Conviviality comes naturally in Napa Valley. After all, uncorking a bottle of wine is an effortless way to unite people.
For winemaking families in Napa Valley devoted to creating world-class wines, the holidays are a perfect time to gather with friends and loved ones. And, of course, each wine family celebrates in their way, with treasured wines, heirloom recipes and beloved traditions that make the celebration truly theirs.
We asked some Napa Valley vintners to share a glimpse of their favorite holiday celebrations. We hope you’ll find room for some of these traditions in your home.
HALLOWEEN with THE VICE
While orange wines are very of-the-moment, Malek Amrani, owner of The Vice, notes that the charms of skin-fermented white wines are being rediscovered. “Orange wine is the oldest winemaking style,” Amrani says. “Before there were white or red wines, there were orange wines.”
The St. Helena winery makes about 3,000 cases of orange wine each year, splitting the production between Semillon, Gewurztraminer and Viognier.
With hues from pale gold to copper, their orange wines are ideal for the Halloween dinner of orange cuisine that Amrani and his wife, Torie Greenberg, host. Malek, who’s originally from Casablanca, always makes two Moroccan dishes: carrots seasoned with cumin, garlic and parsley that’s perfect with the Viognier; and a tagine of chicken stewed with squash, vegetables and aromatic spices that vibes with the Gewürztraminer’s lychee and rose notes. Baking spice aromas in the skin-fermented Semillon sing with a sliver of pumpkin pie.
Greenberg, who worked in fashion before co-founding The Vice, has always loved Halloween, and says, “it feels like a community celebration in Napa Valley. The best thing about Halloween is it’s right after harvest, so everybody is sharing recently bottled wine,” Greenberg says. “It’s almost like a Friendsgiving but a little more fun.”
THANKSGIVING with STAGLIN FAMILY VINEYARD
While Shari and Garen Staglin of Staglin Family Vineyard have called Rutherford home for nearly 40 years, when it comes to Thanksgiving, they return to their middle-American roots.
“It was always mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, a bread stuffing in the turkey and whole cranberries cooked fresh,” says Shari, originally from South Dakota. “We have all of those same things here, but we have corn on the cob, fresh peas or green beans.”
She loves making mashed potatoes, and she’s thinking of bringing back a Brussels sprouts dish she learned from chef Cindy Pawlcyn. The rest of the menu is a family affair. Son Brandon and his wife, Nancy Abreu, bring stuffing, often seasoned with Italian sausage, that appeals to her Portuguese-Italian family. Daughter Shannon Staglin drizzles Meyer lemon vinaigrette over a hearty salad of bitter greens like escarole and frisée, fuyu persimmons and pomegranate seeds from the family’s tree.
Though they do lots of alfresco outdoor entertaining, Thanksgiving dinner happens in the formal dining room. The long table, which seats 14, is usually filled with friends, their grandchildren, in-laws, son-in-law Artie Johnson II and sometimes his parents, who travel from Texas.
“In South Dakota we didn’t have any wine, which is now part of our tradition,” Shari says. “We serve our Sangiovese because it’s our family wine. We named it after Garen’s father and we toast Papa. We’re definitely filled with thankfulness for friends and family and for being as fortunate as we are.”
HANUKKAH with JUDD’S HILL
“Hanukkah at its core celebrates freedom,” says Judd Finkelstein, winemaker and co-owner at Judd’s Hill in Napa. “There’s not too much that’s more important to keep in mind and celebrate.”
When his mother, Bunnie, and late father, Art, moved their winery to Silverado Trail in 2007, they decided to welcome their community with a Hanukkah Hootenanny. There’s no line dancing or cowboy hats; a fondness for alliteration drove that title. It’s a lighthearted annual celebration with dreidel games, lighting the Menorah and retro surf music by Frankie and the Pool Boys that inspires dancing.
The traditional menu includes beef brisket and jelly donuts. But the standout is Art’s legendary potato latke recipe. Whether topped with sour cream or applesauce, the rich, crisp and salty potato pancakes are perfect with the Judd’s Hill Sauvignon Blanc. Some mavericks top their latkes with brisket, which calls for a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon or their Mourvèdre that reveals bright acidity and dark red fruit.
The party benefits the Community Health Initiative Napa Valley, ensuring everyone can access health care. “I’m a big believer that when you’re in a community, it’s important to be involved, to work toward its betterment and bring people together,” Finkelstein says.
PRE-CHRISTMAS DINNER with ROMBAUER VINEYARDS
One of Andrew Holloway’s favorite childhood memories is tucking into beef Wellington in puff pastry with asparagus on the side. His family owned a prime steakhouse in Oklahoma, and it was one of their specialties.
“I’d always wanted to try making one at home, but there’s not too much opportunity,” he says. So Holloway, associate winemaker at Rombauer Vineyards, proposed a pre-Christmas beef Wellington dinner tradition with Richie Allen, vice president of viticulture and winemaking, and Luke Clayton, their winemaker. Between them, the team has worked together for more than 30 years.
In the weeks before Christmas, they gather with their families and enjoy this proper British dish. Holloway has perfected his technique for searing the tenderloin, prepping it with Dijon mustard and mushroom duxelles, then wrapping it in prosciutto and puff pastry.
Sparkling wine flows before moving into Rombauer Home Ranch Chardonnay and the Buchli Station Chardonnay. When the roast is done, they uncork Stice Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, which Clayton says has a nice mid-palate and structure.
Founder Koerner Rombauer was the great-nephew of cookbook author Irma A. Rombauer, so crafting food-friendly wines is in their DNA. “Every time we release a wine, it’s paired with a recipe from The Joy of Cooking,” Clayton says. “We make sure there’s enough acidity and fruit there to pair well with food.”
NEW YEAR’S EVE with BOISSET COLLECTION
Gina Gallo-Boisset and Jean-Charles Boisset host a glittering, immersive celebration at Wappo Hill, their historic home named for the bravery, strength and wisdom of the founding people of Napa. Perched at 666 feet above the Napa Valley floor, “it’s the highest energetic point in the valley,” says Boisset, who weaves natural elements of earth, water and air into their celebration. “In the New Year, the idea is to re-energize ourselves and energize the year to come, so we are very into quartz.” Steely white gold, feathers and hunks of quartz crystals dominate the airy decor.
The pool room, surrounded by windows overlooking the valley, is the setting for a multi-course European-American dinner that includes Gallo-Boisset’s family lasagna or lobster ravioli and winged fowl such as quail. Each course is served with two wines from the Boisset Collection’s international properties. Local bottlings include the JCB No. 0, a brilliant blanc de blanc sparkling wine sourced from Napa Valley, Gallo Winery Estate Chardonnay from Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon from Wappo Hill Napa Valley.
Then everyone goes to the living room to dance. “We celebrate at midnight,” Boisset says. “We love that everybody has a great time, their senses tantalized by the aromas and flavors of the evening.”
NOWRUZ with DARIOUSH
The moment when grapevine buds break open is a welcome sign of spring in Napa Valley. But for Darioush Khaledi, his wife Shahpar and other natives of Iran, the most exciting part of springtime is Nowruz. Celebrated on March 20 on the Persian calendar, this ancient tradition rooted in Zoroastrian faith celebrates the return of longer days as the triumph of good over evil. “It means joy and celebrating the season with family and friends,” says Shahpar Khaledi.
The celebration is full of symbolism, and the Khaledis adorn their Darioush winery and home with flowers, colors and foods that each carry a special meaning. Eggs symbolize fertility and rebirth; apples signify health and beauty. Purple hyacinth means the revival of nature, while green things like wheatgrass symbolize purity and good fortune.
For her recent Nowruz dinner, Shahpar worked with Meraki Flowers in Napa to design modern floral displays of squares of wheatgrass with a burst of hyacinth in the center. On the dinner table, the traditional Nowruz dishes are whitefish adorned with dill, charred lemon and dill and served with vegetable-infused green Basmati rice, plus a noodle and rice dish called reshteh polo. Although Darioush makes an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc, it wouldn’t be Nowruz without a bottle of his Shiraz or Darius II Cabernet Sauvignon. “In Iran, most of the wines are red wines. I remember that from my childhood,” says Darioush. “We drink red wine with all kinds of food.”
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Maria C. Hunt is a California-based brand content strategist, author and journalist who explores cultural stories around drinks, food, wellness and design.