Napa Valley Wineries Need to Go on the Offensive to Keep Tourism Alive and Well

There is trouble ahead for Napa Valley wineries in 2009 and maybe beyond. You might think that all California wineries will suffer equally, but Napa wineries may be more vulnerable. A trip to the Napa Valley costs more than going to Paso Robles, Mendocino, or the Russian River wine region. Lodging and restaurants are more expensive, tasting room fees are higher, and on average, the cost of a bottle of wine is more expensive in the Napa Valley.

Since January we have been to the Napa Valley on three separate occasions. Granted we always visit during the week but almost every tasting room we have been into has been empty, void of visitors. Where are the tourists? In each tasting room we have heard the same lament about winter months being slow, but never this slow. The outlook for visitors the rest of the year does not look good. The San Francisco Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is predicting a drop in European and Asian travelers and in corporate travel by U.S. companies. No company wants to look bad for taking unnecessary travel junkets. More tourists are traveling on a beer budget.

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Napa Valley Zinfandel at the ZAP Festival – Fort Mason

The 18th annual ZAP Festival drew its usual mass of crowds to Fort Mason in San Francisco on a very beautiful and sunny Saturday, the last day of January 2009. The ZAP festival is strictly for Zinfandel lovers. An amazing 250 wineries were packed into two pavilions at Fort Mason pouring their Zinfandel wines. Luckily for us, we were part of the media and were able to get into the 10am to 1pm session for trade and media only. After that, the public comes in, and it becomes almost a tasting frenzy of 10,000 or so thirsty wine lovers searching for the perfect Zinfandel wine.

For three hours we tasted and spit out about 100 different Zinfandel wines from 70 wineries. One thing for sure, the economy has not driven down the price of Zins. Most of the ones we tried and liked were well above the $25 mark. The Turley Napa topped the list at $75. What a wonder they were pouring such an expensive wine. Could the reason be because no one is buying a $75 Zinfandel given the present economy?

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Frias Family Vineyards, a Little Known Winery on Spring Mountain

When you think of wines made from Spring Mountain, what immediately comes to mind are wineries like Smith-Madrone, Spring Mountain Vineyard, Pride Mountain, Paloma, or Keenan, wineries that are in the cult or mystic category of wine. But there is a little known Spring Mountain winery that is working hard to become a part of this famed wine community, the Frias Family Vineyards.

We stumbled on this winery when we met owner Manny Frias at an Olympic Club event in San Francisco. Soon afterwards, we made arrangements to visit his ranch on Spring Mountain. Two of Manny’s five children assist him in the operation of the winery. Manny Jr. does the PR and sales and son Fernando attends to the business end of the winery.

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Step Back in Time — The Napa Valley in January

January is the slowest month in the Napa Valley. Any tasting room worker will tell you that they get the fewest visitors in January and their workdays just seem to drag. People tend to stay away from the Napa Valley during January for various reasons. The weather is unpredictable and there are no major events taking place in the Napa Valley until the Mustard Festival that begins officially on January 31st. People are recovering from the Holidays and are still keeping their New Year’s resolution about eating and drinking less, exercising more, and saving money. Nonetheless, this may be one of the most enjoyable times to visit the Napa Valley. You will almost get the feel of what the Valley was like 40 years ago. The Napa Valley is quiet and peaceful during January.

If you want even more of an escape to the olden days, spend time in Calistoga. Calistoga is a folksy town, more country-like and less posh than Yountville or St. Helena. Much of Calistoga looks and feels the same as it did 40 years or more ago. Just venture into the Calistoga Inn and you will see what I mean.

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Napa Valley Wineries Making Albariño: Is This a Trend?

There are at least four wineries in the Napa Valley and Carneros that are making an Albariño wine. Could this be the beginning of a hot new wine in California? Albariño is a Spanish grape found in the area of Spain known as Galicia, in the wine region of Rias Baixes. The grape needs a cool and damp environment to thrive.

Here in the Napa Valley and Carneros the Albariño grape is grown only in the cool climate of the Carneros region and on Hendry Ranch. Both of these wine areas are in close proximity to the San Pablo Bay. The winds from the Bay provide cooling temperatures to both these areas during most of the growing season. The wineries that produce an Albariño in the Napa Valley and Carneros are Hendry Winery, Havens Vineyards, Mahoney Vineyards, and Artesa. An Albariño wine is a refreshing wine with lemony characteristics and good acidity. In Spain, this wine is very popular with all types of seafood. A huge amount of Spanish Albariño is exported to the U.S where the demand is increasing annually.

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Looking Back at 2008: Napa Valley’s Top Wine Stories

The Napa Valley Destination Council
The Napa Valley Destination Council, formerly the Napa Valley Conference and Visitors’ Bureau, not only changed its name but its focus. On October 1st, it unexpectedly closed the downtown tourist office located in Napa in the Town Center. The Napa Downtown Merchants Association practically staged a coup, forcing the Council to re-open on a permanent basis. The Napa Valley Destination Council launched a new theme along with a website: Legendary Napa Valley.

2008 Auction Napa Valley raises $10 million
Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey were on hand at the 28th annual charity event. The top auction bid by a single bidder was $500,000 for six magnums of 1992 Screaming Eagle and a dinner at the winery.

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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars — Mystery 1972 Vintage, New Owners not Interested

Stag’s Leap Cellars literally leaped into fame when it was a mere six years old. The winery stunned the wine world when its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon was selected as the best of the best at the famed 1976 Judgment of Paris. The Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon topped the first-growth French Bordeaux wines, shocking the French. The event gave credence to the Napa Valley as a bonified wine region of the world. Stag’s Leap Cellars has always touted this 1973 wine as its first vintage. But my wine friend Mike Beltran recently discovered something very interesting that had been hiding deep in his wine cellar, three bottles of 1972 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. How could this be?

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Napa Valley – Bits & Pieces of Wine News

More Economy Wine News

My latest Newsweek issue contains an article entitled “Toast to the Slump.” In the article Newsweek reports that sales of wines under $9 have increased 5.3 percent while premiums wine sales have declined 10 percent, all this according to a recent Nielson finding. The article also mentions that the wine consumer can find plenty of wine sales with more to come. The article is on page 62 of the December 22th issue of Newsweek.

I had to laugh at one sale item offered by Salvestrin Winery. The winery is having a wine sale based on the theme of The 12 Days of Christmas. Each day the winery offers something different for sale. On the Ninth Day, the sale included three of their wonderful wines and a half bag of their Estate grown walnuts, all for $89. That’s a first, wine and walnuts for sale together. If they had done a full bag of walnuts I may have gone for the deal.

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Napa Valley Cabernets Under $20 at Costco

At my local Costco in Foster City, California, I found two very good Napa Valley Cabernets selling for under $20. The 2005 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet is selling for $18.49 but until December 24th, or while supplies last, you can buy any number of bottles with a Costco coupon for $4.00 off that price. I checked Wine-Searcher.com and found this wine selling for $17 to $24 at wine shops across the country. K&L Wines is selling this wine for $19.99. On the Mondavi Website, this wine is not listed, but the 2006 vintage of this wine is selling for $28 a bottle. The Wine Enthusiast gives the 2005 wine 91 points, and Wine & Spirits gives it a 90-point rating. Mondavi must have made a ton of this wine. 2005 was a record harvest and most wineries were not about to turn wine juice loose on the bulk market. The last time they did that, Charles Shaw wine became famous. The wine was moving quickly and it appeared that many savvy buyers thought this was a very good deal at $14.49. I quickly got caught up in the frenzy and snagged a case.

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Copia is “Out of Business”

Last Thursday, I posted some ideas for saving Copia. Apparently, I was way off the mark, not knowing the demise of Copia was only a day a way. The Napa Valley Register reported that Copia had abruptly closed its doors on Friday. Ticket holders for events were out in the cold. The sign on the … Read more