Arte e cultura nella Napa Valley

If the Napa Valley were a kingdom (and some oenophiles might argue that it is), this storied property in the town of Rutherford would certainly make a worthy home base for the monarchy. Originally purchased in the late 1800s by Gustave Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain and wine connoisseur, the former farmland and orchards now holds some of the region’s most historic wine grapes, as well as a spectacular chateau—all restored to elegant perfection by the current owners, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and others in the Coppola clan.

When Coppola bought the winery and towering Niebaum mansion in 1975, celebrated Napa residents took note. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the filmmaker recalls when Robert Mondavi, patriarch of the legendary Mondavi wine empire, came for a visit: "You realize you have bought the most beautiful, the most important winery property in the Napa Valley?" Coppola recalls Mondavi asking. "You realize what this is?"

Inglenook boasts a history that spans the very creation of this hallowed wine region. Over the decades, Inglenook—and the Napa Valley—came into the international spotlight as a perfect place for growing wine grapes. Niebaum’s vines flourished, and for decades his family produced exceptional grapes and bottles. An economic hiccup forced the family to sell, and the new owners began producing jug wines that dulled the luster of the winery’s celebrated name.

In stepped Coppola, who, with his wife Eleanor and others, spent 40 years restoring Inglenook’s illustrious heritage. That included bringing winemaking operations back to the chateau and adjacent winery, and hiring top winemakers to produce top wines. 

Today, you can sample Coppola’s results in a fleet of luxurious experiences. For example, the Heritage Tasting lets you relax beneath a chandelier in the Pennino Salon, where you sip and learn about Inglenook’s Estate wines, including the flagship Rubicon Cabernet. Squint while you’re dining outside at the pretty onsite Bistro and you’ll swear you’re in Paris’s Luxembourg Gardens. Special events sprinkle the calendar, including a summertime lobster feast, a late-summer harvest party, elegant wine dinners, and a holiday open house.

The artistry found at many Napa Valley wineries goes well beyond what’s poured in your glass. The Hess Collection, for instance, contains a virtual museum of important international works. Turnbull Wine Cellars in Oakville showcases one of the largest permanent photography exhibition spaces on the West Coast, including original works by Ansel Adams. 

Quixote Winery’s former owner, meanwhile, commissioned Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser to design a stunning Silverado Trail palace, which evokes the work of Gaudí in Barcelona with its gold-leaf onion dome, melting architectural lines, and expansive tile mosaics.

Even the downtown Napa streets abound with artwork, on display through the biennial Napa ARTwalk program. On plazas all around town, you’ll see large marvels of imagination and craft created by artists from the Western U.S. Rotating works remain on view for two years, and are spaced near one another and close by such destinations as the Oxbow Public Market, the Napa River Inn, and Napa Mill, making for a leisurely walk that is stroller- and wheelchair-accessible. Past pieces have included such eye-popping creations as a giant charging bull crafted from steel and polished locust wood, a monster-size wine bottle made of woven grapevine cane, and an aurora borealis “curtain of light” crafted of aluminum, Plexiglas, and powder-coated steel.

In 2016, the historic 1880 Napa Valley Opera House was transformed into a hip hangout as the Blue Note Napa club took over the bottom floor as an outpost of the famous New York music venue. The upstairs showcases acts of all kinds, such as NapaShakes (an interpretive Shakespeare theater), Napa Valley Film Festival screenings, and private arts programs.

Jazz, films screenings, and creative takes on Shakespeare reflect Napa Valley’s other forms of creativity.

The valley’s museums of the more conventional sort are well worth a visit too, for an immersion into the rich character of the centuries-old Napa Valley settlements. Yountville’s Napa Valley Museum, for instance, inspires with its Land and People of Napa Valley permanent exhibition (did you know that wine country boasted an important Chinese culture in the 1800s?), and St. Helena’s Robert Louis Stevenson Museum shares global treasures from the Treasure Island author and Napa regular. 

Anyone interested in making a deep dive into Napa’s winemaking past should drop by the 1881 Napa Wine History Museum & Tasting Salon, which has an extensive array of artifacts from the early years of California winemaking on display, as well as a historic overview of the 16 sub-appellations of Napa Valley and anecdotes about their founders and other industry pioneers. Admission to the museum is free; after taking in the exhibits, visitors can participate in tastings of various local Cabernet Sauvignons.

Another must-stop: the Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga, which is a treasure chest of Napa Valley history from its prehistory to post–World War I. Its stories are told through elaborate dioramas by Ben Sharpsteen, an Academy Award–winning animator, producer, and Walt Disney Studios director.

Mark your calendar for festivals, fun, and fanfare

Attending any one of a number of Napa Valley’s special annual events isn’t just a way to taste more wine and eat great food—it’s also a good way to experience Napa Valley like a bit of a VIP. Take Flavor! Napa Valley, for instance, the March festival that includes celebrity-chef cooking demonstrations, rising-star winemaker dinners, grand gala tastings, and behind-the-scenes “Terroir to Table” tours of some of the area’s most outstanding boutique producers.

Early spring, meanwhile, brings Yountville Live, when dozens of local vintners pour premium wines, paired with bites from Michelin-rated chefs at gala dinners; the event also features chef demos, live music, and the Taste of Yountville walk-around feast. In April, the Stags Leap District Vineyard to Vintner celebration wows wine fans with exclusive tours, tastings, and live music at some wineries that are normally closed to the public.

Even non-culinary gatherings have star appeal, like BottleRock Napa Valley. Each May, more than 100,000 music lovers converge on the Napa Valley Expo in downtown Napa for three days of big-name musicians, a wine village, and a food stage area, where you can watch antics like Snoop Dogg rolling sushi with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.

Another don’t-miss is the extraordinary Arts in April, an entire month dedicated to Napa Valley’s burgeoning arts scene. Explore studios, salons, galleries, and private homes hosting events like art installations, pop-up exhibitions, live performances, and glass-crafting workshops.

Fall’s harvest time brings its own kind of festivities. This is when you can witness the hustle and bustle of grape sorting, stemming, crushing, and the beginning of fermentation. Some wineries (like Staglin Family Winery in Rutherford and Paraduxx in Napa) celebrate the season by hosting pre- or post-crush parties with wine tasting, food, and live music. V. Sattui hosts annual harvest balls and crush parties, while sparkling wine purveyor Schramsberg goes all-out, hosting a weekend-long fall harvest camp. For deeper immersion, Grgich Hills Estate and Schweiger Vineyards offer old-fashioned grape stomping events: Just roll up your pants and jump in.

If you’re serious about wine tasting, consider visiting Napa Valley in the winter. Mid-fall to spring is Cabernet season, and even at the height of winter temperatures are still mild. Wineries are less crowded and the overall pace is slower, which can mean more attention from the winemakers and more flexibility with appointments; often, walk-in tastings are possible. Accommodations are also less expensive during the off season, and plenty of wineries are open over the holidays and even on Christmas Day. From early December to early February, you can purchase a Winter in the Wineries Passport good for complimentary tastings at more than a dozen Calistoga wineries.

But there’s more to Napa than wine. November brings the Napa Valley Film Festival, which features screenings of up to 100 independent films, plus conversations with more than 300 writers, directors, actors, and producers. In December, holiday events such as fairs, caroling, tree lightings and Santa appearances are in full swing in St. Helena, Yountville, Calistoga, among other towns, and January brings the four-day Napa Truffle Festival. January visitors will also be able to witness blooming mustard fields ablaze with bright yellow flowers all over the valley.