Wine Country Agenda: Setting Inn, Alexander Valley Wines, Frank Family
Author:Annette HanamiA New Yountville Inn With a Perfect Setting
The Setting Inn photos by Bob McClenahan
Co-owners and partners of The Setting Inn Jeff Cova and Noah McMahon know it’s all about the setting. Their wines were inspired by friends and families getting together for dinner outdoors with great food and wine. The remodeled inn creates the perfect ambiance in a charming, 2-story ca. 1901 farmhouse where every room has a view of the vineyards and where guests can gather on the lawn to play analog games or sip wine in a refurbished barn clad in reclaimed wood.
Cora Klang of Orange County studio Cora J. Design created a fresh farmhouse look for the spacious suites and bathrooms, and an adjacent 2-bedroom cottage, that is cozy yet lux with all the modern amenities.
Guests can arrange a personalized tasting session of auction record-breaking The Setting Wines, and expect daily breakfast from nearby Bouchon Bakery. In addition to a workout room with Peloton bicycle, the inn supplies two electric bicycles to cruise around town with. 1205 Hillview Lane, Napa
2nd Annual Experience Alexander Valley in Sonoma
The best way to learn about an appellation is to experience it through its history, vineyards, winemaking, food and wine. In the 2-day Experience Alexander Valley weekend event June 22-23, wine lovers can choose intimate, morning and afternoon sessions at 20 participating wineries in and around Healdsburg.
Take a vineyard tour with the winemaker at Foley Sonoma, make your own blends at Hannah Winery or Rodney Strong, craft burrata cheese at Medlock Ames or ravioli at Zialena or learn more about cheese and wine pairing with a James Beard award-winning author Laura Werlin in Jordan Winery’s new dining room designed by Geoffrey De Sousa of De Sousa Hughes. There are many more interesting sessions to choose from on the website, cost is $200 pp for the weekend, or $125 pp for a single day.
Discover Frank Family Vineyards with The Wines of Winston Hill
When Cab lovers seek out hidden gems, the name Frank Family Vineyards inevitably rises to the top of the list. Founded in 1992 by former Disney Studios chief Rich Frank today features small-production Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese wines. The heart of their vineyards hail from the Frank’s home estate Winston Hill on the terraced, sun-soaked eastern hillsides of the Rutherford appellation. They have farmed the vineyards since 1991 and today, the 35 acres produce exquisite fruit for their flagship Patriarch, a 100% varietal, 100% single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and classic Winston Hill Bordeaux style blend.
To showcase their wines and the family history, Rich and Leslie Frank hired Erin Martin to re-design the tasting rooms in the classic Craftman at the historic Larkmead Winery in Calistoga. The Patriarch Room, dedicated to Rich Frank’s father, an American Patriot and WWII veteran, is filled with boyhood nostalgia – baseball bats, American flag, and a wall-size childhood photo of Rich and his father – reinforcing the sense of family here.
The Hollywood private tasting room is a nod to both Rich and Leslie’s careers in media, filled with memorabilia like film reel décor on the walls and Emmies that each earned at Disney and for Leslie in broadcast jounalism. The tasting The Wines of Winston Hill ($60 pp) is offered with advance reservation Wednesday-Sunday at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Regular tastings of their broader portfolio ($40 pp) are offered 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1091 Larkmead Lane, Calistoga
