Or for a mere $25, you can take an insider’s tour of one of the most visually astounding properties in a countryside abounding with chateaux. Quixote Winery, an appointment-only destination in the Stags Leap District, is the result of an inspired collaboration between Napa vintner Carl Doumani and Viennese designer Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), who together spent a decade creating the colorful, fantastic complex (see “The Architecture of Paradise”). Trees, plants and grasses grow on the roof; a gilded onion dome surmounts Doumani’s office, itself a gallery of contemporary art and craft works. There’s even museum-quality work in the reception area, which also includes a crooked, German Expressionist-style bookshelf laden with enticing volumes—I looked longingly at an antique “Cyrano de Bergerac” on my last visit.
After a leisurely tour of the winery’s marvels with Doumani’s designated “Revel Rouser,” Lew Price, guests settle in around the table to sample some of Quixote’s prized, organically farmed Stags Leap reds. That can be an odd experience when, as once happened to me, most in the tour group are more interested in the art and design than in the wines: I kept stealing glances at one high-tech guru, who sat flipping through a newsmagazine after a barely perfunctory sip of Quixote’s luscious Petite Sirah (or as Doumani obstinately labels it, Petite Syrah). Best if your group appreciates both wine and design, Quixote is unlike any other winery in the Napa Valley and, quite likely, on the planet.
(707) 944-2659, www.quixotewinery.com.
