Everyone in Napa recognizes Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous quote, “Wine is bottled poetry.” His statement adorns Highway 29 at the entrance to the heart of the Napa Valley.

In the Napa Valley veraison, the onset of ripening when grapes begin to take on color and accumulate sugar and flavor, normally begins in July, with different varietals starting the process a few days or weeks apart. In contrast to last year, 2016 seems to be pretty normal in both ripening a…

Every year, Silicon Valley Bank puts out a highly anticipated wine report. This year’s news is cautionary at best, with only a few positive highlights.

Bettina Rouas knows what it takes to make and sustain one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the Napa Valley. Owner of the Angèle’s eatery on Napa’s waterfront, she’s spent her life in and around restaurants. Her father, Claude Rouas, was one of the world’s leading restaurateurs, and…

Back in July 2015, I wrote a story in The Weekly Calistogan titled “Calistoga: A cornucopia of dining options.” I believe it might be good to revisit some of that article and see where we stand. Below are a few of the highlights:

A friend of mine from New York, Eric, called me the other day. He was coming out to California for a meeting in San Francisco and planned to spend the weekend visiting the Napa Valley. Eric told me he’d recently divorced and met a new woman, and he wanted to show her “the best of what the Na…

When Napa Valley winemaker Jon Engelskirger visited India 10 years ago, he had no idea that the trip would influence the trajectory of his winemaking.

Since late 2012, Ciccio in Yountville has become a hot spot in the Napa Valley, with would-be diners sometimes waiting hours for a table or spot at the bar for a brick-oven-fired pizza or other Italian-inspired food. And by the way that diners and critics gush over the food, wine and experie…

In the “Local Tastes” column, I will be exploring food and wine throughout the Napa Valley. As a part of the process, I wanted to know the number of restaurants and wineries in the area. That would seem to be a pretty straightforward question, but it has turned out to be much more complicate…