WASH July 2011 : Page 64

the radar | tr avel Damian May works the bar at Oxbow Wine Merchant, which pours vintages from the local appellation, Coombsville. At the Bend in the River The long and winding road through Northern California’s storied wine country has a new gateway to chic. Welcome to the new Napa. | By Jordan Mackay | Photography by Jen Siska | During a decade of traveling to the Napa Valley, I treated the town of Napa as a flyover zone, zooming by it on my way to the real wine countr y farther up Highway 29. On those occasions when I did stop, I never stayed for more than 20 minutes— just long enough to down a couple of delicious tacos al pastor at the walk-up window of Tannya’s, a bare-bones taqueria on Jefferson. The rest of the town barely warranted a thought, because when I did on occasion park, there was hardly anyone on the streets. “Sleepy” is too adventurous a word for it—“comatose” is more apt. Napa even resisted the attempt to stir it with the construction of a gastronomic hub similar to Sa n Fra ncisco’s Ferr y Building Ma rketplace — t he O xbow Public Ma rket, which sit s ea st of downtown on land circumscribed by a big curl in the Napa R iver. Even as recently as last year, walking around the open, light-flooded pavilion was a lonely experience. I could hear the clack of my footsteps echoing off the walls as I strolled past the butchers at Five Dot R anch shuffling steaks around in a case and the W hole Spice Company clerk listlessly polishing already glinting jars. But, by last spring, the market had b e c o m e a d i f f e re nt p l a c e . C ro w d s s wirled, a nd ever y stool at t he Oxbow Wine Merchant and Hog Island Oyster Bar was taken, with more people waiting to spring on the next available. Chatter drowned out all else. Elbowing my way to the bar at the Wine Merchant, I saw co-owner Peter Granoff and casua lly mentioned how surprised I was at the transformation. He nodded brisk ly and said, “Yep. Napa’s center of gravit y has shif ted.” Ha s it e ver. “For ye a rs,” say s Ste ve C a rl in, a 30 -yea r Napa Va l le y re sident who happens to b e t he d e v e lop e r of t he O x b o w P u bl ic M a r k e t , “St. Helena’s and Yount ville’s grow th ca me at the expense of Napa.” Ca rlin lives in St. Helena but seemed giddy at the thought of the town he ca lls a “sleeping giant” fina lly giving the Va lley a sense of urbanit y. “Ever yone used to ta lk about bypassing Napa as quickly as possible to go up-valley,” he says. “Now, no one wants to go up-valley anymore.” He’s exaggerating —tra ffic ja ms on the t wo-lane Main Street in St. Helena a re a s bad a s e ver — but t he cha nge is pa lpable. Ba rr y Schu ler, a co-owner of Meteor Vineyard, puts it this way: “Napa used to be like Naples on the way to the A ma lfi coast.” Now the former gateway is practica lly “it” countr y. Enter transformative luxur y hotels such as the sleek, five-stor y AV I A and the construction of both The R itz-Carlton and St. Regis to complement 50 residentia l units above the finer restaurants in the R iverfront Complex. This $72 million development 64 | | July /August 2011

The Radar Travel

Jordan Mackay

At the Bend in the River The long and winding road through Northern California’s storied wine country has a new gateway to chic. Welcome to the new Napa. During a decade of traveling to the Napa Valley, I treated the town of Napa as a flyover zone, zooming by it on my way to the real wine country farther up Highway 29. On those occasions when I did stop, I never stayed for more than 20 minutes— just long enough to down a couple of delicious tacos al pastor at the walk-up window of Tannya’s, a bare-bones taqueria on Jefferson. The rest of the town barely warranted a thought, because when I did on occasion park, there was hardly anyone on the streets. “Sleepy” is too adventurous a word for it—“comatose” is more apt. Napa even resisted the attempt to stir it with the construction of a gastronomic hub similar to San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace— the Oxbow Public Market, which sits east of downtown on land circumscribed by a big curl in the Napa River. Even as recently as last year, walking around the open, light-flooded pavilion was a lonely experience. I could hear the clack of my footsteps echoing off the walls as I strolled past the butchers at Five Dot Ranch shuffling steaks around in a case and the Whole Spice Company clerk listlessly polishing already glinting jars. But, by last spring, the market had become a different place. Crowds swirled, and every stool at the Oxbow Wine Merchant and Hog Island Oyster Bar was taken, with more people waiting to spring on the next available. Chatter drowned out all else. Elbowing my way to the bar at the Wine Merchant, I saw co-owner Peter Granoff and casually mentioned how surprised I was at the transformation. He nodded briskly and said, “Yep. Napa’s center of gravity has shifted.” Has it ever. “For years,” says Steve Carlin, a 30-year Napa Valley resident who happens to be the developer of the Oxbow Public Market, “St. Helena’s and Yountville’s growth came at the expense of Napa.” Carlin lives in St. Helena but seemed giddy at the thought of the town he calls a “sleeping giant” finally giving the Valley a sense of urbanity. “Everyone used to talk about bypassing Napa as quickly as possible to go up-valley,” he says. “Now, no one wants to go up-valley anymore.” He’s exaggerating—traffic jams on the two-lane Main Street in St. Helena are as bad as ever—but the change is palpable. Barry Schuler, a co-owner of Meteor Vineyard, puts it this way: “Napa used to be like Naples on the way to the Amalficoast.” Now the former gateway is practically “it” country. Enter transformative luxury hotels such as the sleek, five-story AVIA and the construction of both The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis to complement 50 residential units above the finer restaurants in the Riverfront Complex. This $72 million development is downtown’s first bona fide project that combines street-level retail with condos. Just south is the Napa Mill Development—newly fortified ramparts that are part flood protection and part promenade. The only liability to the picturesque vibe on these blocks is the river itself, which is a somewhat sludgy sump during summer months at low tide. Eventually, when held-up plans to dredge the river do go forward, Napa will have a deeper waterway capable of handling boats year-round. “That means you could sail up, have dinner, and then go back to San Francisco,” explains Mike De Simoni, Riverfront’s developer. “They were going to get these models of gondolas from Venice to make it really a romantic, beautiful place.” Fueling the optimism are the same ingredients that make the rest of the Valley popular: dining and drinking. And nothing has propelled or symbolized this shift more than Morimoto, the namesake eatery of the celebrity chef and restaurateur who came to prominence on the Iron Chef series. The decision to bring his first West Coast venture, which opened last July, to Napa, rather than L.A. or San Francisco, is both brilliant and audacious. Morimoto is packed every night, is the first major investment here by a chef with no connection to the area (Tyler Florence followed, with Rotisserie & Wine next door) and has flipped Napa’s image. “As soon as I heard that he was coming to town,” says Schuler, “I thought, ‘OK, this is a game changer.’” That Morimoto’s Japanese, seafood-oriented menu is not subservient to Napa’s No. 1 commodity, cabernet sauvignon (though you can order a steak), makes this statement all the more powerful. As Carlin says, “If you’re a chef in the U.S. right now, you’ve got to be considering Napa as a possible location.” Although Napa’s power players are clearly excited by the arrival of Morimoto and Florence, there’s a concern that Food Network stars may push the many unbranded chefs who’ve recognized Napa’s potential to the margins. Ken Frank moved his excellent La Toque from Rutherford to Napa in 2008; the two young chefs behind the popular Oenotri both have roots in Napa and returned to cook here after cutting their teeth elsewhere; and the big debut slated for this year is up-valley chef Todd Humphries’ Kitchen Door, at the Oxbow Public Market. Each talented chef’s arrival proves to the others that Napa is worth betting on. “That’s why we came here, to be in on the ground floor of all these new places,” says transplant Taylor Boetticher, who moved to Napa from Oakland in 2007 to open his popular Fatted Calf butchery at Oxbow. “There are a lot of young wine growers, farmers and chefs to hang out with here—my kind of people.” Alongside the restaurants are 20 urban tasting rooms (15 of which arrived since 2008) that fuse the tasting room concept with a loungelike wine bar—an advance, in my opinion, from tooling in one’s car up and down the Silverado Trail, ignoring wineries not on the main roads. The John Anthony Vineyards lounge, for example, is a wood-and-leather space with moody lighting and by-the-glass service; a block away, Ceja Vineyards opened a similarly plush room in 2008 and, though expecting to lose money, has been profitable and filled day and night. The theme-park metaphor is often rolled out to describe Napa Valley as a whole, and the specter of celebrity chefs and of gondolas skimming the brackish waters does bring to mind Las Vegas’ Venetian Casino. It doesn’t help that storefronts are being remade in an unsurprisingly Tuscan style that has little to do with the late-19th-century architecture of such local landmarks as the opera house. Yet I think the city’s emergence changes the whole valley in a compelling way. St. Helena and Yountville can be just what they are—charming and quiet—while Napa can be the fertile transitional zone between urban San Francisco and bucolic wine country. I used to drive past the town because there was nothing to see. These days, for better or worse, it’s becoming difficult to pass by without stopping to see what’s happening. A User’s Guide to the New Napa Where to drink and dine downtown Back Room Wines A great place to discover what the cool kids are drinking, Back Room features a well-curated selection of wines from around the world, specializing in hardto- find, cutting-edge boutique wines from California. The “Is It $15 or $50?” tastings, where guests can win prizes, are a riot. 1000 Main St., 707.226.1378, backroomwines.com Bistro Sabor The Ceja family, of Ceja Vineyard fame, brings haute Latin street food to the table at their energetic bistro. Choice bites include shiitake and braised onion quesadillas and asparagus, mushroom and poblano chile tacos. On Saturdays, the restaurant pushes back the tables for its wildly popular salsadancing night. 1126 First St., 707. 252.0555, bistrosabor.com Bounty Hunter Big, burly Napa cabs are a natural match for barbecue, and this restaurant, bar and retail shop specializes in both. Or come for one of the “brown bag special” blind tastings—guess the country and grape variety in the bottle, and they’ll pour you a glass for just a penny. 975 First St., 707.226.3976, bountyhunterwinebar.com Ceja Vineyards Tasting Room Just up the street from their Bistro Sabor, the Ceja family’s lounge-like tasting room has brought fresh vitality to downtown. The bar is outfitted with cozy couches—an ideal spot for an afternoon of tasting Napa wines. 1248 First St., 707. 226.6445, cejavineyards.com Morimoto The appetizers and soups here are refreshingly delicate and lively (words not often used to describe the food in this town), and the cocktails—such as the White Lily, made with shochu—are stylishly creative. 610 Main St., 707.252.1600, morimotonapa.com Oenotri The draws here are fantastic Italian food, homemade salumi, an eclectic wine list and the best cocktails in town: Try the Tequila Blossom, made with tequila, Luxardo maraschino and grapefruit. 1425 First St., 707. 252.1022, oenotri.com Rotisserie & Wine Tyler Florence’s comfortable spot smells of deeply caramelized meat, and it’s the perfect place to indulge in Napa’s iconic cabernet sauvignon, which is well represented on the wine list. 720 Main St., 707.254.8500, rotisserieandwine.com Tannya’s Taqueria The walk-up window here recalls an old-school drive-in. The tacos are classic and delicious, especially the al pastor, which is best enjoyed at a seat on the glassed-in side terrace. 1601 Jefferson St., 707.224.9000 Uptown Theater After an extensive renovation that brought fresh luster to its Art Deco lines, this historic theater opened last year for the first time since 2000, attracting the likes of Merle Haggard and Gretchen Wilson. 1350 Third St., 707.259.0123, uptowntheaternapa.com Vintner’s Collective Tasting rooms traditionally feature wines from a single producer, but here you can sample bottles from 18 Napa winemakers who don’t have tasting rooms of their own. Expect high quality. The current list includes wines from Ancien and Parallel and the personal wines of famous winemaker and consultant Philippe Melka. 1245 Main St., 707.255.7150 vintnerscollective.com

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