The Cork Board

It’s been one of those weeks here for us–busy at work and a sick little guy to take care of, so apologies for the somewhat infrequent postings. Here are a couple quick items that caught our eye.

Presidential visit
There’s been lots of buzz around these parts about a planned visit today by the President of the United States. While everyone is being quite tight-lipped about when and where George W. Bush will grace us with his presence, we do know that he’s expected sometime in the late afternoon/early evening. Apparently locals in Yountville and St. Helena have received automated calls warning of traffic delays between 4pm - 8pm. Here’s what the Weekly Calistogan predicts:

According to various sources, likely Upvalley stops for the presidential visit include lunch at Harlan Estate Winery along the Oakville Grade, a landing at the Sutter Home Winery helipad on Main Street in St. Helena, and a reception at Frank Family Vineyards on Larkmead Lane.

Should be an interesting day…

Ritz-Carlton gets thumbs up from Napa City Council
In a somewhat astonishing development–particularly for those of us who’ve lived in the valley for some 30 years–the Napa City Council approved plans last night to develop a Ritz-Carlton resort near downtown Napa.

Here’s how the Napa Register describes the project:

The Ritz will be a “village-like” complex of a dozen buildings from one to four stories, with a contemporary Craftsman design, the developer said. Grounds will be lushly landscaped with mostly native plants, with an “art walk” open to the community.

The development, which is planned for Napa’s “five corners” area, is expected to cost about $300 million and will apparently get going sometime this fall. Additional details here.

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This afternoon we braved a sea of tourists and checked out the official opening of Michael Chiarello’s NapaStyle store in Yountville.

Our resident photographer worked her magic and we’ve got a ton of pictures (not just of Michael Chiarello either :)). Here’s a quick preview, see the link at the end of this post for all the photos. Enjoy!

UPDATED: Click here to view additional photos from the grand opening of Michael Chiarello’s flagship NapaStyle store in Yountville, CA.

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It’s shaping up to be another hot, muggy, smokey summer weekend in the Napa Valley. Here are a few events we’ll be keeping an eye on. As always, check our event calendar for more current and future events.

Saturday, July 12th

• The folks over at Folie à Deux will host a “Fo-Luau à Deux” party featuring the Napa Valley-favorite The Maikai Gents. Judd Finklestein and his group will bring the sounds of the islands to the heart of the valley. This event will be a walk-around food and wine pairing extravaganza with pairing stations placed throughout the Barrel Room and the patio/picnic area. The winery will debut its newly released 2005 Lewelling Cabernet Sauvignon–a much-anticipated, first Folie Reserve tier wine, from the esteemed Lewelling Vineyard in St Helena. Tickets are $35 per person ($25 per person for wine club members) and more information can be found here.

Sunday, July 13th

• A somewhat unique event will come to the valley on Sunday morning. The 2008 Napa Valley Inline Marathon and Half Marathon will take place out on Silverado Trail starting bright and early at 7am. A pack of inline skaters–aka rollerbladers–will skate north bound 6.55 miles before doing a 180 degree turn near the intersection of Silverado Trail and Oakville Cross Road. The number of laps to be made depends on if the skater is doing the full (26.2 miles) or half (13.1 miles) marathon. For any of you looking to get an early start to your winetasting, be forewarned that a seven mile stretch of Silverado Trail will be closed to all traffic for the bulk of the morning.

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We’ve written before about Thomas Keller’s attempt to take over the town of Yountville with restaurants, hotels and the like. Well, now Keller is getting a bit of competition in the form of Michael Chiarello.

It’s no secret that Chiarello has been working to open a flagship NapaStyle store in the V Marketplace–and as of this past weekend the store is open to the public.

So, imagine our surprise when, during an early morning coffee run this past weekend, the Little Man and I were strolling by the new store only to see someone dressed in white chefs clothing unlocking the doors from the inside. That someone was Michael Chiarello himself–he made one of those faces adults make when they’re saying hello to a baby and said a quick “good morning” to both of us and we continued on our way.

Looking back, I should have asked him if he’d be game for a quick interview for posting on this here blog, but maybe we’ll get another chance at some point (the Mrs. was a bit upset that she wasn’t with us too). Chiarello’s restaurant is also getting closer to completion–the newish sign out on Washington Street announces parking for Bottega Ristorante.

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As our loyal readers will know, we pushed the main Uncork29.com site live last month. Since then, we’ve been making some changes and updates and have a ton more in the works.

We’ve been encouraged by the people joining the community and sharing their reviews and ratings of local restaurants, wineries, hotels, spas and more.

On the homepage of the site we display the five most recent reviews published by Uncork29 members. Today, we’ve rolled out a widget that will allo you to keep tabs on the latest and greatest Napa Valley reviews without ever having to visit Uncork29.

You can find the widget here, complete with buttons to easily add it to your MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Wordpress, Blogger, iGoogle, Netives or just about any other blog or website out there. Here’s what it looks like:

So, if you’re so inclined, grab the widget and share it! Cheers.

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Happy Independence Day everyone. Here are a couple things happening today and this weekend that you might want to check out if you’re in town.

Many of the special events are sold out at this point.

• The Yountville 4th of July Festival begins at the Veterans Home with an all day street faire featuring food, wine and activities for the whole family. Enjoy swimming, baseball and at 7:30pm the Napa Valley Symphony will perform kicking off Festival del Sole on the Vintners Golf Course followed by a fabulous fireworks display.

• Calistoga is the home of the old fashioned Napa County Fair, always held on the Fourth of July weekend and the Fourth’s Silverado parade, the ultimate small-town Fourth of July Parade. This longstanding Calistoga tradition features antique cars, live bands, children’s groups, horses, motorcycles, colorful dancers, and an awesome display of patriotic spirit and fun. The fair takes place at the Napa County Fairgrounds (cost is $7 for adults, children 6-12yrs old are $3 each) and the parade is in downtown Calistoga (no charge). Call 707-942-6333 for more information.

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Today is an exciting day here at The Cork Board. A couple week ago, the folks at Cliff Lede Vineyards in Yountville reached out to us inviting us to visit the property for a tour and tasting. Last Friday, we dropped by, walked the vineyards, toured the facilities, tasted some of the wines and chatted with General Manager Jack Bittner.

Today, we’re happy to bring you a video interview with Bittner where you’ll learn all about the history, philosophy and strategy being executed by Cliff Lede Vineyards–which is being noted as an up-and-commer here in the valley.

Here’s the video–enjoy:

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Last Friday night we made it out to the world premiere of Merlove, a documentary about Merlot. The premiere featured an hour-long Merlot tasting–with wines being poured by local vineyards–followed by a screening of Rudy McClain’s never-before seen documentary.

We arrived at the tail end of the Merlot tasting–having had our limit of wine during day-trips to Cliff Lede and Judd’s Hill just a few hours before. The parking lot, just like the inside lobby at Copia was absolutely jam-packed. There were people everywhere, most with a glass (or two, or three) of Merlot in hand.

We quickly made the rounds and headed for the theater–as we attempted to find two seats next to each other, we saw Art and Bunnie and said hello. Plopping ourselves down in the very top row we settled in, in anticipation.

After some opening remarks, McClain entered to an impromptu standing ovation. After taking the stage and saying hello, he asked the vocal crowd to observe a moment of silence in honor of Robert Mondavi. It struck us just how quiet everyone got–you could hear a pin drop in the theater, despite the fact that just minutes before the crowd was acting if it were at a sporting event.

Now given the fact the film had not previously been seen by the public, we’re not going to go into the nitty-gritty details. Instead, we’ll just share a few thoughts and observations–here they are, in no particular order:

The premise of Merlove, which is that no grape varietal should be singled out as superior or inferior to another, is a strong one and comes through loud-and-clear.

The film shows a nice balance between scenes of silliness and humor and serious, intellectual bits on winemaking and life.

It was quite interesting to hear how French winemakers view the American wine consumer. Quotes along the lines of “they all like wood” and “we are not beavers” were common, as the French winemaking style aims to be more subtle, understated and ultimately showcasing the terrior first and foremost.

We really, really wanted to have at least one underlying ’story’ carry us from start to finish. For us, we thought that ’story’ was going to be John Sorensen (”momma said no”) and Vincent who were off to make Merlot in a local garage. Unfortunately, we can’t recall them appearing at all in the final quarter of the film.

The winemaker quotes, from both Europe and North America, about Robert (”Bobby”) Parker and his contributions to the wine industry were absolutely amazing. [Ed. note: We wine bloggers often think we're the only ones who, while appreciating what Parker has done, refuse to blindly follow his recommendations. Not so!]

McClain and his team have shot some 150 or so hours of film and condensed it into roughly two hours, which is no small task. That said, we left thinking there was room for quite a bit more tightening.

If the ultimate goal of the documentary is to have the audience leave thinking they’ll give not only Merlot, but a wide-range of other varietals a shot next time they’re purchasing a bottle of wine, then we’d say mission accomplished without a doubt.

Anyway, the next public screening is already scheduled for September 5th at Copia–we’d encourage anyone who’s reading this to get out and see it at that time!

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Last summer we told you about a local resident who was seeking funding for a documentary film on Merlot. Fast-forward to today and Rudy McClain is set to debut his film, dubbed “Merlove”, to a sold-out crowd at Copia this evening.

Earlier this week we caught up with McClain and ran a few questions past him. Read on to learn how the idea for a documentary on Merlot came about, some of the trials and tribulations he faced during the past year and be sure to check out McClain’s recommended Napa Valley visits if you’re seeking some killer Merlot.

CB: Like me, you grew up in the Napa Valley, where Cab is king. Talk to me about how the idea for Merlove came about. What was the inspiration? Where were you and what were you doing when you decided ‘I want to do a documentary about Merlot’?

McClain: I was at a party for a friend of mine when I heard Chris Phelps talking about a someone shooting a movie about Merlot in response to sideways. I went to IMDB.com to check it out and no one was doing a movie about merlot. Chris Phelps was my first interview. I had been writing screenplays and wanted to get out of the house.

CB: Tell me a bit about the process you’ve gone through to get this project off the ground and now so very near the big, public premiere.

McClain: It’s a weird. I just plowed ahead not really knowing how everything would turn out. I just kept shooting, even if I was just getting shots of vineyards or the “Welcome to Napa Valley” sign. Then I got a couple interviews then a couple more. Then it became a “Thing” and I was able to get Larry Stone and Tom Rinaldi in the movie. The huge turning point was a phone call I received from Chris Phelps. He said, “The main man from Petrus is going to be in town (Jean-Claude Berrouet: winemaker for Petrus) and we may be able to get an interview with him!” We got the interview. That’s when my personal belief in the project really manifested itself into reality.

CB: Was there ever a point, after you started the process, where you thought to yourself ‘maybe this wasn’t such a great idea’? What would you say was the low-point?

McClain: Only at the beginning. I think it just before my second interview. I was on my way to interview Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards and I had the overwhelming feeling of “what the H-E double hockey sticks are you doing?” But I showed up and just started shooting. It made me feel comfortable to just get out of the car and film his vines or the dogs or vineyard workers or his barn. Just getting going I’d get some really cool unexpected shots and that would give reinforce my confidence and keep me going. Then it was much easier to head into the interview. You have to remember. I didn’t know that much about wine and that is a huge fear of many people but I pushed forward. Ready, FIRE, aim.

CB: What’s been the most surprising or shocking or outrageous thing you’ve experienced as you’ve traveled around doing interviews, meeting winemakers, etc.?

McClain: The craziest thing was one of our first days in St. Emilion, France. Again we had some interviews lined up but we didn’t have anything for the day and we were just going to get some shots around the village. We were in the Web Bar internet café and this crazy English guy strikes up a conversation with us. Turns out he knows this really cool wine bar. He told us to get our camera running and he took us to L’Essentiel wine bar. From there we met Carlos (he’s in the movie) and it was a springboard for meeting all the famous garage winemakers from St. Emilion. Super huge. These people took us around, we filmed, the gave us 4-6 hour lunches and dinners. Some of the most love I’ve ever received in my life!

CB: So, the premiere of your film is tonight (6/27) at Copia in Napa. What do you expect and how are you feeling about everything as we sit here just days away from showing off your work to a wider audience?

McClain: I am completely blown away. It makes me want to cry with tears of joy. It is completely sold out. Then they added more seats and it sold out again. This is huge. I am excited and looking forward to seeing the movie with an audience. We were there yesterday and I dropped off a copy of the movie and the receptionist said, “oh! Merlove? Look (to her co-worker) I’m touching it. I’m touching Merlove”. She was so fired up. My heart grew three times that day.

CB: Finally, if people reading this have 24hrs to spend in the Napa Valley and want to taste some killer Merlot, where would you recommend they go?

McClain: Go visit Provenance, Swanson Vineyards, Clos Du Val and most importantly go visit Kelham Vineyards. The folks at Kelham will absolutely treat you like family. Spend an afternoon there and you will become family. The wine is awesome and the experience is unforgettable. These are the kind of people you want to spend your precious time with. In the valley visit Kelham. One more here. Everyone must visit Darioush Winery. They are super wine lovers and very knowledgeable about wine. It’s a wonderful, gorgeous place with spectacular wines. Definitely. Great place. Great experience. The people are so nice and down to earth that you’ll be able to relax and enjoy.

CB: Cheers, thanks much Rudy!

Stay tuned to The Cork Board for full coverage of the Merlove premiere in the coming days.

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This weekend is shaping up to be another busy one for us. Tomorrow, we’ve got a FULL calendar–first, we’re headed to Cliff Lede Vineyards in Yountville for a private tour/tasting, which we’re really looking forward to (stay tuned for some write-ups and maybe even a video or two of our experience).

After that, we’re headed to Judd’s Hill on Silverado Trail to check out their open house.

And finally, we’ve got tickets to the sold-out premiere of Merlove, the documentary film put together by Rudy McClain, at Copia. Speaking of which, tomorrow we’ll publish our interview with Rudy–he’s a cool guy, so be on the lookout for that.

We’ve also made an small update–any Napa Valley-based business or organization with an upcoming event is invited to submit details for inclusion on our events calendar. It’s free and easy. OK, on with it.

Here are a couple events taking place this weekend that may be worth checking out:

Saturday, June 28th

• Bourassa Vineyards will host a ‘Burger and Bordeaux’ BBQ for all. Stop by 190 Camino Oruga Ste. 5 in Napa between 3pm - 6pm for the festivities. Cost is $5 per person, free for wine club memembers. Call 800-499-2366 for more information

• After you finish up your burger, head to downtown Napa’s Stave Wine Lounge where you’ll enjoy a tasting of Silverado Vineyards‘ reserve wines. Location is 1149 First Street in Napa and the cost is just $10 per person. The tasting will run from 6pm - 8pm and you can call 707-259-5411 for all the details

Happy weekend!

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