UP AND DOWN THE WINE ROADS With George Starke
IT WAS A GLORIOUS WEEK with invigorating mornings and warm afternoons with cotton-puff clouds in blue skies. Vines have begun to leaf out, beginning their joy of producing fruit for some of the best wines in one of the most beautiful places in the country.
During this beautiful weather, 400 physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dietitians, chefs, etc. attended a four-day program of educational meetings, titled “Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives,” sponsored by Harvard Medical School at the CIA. I attended a session on the subject, “Wine, the Latest Research on the Health Impacts.” Dr. Eric Rimm of the Harvard Medical School faculty, who has studied wine and health for several decades, could not be present. He sent a video presentation of his research on the components in wine and their impact on health. In his research, he eliminated gender, ethnic background, lifestyle and other factors. He found that moderate consumption of wine decreases the risk of heart attacks by 25 to 30 percent, and that the most effective benefit of wine comes from the increase of HDL (the good cholesterol), thus increasing longevity. People who drink wine, he said, live longer than those who don’t.
WANDERING ON: Easter will be celebrated in restaurants from Calistoga to Napa with special holiday fare. Choices in St. Helena include Silverado Brewing Company, offering entrees around Niman Ranch rack of lamb, roast beef, Dungeness crab, poached salmon, honey-glazed ham and more. The fare for Easter dining at Martini House will be built around roasted tenderloin of lamb. Domaine Chandon’s Etoile restaurant in Yountville will offer Easter specials of tenderloin of beef and smoked salmon.
Personnel Newz: Michaela Rodino is retiring as CEO from St. Supery Winery. Her replacement will be Emma Swain, who currently is prez. Stacy Clark, winemaker at Pine Ridge Winery, has left after 25 years to seek new opportunities (it might be a fair bet that she starts her own winery). Clark’s replacement is Michael Beaulac, former winemaker at St. Supery. Joel Aiken is leaving Beaulieu after 27 years, but will continue to consult for a year.
Dick and Ann Grace, Grace Family Vineyards, have sent letters to their loyal customers on the winery’s mailing list, stating that, in view of the current economic difficulties, they have tried to find the best way to make it possible for them to accept the offering of its Blank Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. They are asking their customers to do their best to make a full or partial payment upon placing their orders. But if it’s impossible to pay the interest-free balance, they may consider the remaining balance as a gift — no questions asked. The Grace Family is doing this because “they have been so blessed to have enjoyed 33 years in the wine industry, that it is an appropriate way to say thank you to their loyal clients … and are confident that they will end up with a zero balance.” I can’t imagine any wineries being so magnanimous, but then those of us who know Dick and Ann are not surprised.
Speaking of being grateful for success in the wine industry — Last Thursday, Margaux Singleton, founder and proprietress of the Enoteca wine shop in Calistoga, held a party for some of her loyal friends to thank them and to celebrate her success as a winemaker and the release of her cabernet sauvignon, made from the famous Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard. Singleton believes this wine (labeled MX) is unique because “it is the first time anyone has made a wine utilizing all of the clones and varietal components represented in the vineyard.” She also celebrated the release of her Amnesia Zinfandel, whose fruit came from Howard and Lyndal Walker’s vineyard in Calistoga.
If you have any room on your calendars, you might jot down Friday, April 24, as the day that the Calistoga Educational Foundation will hold its 22nd annual, fundraising event, “Celebrate the Arts,” at the Castello di Amorosa. The festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m., with a reception and silent auction in the castle courtyard lasting until 7:30, followed by the main event, which features a live auction in the Great Hall from 7:30 to 10:30. For info, call 494-4345.
CABOOSE ITEM: More kudos for Napa Valley. Food and Wine Magazine has listed nine chefs as “the best in the nation” and among them is Christopher Kostow of Meadowood Resort.