Kathryn Hall knows how to throw a party. Maybe it’s because she spent four years as the United States Ambassador to Austria during the Clinton administration. But I think she just loves to have fun and enjoys seeing her guests have a great time. This past weekend at Hall Wines in Napa Valley, the scene was literally set in red – huge red sofas placed everywhere in a large grass courtyard. I thought they were leather at first, but they are actually some sort of inflatable material. Fun, clever and definitely eye-catching. You could also play I Love Lucy and stomp on freshly picked Merlot grapes that will go into making wine. My feet are in the 2014 Merlot. I’ll have to get a bottle when it is released. We were all at Hall for the release of the 2011 Kathryn Hall Cabernet, her top-of-the line signature wine. It’s a blend of…
#NapaQuake: How You Can Help Keep #NapaStrong
Bottle shock. Crushed. Shaken, not stirred. Whatever word you choose to describe it, the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Napa Valley early Sunday morning has left behind more than spilled wine. More than 100 homes and buildings red-tagged. The facade of the beautiful Vintner’s Collective building gone. Homes shaken off foundations, cracks in walls, chimneys toppled. Countless glasses, plates and other personal possessions shattered. Gallons and gallons of wine lost. All this happening as harvest is underway. Winemakers who lost tanks and barrels are scrambling to find ones they can borrow or rent so they can press, ferment and store the new wines coming in as we speak. Some producers lost freshly made wines from the current vintage, but they also lost library wines — collections of wine going back years, if not decades. Wineries also lost wine in barrel that hadn’t made it to bottle yet, as barrels…