Travel Tales: Napa Valley

The valley’s original inhabitants, the Wappo Indians, saw the land’s potential when they named it “Napa” or “the land of plenty.” The arrangement of the rolling hills, elevation and the dramatic climate—warm, sunny days and cool nights— delivers the ideal combination for grapes to ripen slowly and consistently. The area's topography touts more than 30 different varieties of soils. One acre of land is home to between 900 and 1,300 vines—that’s a whopping 1,200 glasses of wine!

Life in the Napa Valley isn’t always as glorious as the perfectly aligned grapevine rows. If anything, the valley’s past is best symbolized by the twists and turns of a corkscrew. Behind the scenes, there are endless stories of migrant workers who have endured harsh conditions and oppressive situations. There are even the occasional stories of workers who have seen success with their own wineries. The Ceja Vineyards is one of my favorite rags to riches stories. Another incredible anecdote is of wine proprietor, Robert Mondavi, who overcame turbulent times to become the Napa Valley’s most prominent patriarchal figure.

There’s an endless array of sobering activities in Napa Valley. After an organic brunch, a hot air balloon ride swept my friends and me away so we could view the verdant vineyards from a bird’s perspective. Going in the opposite direction—down under—is equally enjoyable. The caves of Rutherford Hill Winery display 8,000 oak barrels of aging French and American wines. And my favorite activity is the grape stomp at St. Supery Winery—I am convinced this is the ultimate healing agent. On many occasions, my friends claimed that no credible winery would allow strangers to stomp on grapes and opted for another unrefined activity: to roll around in mud.

Riding a bike is the best way to indulge in the town’s milieu and taste the delicious air. The slow life in Napa allows the possibility of making virtually nothing into something, and turning the mundane into the extraordinary. Br. Timothy’s Corkscrew Collection at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is a perfect example. As an up-and-coming artistic epicenter and culinary hub, there are many opportunities to engage all of the senses. And at the end of the day, no visit to Napa is complete without planting myself on a bench at V. Sattui Winery to begin my long goodbyes to the Valley. It’s never easy to make a clean break—luckily there’s a beginning and middle, but never a finale.