https://napachronicle.com/ People, wine culture, history, arts, community, and opinion from Napa, California. en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2026 06:09:56 -0800 https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/michelin-grapes-napa-valley-first-us-selection-2027/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/michelin-grapes-napa-valley-first-us-selection-2027/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The MICHELIN Guide announced on Nov. 6 that Napa Valley will host its first grape selection in the United States, to be revealed on April 23, 2027, with estates graded from one to three grapes under five criteria judged by its own inspectors. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/wine-market-council-luxury-consumer-study-2026/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/wine-market-council-luxury-consumer-study-2026/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Wine Market Council announced on Nov. 5 that it has partnered with Wine Opinions on the first phase of a Luxury Wine Consumer Research Study, examining buyers of wines priced at $50 and above, with the complete Phase 1 findings to be presented in a member webinar on Nov. 11. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/napa-cellars-friendsgiving-registry-2026/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/napa-cellars-friendsgiving-registry-2026/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The Oakville winery announced on Nov. 5 that its first Friendsgiving Registry lets a host pick one of three chef built menus and lets guests claim the sides, salads and desserts, after its own 2026 trends survey found 65 percent of respondents looking to lower their financial responsibility for the gathering. https://napachronicle.com/community/farmworker-foundation-cultivar-2026-conference/ https://napachronicle.com/community/farmworker-foundation-cultivar-2026-conference/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation will host CULTIVAR 2026 from Nov. 10 to 12, three days of advanced viticulture, leadership and safety training built for Napa County vineyard workers, with the Scholar of the Year Award Breakfast in Yountville on Nov. 12. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/priest-ranch-toni-chadwick-national-accounts/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/priest-ranch-toni-chadwick-national-accounts/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Priest Ranch announced on Nov. 4 that Toni Chadwick, founder of Craft & Cru Consulting, will serve as its dedicated national accounts broker, representing its five core estate SKUs across restaurant, retail, airline and cruise channels after a long run of vineyard replanting at the Somerston Estate. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/cliff-lede-keely-ryan-associate-winemaker/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/cliff-lede-keely-ryan-associate-winemaker/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Cliff Lede Vineyards announced on Nov. 3 that Keely Ryan, who joined the Stags Leap District winery as enologist in 2022, has been promoted to associate winemaker. She will work alongside Director of Winemaking Christopher Tynan on everything from harvest planning to the blending table. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/di-rosa-invaders-final-san-francisco-exhibition/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/di-rosa-invaders-final-san-francisco-exhibition/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art announced on Nov. 3 that its San Francisco program ends on Feb. 6, 2027, after five exhibitions in 18 months. The last of them, Invaders, opens Nov. 7 and is built around a meal hosted in 1846 by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, before the Napa institution turns its full attention back to its Carneros campus. https://napachronicle.com/opinion/a-note-from-the-editor-why-the-chronicle-exists/ https://napachronicle.com/opinion/a-note-from-the-editor-why-the-chronicle-exists/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 We are a community news website, written for the people of Napa, and our first job is to connect this community with itself. https://napachronicle.com/community/real-cat-men-napa-valley-calendar-jameson-humane/ https://napachronicle.com/community/real-cat-men-napa-valley-calendar-jameson-humane/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Jameson Humane announced on Oct. 20 that its first Real Cat Men of Napa Valley calendar pairs 13 of the valley's wine men with the cats who share their homes, cellars, and vineyards. A release party with signings, wine, and pizza is set for Nov. 15 at the Borreo Building in downtown Napa, and every sale feeds the organization's animal work. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/hestan-napa-hidden-jewels-women-winemakers-dinner/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/hestan-napa-hidden-jewels-women-winemakers-dinner/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Hestan Napa and Women for WineSense announced on Oct. 20 a six-course dinner for Nov. 12 built entirely around women-owned and women-led wineries in Northern California. Six independent producers will pour their own wines and tell their own stories across Chef Mark Dommen's menu, in a dining room capped at 50 guests. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/napa-green-free-carbon-farm-plans-3-million-grant/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/napa-green-free-carbon-farm-plans-3-million-grant/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Napa Green said on Oct. 19 that growers in the Napa area can now get a Carbon Farm Plan at no cost, paid for by a $3 million grant from the National Association of Conservation Districts that will send over $2 million directly to local growers for regenerative practices. The plans are limited and offered first come, first served. https://napachronicle.com/community/pope-valley-elementary-reading-turnaround/ https://napachronicle.com/community/pope-valley-elementary-reading-turnaround/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Pope Valley Elementary, a one-school district of about 50 students in northeastern Napa County, reported that 57 percent of its students met or exceeded state English language arts standards in 2025-26, up from 12 percent in 2022-23 and ahead of both the Napa County and California averages. https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-land-trust-coppin-property-knoxville-436/ https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-land-trust-coppin-property-knoxville-436/ Fri, 16 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The Land Trust of Napa County announced on Oct. 15 that it is acquiring the 436-acre Coppin property inside the Knoxville Wildlife Area in a $1 million bridge deal funded by a state Wildlife Conservation Board grant, ahead of an eventual transfer to the state. https://napachronicle.com/people/matthew-crafton-vinepair-wine-professional-2026/ https://napachronicle.com/people/matthew-crafton-vinepair-wine-professional-2026/ Fri, 16 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Chateau Montelena president and winemaker Matthew Crafton was named Wine Professional of the Year in VinePair's 2026 Next Wave Awards on Oct. 15, capping a year in which he became the first president in the winery's modern history from outside the Barrett family. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/stags-leap-district-2024-cabernet-collaboration/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/stags-leap-district-2024-cabernet-collaboration/ Fri, 16 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The Stags Leap District Winegrowers released the 2024 vintage of their Collaboration Cabernet on Oct. 15: one wine blended from lots contributed by fifteen district wineries, crafted by a five-winemaker blending team, in a run of only 900 bottles. https://napachronicle.com/community/pge-shutoff-scope-grows-88000-napa-3027/ https://napachronicle.com/community/pge-shutoff-scope-grows-88000-napa-3027/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 PG&E widened its possible shutoff scope for a third time in three days on Wednesday, adding about 25,000 customers statewide. The Napa County estimate did not move: 3,027 customers, 138 of them Medical Baseline, remain in scope through Saturday. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/napavalley-streamfest-2027-passes-northbay-health/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/napavalley-streamfest-2027-passes-northbay-health/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Napa Valley StreamFest opened pass sales on Oct. 14 for its third edition, April 22 to 25, 2027, named Northbay Health its first presenting partner, and added six festival advisors, with the Uptown Theatre returning as the main stage. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/christmas-in-the-vineyards-2026-candy-cane/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/christmas-in-the-vineyards-2026-candy-cane/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Music in the Vineyards and Aeternum bring their holiday concerts back on Dec. 11 and 12, expanding from two sold-out shows last year to three, with a free Candy Cane Sing-Along for young listeners on Saturday morning. https://napachronicle.com/community/pge-second-shutoff-warning-napa-october-14/ https://napachronicle.com/community/pge-second-shutoff-warning-napa-october-14/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Days after a weekend shutoff event ended, PG&E says a new round of preventive outages could reach about 70,000 customers in 29 counties from Wednesday evening through Saturday, including an estimated 3,027 customers in Napa County. https://napachronicle.com/community/conde-nast-2026-four-napa-valley-hotels/ https://napachronicle.com/community/conde-nast-2026-four-napa-valley-hotels/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked St. Helena's Harvest Inn the No. 1 hotel in Northern California, with Napa Valley Lodge, Auberge du Soleil and Vintage House also making the 2026 Readers' Choice list. https://napachronicle.com/community/golden-mussel-boat-closures-hennessey-berryessa/ https://napachronicle.com/community/golden-mussel-boat-closures-hennessey-berryessa/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The City of Napa has closed the Lake Hennessey boat launch until further notice, and boats entering Lake Berryessa face a 30-day quarantine, as agencies try to keep the invasive golden mussel out of the county's reservoirs. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/somerston-estate-flagship-collection-2026/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/somerston-estate-flagship-collection-2026/ Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The 1,682-acre private estate above St. Helena has unveiled a new flagship collection: a $245 red and a $75 white in tiny quantities, each meant to taste like the mountain it came from. https://napachronicle.com/community/clpc-intro-to-law-pacific-union-college/ https://napachronicle.com/community/clpc-intro-to-law-pacific-union-college/ Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The California Legal Pathways Collaborative is bringing a 10-week Introduction to Law dual-credit course to Pacific Union College, the first time the program has partnered with a four-year college. Napa County Deputy District Attorney Shashawnya Worley will lead it on campus. https://napachronicle.com/community/measure-b-wildfire-sales-tax-november/ https://napachronicle.com/community/measure-b-wildfire-sales-tax-november/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The citizens' initiative backed by Napa Firewise and the Land Trust of Napa County would add a half-cent countywide sales tax for 18 years to fund wildfire resilience, watershed protection, and open space. Ballots go out this week. https://napachronicle.com/community/farmworker-housing-ab-1890-newsom-signs/ https://napachronicle.com/community/farmworker-housing-ab-1890-newsom-signs/ Sun, 04 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1890 on September 30, doubling annual state matching funds for Napa County's three farmworker centers to $500,000. https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-ballots-mailed-october-5/ https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-ballots-mailed-october-5/ Sat, 03 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 County elections officials begin mailing ballots by October 5 for the November 3 general election. Drop boxes open the same week, registration closes October 19, and vote centers open October 24. https://napachronicle.com/community/tacote-takeout-tacos-oxbow-public-market/ https://napachronicle.com/community/tacote-takeout-tacos-oxbow-public-market/ Sat, 03 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 A state license application for a business called Tacote lists 610 1st St in Napa. A restaurant report says tacos to go. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/napa-five-dollar-folk-festival/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/napa-five-dollar-folk-festival/ Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 On October 25, Not Loud Concerts fills three rooms of the Native Sons hall on Coombs Street with nine folk and bluegrass bands, folk dancing, and chairs to sit in. Admission is $5. In a valley of destination weekends, it is a deliberate act of modesty. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/rombauer-joy-boot-lane-boots/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/rombauer-joy-boot-lane-boots/ Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Rombauer Vineyards released a limited-edition cowboy boot with Lane Boots on October 1: Chardonnay-washed leather, vineyard embroidery, Rombauer Blue soles, $395. It is a merchandise drop, but it may also be the most honest brand extension a Napa winery has attempted. https://napachronicle.com/community/nvv-1-2-million-afterschool-programs/ https://napachronicle.com/community/nvv-1-2-million-afterschool-programs/ Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Napa Valley Vintners announced a $1.2 million investment in afterschool and summer programs on September 30, its second major youth-giving commitment in two months. The money reaches 8,500 Napa County students, and the largest share lands at the Boys & Girls Clubs. https://napachronicle.com/community/visit-napa-valley-2026-symposium-visitor-economy/ https://napachronicle.com/community/visit-napa-valley-2026-symposium-visitor-economy/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 At its annual Destination Symposium, Visit Napa Valley laid out the visitor economy's 2025 scorecard: 3.8 million visitors, $2.8 billion in economic impact, and one in every seven jobs in the county. The numbers are strong. The open question is what the valley does with them. https://napachronicle.com/opinion/why-napa-needs-a-chronicle/ https://napachronicle.com/opinion/why-napa-needs-a-chronicle/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 A chronicle is not a newspaper in the ordinary sense. It is the record of a place's life: its people, its rooms, its rituals, its memory. Napa has never had one. Until now. https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/night-harvest-napa-valley/ https://napachronicle.com/wine-culture/night-harvest-napa-valley/ Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The picking starts hours before dawn, in the cold, by lamplight. Night harvest is skilled labor and temperature management, the unseen work behind the visitor-facing valley. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/opera-house-second-acts/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/opera-house-second-acts/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 It opened in 1880 with Gilbert and Sullivan, closed in 1914, sat through seventy years of other lives, and reopened with Rita Moreno. The Napa Valley Opera House is the valley's great survivor, and in 2026 it began its latest act as the Napa Music Hall. https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/uptown-theatre-movie-palace/ https://napachronicle.com/arts-stage/uptown-theatre-movie-palace/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The Uptown Theatre opened as a 2,000-seat movie palace in the Depression, was carved into a multiplex, and was reborn as a live venue. It is an architectural memory project as much as a concert hall. https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-art-walk-outdoor-museum/ https://napachronicle.com/community/napa-art-walk-outdoor-museum/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 The biennial Napa Art Walk plants sculptures all over downtown, and the Rail Arts District paints murals two miles long. Taken together, they make the city its own gallery, no ticket required. https://napachronicle.com/people/frank-family-second-act-napa/ https://napachronicle.com/people/frank-family-second-act-napa/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0800 Rich Frank ran Hollywood studios, then bought a bankrupt champagne cellar in Rutherford and started over. With his wife Leslie, he built Frank Family Vineyards into one of Napa's most personal wineries, sold it to Treasury Wine Estates for $315 million, and stayed.