First let me explain a little bit about the traffic flow in Napa. From highway 29, the First Street exit actually directs you to Second Street, which flows one way into the downtown area. Once there, First Street takes you back out of town, past some spectacular Victorians. Navigating the downtown area takes a little bit of practice on these one-way streets, but it is also small enough that you can park and walk to most of the shops and restaurants. That’s what we usually do. But this time, we parked near the area where the retail ends on First Street, at the western edge of downtown, and started visiting the establishments we had only seen from our car windows before. What we found was pretty amazing.

Kathleen Pfaff and Elizabeth Cameron c. Napa Valley Register

The first store we visited was a gorgeous gift shop named “West End Napa,” which opened in July of this year. The boutique features a beautiful array of gift and furniture items, including pillows, candles, leather chairs, pewter, glassware, serving pieces, books, artwork, and other objets d’art. The two proprietresses, Elizabeth Cameron and Kathleen Pfaff, have taken great care to stock the store with contemporary pieces that reflect the style of the Napa Valley, and in most cases are produced by local artisans. During our first visit, Laurie and I met Elizabeth, and had the most pleasant half-hour chat imaginable. I met Kathleen on a subsequent visit. During these visits we learned how the store came into being, about their philosophy on sourcing items, and about the backgrounds of the two owners. Without sharing all that info here, suffice to say these two are passionate not only about their store, but about Napa in general. And they are looking to bring more notoriety, and business, to this oft-neglected “west end” of Napa.

To that (west) end, they went out and talked to their neighboring retailers in the surrounding blocks and got many of them (eleven in total) to agree to be part of a loosely-formed association which works together to bring business in. They created “West End Wednesdays,” where each week the eleven stores welcome locals and visitors with in-store specials, discounts, and other promotions in order to boost mid-week business. With the exception of the Avia Hotel (which is in the process of being taken over by the Hyatt chain), all the participating stores are local and independently-owned.

While Elizabeth could have focused her efforts on selling us something from her own shop, she instead encouraged us to visit a couple of the other stores in the association. Just next door to her place is the Napa Valley Toffee Company, owned by Mike and Jeanette Beatty. The shop makes delicious home-made toffee, and also pours tastings of small boutique wines which it pairs with chocolates from Koller Chocolates in Yountville. They also have a coffee bar, which pulls in many residents from the Avia Hotel two doors down. Like Elizabeth and Kathleen, Jeanette and Mike are also following a dream, inspired by their love of chocolate and their belief that Napa is a town on the upswing.

Lynn Campagna, Napa Valley Kitchen Gallery c. Napa Patch

Just across the street from West End Napa and the Napa Valley Toffee Company is the Napa Valley Kitchen Gallery, owned by another highly-personable Napa resident, Lynn Campagna. Lynn recently moved to this new location from her old spot on Lincoln Avenue, and the space is magnificent. The store stocks an amazing selection of cookware, and displays the items such that you can actually see them. (I am sorry, but Sur La Table is just way too cluttered!) Plus, Lynn is extremely familiar with every item in the place, and can help you understand the benefits of one selection over another very quickly. It came as no surprise to me to learn that many of the best-known Napa chefs shop in this store for their knives and other cooking equipment. Lynn chatted with us about the West End group that Elizabeth and Kathleen started, and how great it has been to drive business to the area.  Besides the three shops and the hotel which I have already mentioned, the other members of the group are the Sala Salon, Gordon Huether Gallery, John Anthony Tasting Lounge, Lotus Salon & Spa, Napa Valley Toy Company, Eiko’s Restaurant, and Quent Cordair Fine Art.

Next time you are headed out of downtown Napa on First Street, take 30 minutes to park the car and wander the west end of Napa to see what many people pass right by. You will meet some really interesting and heartwarming people, and you’ll get a good sense of why so many people love living in this amazing town.

While many winemakers started picking fruit 6 weeks ago, that was primarily the Chardonnay and Pinot grapes used to make sparkling wines. They strive for lower sugars and higher acidity for their wines, so they pick earlier than the other varietals. Most of these grapes are found in the Carneros region, at the southern end of the valley. During my 5:30am commute it was eerie to see bright while lights illuminating the normally jet-black acres of landscape as the workers and their machinery picked the grapes before the sun came up, to keep the grapes cool.

As the weeks have passed the harvest has slowly moved up valley. More recently, grapes in our neighborhood were harvested, mostly chardonnay and pinot noir. The activity is noticed at all hours of the day; you see the trucks hauling bins of grapes up and down the valley, you hear the gondolas trundling down the cross streets, you see grape clusters dropped on the roadways that have fallen from the trucks, and you smell fermenting wine in the air. The unbelievably quiet nights we experienced during our first months here are now noisy at all hours, with the sounds of the trucks driving up and down highway 29 in the still of the night.

Even with all the activity, until this week, over 80% of the fruit in the Napa Valley was still on the vine. The cool weather this year has made this one of the latest harvests ever, much to the consternation of the winemakers. The recent rains caused a great deal of anxiety to form locally, because rain at this stage can wreak havoc on grapes, create mold, and slash yields (which are already down due to the early spring rain and the cool growing season.) Some wineries I know have already scrapped acres of fruit, due to not having enough juice in the berries, or because of the rains ten days ago, which means they won’t see as much revenue this year. It could be a scary situation for some small vintners.

Reading the papers, I notice that the growers all put a positive spin on things, saying that”although there is less fruit, the flavors are more concentrated,” that the early rains were “nature’s way of thinning the crop so we didn’t have to do it ourselves,” and other spins which will hopefully allow them to still claim a great product when they release their wine 1-3 years from now.

Anyway, back to the point of my story which is: Harvest started for real this week! The Cabernet makers started picking their grapes yesterday, and Cabernet is King here. Some of the vineyards (particularly in higher elevations) are very ready to pick. Others may not be quite ready yet, but growers fear the next rain storm about ten days from now and want to get the fruit off the vine now. And it does take awhile to get all those grapes off the vines when you are picking by hand, which the higher-end wineries do.

Also, remember that Cabernet is often a blend of grapes. So, the vintners in many cases are picking the Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec red grapes first, and leaving the Cab on the vine for a few more days during this heat wave to let the sugars increase.

I drove up the valley this morning at 6am, in the pitch darkness, to get a sense of the activity. There were lights high up in the hills that one never sees, where fields are lit by floodlights while workers harvest. Traffic was  much heavier than normal at this hour on all streets. I stopped and got out of the car, and inhaled deeply: a heady mix of cool air and yeasty wine aromas filled my lungs. It’s a palpable feeling around town; high energy, anticipation, nerves, perspiration, and exhaustion. In addition, the hotels and restaurants are all full with oenophiles who have made the pilgrimage to be here at this time.

My winemaker friends are posting photos and stories on Facebook; the high-profile owners are out cutting grapes at 1am alongside the migrant pickers. It’s all hands on deck, and it’s amazing to experience it as a local. The next two weeks should be really exciting to watch.

The Napa Valley has long been known for being a destination for outstanding wine and

Patio heater at Angele

food, and connoisseurs from all over the globe come here to drive (or weave) up and down Highway 29 to visit their favorite haunts. Historically, the town of Napa was considered to be a run-down farm town that one passed through on the way to all the nice towns, of St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, and Calistoga. No one ever stopped in Napa (except for gas) and certainly no one ate here. Establishments like Mustards, Brix, Tra Vigne, Rutherford Grill, Terra, Martini House (now closed, sadly) and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen were all popular, and still are.

More recently, Yountville became the center of the gastronomic universe in the valley, and in fact the whole town is ground zero for lodging and dining. It is easy to radiate out from Yountville by car to reach any of the other towns, and there is no shortage of places to rest your head and feed your hunger in a 4-block area of town. Yountville reminds me of Main Street in Disneyland, but for the well-heeled. The French Laundry sets the bar that no other restaurant in the country can reach, and other venues like Bouchon, Bottega, Ad Hoc, Redd, Bardessono and Hurley’s provide great alternatives in the tidy little burg.

Sonoma Duck Breast, Sautéed Chanterelles, Roasted Peaches, Summer Vegetables, Thyme Jus--Angele

But forgotten among all the upper-Valley noise is the little town of Napa, which has quietly been transforming itself into a great little destination of its own. While the economy has taken a bit of a toll the last three years, over the past ten years the city has spruced itself up, added some upscale lodging (with a Ritz-Carlton and a St. Regis on the drawing boards), and added some outstanding restaurants of its own. People who scoffed at Napa as they raced up the highway in the past are now learning that it is worth a visit, and that it provides very high quality at more modest prices than Yountville.

There are many great restaurants in Napa, some well-known with name Chefs like Morimoto’s and Tyler Florence’s Rotisserie & Wine. But two I wanted to note here offer outstanding food in unique surroundings with very good value.

Watermelon and melon salad with prosciutto, fresh herbs and edible flowers--Angele

Angele is located on the upscale riverfront attached to the Napa River Inn, a nice hoteloverlooking the river. The restaurant’s website offers this description: “We are a French country restaurant and bar offering refined bistro fare, wine and cocktails on the Napa Riverfront in the heart of downtown Napa. Our dining room, located in the historic 1890 ship’s chandlery now known as the Hatt Building, evokes the simple romance of the classic French brasserie, while our riverfront patio celebrates the region’s

Foie Gras au "Torchon" with compressed peaches, pistachio, peach consommé, warm beignets

temperate climate and relaxed atmosphere.” The bistro is managed by Bettina and Claude Rouas, who are well-pedigreed, including past successes at L’Etoile in San Francisco and Auberge de Soleil in Rutherford (Claude) and French Laundry, Bistro Jeanty and Bistro Don Giovanni (Bettina). Now they bring their flair and passion for authentic French fare to downtown Napa.

Braised Pork Ravioli, Peas, Fava Beans, Leeks, Pork Jus--Angele

We found the food to be outstanding, the service proficient and personable, and the patio location with high-tech heaters most delightful. Perhaps best of all, the pricetag, by valley standards, was surprisingly modest.

Just around the corner from Angele, at the other end of the same building, is Celadon. Their website offers this description: “Enjoy Celadon’s award-

Celadon Courtyard

winning ‘Global Comfort Food’ in our beautiful dining room or on the lovely courtyard. The seasonally influenced menu features flavors from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas. We are located in the Historic Napa Mill, downtown Napa’s exciting new entertainment complex.” Celadon offers a unique array of “small plates” and “big plates” so that you and your guests can craft a tasting menu of your own liking, and sharing is encouraged.

Crispy soy-braised pork belly with watermelon and daikon salad, sweet soy and fresh herbs--Celadon

Greg Cole is chef and owner, and he has his own amazing pedigree, which you can read on the website. He worked with acclaimed Chef Philippe Jeanty in the kitchen at Domaine Chandon, and also has worked in the wine business. Now,

Togarashi scallops with basmati rice and sweet corn, yuzu beurre blanc and carrot salad--Celadon

with Celadon and Cole’s Chop House under his helm, he provides two distinct and appetizing dining choices for folks who venture into downtown Napa.

We enjoyed the courtyard during our visit, which is a lovely and somewhat rustic covered seating area which was visually quite appealing. The menu choices were quite varied, and

everything we had was delicious. Our only quibble was that the wine prices seemed quite overpriced, and caused our dinner to be more expensive than we would have liked. (a bottle of Kosta Browne pinot, which I am able to buy for $52 as a wine club member, was priced at $160. Ouch.)

Silverado trail strawberry shortcake--Celadon

So if you go (and I do highly recommend it!), consider taking your own wine and paying the corkage ($15 per bottle) and you will feel better about the evening.

There are many other fine establishments in Napa, and eventually I will write about some of them, so that we can give proper respects to this newly-revitalized southern part of the beautiful Napa Valley.

Our friends at Chappellet (loyal readers will remember my postings about this wonderful winery) informed us about a first-ever event that involved five of the wineries up on Pritchard Hill, high above the valley floor in St. Helena. The five wineries (Chappellet, David Arthur, Ovid, Montagne and Continuum) pooled their member lists and invited them to this exclusive ($150 p.p.) luncheon and tasting, which lasted from 11am-4:30pm. It was a creative way for the wineries to expose their bottlings to other well-heeled consumers who already appreciated the wines that come from this unique growing region. A couple of the wineries on the hill (like Colgin and Bryant Family), who have no trouble selling their wines, chose not to participate, or took an “I’ll wait and see how successful this is” approach, and they may regret not having participated. The event was a rip-roaring success.

We assembled at the parking lot for the Lake Hennessey dam at 11am where four wine country coaches were waiting to shuttle the 90 or so guests up the hill. The entrance to Pritchard Hill is about 3 miles up highway 128 east of the Silverado Trail. Once you get to the right address, you turn up one of the driveways and proceed two more miles up steep, twisting roads until you are on a plateau overlooking the Napa Valley. This area (and all of Pritchard Hill only has about 300 acres of vineyards, along with many oak trees, deer, snakes and who knows how many other types of wildlife) varies from about 900 to 12oo feet in elevation, high enough that it is often above the fog that usually shrouds the valley on summer mornings. This microclimate creates a tremendous terroir for Cabernet Sauvignon, and those wines were to be the star attractions at the afternoon on the hill.

After boarding the coaches we were joined by a spokesperson from one of the wineries who told us of the day’s agenda while we rode up the hill. Soon we disembarked at the winery of David Arthur, where we were greeted by a glorious view, all of the winery owners and winemakers, and a glass of Cabernet Rose. (The rose was delicious, and for the life of me I can’t tell you whose wine it was. None of the wineries we visited market a rose wine, so it was someone’s experiment, and if I had to guess, I’d guess it was from Tim Mondavi’s Continuum Estate.)

 Then we mingled with the other guests and talked to the owners and winemakers, who were all eager to chat and share backgrounds. A guitarist played somewine-sipping music as we talked. We had a lovely discussion with Carissa Mondavi, who helped us understand the various factions of the Mondavi family and their respective histories. Continuum is one of the newer vineyards at the top of Pritchard Hill, and while they have made wine there for a couple of years, there is no winemaking operation or building there as yet. However, after lunch we would attend a ground-breaking ceremony at their site just over the crest of the hill.

Eventually we were asked to be seated, and we took two seats at a table in the shade of a magnificent oak tree. We met the other guests at the table, and were pleasantly surprised to have Jon-Mark Chappellet and his wife Colleen join us as our “hosts.” We met Jon-Mark back at the Farmstead wine dinner in June, but this was the first time meeting Colleen, who is as sweet and charming as anyone could be.

There were introductions from the five hosts and hostesses, while we enjoyed a crisp Chenin Blanc produced in very limited quantities by the Chappellet family. (I have a new quest!) My mother used to drink Chenin Blanc, and it was far too sweet for my tastes today. This, however, was light, crisp and dry and was perfect for a summer afternoon.

Soon the platters of food started coming out, which we passed family-style around the table. (It was excellent, by the way, and I regret I did not snap photos of it.) At the same time, servers walked out of the vineyards carrying decanters of red wine, which they poured at each table. Over the next 90 minutes, they poured five different decanters of wine, each representing the still-in-barrel signature Cabernets of  our five winery hosts. As each wine was served, the owner got up to talk about his or her wine, and tell a little bit about the wine-making philosophy, the history of the family and property, and the terrain. Pritchard Hill is marked by an incredibly rocky soil, which creates complications when creating the vineyards. Much expensive excavation must be done to prepare the ground. All of the vintners commented on this, and talked about how the rocky soil causes the vines to “struggle,” which in turn yields better fruit. All I can tell you is, all five of the 2010 barrel tastings were outstanding. The Chappellet is quite drinkable already, even though it is two years from being marketable. The other four wines, while needing more time to even out, all are full-bodied, have great tannic structure, are “big” wines, and have wonderful color. I can’t wait for these wines to come out in a couple of years. If it is possible to make a mental note while drinking wine all afternoon, I made one.

As I mentioned, each of the owners got to talk about his wine, and it was fun to get to learn a little about everyone. I especially enjoyed hearing from Tim Mondavi (who has a well-earned reputation for long presentations!) and David Long, whose parents started David Arthur Vineyards. David explained that we were all sitting beneath the oak tree that his parents used to sit under when David was a child. We were in a special place, and we all felt privileged to be here.

After lunch we got back in the buses and headed up and over and around the hill to Continuum. We were served lemonade in mason jars, handed cute little parasols, and walked out onto the rocky terrain to a bulldozer. Tim and Marcie Mondavi climbed up on the rig and talked to us about where we were standing, the significance of the location (and the winery’s name), and told us what was about to be built. Then they hopped down, did a ceremonial ground-breaking with giant corkscrew, and then we adjourned up to the lawn area of the house that is on the property where we enjoyed even more wine and food.

Here, each of the wineries served their 2008 (or 2007 in the case of Montagne) Cabernets, which is what they are selling now. There was also a vast selection of cured meats and cheeses from The Fatted Calf charcuterie in Napa to nibble on as we imbibed. The guitarist continued to play while we sat at tables under umbrellas and enjoyed the stunning views of the Napa Valley beneath us. More wine? Sure. It’s delicious.

A separate table was set aside for those wishing to order some of the wines, but the sales pitch was so low-key it was almost unnoticeable. Of course, we bought some, most of which needs to sit for another couple of years.

Finally, about 4:15, the coaches started taking us back down the hill as we were ready. It had been a sensational day, with many new friends to stay in touch with, and many new wines to catalog. We are already looking forward to next year.