inside napa valley

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Castello di Amorosa — Napa Valley’s Castle of LovePage 4

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The Great Hall at Castello di Amorosa, decorated with painted murals.The Great Hall at Castello di Amorosa, decorated with painted murals.

DARIO SAT TUIDARIO SAT TUI

Castello di Amorosa is a 30 year labor of love; a culmination of my life’s dream to build an authentic Tuscan castle in the

Napa Valley where I could make outstanding Napa Valley where I could make outstanding Italian-style wines.Italian-style wines.

I built Castello di Amorosa (Castle of Love) because of my passionate, all-consuming desire because of my passionate, all-consuming desire to create something extraordinary, to honor to create something extraordinary, to honor my Italian heritage, because of my deep love my Italian heritage, because of my deep love of medieval architecture, and because my of medieval architecture, and because my commitment to making superior wines in a commitment to making superior wines in a magnificent setting.magnificent setting.

Now I take great pride in sharing the Castle with you.with you.

Determined to make the Castle authentic in every respect, I used only old, hand-made in every respect, I used only old, hand-made materials or I built it employing the same methods materials or I built it employing the same methods and materials that would have been used 700 to and materials that would have been used 700 to 800 years ago. You can’t fake something like this. 800 years ago. You can’t fake something like this. You either do it right or people will know it’s You either do it right or people will know it’s not authentic.not authentic.

Experts consider the Castle an architectural masterpiece. The Castle is a magical place which masterpiece. The Castle is a magical place which will transport you to medieval Italy. It contains will transport you to medieval Italy. It contains eight levels (four of which are underground), eight levels (four of which are underground), 107 rooms – each one of which is beautiful and 107 rooms – each one of which is beautiful and distinctive from the others – and it totals 136,000 distinctive from the others – and it totals 136,000 square feet, or 3 acres of rooms. I brought more square feet, or 3 acres of rooms. I brought more than 200 containers from Europe filled with old than 200 containers from Europe filled with old materials and furnishings, used more than 8,000 materials and furnishings, used more than 8,000 tons of local stone which we hand-chiseled, and tons of local stone which we hand-chiseled, and brought nearly 1 million antique hand-made brought nearly 1 million antique hand-made bricks from Europe. The Castle contains all the bricks from Europe. The Castle contains all the elements a medieval castle would have possessed elements a medieval castle would have possessed – a moat, drawbridge, five towers, high defensive – a moat, drawbridge, five towers, high defensive ramparts, courtyards and loggias, a deep well, a ramparts, courtyards and loggias, a deep well, a functioning church, stables, an outdoor oven, an functioning church, stables, an outdoor oven, an apartment for the nobles, a great hall and even a apartment for the nobles, a great hall and even a prison and torture chamber, and some of the most prison and torture chamber, and some of the most beautiful vaulted wine cellars in the world. It is beautiful vaulted wine cellars in the world. It is surrounded by 171 acres, 30 of which are grapes surrounded by 171 acres, 30 of which are grapes situated on one of the most beautiful properties situated on one of the most beautiful properties in the United States.in the United States.

Castello di Amorosa specializes in producing small lots of superior quality wines. The same love small lots of superior quality wines. The same love that went into building the Castle permeates the that went into building the Castle permeates the winemaking process. Castello Wines are sold only winemaking process. Castello Wines are sold only

at the winery or shipped directly to customer’s homes or businesses. Our wines are not sold to restaurants or stores anywhere.

To schedule a wine educational tour or other wine-focused experiences, please call 707-967-6272.

We welcome you to a special place with some very special wines. Welcome to Castello di Amorosa – “The Castle of Love.”

Dario Sattui

Submitted photos A view of the Upper Loggia at Napa Valley’s Castello di Amorosa.

Welcome to Welcome to Welcome to Welcome to a special placea special placea special placea special placea special place

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Peter Menzel Castello di Amorosa Winery in Calistoga, Napa Valley, California. Dario Sattui’s winery built to resemble a Tuscan castle.

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February may be in middle of winter, but it still warms our hearts as the season of romance, with Valentine’s Day falling on the 14th. To mark this holiday, we devote our edition of Inside Napa Valley to the theme of love.

We will bring you tales of new love –- spectacular proposals of marriage –- and love that has stood the test of time –- Napa County couples celebrating their long unions with laughter, wisdom and adven-ture. We will look at stores that can supply that perfect gift for your sweetheart, from

chocolates to jewelry to whimsical accesso-ries. We will survey restaurants throughout the county to take that special date; we’ll have a sip of an amorous cocktail created just for the occasion and a wine fit for the perfect romantic evening.

We’ll also look at another kind of love, the love of your neighbors and commu-nity. We’ll look at good works, acts of kindness, and the people who perform them right here in Napa County.

We’ll even bring you the story of one of Napa County’s most famous labors of

love, the meticulous recreation of a Tus-can castle that adorns a hilltop near Cal-istoga – Dario Sattui’s iconic Castello di Amorosa, the “Castle of Love” where they make wine with heart.

And of course, along the way we’ll share some of our favorite recent stories that you might have missed from the Napa Valley Register, American Canyon Eagle, St. Helena Star, and Weekly Cal-istogan.

Please join us in our celebration of all things love in Napa County.

Norma Kostecka is

the advertising director for the

Napa Valley Register.

NORMA KOSTECKA, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

A season of love

napa valleyinside

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In this Issue

4 Welcome to a special place

8 Wine Train brings Old World charm to romantic holiday

9 How do you plan on forever?

13 Sharing 50 years of love and laughter

15 Secrets to a long marriage

19 Love story lies behind playful Napa shop

30 Holding your Valentine’s hand over dinner

33 Woodhouse Chocolate offers Valentine’s Day treats

36 Love is all around us

38 Community helped rebuild downtown

40 Patina: Generation to generation of objet d’art

To advertise in Inside Napa Valley, please call us at 707-256-2228 | A publication of the Napa Valley Publishing Company

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FOR INSIDE NAPA VALLEY

Be transported back to a time before the concerns of 3-ounce containers, legroom, and pretzels, back to a time when the transportation was part of the excitement, when trains were the

luxurious and elegant way to see and be seen.

The Napa Valley Wine Train offers a unique escape into this historical era. There are not many places where you are able to experience these antique rail cars. You can actually enjoy a meal in a dining car, relax in a lounge car, and take in the valley from the observation -style Vista Dome, rather than just viewing the cars from the other side of a museum’s velvet rope.

While the company has been a part of Napa Valley’s history for the last 25 years, it has been preserving a historic rail line dating back 150 years. The cars themselves are celebrating their 100th anniversary; most were built in 1915.

Keeping alive the tradition and art of food preparation in a moving space, the Napa Valley Wine Train has three on-board kitchens. Take this special opportunity to visit the kitchen car

to watch as the chefs create your meal from scratch and just the way you like it, a small work of art in itself. It is an en route meal that is far from the microwaved ready meals

experienced by modern travelers.As a romantic destination, the Wine Train is

possibly the most popular location in the Napa Valley for proposals, many happening over Val-entine’s Day either on board or at the Wine Train’s Love Lock Bridge. The romance of the holiday paired with the elegance of the setting makes it a beautiful place for memories and spe-cial moments.

Spend some time with your sweetheart, be it your soon-to-be fiance, your new love, or your partner of 50 years. A glass of sparkling wine will await each of you on board before you enjoy your freshly prepared meal cooked to your specifications.

The Wine Train’s old-fashioned service and antique rail cars harken back to the era of vintage American travel. These once-dominant features of luxury in travel now offer the backdrop for one-of-a-kind excursions, special events, and private gatherings that leave you fully satisfied.

Explore Napa Valley with one of the most distinctive restaurants in the world.

Submitted photo Napa Valley’s iconic Wine Train.

Wine Train brings Old World charm to romantic holiday

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SAMIE HARTLEY

Proposing marriage is no easy task. First, you have to find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Then you have to find a token, typically a ring, as part of

your intent to ride off into the sunset together. And when the time is right, you have to take that bold leap, present the token and pop the question.

But how do you make that moment special? How do you prepare for such a milestone? For these three Napa Valley women, there was no way to prepare for what their honeys had in store. Life is full of surprises, and love is a doozy.

Yes in YountvilleSarah Rusin-Dickens was lost

in a trance. As marketing and social media manager for the Yountville Chamber of Com-merce, she was running on auto-pilot as she and her colleagues hosted the annual Festival of Lights last November. The event, held the day after Thanksgiving, was a success, but there was still a lot of clean up to do.

“My boyfriend Devin was a volunteer that day,” said Rusin-Dickens, who lives in Napa. “He came over after the event and I was in full work mode, stressed from the day. He asked me to go see the big V Marketplace Christ-mas tree all lit up. I told him I was busy, but he convinced to take a quick break.”

The couple walked to the tree and admired its festive lights and adornments, but Rusin-Dickens couldn’t linger in the moment. She wanted to return to work so

that she could finish packing up and go home after a long day.

“Once we were there, he said we should take a picture together,” she said. “I was still in a rush to get back to finish the day and sug-gested a selfie of the two of us, but he insisted that we ask someone to take our picture. I looked around and pushed my phone into the hands of a woman standing by. By the time I turned around, he was on one knee. It was the most romantic moment of my life. Everyone started clapping.”

L o s t i n t h e m o m e n t , Rusin-Dickens isn’t sure she even said yes verbally. She was overcome with emotion: thrilled that her boyfriend was popping the question but regretting her rude behavior leading up to the big moment.

“It was like something out of a movie,” she said. “All I could think was, “oh my gosh, this is really happening.’ And then I realized that we were surrounded by all these people. I couldn’t stop smiling, but I kind of nodded, and he was looking up at me and he nodded, so I took the ring, and he stood up and helped me put the ring on my finger, and we hugged. I still can’t believe it happened. It’s

How do you plan on

forever?

Submitted photo Jeff Servente popped the question to wife Karina during a San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park in 2004. The couple lives in American Canyon with their son, Lorenzo.

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my favorite story to tell.”When the couple returned to

Rusin-Dickens’ work station, her co-workers enveloped the duo in hugs and she was given a free pass on cleaning up. The couple went to dinner before making the round of phone calls to friends and family.

Rusin-Dickens said it still feels like a fairy tale, but it’s all very real. The couple plan to marry in Yountville in May of this year.

A Giant birthday surpriseLoyal San Francisco Giants

fan Karina Servente was enjoying watching her Giants take down the Rockies on her birthday in May of 2004. Plus, she was with the love of her life, Jeff, so the night was destined to be memora-ble, but she had no idea just how memorable it would be.

“It was the fourth inning and Jeff says ‘look up at the Jum-botron.” My jaw dropped,” Ser-vente remembers. The message read “Happy Birthday Karina! Let’s Get Married!” Even sitting among a sold-out crowd, the gravity of the moment didn’t sink in until Jeff opened his baseball

glove to reveal a ring.It wasn’t long before their fel-

low spectators realized they’d just witnessed an epic marriage pro-posal success story.

“Her look of astonishment was unforgettable –- a smile, a cry, a laugh, and a slight look of hatred all mixed into one,” Jeff said. “Her answer was yes, and her reaction was enough to make the nearest folks around us to come to the realization that the scoreboard message was for the lady in front of them. They were ecstatic. Hugs with a dozen strangers lasted another inning.”

While Jeff ’s grand proposal was witnessed by thousands of people, he didn’t need a lot of time to concoct the plan. “My proposal was thought through for about 10 minutes,” he said. “I knew it would work from the start.” Getting it done, however, was another story.

Jeff contacted the Giants and confirmed the day, the message and the inning when the mes-sage would appear. Making sure Karina was around during the fourth inning to see the message

was far more stressful. Jeff said he was afraid Karina might be in the bathroom when his message projected across the screen, so he

insisted they wait until later to grab refreshments. Thankfully, there was no need to worry.

“I had no idea the proposal was coming,” Karina said. “It was a complete surprise.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Jeff whisked Karina off to Las Vegas

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Submitted photo Emily and Jeb Ogle got engaged while vacationing in Hawaii in 2012.

“It was like something out of a movie. All

I could think was, ‘oh my gosh, this is really happening.’ And then I realized that we were surrounded by all these people. I couldn’t stop smiling, but I kind of nodded, and he was looking up at me and he nodded, so I took the ring, and he stood up and helped me put the ring on my finger, and we hugged. I still can’t believe it happened. It’s my favorite story to tell.

for a weekend getaway the follow-ing day, so they could continue their celebration.

The American Canyon couple was married May 28, 2005. While the wedding wasn’t Giants or base-ball themed, the couple celebrated by attending a Giants game the very next day. This year the Ser-ventes will celebrate their 10-year anniversary, and of course, they will be at the ballpark, this time with their son, Lorenzo.

A treasured romanceNapa native Jed Ogle knew

he wanted to ask his girlfriend

Emily to marry him while they were vacationing in Hawaii, but we wanted to make the proposal extra special.

In 2011, he gave Emily a necklace with a small brass key attached. The gift was accompa-nied with a note that said “This is the key to my heart. Keep it with you at all times because you never know when you’ll need it.”

Emily wore the necklace every day in anticipation of the day she’d be able to use it, but in April of 2012, she was rushing to get ready for their flight to Hawaii

and left the necklace behind.“For three months I had

worn the key faithfully, but then promptly forgot it the one time it turned out I needed it,” Emily said. “As we drove up to the air-port, Jed turned to me and asked, ‘Where’s your necklace?’ I had to admit, with more than a hint of embarrassment, that it was back home on the dresser. I’m lucky for many reasons, but I’m most lucky that I have a husband who always makes a Plan B in case things go awry.”

Unbeknownst to Emily, Jed had been crafting his master

plan for months and fortunately had thought everything through to make sure Emily remained in the dark, even if it meant she got angry with him.

On their first morning in Maui, Jed said he was feeling a bit groggy because he didn’t sleep well. He asked Emily to go down the street from their rented condo –- private beach included –- to grab some coffee. Being a good girlfriend, Emily went off to retrieve a java jumpstart, but when she returned to the house, Jeff had left a note to say he’d gone snorkeling. Annoyed that

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SteakhouseSubmitted photo Devin Farlie surprised girlfriend Sarah Rusin-Dickens by proposing mar-riage in front of a crowd following last year’s Yountville Festival of Lights. The couple plans to wed in May.

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her allegedly tired boyfriend had bailed on her and gone snorkel-ing without her, Emily went to the beach to find him.

“I’m not a person quick to anger, but that had me fuming,” she said. “I had never traveled anywhere tropical, had never been snorkeling. Jed had done both often, and he had promised to teach me, and the promised lessons did not include aban-doning me on our first morning. It was so unlike him. I charged down to the beach, where I saw him out in the waves. I left his coffee in the sand and stomped back to the condo, fully planning to put on my mask, snorkel, and fins and tell him I had no inter-est in swimming with him and to bug off.”

She returned with her gear to find Jed sipping his coffee on the beach. Reluctantly she agreed to join him. Once she had her snorkeling basics down, she and Jed were patrolling a reef when Jed pointed to something in the water.

“He sent me out ahead of him, and I noticed something shining in the sand at the base of a rock,” she said. “It was a small metal treasure chest, and my first reac-tion was that someone had lost it and that we shouldn’t take other people’s things. I pointed it out to Jed, and he popped his head out of the water to say, ‘Pick it up. Let’s take it back to the beach.’ It still hadn’t formed in my mind that a plan was coming together.”

The small chest was surpris-ingly heavy, but Emily was able to bring it to shore. As she placed it on the beach, she noticed the box was sealed with a heart-shaped lock. Jed reached into his pocket to retrieve a necklace with a brass key – “coming through with Plan B” – and handed it to her.

“Kneeling in the waves, I unlocked the lock to find the box filled with sand and seashells that he had collected the night before while I slept and a piece of brass stamped ‘Emily Will You Marry Me?’ The ring was tucked inside

a seashell case. It wasn’t until I read the words ‘Marry Me’ that it all came together in my mind. I’m not sure I even said yes officially, because a particu-larly strong wave came up and I scrambled to hold onto the box and the ring and not lose them in the churning water. I slipped the ring on my finger, and the rest is history.”

Jed hand-crafted the metal treasure chest himself, keeping the secret a surprise the entire time. That included making the box and getting the box through airport security without Emily knowing.

“I did an airport security ‘dry run’ before our trip,” Jed said. “I had a trip planned without Emily, and I took the box to see if the TSA would allow it through. So when we were heading to Hawaii, I already knew I could get it through, but that the TSA would want to take it out and physically examine it. So I made sure to go through security without Emily.”

To keep her off his scent, he

told Emily to go through secu-rity without him while he circled back to check out a gift shop. To maintain secrecy he did every-thing possible to make sure that Emily never carried his bags so that he wouldn’t have to explain his heavy backpack.

Once in Maui, Jed still had to collect the sand and shells, so he sneaked out that night to find the perfect shells to put in the box.

When he sent Emily to get coffee the next morning, he rushed to the beach and dived into the ocean to hide the box. The box was in the ocean just long enough to begin to rust, giving it an aged look that played perfectly into his plan.

The couple married in August of 2012, just four months after their tropical getaway. Today, the couple lives in Fairfield, but they still work in Napa. Emily is a public relations specialist with The Doctors Company and Jed is the design studio manager at Napa Printing.

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SAMIE HARTLEY

Celebrating 50 years of marriage is a big deal, but when David and Linda Olesen talked about how they would commemorate their Golden Anniversary, they decided they wouldn’t have a big party – they would

have a year of adventures.

“We decided 50 years of mar-riage was such a milestone that we could spend the entire year cele-brating,” Linda said.

And so they did, starting back at the restaurant where they were engaged in February of 1964.

“Well it’s not the same restau-rant. The building is still there, and it’s still a restaurant, but not the little Italian place where he proposed,” Linda said. “Same old building, but the prices quadru-pled …”

“…and the food was nasty,” David interrupted with a laugh. Laughing is one of the couple’s favorite things to do. They agree having a good sense of humor is one of the keys to longevity in any relationship.

“Yes, the food could have been better, but it was the sentiment of it,” Linda said. “It was the ideal way to kick off our celebration even if the food wasn’t all that memorable.”

David, 70, and Linda, 69, grew up in Ferndale, California, but now live in Napa. They began dat-ing when David was a junior and Linda a sophomore in high school. They can’t agree on when exactly they started dating, but they agree that the first big milestone was their date to David’s junior prom.

“We were prom king and queen, which didn’t go over well with the junior girls since I was a sophomore,” Linda said.

“Well, I was class president, and it didn’t matter,” David said. “We were hot stuff.”

David graduated and went to college, but took a job with Bank

of America a year later – a career he would maintain for 37 years. Linda initially went to beauty school, but later joined her hus-band at Bank of America.

After four years of dating, the couple married on Sept. 19, 1964 in Ferndale, but the honeymoon period only lasted three months. Ferndale was struck by a massive flood, and David and Linda lost

nearly all of their wedding gifts.“I guess we learned to just go

with the flow after that,” Linda said. “Poor phrasing for that par-ticular story, but it’s what you do in life.”

“We were poor as church mice in those early years,” David added. “But we didn’t realize it at the time. We were getting by fine.”

The couple raised two children,

who also live in Napa and are now raising families of their own

“Children definitely add dif-ferent kinds of stress to a relation-ship,” David said. “It’s a dynamic change, but we are very fortunate to have two really great kids. We’ve been blessed and our kids grew up to have families of their own, and now we have three wonderful grandchildren.”

In addition to having a good sense of humor, David and Linda credit family and open commu-nication as keys to a success-ful marriage.

“Life is complicated. It’s important to talk things over –- to compromise,” David said. “You need to be understanding.”

“Open communication is very important,” Linda said. “You have to be able to talk to each other. We were lucky. We grew up in the same small town. We grew up with the same small-town values. We’re compatible in that way. Of course we have our differences, but it brings a balance. We just fit together. We wouldn’t know what to do without each other.”

Even when Linda was diag-nosed with a rare form of cancer in 1997, the idea of being without each other was never an option. Leiomyosarcoma, a cancer caused by malignant tumors found in uterine fibroids, afflicts one in 1,000 women who have fibroids.

“The cancer she had was incredibility rare,” David said. “We were told fibroids were almost never cancerous, but not my little sweetie. She always has to swim upstream.”

Linda was diagnosed in Novem-ber and began treatment the day after Christmas. “I didn’t see the point in waiting. I wanted to get it started and be done with it.”

David and Linda agree that

Sharing 50 years of love and laughter

Submitted photo David and Linda Olesen of Napa celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last September.

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“It’s a good life. Fifty years is quite the accomplishment I suppose, but it’s been the best adventure.”

fighting cancer is the most challenging thing they gone through as a couple: Linda as the cancer patient and David as her caregiver.

“In all these years, that was the toughest thing we’ve been through, and it was hard,” Linda said. “Six months of chemotherapy treat-ments that lasted 72 hours at a time. It was a struggle. But you stay close to family and you pray. You take care of each other.”

Linda has been in remission and cancer free for 17 years. Battling cancer convinced Linda to retire early, and she didn’t return to her position at the bank. “I was bald, had no eyelashes; I was happy staying home,” she said, “so I decided to just retire.”

David followed suit and retired two years later. Enjoying early retirement in their 50s, David and Linda decided to travel. Their favor-ite mode of transportation: cruising.

“We love cruises,” David said. “We’ve been on dozens. Been all over the world. It’s a great way to travel. You know where you’re going to eat, where you’re going to sleep. You can stay on the ship or go on guided tours. We’ve been all over.”

They’ve traveled the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and visited ports throughout Europe

and Asia. They also ventured to Alaska three times. They haven’t been to South America yet, but it’s on their to-do list.

They decided to incorporate cruising into their year-long Golden Anniversary celebration. Last September, David and Linda enjoyed a Caribbean cruise with two friends who were also celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

But to fully celebrate 50 years of marriage, David and Linda wanted to include their fam-ily, so when the grandkids where on holiday vacation in December, the couple invited their children and their families for a cruise of the Mexican Riviera.

In additions to the cruises, David and Linda commemorated their 50 years of marriage by enjoying celebratory dinners, trips to their ranch in Ferndale, a road trip across the North-west with friends, and a few visits to Reno to catch live shows and play slots. They’ve offi-cially crossed the 50-year mark, but the party isn’t over.

“It’s a good life,” David said. “Fifty years is quite the accomplishment I suppose, but it’s been the best adventure.”

“We don’t know where this life is going to take us,” Linda said, “but we’re going to enjoy

every minute of this adventure … together. (Pausing briefly) Is that too mushy?”

“Maybe,” David said with a chuckle. “But it’s true.”

Submitted photo Napa residents Linda and David Olesen were married in their hometown of Ferndale, California on Sept. 19, 1964.

Submitted photo Donn Black and Toni Allegra were married on the top of Mount St. Helena in April 1996.

Secrets to a long marriage

DAVID STONEBERGedi tor@sthe l enas tar. com

A lasting marriage doesn’t just happen. Three St. Helena couples say it takes work, and they’ve learned a few secrets of having a

long, successful marriage.One couple, John and Beclee

Wilson, have been married for 54 years; while the other two couples, Don and Dianne Fraser and Antonia “Toni” Allegra and Donn Black have each been married for 18 years.

Those secrets included sharing interests, having a sense of humor, respecting each other, picking the battles that need to be fought, putting no importance on trivial things, listening to each other and loving your partner.

“I think the secret is you have to have a person who has a sense of humor,” John Wilson said. “We share a lot of interests, even though we started out quite differently.” In college John majored in math and engineering while Beclee majored in drama and theater.

“We both really enjoy each other’s minds,” John added. “We love travel, we have both written extensively. Beclee’s a published poet with three books and I’ve published five books; I’m an economist.”

Beyond that, he added they both love the outdoors, travel, music and art. “We both love to be with people,” he said.

B e c l e e added, “So I think one o f the

St. Helena couples share their love, interests, humor, families and respect

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things that is important for us is that we both have respect for the different qualities that we have. John was always supportive of me when I went back to school.

“Because we married at 20 and 22, we’ve grown up

together. And I think family has always been a priority, it’s been important to us,” she said.

T h e y a r e also adventurers. John went back to playing the p i a n o a t a g e 50 and Bec lee started singing for the first time in years, with the St. Helena Chorus, at Christmas.

Beclee said she and John a l low each other a lot of separate time, including traveling i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y

individually, but also it’s important to “do things together as well. John was saying we love being with people and that has been important in our marriage. We both love being with a wide variety of people.”

For Don Fraser, the secret is “giving each other a lot of space.” For Dianne, it is “being very supportive of each other. He’s a great cheerleader, very complimentary and encouraging. It ’s wonder fu l to be in a relationship where your partner doesn’t try to control you, gives you the freedom you need.”

The two met in the 1980s at the Lodi Farm Center, when both were part of one of four square-dance clubs. They were both married to others at the time and then sometime in the 1990s they were both divorced. “Dianne was very happy being single and I was very happy being single, also, so there wasn’t any mad romance,” Don said. “But, we would see each other and acknowledge that we knew other each, that was the

Dave Stoneberg, Star Beclee and John Wilson have been married for 54 years. Their secret to a long marriage? Beclee said, “Having respect for the different qualities that we have.”

Beclee said she almost had to marry a sword, since John, who was serving in the U.S. Navy at the time, barely got back from an over-seas assignment, in time for the wedding. Tradition said if the groom can’t make the wedding, he sends his sword back for the ceremony.

22, we’ve grown up

important to us,” she said.

also adventurers. John went back to playing the p i a n o a t a g e 50 and Bec lee started singing for the first time in years, with the St. Helena Chorus, at Christmas.

Beclee said she and John a l low each other a lot of separate time, including traveling i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y

17

way it went.” This past September, the Frasers marked their 18th anniversary.

Spending time together singing as part of Craig Bond’s chamber singers is one of their joys and singing in the Presbyterian Church choir is another.

“We like to go out to dinner, go to the movies and entertain,” Dianne said. Don adds, “We both love friends and try to find time to be with our friends. In our prior marriages, I had two children and Dianne had four, so together we have six kids and 10 grandkids. We both love family. Our has been a wonderful relationship, because we share back and forth with our kids. We try not to make any differences between our kids and grandkids.”

When Don celebrated his 80th birthday in April, all the families came together for a long weekend at the Calistoga Spa, “so everybody could have their own space but we

could also be together,” Don said. They hired Gene Ivester, owner of Alan’s Studio on Main of St. Helena to take formal photographs of the group, which was either 18 or 19 people. “We just enjoy doing things like that.”

The Frasers are busy with two grandchildren, 10 and 12, who live in town and their grandson, who is 11, who lives in Santa Rosa.

Another secret to a long marriage, “I think that we know how to pick our battles and I think the secret is not to put a lot of importance on trivial things,” Dianne said. “If it’s really important, then I think it’s worth fighting for, but that’s kind of key. We don’t have a lot of disagreements.”

Toni Allegra said she first spotted Donn Black while she was on a ship in the South China Sea. She was the food editor for the San Diego Union Tribune and she was

doing food and travel stories. “I was by myself, the usual kind of journalist thing and on walked this man. There was something about Donn that absolutely entranced me. No kidding. It was a very special thing,” Toni said.

That began a beautiful, lovely friendship, but since Toni lived

in San Diego and Donn was an attorney in Oakland, they were, in Donn’s words, “GU, or geographically unsuitable. We corresponded each year by Christmas card, although I misspel led her name for several years.”

It was after Toni moved to

Dave Stoneberg, Star Donn Black and Toni Allegra loved their shared family. “It’s kind of like the Brady Bunch, but older,” Toni said. Their youngest grandchild is 7, their oldest child is 55. “The range is tremendous.”

Submitted photo Don and Dianne Fraser first met in a square dance club and have been married for 18 years.

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St. Helena to work for Beringer that the two met again and were married on the top of Mount St. Helena in April 1996. “As far as we know we’re the only couple to

have been married on the top of Mount St. Helena,” Toni said. Both families gathered at the top of the mountain for the wedding. Together Donn and Toni have six children

and 18 grandchildren.For Toni, the secret to a long marriage is

listening. “Because I think it’s essential if we’re both on the same track, even to the point of sitting down every Sunday and looking at our calendars to be sure we’re not overlapping,” she said. “Without knowing what your kids are doing, what my kids are doing, we can’t keep it in balance,” Toni added.

Another key is laughter, which is “always such an important element of life,” Toni said. “Certainly in a marriage, we’ve got to see the joke in what’s going on and share it.”

Donn adds, “We’ve found that we can see the fun side of almost anything.” For Donn, though, the secret to a long marriage is sharing love. “I’ve been thinking about this,” Donn said, when he knew he was going to be interviewed. “For me, the secret has been to realize the real joy involved in marriage is sharing the love.” He adds, it is loving Toni that is the “principal element of the feat. That’s the joy, that’s the part that is so wonderful all the time. I love you, Toni.

“Somehow this giving (of love) is longer lasting, more joyful and can be more playful. For me, that’s been maybe the core of it. I don’t think I had that in my first marriage, I thought the whole deal was to be loved,” he said.

Submitted photo Dianne and Don Fraser were glad to provide their 2014 Christmas card for this story, since 500 of them were mistakenly shipped to them recently.”What are we going to do with them in mid-January?” Don asks with a laugh.

19

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Describing The Playful Garden as a garden and gift store is accurate, but just doesn’t do it justice. The lines that owner Mimi Glavin

carries are functional, but fun.

“Our new pendulum clocks are very popular,” she said.

And no wonder. While they keep good time, they will also bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart, whenever you check the time. The same is true for their clay hearts, which are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or the veggies with faces, designed

by Carruth.Signs and cards offer inspira-

tion as well as a lightheartedness that everyone can use. Even if you aren’t shopping, stopping at The Playful Garden at the corner of First and Coombs will leave you in a better mood than when you enter.

A l though the s to re ha s

Love story lies behind playful Napa shop

J.L. Sousa/Register Mimi Glavin of the Playful Garden.

20

“Mimi” written all over it, and it is her business, Glavin credits her husband of almost 46 years for support, creativity “and for being one of my best customers,” she said. It’s testament to a rela-tionship that started when they were teenagers.

Mimi was 19 and engaged to her high school boyfriend of five years when she met Mike. He was with his brother, and all three were in a record store. “See that girl over there?” Mike asked his brother. “I’m going to marry her.” One year out of high school, the gutsy 18-year-old walked straight to Mimi with his best shot, “What is there to do in this town, anyway?”

“I’m engaged,” was her short and disinterested response.

“ T h e r e ’ s n o r i n g o n your finger.”

Mike convinced her to have a Coke. She liked him, and set him

up with her best friend. That date was a disaster, and Mike “fol-lowed me home from work every day for a week after that,” Mimi said with a laugh. He talked her into a round of miniature golf. A good golfer, Mike missed enough putts to allow Mimi to win by a stroke, but he won her heart. “I fell in love with him, and real-ized I couldn’t marry the other guy.” She ended her engagement, and not long after was engaged to Mike.

The Glavins weren’t legally old enough to marry without his parents’ consent. They got it, but with two strings – the first that they wait a year, and the second that he go to college. He enrolled at Cal-Poly. After their marriage in June of 1969, Mimi got a job as a receptionist, “and edited Mike’s papers for him.”

Mike graduated with a degree in graphic arts. He went to work

for a printing company, became a partner in the business, and

retired when it was sold. “Our two kids were grown and gone,

Submitted photos The Playful Garden offers happy and whimsical accessories for home, garden, and life.

Submitted photos Top, Mimi and MIke Glavin in Belize. At right, the young lovers at their wedding in 1969.

21

and we decided to buy a diesel pusher RV and see the country, which had always been Mike’s dream” said Mimi.

L e a v i n g i t a l l behind turned out not to be as much fun as they had imag-ined. Sitting in rock-ing chairs in Black Hills, South Dakota, while enjoying glasses of wine, Mike swirled his, looked at Mimi and said, “This sucks. Let’s go home.” That wa s a l l the con -vincing she needed. Packing the RV, they headed back to Cali-fornia.

“The trip home w a s g r e a t ,” s a i d Mimi. “We planned our next journey in life and decided to start new businesses.” As part of the sale of his printing business in San Luis Obispo, Mike had signed an agreement not to do printing

there. Their daughter and son-in-law had moved to Napa, and they decided to come here as well. “I wanted to open a garden

art business, which Mike named ‘The Playful Garden,’ and he decided to start a mobile wine bottling business , which I named ‘Top It Off Bottling.’”

Wo rk i n g s u i t s t h e Gl av in s j u s t fine. Both are cre-ative, and like to be busy. Though their businesses are dif-ferent, they like to share ideas, and have a lways suppor ted e ach o the r. L ike any marriage, theirs has had its ups and downs, but they are

extremely happy. “We had to teach our kids that not every-body falls in love at first sight and lives happily ever after,” said Mimi. “You have to work at

having a good marriage.”Being the romantic that she

is, Mimi loves helping customers at Valentine’s Day. She has three long-time staff members, Yasuko

Fisher, Nancy Doran and Shon Stockon, who she says, “are the best.” Visit the store seven days a week, or call 258-8880. You’ll feel better after doing so.

J.L. Sousa Mimi Glavin, owner of The Playful Garden, credits her success in running her whimsical downtown store in part to the love and security of her 46-year marriage to husband Mike, a love story that began when the couple were teenagers. At left, an example of the whimsical goods available at The Playful Garden.

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What better way to bring Valentine’s Day to a close than over dinner prepared by one of Napa Valley’s first-rate chefs.

There are any number of restaurants in the valley that are gearing up for both Valentine’s Day and a holiday weekend by offering special menus. So a word to wine country romantics — make a reservation soon.

Some chefs are putting together

special menus for Valentine’s Day, with noted emphasis on ingredi-ents purported to have aphrodisi-acal properties.

One of them is Victor Scargle, executive chef at Lucy at Bardes-sono, the upscale Yountville hotel.

“We’re offering some of our

Napa County’s chefs plan to make holiday special

Raphael Kluzniok/Register Vince Lee strains his creation, the Birds and the Bees, behind the bar at Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville. The Birds and the Bees is a signature cocktail Lee created for Valentine’s Day, combining aphrodisiac ingredients, honey and basil, with a touch of heat from the bird’s eye chile.

Holding your Valentine’s hand over dinner

31

favorites, including some dishes that include ingredients that have a reputation — past and present — for being aphrodisiacs,” the chef noted.

For example, his six-course Valentine’s Day menu begins with a lobster bisque topped with tempura maitake mushrooms, fol-lowed by house-cured Skuna Bay salmon with Champagne-poached oyster, blood orange beurre blanc and Osetra caviar. So, in the first two courses, the diner will get his or her aphrodisiacal kick from lobster, Champagne, oyster and caviar, Scargle pointed out. Other menu ingredients with purported love potion cachet include fennel, carrots, lemon verbena and, of course, more Champagne.

Other dishes on chef Scargle’s Feb. 14 menu include Maryland striped sea bass with wild rice, car-amelized fennel and purple carrot puree; a choice of beef striploin or bigeye tuna encroute with spin-ach and shaved truffles; Cowgirl Creamy Inverness cheese with hon-eycomb and pomegranates; plus

white chocolate mousse with rose Champagne sorbet, lemon verbena meringue and garden flowers.

Not to be outdone, bar man-ager Vince Lee will be serving a special drink for the occasion, one he calls, “The Birds and the Bees.”

Lee is focusing on the reported aphrodisiacal strengths of both basil and honey for his latest Lucy cocktail. His spirit of choice is gin, with added ingredients including local honey, garden basil and a bird’s eye chile oil tincture. Stop by the bar before dinner and ask “Vincenzo” to give you a lesson in “The Birds and the Bees.”

Cost of the Valentine’s Day meal at Lucy is $105 per person. Bardessono is located at 6528 Yount St., Younvtille. For reserva-tions, call 204-6030.

UPVALLEY PICKS If you live in or near Calis-

toga or St. Helena, The Farmer & the Fox at Cairdean Estate is a

romantic spot for couples to enjoy dinner. Chef Joseph Humphrey is adding “some celebratory things” for Valentine’s Day that dovetail nicely with the regular English pub-style menu. For example, he’ll offer caviar service with sour-dough crumpets, a lobster dish, several entrees for two as well as several desserts to share. “We’ll also be opening up some interesting Champagnes that we’ll offer by the glass,” he added.

The Farmer & the Fox is located at 3111 St. Helena High-way, St. Helena. For reservations starting at 5 p.m., call 302-5101.

We’ve been told that Cupid is often observed in and around Bar Terra in St. Helena. Whether tucking into the evening’s spe-cial tartare, a hearty cassoulet or

a toothsome milk-braised pork shoulder, the menu in the infor-mal St. Helena eatery is a favorite with locals and visitors alike. The

less structured dining option of owners Lissa Doumani and chef Hiro Sone, Bar Terra will be offer-ing a few lovers’ treats in addition to the regular menu, says the chef. Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Bar Terra is located at 1315 Railroad Ave., St. Helena. Res-ervations can be made by phon-ing 963-8931.

NAPA, AMCAN OPTIONS A couple of dining rooms in

Napa are ideal for both hand-hold-ing and good eats.

In addition to offering a few cocktails for the occasion, Celadon will be featuring several specials at dinner, says chef Marcos Uribe. Diners can begin with cream of Dungeness crab soup or Hawaiian

ahi poke with caviar. Main course specials include red wine braised boneless short ribs, pan seared scallops with truffled mashed

Raphael Kluzniok/Register Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu from executive chef Victor Scargle, along with special cocktails for lovers created by bar manager Vince Lee.

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32

potatoes, plus a grilled top sirloin steak. Or diners can opt for one of the favorites on the regular menu, like braised lamb shank with raisin and toasted almond couscous or

pan seared wild sea bass. Dinner will be served from 5 p.m.

Celadon is located at 500 Main St., Napa. For reservations, call 707-254-9690.

A cozy spot on the banks of the Napa River, Angele is a favorite of those who love French cookery, especially the style of food offered in neighborhood bistros of Paris. Oysters, caviar and foie gras are all on the Valentine’s Day menu at this foot-of-Main-Street eatery, along with chef Rogelio Garcia’s lobster en croute, crispy veal sweetbreads, bouillabaisse and duck breast with Pink Lady apples.

Angele is located at 540 Main St., Napa. Dinner will be served between 5 and 10 p.m. For reser-vations, call 252-8115.

What’s more romantic than a ballad sung by Vic Damone, Tony Bennett or Dean Martin? That’s just three of the crooners you’ll hear while dining at Ristorante La Strada in American Canyon on Valentine’s Day.

The kitchen will offer several specials that evening in addition to the tasting menu. Or lovers could share the tasty crab ravioli, dig into a lobster and shrimp plat-ter with angel hair pasta or opt for one of the veal dishes — piccata, Marsala, saltimbocca or a grilled porterhouse.

Ristorante La Strada is located at 6240 Napa-Vallejo Highway, American Canyon. Dinner is served on Valentine’s Day from 3:30 to 10 p.m. For reservations, call 226-3027.

J.L. Sousa /Register photo Manning the stoves at a wine country version of a British gastropub, The Farmer & The Fox, are executive chef Joseph Humphrey, left, and Jason LaBue, chef de cuisine.

Raphael Kluzniok/Register A creation by bar manager Vince Lee, the Birds and the Bees is a signature cocktail created for Valentines day, combining aphro-disiac ingredients, honey and basil, gin and a touch of heat from bird’s eye chile. The cocktail is a new offering at Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville.

Below, muted colors on the wall outside Angele Restaurant and Bar along the Napa River.

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While there’s no scientific evidence of choc-olate’s aphrodisiacal effects, a box of decadent treats sure can’t hurt.

“All I can say is that when people receive a box of chocolates, they feel awfully happy about it,” said John Anderson of Woodhouse Chocolate at 1367 Main St. in St. Helena.

Woodhouse offers a variety of goodies appropriate for Valentine’s Day: heart-shaped lollipops, frogs with hearts, elephants with hearts, and of course heart-shaped boxes full of sweets.

Along with Woodhouse’s traditional choc-olates, Anderson is offering two special boxes this year. One focuses on caramel: traditional

caramels, caramel hearts, mocha brown butter hearts, and a blackberry caramel heart with a layer of lemon ganache.

“That last one is really good,” Anderson said. “My wife gave it to me this year.”

The second special box is designed for Val-entine’s Day, with almost everything inside hand-decorated and shaped like a heart: strawberry brown sugar caramel, coffee toffee

cocoa nib, passion fruit, 70-percent chocolate ganache, and morello cherries. Anderson said morello cherries are naturally sour, but taste great surrounded by rich almond paste.

“That box should really seal the deal for Valentine’s Day if you’re giving it to someone you’re attracted to,” Anderson said.

For information visit WoodhouseChocolate.com.

Woodhouse Chocolate offers Valentine’s Day treats

Jesse Duarte John Anderson of Woodhouse Chocolate in St. Helena is offering a full slate of special gifts for Valentine’s Day.

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SAMIE HARTLEY

Chances are you’ve attended a wedding ceremony where someone read from the book of Corinthians: “Love is patient; love is kind.” It’s a popular Bible verse that

describes love so beautifully, but when we think of love, how often do we associate it with kindness?

Sometimes it is the little kind-nesses that mean the most, but when kindness is shared so selflessly, those memories last forever. And if that kindness comes from a complete stranger? Those are memories that not only stay with you, but memories that can change who you are.

Napa resi-dent Jennifer Salciedo never e x p e c t e d a trip to the nail salon to change her life.

“I used to get my nails done a lot, but after I lost my job in November, it wasn’t as often,” said Salciedo, 28. After a few weeks of job hunting, she decided manicured nails might give her a confidence boost and help her exude a sharp appearance that would win over potential employers, so she decided to go to a salon in Napa.

She brought her 6-year-old son Ryan along and talked with him quietly while she waited for her appointment. She chit-chatted with other women in the salon as her son snacked on his lunch and played with a toy that came in his kid’s meal. Nothing about that afternoon seemed extraordinary, but it’s what happened next that Salciedo said will stay with her forever.

“I was halfway through getting my nails done when the girl told me that the woman before me had

paid for my nails,” Salciedo said. “I almost cried. I asked what the woman’s name was and why she’d paid and girl doing my nails gave me a note that made me smile and

get teary eyed. I’d been going through a lot and was so appreciative.”

The note left for Salciedo said: “You are so kind and patient to your son. Keep up the good work as a mom. And good luck on the job hunt. Pay this for-ward some day when you are able. Have a happy day.”

S a l c i e d o said she and

the woman hadn’t spoken. They had only shared passing smiles. Sal-ciedo was so incredibly moved by the gesture that she said she intends to pay it forward whenever she can.

“I just wish I could say thank you,” she said. “I would tell her that it meant the world to me to know that with the few caring and kind people in the world, I had a chance to experience that in a stranger. I have been going through so much, and I appreciate it more than she will ever know. I plan on making this (paying it forward) an ongo-ing thing once I am settled and find a job.”

Caitlin Phillips can relate to Salciedo. She, too, benefited from the kindness of a stranger – in a

Love is all around us

Submitted photo Caitlin Phillips decided to cut her hair and donate it to Locks of Love after learning her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

“I just wish I could say thank you. I would

tell her that it meant the world to me to know that with the few caring and kind people in the world, I had a chance to experience that in a stranger. I have been going through so much, and I appreciate it more than she will ever know. I plan on making this (paying it forward) an ongoing thing once I am settled and find a job.

37

Napa salon no less.When Phillips learned her

mother was diagnosed with can-cer, she felt helpless. She would be unable to be at her mother’s side during chemotherapy and radiation treatments because her mother lived out of state, but in an act of soli-darity, Phillips vowed that she would cut her hair when her mother began to lose hers.

“The decision to cut my hair came rather easily actually,” said Phillips, 20. “I had tossed around the idea for a while but never had the courage to do something so dras-tic. When I found out that my mom was sick, it was the push I needed to do it.”

Phillips went to a Napa salon to have her hair professionally cut. As a stylist cut her hair, which fell past her shoulders, Phillips talked about her mother’s cancer treatment and why she decided to crop her hair so short and donated her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that uses donated hair to make wigs for can-cer patients. The stylist praised her for her act of kindness, but Phillips

didn’t think her haircut would mean much to a stranger.

When Phillips went to the regis-ter to pay for her haircut, the stylist informed her that her haircut had been paid by a fellow customer, a gentleman who had been sitting next to her.

“I was so shocked. I hadn’t spo-ken to the man or ever really noticed him to be honest,” Phillips said. “I asked the woman if he was still here, but by the time I got to the park-ing lot, he was already gone. I went back inside and gave the cashier my name and phone number in case she saw him again, but I never heard anything.”

Like Salciedo, Phillips wishes she had the opportunity to thank her anonymous friend for his kind gesture. “I’d love the opportunity to thank him,” she said. “I think what makes what that man did for me so special is that we live in a soci-ety where we are so inundated with negative things and bad news and sadness, it’s small things like that that remind us there is good in the world. It reminds us to stay focused

on the positive things in life.“If I could meet him, I would

want to tell him what a big deal the haircut was for me and for my mom, and I’d want to thank him and probably give him a hug.”

Phillips mother endured six months of treatments and is can-cer free today. Phillips has decided to keep her hair short. Not only is

the style easier to maintain, but it helps her remember the kindness of the stranger whose simple act of paying for a haircut changed her outlook on the world she lives in.

It doesn’t take much to be a hero in Napa, according to Phillips and Salciedo. Sometimes it’s the little things – a manicure or a hair-cut – that makes all the difference.

Submitted photo Caitlin Phillips of Napa cut her shoulder-length hair two years ago and donated her hair to Locks of Love. A stranger’s act of kindness made her gesture even more meaningful.

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Sean Scully Barbara Wiggins,

owner of Mustard Seed Clothing Company on First

Street in Napa with one of her window displays.

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Just two days and a few hours after the 2014 Queen of the Valley Fashion Show — the annual fundraiser that Barbara Wiggins has directed and

produced for three decades — the 6.0 earthquake hit Napa. Like so many downtown businesses, Wiggins’ store Mustard Seed Clothing Co. suffered significant damage, and she suddenly needed help from the community she’s given so much to.

Napa didn’t let her down.A downtown staple for 33 years, The Seed was yellow

tagged, lost all of its windows and needed ceiling repairs. But Wiggins was overwhelmed with gratitude for the aid that quickly came her way. That very day, Adobe Lumber from Awmerican Canyon brought boards for her windows and a man from Trefethen winery came and installed them, while his wife picked up a broom and started sweeping.

“They did this all up and down First Street,” she said. “We had customers that had damage in their house, that got

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Sean Scully Jewelry and accessories on display at Barbara Wiggins’ downtown Napa store, The Mustard Seed Clothing Co.

out and wanted to come down and make sure we were all OK. That’s the kind of community that we live in.”

These acts of kindness just reaf-firmed what Wiggins already knew and loved about her community; why she’s always jumping at oppor-tunities like the Queen of the Valley Fashion Show, to give back to it.

That show is by far the largest undertaking she’s involved in each year. Funds raised go towards some-thing specific the hospital is in need of, like a piece of machinery, the can-cer unit or heart unit. In conjunction with the Day for the Queen Murray Memorial Golf Tournament, the two events raised more than $100,000 last year for the Queen.

“My kids were born there and there’s not a person in this whole valley that won’t need their services at one point or another, so it’s a very important charity,” said Wiggins.

Meetings are already taking place for the 2015 show, which uses local models and clothes from Mustard Seed and Williamson and Company. Seventy to 80 complete outfits strut down the catwalk each year.

“It takes a village to do this show; it’s huge,” said Wiggins, who was quite modest about her role in the production. “I just provide the fash-ion, direct and produce the show. I’m really only a small part of that.”

Wiggins has put on other fashion shows, like at the Annual Holiday Glam & Giving benefit luncheon, a fundraiser for Cope Family Center Child Abuse Prevention programs. She’s currently working on some smaller in-store events with various groups of women, and is looking for-ward to participating in an upcoming

seminar on aging and updating one’s look to look and feel better. She always happy to donate gift certifi-cates to charitable events involving women, children and families.

Her community involvement runs deep, always has, and while many around town might consider her a sort of saint, Wiggins doesn’t think twice about it.

“There isn’t a small business in this town that doesn’t do all they can for the local charities. It’s part of us, it’s our space, it’s our town and we want to support it,” she said.

The earthquake reminded the Napa business community that they’re all in it together. Mustard Seed was closed for one month during its busiest time of year to make repairs, missing out on the usual big boost in sales that follow the fashion show. Still, Wiggins knows she was lucky compared to others.

“It was a very tough time for me, but it was a tough time for all of downtown. Everyone has their own thing and I feel very blessed that ours was not that bad,” she said. “It was horrible, it was awful, but not com-pared to some other people.”

Wiggins says nothing, not even an earthquake, can shake her from The Seed, where she jokes she’ll have to be pushed around in a wheelchair in another 20 years. But on a more serious note, she credits the loyalty of her local customers for getting her and the store through the tough time.

“It was a tough year but it was survivable, I think because we’ve been open 33 years,” said Wiggins. “Perhaps that’s why it’s important that we support everyone in town, because they support us as well.”

40

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“Patina” is the word that jewelers use for the sheen that occurs over the years – a kind of delicate aging that denotes maturity, experience, and to some, grace.

Patina is one of the hallmarks of older jewelry. It is also the name of the unique jewelry store in St. Helena.

Patina Estate and Fine Jewelry is a little jewelry box of a shop that’s laid out like the little shops of Europe, with two enormous chande-liers and brightly lit glass cases. Its focus is on antique and estate jew-elry: the kinds of precious objects that get passed down from grand-mother to granddaughter, generation through generation. They are the

Patina: Generation to generation of objet d’art

Tom Stockwell, St. Helena Star Lauren Malloy and Julia Cottafavi have come from as far as Washington, D.C. to wonder at the antique jewelry at Patina. Meanwhile, Malloy’s 7-week-old baby’s eyes are also pulled to the glistening diamond rings in the case.

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one-of-a-kind objets d’art that, to the discerning eye, may be the most beautiful pieces of jewelry that can be found.

But what makes Patina so unique are its owners, Wayne Armstrong and Marcus Robbins, and their gemologist, Silvia Grif-fiths. The three of them are fasci-nated by the antique pieces they sell and they take special care to describe each piece and the period from which it comes. But perhaps, just as importantly, they are fas-cinated by the customers who come from across the country to see what they have collected and to learn what they can about the pieces. These customers return, year after year, to see what Patina has found, and to reconnect and chat with the jewelers.

But it wasn’t always so con-genial, said owner Wayne Arm-strong. “When we first opened, 20 years ago, we were a kind of novelty in St. Helena,” he said. “We’d been coming up to the

Napa Valley for years because of Marcus’ family, and we wanted to open a shop.”

Eventually, Armstrong and Robbins bought the Perez Jew-elry Shop, which had been in that Main Street location for more than 40 years and had its own dedicated base of local cus-tomers. Armstrong and Robbins remodeled the shop — creating a light, warm and inviting envi-ronment — and then renamed it “Patina.” The shop now reflected their cosmopolitan tastes and showed their antique pieces beau-tifully, Armstrong said. But for the locals, Robbins said, “There may have been a bit of suspicion about us as the new owners. St. Helena 20 years ago was very different,” Robbins continued. “People didn’t just move in and open a shop.”

“When we first opened, peo-ple didn’t seem to take to us,” Armstrong acknowledged. “Our first day of business we only sold a watch battery. The next day we

Tom Stockwell, St. Helena Star Above left, a gold floral pendant has dew drops made of diamwonds, and is a favorite of Patina gemologist, Silvia Griffiths. “I often fall in love with a particular piece, and when it sells I’ve been known to have tears,” she said.

Above right, Marcus Robbins, co-owner of Patina, shows a beautiful Art Deco watch-pin in the shape of a watering can filled with flowers made of rubies and diamonds. Though the detail is minuscule, the presentation is impeccable.

42

sold a watch band. And we were starting to wonder if we were going to be able to make a living from the store.”

But then, according to Arm-strong, long-time St. Helena

resident Emma Parnisari came in to the store to look at what Patina was selling. “It was really quite amazing,” Armstrong said. “Evidently she passed the word around in St. Helena that we were

OK, and people started coming in to see us.”

Over the years Patina has grown its own loyal clientele, and today the grownup children of those first customers are returning with their own children to marvel at the beautiful antique pieces of jewelry, and to chat with Armstrong, Rob-bins and Griffiths.

“We love that generational return,” Armstrong said. And just then a group of women in their 30s swept into the store. It was like a reunion of old friends. These customers had been children when their mothers had bought them antique necklaces and rings from

Robbins and Armstrong, they said. Or they had chosen their engage-ment rings from the jewelers.

Now, with their own babies in arms, they had returned and were looking over the cases with rapt attention. But perhaps more importantly, they were catching up on the news of St. Helena as they reminisced about their childhood experiences of their first jewelry purchases from Patina. And, of course, they were showing off their own babies to everyone.

The items displayed in Patina represent an impressive range of art periods, and Robbins explained that many of the periods that are most sought after were really very short. “The Edwardian era was

Tom Stockwell, St. Helena Star photos Patina Estate and Fine Jewelry is located at 1342 Main St. in St. Helena. It has an exceptional collection of antique jewelry from nearly all the major eras, but place a special emphasis on diamond engagement rings of the Edwardian and Art Deco eras.

Wayne Armstrong, left, Silvia Griffiths, and Marcus Robbins say they welcome the opportunity to purchase fine estate and antique jewelry and objects d’art.

Patina has a collection of antique jew-elry from nearly all the major eras, but place a special emphasis on diamond engagement rings of the Edwardian and Art Deco eras.

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only nine years,” he said. “From 1901 to 1910. And Art Nouveau was only 20 years, from 1890–1910. These pieces are one-of-a-kind.”

For Griffiths, Patina’s gemologist, the experience of selling a piece can be bitter-sweet. “I often fall in love with a particular piece, and when it sells I’ve been known to have tears,” she said.

Indeed, each of them has a particular favorite, and –- with a little coaxing –- they pulled them from their cases. For Robbins, it was an Art Deco watch pin in the design of a tiny watering can filled with flowers. It would be worn on a lady’s lapel so the watch was mounted upside down, so she could tell the time in a glance.

For Griffiths, it was a small gold Art Nouveau era pendant in the shape of a flower, with dew drops of diamonds and a hanging crystal prism. She delicately turned the piece over in her hand and demonstrated how, with the chain removed, the pendant could also be worn as a brooch.

Armstrong, meanwhile, was standing up on a stool and reach-ing into the display window. What he brought out to share was a beautiful amethyst necklace on a gold filigree chain, surrounded by tiny pearls, mother of pearl inlay and black enamel. He explained that the unusual piece, about the size of an egg, had no wear on it at all, and it must have remained in a case throughout its life.

Each piece, Armstrong said, elicits a small story of its own about how it was made and the care by which it has been pre-served. The joy of wearing one of these pieces would be wonderful, he said. But to pass one of these treasures on to another generation would be a legacy that would fill anyone with wonder.

Patina Estate and Fine Jewelry is located at 1342 Main St. in St. Helena, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is closed Tues-days, and has special hours from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

TOM STOCKWELLt s tockwel l@sthe l enas tar. com

Walking down the street in St. Helena or Calistoga, your eyes can easily stray to the bright displays of diamond necklaces, gold pendants, and pearl earrings

arranged on little mannequins that seem to press against the windowpanes, peering back at you and beseeching you to come into the shop to take a look. This is the new window shopping experience of the Napa Valley — the call of “bling-bling” as light bounces off the gold and diamond jewelry.

It’s that subterranean, unspo-ken, overpowering desire for a little something that is unique, flashy and stylish. In a word: Jewelry. And in the valley’s little towns, where once there were dis-plays of wine-making equipment, blue jeans and plumbing supplies, now there are jewelry stores, each with a unique claim to beauty, grace and design.

On Lincoln Avenue in Cal-istoga there are the Golden Bear Legacy, Findings Napa Valley, Stix & Stones, and Studio Kokomo. On Main Street in St. Helena there are Patina Estate & Fine Jewelry, Palladium Fine Jewelry, David’s Jewelers, AF Jewelers, The Pavati Collection, Romance St. Helena, Baksheesh Fair Trade

and Kokopelli Gallery. While many of these shops offer a vari-ety of other items, such as cloth-ing or sculpture, most are devoted entirely to adding that bling-bling to your wardrobe.

ST. HELENA David’s Jewelers at 1343

Main St. in St. Helena is one of the oldest jewelry stores in St. Helena, featuring a collection of jewelry, gemstones, and fine Swiss watches. David’s shop is an airy open attraction of light, space, architecture, and design, and David’s showcases the creations of owner/designer David Clark, as well as pieces from some of the most talented internationally known jewelry designers.

Tom Stockwell, St. Helena Star David’s Jewelers is one of the oldest jewelry stores in St. Helena featuring a collection of jewelry, gemstones, and fine Swiss watches.

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Patina Estate & Fine Jewelry at 1342 Main St. in St. Helena showcases a collection of antique and estate jewelry with a special emphasis on platinum and dia-mond engagement rings from the Edwardian and Art Deco eras.

Palladium Fine Jewelry at 1339 Main St. in St. Helena offers sought after brands in designer jewelry and fine time pieces, including such names as Kwiat and Hermes, as well as items designed and created in its own studio.

Just down the street, AF Jew-elers at 1309 Main St. sells high-end bracelets, earrings, necklaces,

pendants, and rings. Then there’s The Pavati Collection at 1150 Main St., Romance St. Helena at 1269 Main St. and Kokopelli Gal-lery of “Authentic Native Ameri-can Jewelry & Arts” at 1309 Main St. For the jewelry shopper, there is every range of style and price.

Findings Napa Valley at 1371 Main St. offers three lines of jew-elry: AG, which is handmade and designed in France; April Martin, which is handmade in Santa Cruz; and LVP, from Paris.

Meanwhile, at Baksheesh Fair Trade at 1327 Main St., the focus is on beauty and utilitarian

pieces that are modest in price. They offer bracelets, earrings and necklaces that are fair trade items. Fair trade companies are organiza-tions that offer products that are priced and marketed to ensuring the artisans receive a living wage. The focus of fair trade is on col-laboration instead of competition, and the store owners believe that the end goal is to assist artisans worldwide in earning a living with dignity and hope.

CALISTOGA If you are looking for some-

thing unique from the Napa

Valley, Stix & Stones Gallery at 1409 Lincoln St. is probably the place to start. This store sells items created by many artists and arti-sans from the Napa Valley region.

The Golden Bear Legacy at 1406 Lincoln Ave. offers unique diamond bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.

Funke’s at 1417 Lincoln Ave. is a clothing retailer that has been in Calistoga since 1927 – orig-inally a department store called “L. Funke & Sons.” It prides itself on being “the premier purveyor of fine resort and casual clothing for men and women in Calistoga,” and they have a fine selection of jewelry designed with that purpose in mind.

Finally, Studio Kokomo at 1421 Lincoln Ave. is a gallery that specializes in fine art and handmade jewelry, and most of the works are from artists in and around Napa Valley.

Whatever your tastes in jew-elry might be, you can probably find something that’s just right and in the right price range in the Upvalley.

Tom Stockwell, St. Helena Star Patina Estate & Fine Jewelry in St. Helena showcases a collection of antique and estate jewelry with a special emphasis on platinum and diamond engagement rings from the Edwardian and Art Deco eras.

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A romantic comedy/drama that wooed audiences at the 2014 Napa Valley Film Festival will show on Valentine’s Day weekend at the Cameo Cinema, 1340 Main St. in St. Helena.

Sean Mullin, the writer and director of “Amira & Sam,” will answer questions after the 5:45 p.m. showing on Friday, Feb. 13. The film will show at 3, 5:45 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 15.

Mullin, a comedian and U.S. Army veteran who graduated from West Point, brings the perspectives of a military officer and a filmmaker to the story of a veteran who returns to the U.S. and falls in love with an Iraqi immigrant who’s soon faced with deportation.

Mullin’s goal with the film was to show that “not all sol-diers come back with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but this country has PTSD,” said Cameo proprietor Cathy Buck.

“The film is sweet and beautiful

and wonderfully done, and Sean is an incredible speaker,” Buck said. “He’s a great human being, funny and gives one of the best Q&As I’ve ever heard. It’ll be a great Val-entine’s Day package.”

“Amira & Sam” won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2014 Napa Valley Film Festival. Buck said it was her favorite of all the movies she watched during the festival.

Everybody who watches the film at the Cameo will be entered into a drawing for a Valentine’s Day gift basket containing movie tickets, chocolate and other prizes. “I’m still adding to the package to see if we can get things like an overnight stay and dinner for two,” Buck said.

“Amira & Sam” runs 90 min-utes and is rated PG-13. Buck said it’s suitable for families with older children. The special showing fea-turing the Q&A with Mullin will be $20 per ticket.

Cameo Cinema offers special Valentine’s Day showing, Q&A

Jesse Duarte Cathy Buck, proprietor of the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, is presenting the romantic comedy/drama “Amira & Sam” during Valentine’s Day weekend, including a Q&A with writer/director Sean Mullin on Friday, Feb. 13.

46

AmCan library provides Valentines for senior citizens

NOEL BRINKERHOFFnbrinkerhof f@americancanyoneag le . com

Valentine’s Day can be a day of love and joy for many, partic-ularly those in relationships. But for those without someone spe-cial in their lives, such as widows and widowers, Feb. 14 can be a trying time.

That’s why officials at the American Canyon Library and the city’s senior center decided this year to do something to make sure local seniors didn’t feel like members of the Lonely Hearts Club, and to let them know that they are loved.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, the library encouraged patrons of all ages to help make dozens of Valentine’s, which were then handed out at the senior center.

“It’s a nice way to show that they are loved by the city of American Canyon as a commu-nity,” said Vincent Lin, the senior center’s program director.

Lin teamed up with Librarian Breanna Feliciano and her staff to make Valentine’s Day a special one for seniors.

First, a special Valentine’s

display was set up in the library’s lobby during late January. There, visitors could select one or more cards from among those provided by the library.

Adults and children were encouraged to personalize the cards, either with handwritten messages or drawings.

A few days before Valentine’s Day, Lin collected the cards from the library and handed them out to seniors who regularly visit the center to attend classes, play cards or just hang out and socialize.

The Valentine’s Day project was inspired by a similar effort performed during the holidays.

Back in December, Lin worked with the American Can-yon Boys and Girls Club to make 60 Christmas cards for seniors.

Children decorated the cards and added their own expressions of joy and well wishes.

Lin said many of the seniors found the holiday cards “a touching gesture” and “also very cute,” particularly those made by students from Amer-ican Canyon Middle School.

Noel Brinkerhoff Regular visitors to the American Canyon senior center received a surprise just before Valentine’s Day: Personalized cards from residents wishing them a happy Valentine’s Day.

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ANNE WARD [email protected]

It just makes sense that a wine named Date Night would be the result of a love of wine, land and family. And at Phifer Pavitt Winery, maker of Date Night wine, it’s now a way of life.

Backed by an MBA from Uni-versity of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in computer science, proprietor Suzanne Phifer Pavitt left a successful career in the high-tech world and has taken on the challenge of making serious fine wines with a sense of levity.

Critics seem to think she

accomplished her goal early on.“We were rocketed into the lime-

light,” Phifer Pavitt said about the stellar review from Wine Spectator on their first vintage.

Then the 2005 Date Night Cab-ernet Sauvignon made it to the Top 100 list of the San Francisco Chron-icle in 2008. The Chron’s wine

editor said of it, “The name and the cowgirl label of this Napa newcomer belie an impressively serious effort made from Pope Valley grapes.”

And the style of the cab has continued.

“It is full-bodied. It can kick some booty,” Phifer Pavitt said.

It was during her tech career and traveling for the job that she really caught the wine bug, Phifer Pavitt said.

“I enjoyed fine wine on an expense account,” she said.

The name “Date Night” seemed natural to Phifer Pavitt since, she said, all the major life decisions she and husband, Shane, made were done on their regular date nights.

The winery is small in terms of production, about 500 cases each of cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc, but they are expanding.

Date Night was launched recently in Atlanta, which is about 100 miles south of where Suzanne grew up in Ringgold, Georgia. That again, seemed natural, to take her wine to her home territory where it is being received well, she said. Her Southern background lent itself to the cowgirl image on the label and the girl Phifer Pavitt calls “Moxie” who is made of metal and leans against the entry of their property.

The Date Night line is so well-re-ceived by customers that there is a

Regular date night leads to

lifestyle change

Submitted photos Shane Pavitt and Suzanne Phifer Pavitt, owners of Phifer Pavitt Date Night Wines, decided to move to Calistoga and start their own winery while on a regular date night.

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one-case-per-varietal-per-household limit on purchases. The winery’s club, The Verona Society, is an option for wine aficionados to insure an annual allocation.

Currently the grapes for Date Night are sourced from organically farmed vineyards in Pope Valley and overseen by winemakers Ted Osborne and Gary Warburton, but

Phifer Pavitt has plans to grow vines on their own property soon.

The property located on Silver-ado Trail holds a tasting room fash-ioned from a 19th-century barn they found in Franz Valley. It was taken down board by board and rebuilt on their property in 2005. The only remnant of how it looked before is a small patch of yellow paint to the far right side of the front door, left intentionally to serve as a tribute to the building’s history.

Hanging above the entrance are

wire basket light fixtures made from the baskets that the olive trees on the property were delivered in. They’ve been repurposed more than once, Phifer Pavitt said, one year they held gourds and other fall decorations.

Inside the repurposed theme Phifer Pavitt calls “rustic but refined” continues, with wood walls and ceil-ings fashioned from an old building in Wyoming, burlap coffee sacks for seating, and a giant black walnut tasting room bar suspended from the ceiling, made from a fallen tree.

To get to really know the prop-erty on which they would live and to decide where and how to situate their home, the couple “car camped” on their property, watching the sun rise and set, paying attention to how the wind blew, and wandering the land.

Phifer Pavitt, who is active in the community and the lives of their children, 13-year-old Jackson and 11-year-old Rhett, is also a found-ing member of Wine Entre Femmes, also known as “A Woman’s Palate.” It is made up of powerhouse women winemakers and leaders in the wine industry who want to provide a place of networking, education and empowerment to their peers.

The winery is at 4660 Silverado Trail, north of Dunaweal Lane, marked by Moxie, a life-size steel cowgirl sculpture, at the gate. It is open by appointment only. To make an appointment call 942-4787 or email [email protected].

Register file photo Suzanne Phifer Pavitt stands in the tasting room at Phifer Pavitt winery in 2013.

Register file photo The Phifer Pavitt tasting room is filled with repurposed material such as the reclaimed wood lining the ceiling and walls, the burlap coffee sacks used for seating, and the light fixtures made from reclaimed hay bale wrap.

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ANNE WARD [email protected]

What started as a family tradition of toffee making has turned into a side business and hopefully more for Calistogan Regina

Carlin.“It’s taken on a life of its own,”

she said of her nascent business Regina’s Heavenly Treats.

Carlin (who goes by “Gena,” a shortened version of Regina) is the queen of toffee in the Upval-ley town. After a busy holiday sea-son, Carlin said she was looking forward to taking a break.

“I ’ve been f looded with orders,” Carlin said.

She runs the business in her spare time from her full-time job at Rombauer Vineyards in St. Helena.

Carlin, who has lived in Cal-istoga for 20 years, started selling her specialty toffee at the Calis-toga Farmers Market in October, and has her product in two retail spaces — CalMart in Calistoga

and Petaluma Market in Peta-luma. This year, Regina’s Heav-enly Treats are likely to be for sale in coffee shops and other stores in Calistoga and other surround-ing areas.

Almond toffee is the most popular, and she’s recently added toffee crisps in two flavors: dark chocolate with sea salt, and milk chocolate with walnuts. On her website (ReginasHeavenly.com) she also sells chocolate chip cook-ies. She’s always experimenting with different flavors and ingre-dients and will be adding choc-olate-covered nuts to the lineup soon, including white chocolate with walnuts.

“It’s like being a kid in the kitchen playing,” Carlin said. “It

Submitted photosAt left, Regina Carlin holds a plate of her homemade toffee, made from a secret family recipe. Dark chocolate with sea salt toffee crisps made by Regina’s Heavenly Treats are seen above.

Calistoga toffee business takes flight

50

feeds my creative spirit.”The original recipe is her

grandmother’s , though she learned the process from her sis-ter. They would get together every year and make big batches of it in her hometown of San Francisco.

The recipe is a family secret; the ingredients are largely the same as any other toffee, it’s the process that is special. She makes all her products in small batches to ensure freshness, and each bag is numbered.

The recent storms caused some problems for Carlin; the damp-ness in the air prevented the tof-fee from hardening properly.

While working as the tasting room manager of UpValley Vint-ners on Lincoln Avenue, Carlin

would make batches to serve at winery events and people loved it. She started getting more and more requests for the toffee and it just seemed like the right time to start a business.

Everything fell into place, and offers of help to start the busi-ness overwhelmed Carlin, leading her to believe this was a meant-to-be moment.

One neighbor who has expe-rience with big-name brands like Nestle and Oroweat helped her with pricing. Another neighbor with art and graphic design skills took the photos for her website. It seemed like the universe was aligning the stars for her.

Thanks to the passage of the Cottage Food Operations law (AB

1616) that went into effect in January 2013, Regina’s Heavenly Treats is a home-operated busi-ness, saving Carlin the expense of renting a commercial kitchen. Her home kitchen is inspected annually and she’s limited in gross dollar sales and location of sales, but operating the business from her home gives her flexibil-ity.

Flexibility is one reason she has shied away from a dream she still has of owning her own restaurant because of the time commitment and capital required to get started and stay alive. It’s still kind of in the back of her mind, but opening a storefront for the sweet treats sounds man-ageable, she said.

“I’d love to have a storefront where you can put out a sign that says ‘gone fishing,’” Carlin said.

She attended the Culinary Arts Program at the City College of San Francisco and continued her studies in Europe, spending a summer in Switzerland, where she studied cuisine and wine pairing before moving on to Paris. By the time she came back to California, she was a chocolate connoisseur.

Pairing her treats with wine is a passion — she especially likes chardonnay and Merlot with her toffees — and something she hopes she’ll be able to do at the Farmers Market now that winer-ies are allowed to pour tastes.

The business is a “little extra money” that started as a way to help pay for vet bills for her ill dog, Jessie. It is in Jessie’s honor that Carlin donates 5 per-cent of profits to TaraSun Ani-mal Rescue.

Submitted photo Calistoga resident Regina Carlin created Regina’s Heavenly Treats as a way to help pay for veterinary bills for her ill dog, Jessie.

“I’d love to have a storefront where you can put out a sign that says ‘gone fishing.’”

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When people come to Calistoga to partake in a mud bath it’s not usually coupled with an obstacle course, but in March a couple thousand women will get dirty

in the town’s first Mudder of All Weekends.

The Pretty Muddy 5K fun run and obstacle course will be the center of attention for the weekend splattered with a host of mud-themed, clean-liv-ing events.

Mudder of All Weekends is March 27-29, and kicks off Friday night with hotels and resorts in town hosting pool parties, “SpaJama” parties, or pool-side yoga before attendees will head into town for a Mud City scavenger hunt.

The scavenger hunt will be a way for attendees to meet one another and discover Calistoga’s shops and restaurants, said Carolyn Hernandez, public relations and marketing manager for the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the weekend that is centered around the Saturday Pretty Muddy 5K run and obstacle course.

Pretty Muddy, an organized event that is held all over the country, is a women’s only event — though men and children are allowed to make a run at the obstacle course after all the women have gone through — designed for women of all shapes, sizes, ages and athletic ability.

“We get women who have never done a 5K, all the way up to ultra-mar-athoners,” said Kevin Sharpnek, founding member of Pretty Muddy.

“It’s definitely a diverse group of women,” said Sarah Barton, who par-ticipated in a run last year with her sister Carolyn Dinero, who works at the Calistoga Chamber.

Between 60 to 70 percent of women walk the entire 5K, and the obsta-cles are optional, Sharpnek said.

“We don’t time our event. You can’t win it,” he said.Some people were competitive about it, Barton said, but most were there

Submitted photoThe Mudder of all Weekends in Calistoga in late March will include a Pretty Muddy 5k event.

A mud bath of another kind

52

“just having fun,” and encouraging one another, and helping others to accomplish the obstacles.

The goal, Sharpnek said, was to create an event that harnesses “all of the stress and anxiety that a lot of women have” and focus it out on the field.

“It’s still a 5K; it’s still a sense of accomplishment. It’s only as challenging as you want it to be,” Sharpnek said. “It’s a fun day with your girlfriends.”

Barton and Dinero both stressed how much fun they had with one another, and with other participants. There were large groups of women, moms and daughters, groups of friends and the like, they said.

Some create teams and cos-tumes to go with the event, Sharp-nek said.

“Some come up with real fun team names. Some get messy costumes. Some are as simple as matching T-shirts,” he said.

One time there was a “whole

wedding party” with the bride in her wedding dress and the brides-maids in their gowns, Sharpnek said. And on another occasion he saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles getting muddy.

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all another group will outdo somebody. It’s why we have a cos-tume contest.”

Depending on the venue the Pretty Muddy run includes eight to 12 obstacles such as a rope net-ted A-frame over a mud puddle. Barton said that was the scariest one for her because she’s afraid of heights. There were spotters there for safety, and other participants encouraged her through what she said was the toughest part for her – swinging her leg over the top from one side to the other.

Other obstacles take the oppo-site approach and get participants on their hands and knees for a mil-itary crawl through the mud. No matter what the obstacle, people are destined to be dirty.

“You end up carrying around some pretty thick mud. You’re pretty caked,” Barton said.

The 5K and obstacle course is on Saturday, March 28, and is followed by celebratory beer, food and music near the finish line. After the run women are expected to head to the spas for possibly a mud bath of the more traditional Calistoga kind, massage or other spa treatment.

Later in the day locals will find it easy to spot women who are in town for the Mudder of all Week-ends because they will be strolling Lincoln Avenue in their pajamas, robes and fluffy slippers for the Robe Romp bar crawl in seek of the best Dirty Drink in town. Participating restaurants will have Pretty Muddy menu specials, too.

Sunday is a day of rest, shop-ping, yoga or finding more spe-cial drinks.

Building a whole weekend around the 5K run has never been done before with Pretty Muddy, Sharpnek said, and he credits the Calistoga Chamber for coming up with the idea.

“For a first-year event, (Cal-istoga) is really a fantastic draw. We’re hoping to turn this into an annual weekend,” he said.

Though billed as a girls’ week-end, Sharpnek said their events always have a small number of men participate, and a “lot of spec-tators, a lot of families,” he said.

The genesis of the event stemmed from his own sports and entertainment background and talking with a lot of women who are “intimidated to participate in events,” he said.

“Often it has nothing to do with their ability or that they can’t complete a 5K or longer, they’re just intimidated,” and they wanted to create a category of event that was activity- and adventure-based, but meant for fun alone. It’s a cat-egory that is “taking off” he added.

Sharpnek is looking for spon-sors to partner with to add an element of advocacy and support for such women’s issues as breast cancer. He’s hoping to get enough sponsors to cover the cost of 250 cancer survivors’ registration fees, he said.

Submitted photoCalistoga is hosting a Pretty Muddy 5K event in March. These women’s challenges are held across the country.

53

SASHA PAULSENspaul s en@napanews . com

ST. HELENA — It’s been six years since chef Ernesto Martinez and his brother-in-law Ramon Flores, became the of Market restaurant in St. Helena, but Martinez still

beams with pride as when the door opens for lunch and people, many greeting him by name, begin to fill his cozy and elegant Main Street bistro.

It all began with a dream, he explains with a smile, “and I am not a person who even remem-bers his dreams.”

Except for this time when he woke up one morning with the distinct recollection of dreaming that Market restaurant, where he was head chef, was going to close.

Martinez followed a long, hard road to that job since arriv-ing in the Napa Valley at 16, after leaving his home in Mex-ico City. He spent a few nights sleeping in parks while he looked for work. His first job was as a

dishwasher in Brava Terrace. This is when he got an idea that he might like to be a chef.

“As the dishwasher I was always the last one to leave,” he said. “Often we were there until five in the morning. I saw the chefs leaving at nine o’clock and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s early.’”

In St. Helena he found a childhood friend, Roman Flores. Flores’ sister Xochitl had come to stay with her brother, and Marti-nez noted with interest that she had changed considerably since their childhood. They began dat-ing, keeping it a secret from her

For chef and owner Ernesto Martinez, success means giving back

To Market, to Market

J.L. Sousa, Napa Valley Register photosChef and co-owner Ernesto Martinez with his wife, Xochitl Flores, stand in his St. Helena restaurant, Market, An American Restaurant.

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protective older brother. Flores, however, didn’t miss much.

“One day he said to me, ‘So my sister says you are seeing each other,’” Martinez said. “What could I say but, ‘Well, yes, we were going to tell you.’ He said, ‘Ha! I knew it!’”

Xochitl listened to Martinez’s dreams with a degree of skepti-cism. “I remembered at home his mother did all the cooking,” she explained. “I don’t think Ernesto knew how to flip a tortilla.”

They were married in 1997, and today have three sons, Allen, 16, Daniel, 11, and Julian 9.

Martinez, meanwhile, con-tinued a steady progression, observing, learning and working his way up through a series of restaurants in the valley. By 2003 he was working as a sous chef at the Culinary Institute of Amer-ica in St. Helena when, walking down Main Street, he noticed activity going on inside one store front. It wasn’t a large space, but its exposed rock wall and antique wooden bar gave it a distinctive

attraction.He asked and learned that

the renowned team of Douglas Keane and Nick Peyton were opening a bistro they planned

to call Market. They invited him to apply for a job. He kept his job at the CIA but signed on to work two or three days a week as a line cook at Market. “I wanted to learn from them,” he said.

Market, opening in 2003, was a prompt success. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, its menu of homey, comfort food, like mac ‘n’ cheese and the signature S’Mores, was a hit with locals and visitors. Keane and Peyton, however, soon moved onto a new project: In 2005, they opened the acclaimed Cyrus in Healds-burg, which garnered Michelin stars and put Healdsburg on the restaurant map.

With Cyrus claiming much of their attention, the owners were less frequently seen in Market. They had promoted Martinez to sous chef, which meant he’d left his job at the CIA; and twice they offered him the head chef

job. “I said no,” Martinez said. “I did not think I was ready.”

The third time, however, they didn’t offer him the job. “They asked to meet with me,” Marti-nez said. “They said, this time we’re not asking you, we’re tell-ing you: You’re the head chef. I left at 11 and came back at 11:45 the head chef.

“I told them, I didn’t know if I was ready,” he said. “They said, ‘You have something that can’t be taught.’ That gave me confidence.”

Martinez thrived in the new job and thrived, and then he had the dream that Market was closing. “I went to work that day and it stayed in my mind,” he said. “I looked at all the people who worked in this restaurant,

J.L. Sousa/RegisterThai rock shrimp is served with sweet mango, avocado, hearts of palm, micro cilantro and Thai vinaigrette.

“I told them, I didn’t know if I was

ready. They said, ‘You have something that can’t be taught.’ That gave me confidence.

Thai Marinated Rock Shrimp with Avocado

and Mango Serves 5• Medium sized pan of water• 1 Tbsp. salt• 8 ounces rock shrimp• 1 Tbsp. each: fresh basil, mint, cilantro, finely chopped• 2 each limes and lemons, zest and juice• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce• 1/4 cup olive oil• 1 sweet ripe mango• 2 ready to use avocados• 2 cloves garlic, minced• 1 medium sized shallot, finely chopped• 1/2 cup of micro cilantro

Bring water to boil, add salt and shrimp and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from water and let cool. Mix the herbs, zest, juice, fish sauce and oil in a bowl and set aside (this is the marinade). Cut the fresh sweet mango in medium size pieces. Chop the avocados, mix with garlic, salt to taste and set aside. For presentation, using a metal ring about 3 inches wide, layer the mango, the avocado and the shrimp and drizzle with the marinade. Top with the micro greens, remove the ring and serve immediately. www.marketsthelena.com

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who depended on their job, and finally, I had to ask (the owners): ‘Are you going to close?’”

Peyton and Keane answered him honestly: They weren’t plan-ning to close Market, but they were putting it up for sale.

“It clicked in my head,” Mar-tinez said. “Why don’t I buy it? I had always hoped I’d have my own business one day but I didn’t think it would happen so quick.”

That night, his wife recalled, “he woke me up at 3 a.m. and

said, ‘What if we buy Market?’ I said, ‘Go back to sleep.’ I thought it was a crazy dream.”

“It took a year and a half to raise the money,” Martinez said, but finally he and Ramon Flores were able to buy the restaurant.

“I was fighting for more than myself,” he said. “It was for all the people who worked there too.”

The timing, however, could hardly have been worse. “We became owners on Aug. 1, 2008,” Martinez said. By October, the U.S. economy collapsed into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Martinez’s worries about whether customers would fall away if the restaurant was under new ownership were replaced by wondering if they would survive. “I thought, ‘What have I done?’” he said. “For the rest of 2008 and 2009, I was so afraid I had made a mistake.

“I tried not to bring the stress home,” he said. Eventually, how-ever, he reached the point where he knew he would have to either let the restaurant go or sell the

J.L. Sousa/RegisterZinfandel-braised short ribs with truffle garlic potatoes and seasonal vegetables is a popular item on the Market menu.

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family home in American Can-yon home. “We sold the house,” he said. “I thought, if we keep the restaurant, we will have an income.”

During these tough two years, Martinez said two things

sustained him. One was the loy-alty of locals who continued to come to Market, and the other was the man Martinez calls his “good angel,” Market’s general manager, Eddie Moore.

A long - t ime ho sp i t a l i t y

professional, Moore said he had decided it would be his last job when he went to work for Market. Today, he continues to run the front of the house with quiet efficiency and an easy-go-ing Midwesterner’s charm.

With the support of locals and Moore, by 2010, they were on solid ground. “When peo-ple said to me they thought the food was better than it had been when it first opened, I was so happy.”

Today, Market is open for lunch, d inner and Sunday brunch, serving a menu of sea-sonal American classics to which Martinez gives his own spe-cial touches.

Enduring favorites for starters include his Dungeness crab cakes ($16), Ahi Two Ways ($16) and Lobster Rolls wrapped in Rice Paper served with a papaya, avo-cado, asparagus and a basil mint dipping sauce.

Seasonal products dominates the section titled “Farmers Mar-kets” that right now includes a Pomegranate and Pear Salad, ($15) and a Thai Rock shrimp salad served with mango, avo-cado, hearts of palm, cilantro and a Thai vinaigrette ($18).

“Big Plates” includes hearty offerings like the popular Braised Short Ribs with Truffle Sauce and Zinfandel Glaze, served with mashed potatoes $28) , Wild Coho Salmon with Mus-tard Sauce ($25) and Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Par-mesan Butter ($20).

Under a special section of “American Classics” you’ll find the “famous Mac ‘n’ Cheese,” which features aged Parmi-giano-Reggiano and Fiscalini cheddar cheese , bacon and herbs, along with Baby Back Ribs ($23), Rosie Organic Fried

Chicken ($19) and Champagne Battered Fish ‘n’ Chips ($18) and a Market burger ($14) that’s almost as famous as the mac and cheese.

“We are blessed with continu-ity here,” Moore said, noting that many of the servers have been Market employees for years.

Both Moore and Martinez give each other credit for this stability in the often volatile restaurant world.

“It’s because of him,” Moore said, gesturing to Martinez who provides his workers with health insurance and 401(k) retire-ment plans. Moore, Martinez said, promotes at atmosphere of respect and gives employees an opportunity to advance.

“We like to keep people moti-vated,” Moore said.

“I am just so grateful to all of the people who supported us,” Martinez said. “Now it’s important for me to give back.” He and his family now live in St. Helena where he contributes to local causes from making dona-tions to non-profits to providing his baby back ribs for his son’s sports teams.

Martinez and Flores have also expanded their team work to open the Napa Valley Bistro in Napa.

Most of all Martinez never forgets his staff, “the people who do all the work.”

What it comes down to, Mar-tinez said, “is that we are all a family here.” It’s why he closes the restaurant on Thanksgiv-ing Day, when he cooks for his employees. He also closes on Christmas and New Year’s so his staff can enjoy their own celebra-tions.

And on Christmas Martinez also gets a holiday, he noted. “My wife cooks.”

Braised Port Short RibsServes 6 Marinade:• 2 medium white onions, diced • 3 carrots, diced • 4 stalks of celery, diced • 10 garlic cloves, peeled • 6 bay leaves • 1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns • 1 bunch fresh thyme • 4 cups red wine • 2 cups port (red) • For the ribs: • 6 beef short ribs, 8-10 ounces each • Salt for seasoning • Oil for sauteing • 1 4 ounce can tomato paste

Mix all the marinade ingredients and add the short ribs.

Marinate for 24 hours.Remove the short ribs, place on a sheet pan, pat dry and season with salt. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom, then add the short ribs and sear both sides. Set the ribs aside.In the same pan, add the vege-tables and bay leaves from the marinade along with the tomato paste and simmer until soft. Add the red and port wine marinade and bring to a boil. Strain the liquid and discard the vegetables and bay leaves.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the short ribs in a shallow pan and pour enough of the liquid over to just cover. Bake for 3-ƒ-4 hours. Serve hot with your favorite side dishes.

“I am just so grateful to all of the people who supported us. Now it’s important for me

to give back. He and his family now live in St. Helena where he contributes to local causes from making donations to non-profits to providing his baby back ribs for his son’s sports teams.

www.visitcalistoga.com

57

Is it possible to live completely waste free?Filmmakers Jen and Grant compete to see who can producethe least garbage over the course of a year. This engaging,award-winning film examines the environmental impacts ofwaste. The Clean Bin Project is a fun and inspiring call toaction that speaks to crowds of all ages.

the clean bin project

The Environmental Education Coalition of Napa CountyProudly Presents:

Environmental Education Coalition Napa County @ www.NapaEnvironmentalEd.org

Wednesday, February 25 — 7:00pm

Napa Valley College Little Theatre

— $5 admission —Kids 12 and under are free

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:http://EarthDayNapa.com/Clean Bin Project.html

For more information, call Stephanie Turnipseed at (707)258-7864Proceeds benefit Environmental Education Coalition of

Napa County Scholarship Fund.

Paper17.3%

Glass – 1.4%

Metal – 4.6%

Electronics– 0.5%

Plastic9.6%

Organics – 32.4%

Inerts29.1%

Household HazardousWaste – 0.3%

Special Waste – 3.9%Mixed Residue – 0.8%

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ANGWIN — Las Posadas State forest is far off the normal routes of wine lovers and other tourists — except those searching for tasty

morsels near the damp, leaf-littered ground.The sun had barely started

rising over a filmy fog one recent Sunday morning before more than 30 visitors streamed into this woodland preserve outside Angwin. Leading the hikers were two mushroom enthusiasts, guides who would share their secrets for finding the hideouts of chan-terelles, matsutakes, maple syr-up-scented candy caps and other fungi to carry from forest to plate.

“It’s like treasure hunting for me,” said David Tsujimoto, one of the hikers, who took up mush-room foraging in Washington state before moving to Elk Grove last year. “Hiking is fun, but I prefer to be out there on the trail with something to look for.”

The Wild Mushroom Forage highlighted the third day of the Napa Truffle Festival — an annual

four-day gathering organized by the American Truffle Co. While the festival’s slate included various dining and wine pairing courses, cooking demonstrations and seminars, the program also offers guests a chance to tour the lands from which the delicacies spring.

David Campbell, a writer and teacher on wild mushrooms who leads fungi-hunting tours in the Bay Area, had chosen the placid Las Posadas woods largely for its unusual blend of firs, madrones, live oaks and other trees on the same ground — a variety of hosts, he hoped, for a diverse array of mushrooms for hikers to uncover.

Ten percent of mushroom species are edible, and the vast majority are nonlethal though unpalatable, but Campbell cau-tioned his tour group to respect

Mushroom mavens head Upvalley

Howard Yune/St. Helena Star photosMoe Khosravy (left) of Palo Alto inspects a dyer’s polypore mushroom harvested during the recent Wild Mushroom Forage in Angwin. The foraging tour is a part of the annual Napa Truffle Festival.

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the toxicity — eye-pleasing though the mushrooms might be — of the remaining 5 percent.

“You can’t say to yourself ‘Oh, it’s so ugly, it has to be poisonous,’ or ‘It’s so pretty, it has to be good to eat,’” he told his audience before their two-hour forest excursion. “There’s no room for intuition. There’s some very ugly mushrooms that are very delicious. And there’s some very pretty mushrooms that’ll kill you dead.”

The pickings seemed slim at first for the group. Or rather, as Stephanie Jarvis pointed out to the group, others already had picked the grounds close to the path, where bits of caps and stipes (mushroom stems) could be seen, discarded and ignored.

“Most people come in and clean out everything they find on the path,” said Jarvis, a mycologist who owns Napa Valley Fungi and cultivates mushrooms for culinary and medicinal uses. “So to find something, you need to go off the path.”

In twos and threes the hikers spread out on the sloping wood, following their guides’ advice to seek the markers of fungus-friendly habitat — a certain kind of fir here, a fallen madrone there, even a spot where the nighttime fog had condensed into a constant drip from the branches down to a moistened patch of soil.

With pocketknives and hand spades, the foraging party filled their small bags with frill-lipped

black chanterelles, meaty porto-bello and brown-topped porcini. At last the foragers returned to their starting point, where a fallen tree trunk became a table for their array of red, yellow and white quarry.

The haul of fungi was not especially large — moisture from the December rains was

slowly evaporating and leaving the soils less hospitable — but Jarvis, the mushroom guide, was happy to share her enthusiasm with others who might them-selves return to the woods for their own hunts.

“It’s all about the search,” said Jarvis. “It’s like Easter egg hunting, only for grown-ups.”

Howard Yune/St. Helena Star photosStephanie Jarvis, a mycologist guiding the recent Wild Mushroom Forage, harvests a russula mushroom in the woods of Las Posadas outside Angwin. More than 30 people took part in the hike, an introduction to the techniques of seeking out edible fungi and avoiding poisonous varieties.

A puffball mushroom releases a smoke-like cloud of spores when its cap splits, as Stephanie Jarvis demonstrated to hikers during the annual Wild Mushroom Forage recently in Angwin.

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ROSEMARIE KEMPTON

YOUNTVILLE — Just before winter break, Jennifer Meno took her fifth-grade class to Hurley’s Restaurant, a few blocks away from

their Yountville Elementary school.

With faces conveying eager anticipation, the 18 students and accompanying parent volunteers found their places at tables that were covered with white tablecloths inside the restaurant.

Many of the boys wore white shirts. Some sported ties and bow ties. The girls, exuding quiet dig-nity, wore dresses and elegant pants

outfits. Once seated at formal place settings, they were ready for an etiquette lesson that would be fol-lowed with a three-course meal.

Like a rite of passage, Meno’s classes have been going to this restaurant to learn fine dining manners for seven years. She says it is important for young people, growing up in a town famous for its

Mind your mannersHurley’s gives kids a lesson in etiquette

J.L. Sousa/Register photos The fifth-grade class from Yountville Elementary School had lunch at Hurley’s Restaurant on Tuesday while learning about manners and etiquette.

At left, Alex Rodriguez adjusts his tie while attending a manners and etiquette class at Hurley’s Restaurant in Yountville. The fifth-grade class from Yountville Elementary School took part in the eighth annual event.

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world-class restaurants, to learn the skills that will enhance their future confidence when they are dining in a fine restaurant.

She started the tradition when a parent of one of her students was working at the restaurant, and suggested Meno take her class there for an etiquette lesson and meal.

“I am very grateful to the Yountville restaurants and businesses that support our school,” Meno said. “It’s fun when they have a particular niche. Hurley’s has devel-oped a dining-out table manners’ etiquette program, which is fantastic.”

“Students learn that there are indoor manners and proper ways to conduct themselves in a nice restaurant, as well as at home,” she continued. “It really gives students a sense that they are part of a caring community, and gives them tools that they can use for the rest of their lives. As their teacher, even I learn some things.”

At Hurley’s Restaurant, both exec-utive chef Bob Hurley and his partner

and general manager, Jerry Lampe, have noticed the difference it makes when young people feel confident about restau-rant etiquette.

“It allows them to enjoy participating with their families in fine-dining situa-tions,” Lampe said. “Without some train-ing, kids come in and don’t talk or feel comfortable in a high-end restaurant. If kids are miserable, it isn’t a good family dinner time.”

To break the ice and help the students relax, Lampe and Hurley told them that they had “goofed around” with food when they were boys.

“When I was growing up, my friends and I used to stuff grapes in our mouths. I got 20 grapes in my mouth once,” Lampe told the class. “But we were at home in our backyard — not in a fine restaurant.”

When eating a three-course meal at a restaurant, good conversation is part of the pleasure. Students were told to make eye contact when talking to people at their table as well as with the wait staff and to stay off their cellphones. The guideline for voice level is to talk loud enough so that people at their table hear them, but not so loud they’d bother people at other tables.

Students, wondering what utensils

J.L. Sousa/RegisterSophie Lair, a fifth-grader from Yountville Elementary School, raises her hand to answer a question during an etiquette and manners class at Hurley’s Restaurant.

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to use, were taught to start from the outside and work their way in. If served a salad first, they should use the fork set to the far left of their plate.

The lesson covered dozens of etiquette details, while emphasizing respect and appreciation. Afterward, students were served salad as a first course, followed by main course choices of burgers, spaghetti or chicken and a dessert of chocolate or vanilla gelato.

What did the students learn?“The etiquette class taught me

when I grow up and I’m rude in a restaurant or doing something inap-propriate, people will not like me. In the future, I will use these rules that I learned at Hurley’s when I eat at a restaurant,” said Maxwell Cline, age 10

“Hurley’s food is yummy, and now I know how to pull out a chair properly,” said Toby Bunch, age 11.

“I learned that chefs work hard. Be kind and appreciate what they make for you to eat. Just don’t go up to a chef and say you don’t like it,” said Milani Harris, age 10.

“I thought it was a very good experience, and every class in fifth grade should do it because some kids don’t really know their manners that well. … When you’re older you have to go to a lot of events and its important use good manners,” said 10-year old Isabella Sarao.

“It’s important to have good manners so you can get the ladies,” said 10-year old Aidan Elias.

“There was good service and everyone was very polite,” said Keira Augusta Parmenter, age 10.

“I like how the people were trained, and when I went to the bathroom they folded my napkin. I was surprised when I came back to my seat and I didn’t have to fold it,” said 10-year old Daniel Lopez.

“Chef Hurley did not just teach us manners, he taught us about how

to be good at a nice dinner and how to be proper, so when we’re older we will be prepared for it. … Meeting

the famous chef Hurley was a great opportunity,” said Sophie Lair, 10.

Perhaps the Hohaia triplets

J.L. Sousa/RegisterHurley’s Restaurant General Manager and Partner Jerry Lampe calls on a student from the fifth-grade class at Yountville Elementary School during lunch, where the students were given tips on manners and etiquette.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Breast

Serves 4-6• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 4-ounce pieces)• 3 cups all-purpose flour• 2 tsp. salt• 1 tsp. onion powder• ½ tsp. garlic powder• 1 tsp. ground black pepper• 1 tsp. dried thyme• 2 cups buttermilk• 3 cups peanut oil (or vegeta-ble shortening)

Preparation:Flour the chicken thoroughly. Then dip into buttermilk until well coated. Dip the chicken again into the flour and place on a rack and set aside.Place the oil (or shortening) in a pan* and turn the flame to medium-high. The oil should be hot enough to cause substan-tial bubbling when the chicken is placed in the pan (about 350 degrees).Cook the chicken breasts about 8 minutes on each side, moving them around occasionally so they cook evenly.Remove from the pan and serve with mashed potatoes and your favorite coleslaw. (Chicken may also be held in a warm oven until you are ready to serve.)*Note: It is important that you use a heavy deep-side pan or skillet to fry in. Hot oil can be very dangerous since it splatters a bit. In addition, the chicken will cook more evenly.

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enjoyed the day the most. Their birthday, which fell on the following day, was celebrated at the restaurant.

“The food was really good. I also liked how they celebrated our birth-day,” said Jonas Hohaia, 11.

“I learned about putting a napkin in my lap, no elbows on the table, trying the food before you send it back, and always say ‘thank you.’ It was fun because it was our birthday and they gave us a cup of whip cream. It showed that they cared about our birthday. The whole class sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to us,” said Gianna Hohaia, 11.

“I learned … where the bread

basket goes and how the table is set and how to use everything. It was nice, like when you leave the table they fold the napkin. It shows they’re paying attention and care. Knowing manners is helpful for the future so people won’t think you are disgusting,” said 11-year old Gene-vieve Hohaia.

Students were told that good restaurant manners can also be used at home. “Show gratitude to the person who makes your meal at home. A ‘thank you’ or ‘that was a wonderful meal’ or a hug is a way you can show your appreciation,” said Hurley.

One of our favorite meals when growing up was my father’s spaghetti. It was not complicated and could be done well in advance. It just got better with age. It was a recipe that he perfected while working as a firefighter.I have been tempted to change it a bit, but I never will. It is now famous in our family as “Grandpa’s Spaghetti Sauce.”

Serves 4—6• 2 pounds ground beef• 1 each large yellow onion (finely diced)• 4 tbsp. garlic (chopped)• 1 tbsp. dried oregano• 1 tsp. dried thyme• ¾ cup fresh parsley (chopped)• 6 tbsp. tomato paste• 4 ounces red table wine• 1 each 14-ounce can tomato sauce• 1 each 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (coarsely chopped)• water as needed• salt and pepperPreparation:In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef, chopping it up as it cooks, until it gives off most of its fat and starts to brown slightly. Add the onion and garlic, and continue cooking until translucent. Pour off the excess fat.Add the tomato paste and herbs and continue stirring and cooking for another 2 minutes.Add the red wine and let it reduce slightly. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, adding water if need be. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

My Father’s Spaghetti Sauce• 6 ounces cocoa powder• 9 ounces water (boiling)• 18 ounces sugar• 6 ounces butter (1½ stick)• 4 each eggs• ½ tbsp. vanilla extract• 1 tsp. salt• 18 ounces all-purpose flour• ½ tbsp. baking soda• 12 ounces sour cream

Preparation:Melt cocoa powder boiling water. Let cool. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer on a high speed. Add eggs, vanilla and salt. Mix for 30 sec-onds more.Mix flour and baking soda separately. Alternately add sour cream and flour mixture while mixing on a low speed.Scrape the bowl down. Mix on high speed for 30 seconds. Pour batter in a round cake pan, sprayed with pan coating.Bake for 40 minutes at 300 degrees.

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J.L. Sousa/RegisterHurley’s Restaurant Owner Bob Hurley, left, greets the fifth-grade class from Yountville Elementary School. The class had lunch at the restaurant and was given tips on manners and etiquette by restaurant general manager and partner, Jerry Lampe, right.

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Those tuned in to the valley’s ever-growing food scene will not be surprised to learn hospitality industry veteran David Lu has

opened Napa’s first noodle shop.Additionally, local foodies will

be pleased to discover a meal at Eight Noodle Shop can be had without taking out a second mort-gage on the house.

Making use of the Chinese characters for the number eight — which portends good luck in the Chinese culture — Lu opened Eight Noodle Shop just over a month ago in the intimate indoor/outdoor Clay Street structure that formerly housed Mini Mango — which moved to new Main Street digs.

Lu had been working on another project — an Asian-style sports bar with food also in down-town Napa — when the August earthquake struck. When that project was put on hold, Napa developer Michael Holcomb asked Lu if he’d like to take over

the Clay Street structure for a noodle shop that he’d envisioned for some time.

“I was always talking about noodles,” Lu said as he prepared for a dinner crowd one recent eve-ning. “We thought Mini Mango might keep this location in addi-tion to the new one on Main Street — but when they decided they wouldn’t do that, Michael contacted me. I took over the lease on Nov. 1 and we opened to customers on Dec. 8.”

Born and raised in Taiwan, Lu grew up in the restaurant busi-ness when his parents settled in Napa. They opened Lu’s Mon-golian Barbecue in the late ‘70s and Lu worked at that restaurant as a young man. Eager to try something new, Lu was hired by Cindy Pawlcyn to wait tables at

David Lu, center, is the owner of the new downtown Napa restau-rant, Eight Noodle Shop. He’s flanked by sous chef Chris Biard, left, and executive chef Todd Meyerhofer.

J.L. Sousa/Register photos Korean-style chicken wings with

house-made Sriracha is a finger-lickin’ favorite at Eight Noodle.

Noodle shop adds to downtown Napa flavor

65

Mustards Grill. He then helped Giovanni and Donna Scala open Piatti in Yountville, spending four

years as a member of the front-of-the-house team.

Lu teamed up with partners Dan Giacalone and chef Marco Ruiz to open Pasta Prego in Napa’s

Grapeyard Shopping Center in 1989, adding Fusilli in Fairfield to the portfolio a couple of years later. Lu was also one of the part-ners opening Saketini in Bel Aire Plaza a decade later.

The Napa restaurateur took a break from running a food and beverage business after getting married. “I have four daughters and I felt I should concentrate on my family,” Lu said. Nevertheless, he didn’t absent himself from the hospitality industry as he spent the past eight years working as a din-ner captain at Auberge du Soleil.

Asked why he returned to run-ning a restaurant, Lu said “this is the only thing that I love to do … something that I’ve been involved in my whole life. My kids are older … I’m refreshed … the time was right. It was always my plan to get back into the (restaurant) business. There’s nothing better than work-ing for yourself, even if it does mean some pretty long days.”

Lu intends to open the planned sports bar in downtown Napa later this year “but I thought this was perfect for a ramen shop.” While there are many types of noodles, Lu said Eight Noodle Shop will offer an array of ramen dishes — Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat broth, or occasionally fish or vegetable based — often flavored with soy sauce or miso,

topped with pork, beef, seafood, dried seaweed or vegetables.

FLAVORFUL MENU The focus of the tiny Clay

Street kitchen is on both noo-dles and rice, as the main course options feature both. “We make all the noodles in house,” Lu said of the efforts of executive chef Todd Meyerhofer and sous chef Chris Biard, with whom he worked at Auberge du Soleil.

In addition there are a dozen small appetizer plates that range in price from $4 for house made kimchee to $5 for a pickles plate, seaweed salad or charred, salted edamame. Sliced and spiced pork belly bossam, a classic Korean dish,

Serves 4• ½ cup brown sugar • ¾ tsp. salt • ¼ cup water • 2½ Tbsp. butter • 10 ounces milk • 4 ounces heavy cream • 1½ sheets gelatin • 1 Tbsp. white miso • 1 Tbsp. scotch

Combine brown sugar, salt and water and make a caramel over medium heat. Whisk in the butter.Heat the milk and cream to below boiling point, then whisk into the caramel.Soak gelatin sheets in cold water until bloomed. Then whisk the gelatin, miso and scotch into the warm milk and caramel mixture.Divide the mixture in four rame-kins and refrigerate until set.

Miso Butterscotch Panna Cotta

J.L. Sousa/RegisterOne of the desserts offered at downtown Napa’s Eight Noodle Shop is miso butterscotch panna cotta.

“This is the only thing that I love to do …

something that I’ve been involved in my whole life. My kids are older … I’m refreshed … the time was right. It was always my plan to get back into the (restaurant) business. There’s nothing better than working for yourself, even if it does mean some pretty long days.

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J.L. Sousa/RegisterPulled pork ramen with shoyu and local mustard greens is one of the featured dishes at Eight Noodle Shop.

is served in a rice-strewn lettuce cup tarted up with oyster sauce. Confit duck leg tucked into a steamed bun gets a kick from house made Sriracha.

A sweet chili sauce takes Korean fried chicken wings up a notch, while tasty tuna tartar ben-efits from a ponzu sauce and squid ink cracker “utensils.” Crispy fried squid gets added flavor from pick-led chilies and a Vietnamese aioli. For something completely differ-ent try hay roasted beets with pis-tachios and whipped tofu. Prices for these small plates range from $7 to $11.

Rice offerings at present are Chicken and the Egg, featuring both named ingredients along with pickled vegetables, a soy-based sauce and the main attrac-tion. Bibimbap, one of the iconic dishes of Korea, is a bowl full of sticky rice topped with shrimp, several vegetables and a fried egg. They are offered at $12 and $16, respectively.

Intensely flavored broth-based noodle dishes ($12-$16) include vegetarian ramen with a variety of mushrooms and fresh vegeta-bles, pork belly and pulled pork ramen, ajitsuke (marinated soft-boiled egg) and mustard greens, plus shoyu ramen with beef short rib and bone marrow plus a slow cooked egg.

The kitchen also offers a trio of distinct desserts, all $7 — Oki-nawan doughnuts with yuzu curd, miso butterscotch panna cotta and slices of coconut rice pudding rolled in brick dough served with Thai basil ice cream.

An ingratiating service staff — which includes owner Lu most of the time — will eagerly explain the dishes as well as the handful of beer and wine offerings to pair with food choices.

Located at 1408 Clay St., Napa, Eight Noodle Shop is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For reservations and additional infor-mation, call 637-4198.

This is our own Sriracha sauce that we use for the duck steamed buns and other dishes.• 4 pounds Fresno chilies, stems removed, roughly chopped• 7 tsp. salt• 6 Tbsp. sugar• 4 ounces ginger, minced• 8 cloves garlic, minced• 1 cup rice wine vinegar• ½ cup water• 2 Tbsp. Korean red chili powder

Sweat ginger and garlic in a little oil. Add chopped peppers and water and cook until tender.Add sugar, salt, chili powder and vinegar.Puree and chill in the refrigerator.

Sriracha Sauce

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