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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
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I fell in love with this hidden gem of the Napa Valley, the old Groezinger family winery in Yountville California, over 20 years ago. The main two buildings of this old property, now comprise the V Marketplace , and are in between two stunning Inns, the Villagio Inn & Spa , and the Vintage Inn . We are fortunate enough to have found space for both a flagship NapaStyle store, and my new restaurant. 
When I first came to the Napa Valley in 1986, I used to hear stories about the original "Napa Valley Cooking School," which held classes in a small restaurant space in the building which will now occupy my new restaurant. It was later known as the Chutney Kitchen (run by the prior owners of the French Laundry , Don & Sally Schmidt). This "school" was at that time a quite well orchestrated series of cooking and food/wine pairing classes hosted by the Napa Valley's old guard. The Eisele's, the Trefethen's , Belle & Barney Rhodes, Tom and Martha May, and many others who put on a great series to develop the palate around the Napa Valley's then young wine industry.
Its location later moved to Trefethen Winery , and in a fun twist of history, I filmed my last three years of Food Network Shows at the old cooking school space at Trefethen. (Can you tell I love the heritage of a place?) I tell many of the stories of those pioneering winemakers in my book, Napa Stories, as I wanted that history preserved.
I thought you might like to take a peek at the raw space, original brick and beams, and watch it as it grows into our new NapaStyle Store, Panini cafe, wine tasting room and demonstration center.
Ciao for now.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 May 2008 )
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Vineyard Musings: Why John Deere put Lights on Tractors |
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
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As a farmer with a day job, farming has become a big outlet for stress relief. And since I do my day job when the sun is up, that means if I want to get on my tractor it’s usually at night.
Right now I’m using my tractor for weed control. I have this 3,000,000 BTU clean fuel flame thrower that tows behind my tractor. It torches the weeds, they all die back, and everything’s good because then I don’t have to use any chemicals to get rid of the stuff. The neighbors are always surprised, wondering what’s going on... it causes quite a stir when they see 5-foot flames coming out from behind a tractor driving through the vineyards in the middle of the night.
And the sound - the sound of doing all this in the vineyard with nothing else going on in the evening - is incredible. Normally, in wine grape farming, the only time you work at night is when you’re spraying. That’s because there’s no wind and the relative humidity’s high; so it’s good for that. But for me, if I’m mowing or plowing or discing or spading or flame-throwing my weeds down in the vineyard rows, all those things can be done at night. In the dark and the silence you almost feel like you are scuba diving.
When I’m doing this work I find it’s the only place where I get 100% unplugged. The most plugged in I get is connecting the headset of the iPod I have tucked into my Carhartt jacket. So it’s just me, the vineyard and a little music. 
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 May 2008 )
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Creating the “left bank” of Yountville, California . . . my latest project! |
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
I have to say, I’m having crazy amounts of fun these days. I’m working on a new dream, a flagship store in Yountville, California, with an adjacent new restaurant. My restaurant will open this fall, (2008), and our NapaStyle store in June of this year.
When building something for the Napa Valley, which I call “America’s Tuscany,” I realize that I have to stretch far beyond what we’ve previously done, and build upon experiences that you have come to love at NapaStyle in our other five locations.
With this in mind, I selected the beautiful grounds of Vintage Estates, in the culinary heart of the Napa Valley, Yountville. The Vintage Estates is an old historic property dating back to the 1870’s, with two hotels on the grounds, the Villagio Inn & Spa, and the Vintage Inn. Also on this property is the V Marketplace, offering travelers and locals a wonderful selection of shopping.
NapaStyle Yountville will have a wonderful set of things for you, starting with a full demonstration kitchen – so watch for events and classes – and a fully visible curing room for all my new all natural cured meats. You’ll be able to enjoy a glass or bottle of wine, a panini, freshly made favorites of mine, like our Parmesan Dip or Artichoke and White Bean spread – outside on our patio – since we have a tasting room, wine shop, and a café at this store. Enjoy blending your own olive oil out of our large fustini, and smell then sample our just-made spice rubs as we blend them daily.
In the evenings, after the store is closed, the center of the store will be on wheels so we can roll out a demonstration kitchen where we’ll do different cooking demos. And for big parties we can do private parties and dinner theater - see your dinner being prepared as a demonstration while you’re eating it course by course. But I have done it a few times and it’s just huge fun.
So we’re excited about this, that we are opening a store where people can come any time of the day and get picnic provisions, enjoy a glass of wine outside in the beautiful Napa Valley, ship home memorability of their trip to Napa Valley, or some of the things we design such as furniture and cookware. And as you know, I’m a fan of culinary antiques, like vintage chopping blocks from Europe, and vintage wine-making equipment that is simply the best for wine lovers everywhere.
Stay tuned for more about my new television show, with live studio audience, and of course, more about my new restaurant in Yountville. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 28 April 2008 )
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