It was harvest 1981, October 1st. Our mentors, Jack and Essie Doty–owners of Chalet Bernensis, were gone; not just out of town, but out of the COUNTRY!

The former Chalet Bernensis is now home to and has become an icon of Trinchero Family Estates, makers of Sutter Home wines.

They had taught us all we knew about innkeeping and then gave us the best possible send off:  it was up to us: we could fly or flop. The Dotys, Napa Valley’s second B&B owners,  were the reason we had become innkeepers.

It was  an easy choice for us really…Carol had been a head nurse and I a photojournalist. We lived in Reno where I had been raised. We were both burned out of our careers and wanted a change.

Our first harvest was a total sensory experience.

The vines turn from green to gold to red, responding to the shorter Autumn days. The sun’s angle adds drama and an overall golden hue to mornings and late afternoons.

Workers crowd the vineyards picking the rapidly ripening fruit. The excitement is contagious as the fruit is rushed to the wineries. The crush has literally begun.

The fall air is pungent with the scent of fermenting grape juice and the stems and seeds which are spread in the newly harvested vineyards.

We were nearly overwhelmed with new guests and the experience of an entire community caught up in bringing in the harvest.

Flash forward to 2010; Carol and Jim have aged but the Beazley House is timeless.

It was a time of promise of fine things to come, a memorable vintage for the Napa Valley and the beginning of a 30 year career of hosting happy guests for new innkeepers Carol and Jim Beazley.

What do you get when you add a particularly wet Spring to the coolest Summer in memory?

One of the latest Napa Valley Grape Harvests in history.

Cakebread Cellars grapes being harvested. Reuters photo

But our Autumn  has started EARLY! The Grapes may not be turning, but the leaves sure are.

Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor, doesn’t she?

As innkeepers Carol and I don’t mind the cooler weather. Our air conditioning bills are down and our guests enjoy the reprieve from sweltering weather at home in the REST of the Nation.

Unlike grapes, we humans can layer in cool weather. About the best the vintners can do is cut back the vine’s canopy to let in more sunlight and drop their unripenning  fruit.

It’s reminded Carol (a farmer’s daughter) and me how grateful we are NOT to be farmers.

The 2010 Vintage would have been a challenge without Mother Nature messing with the weather. The recession has meant fewer migrant workers to do the heavy labor and fewer guests to drink the wine which fuels the engine of our local economy.

We are seeing a change, though.

I know there are some ripe grapes in there SOMEwhere! Photo courtesy Segway Napa.

The weather this coming weekend is supposed to be hot which will spike the sugar levels pushing the grapes to harvest-ready.

And the funny thing about wine grapes, the more they are stressed and miss-treated by M.Nature, the better wine they become.

So 2010 may have been a tough year for us humans, but a great vintage for Napa Valley.

I’ll drink to that!

POST SCRIPT:

IT’S NOT NICE TO CRITICIZE MOTHER NATURE!

No sooner did I post this blog then Ms. Nature, as she prefers to be called, having read it IMMEDIATELY TURNED UP THE HEAT!  Like WAY UP!

We’ve had FIVE full days in the 90s and even a 100+.

Okay, so NOW the grapes are getting ripe! Q U I C K L Y!!!!

Sorry Mother Nature.

Now please turn the heat down.

Ever notice how “WE the people” know stuff long before  the news media?

Take Napa’s renaissance for example.

Morimoto's newest restaurant is on the Napa River.

Our Beazley House guests have certainly noticed the many changes to our little town over the last couple of years. New wine tasting rooms have blossomed, new restaurants have popped open and new entertainment venues have thrilled audiences after years of darkened stages.

We’ve been saying it for years, now:  the town of Napa has finally joined the rest of the Napa Valley as a world class destination. Now the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle are saying it too!

“Downtown Napa has become a destination in itself,” the Times reporter gushed. “Today, thanks to the new…thriving restaurants and tasting rooms and the much-heralded reopening of a classic Art Deco theater, a roughly six-square-block area has re-established itself as the West End,” which marks a bold new chapter for downtown Napa.

You, dear guests, have already been enjoying this new scene…for weeks now. You’ve strolled down the street from the Beazley House, our reservation cards in hand, to enjoy the Norman Rose Tavern, Grace’s Table, and Oenotri.

You’ve taken in live, big name entertainment at the restored Uptown Theater and our lovely Napa Valley Opera House.You’ve even learned to Salsa on a Saturday night at Ceja vineyards tasting room.

Carol and Jim at the opening of the Uptown.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Food and Wine section raved that “Napa has come into its own.”But you know that too! After all, YOU’VE been here enjoying the 20 wine tasting rooms and award winning restaurants for years now.

And there’s MORE !

Carol and I enjoyed her birthday dinner at the new Morimoto Napa with our friends Keiko and Arthur Russo. Iron chef Morimoto’s new digs are on the Napa River and very popular. The cuisine was “East meets West” with an emphasis on Asian spices perfected by Morimoto. The tastes were superb, the prices reflected the value…something rare these days.

Yes those ARE fish eggs and the orange stuff is sea urchin and those are raw fish all on a banana leaf.

A new wine tasting room has opened just three blocks from the inn  named  after its owner JOHN ANTHONY Truchard. Not only do they have fantastic Syrah and Cabernet but they stay open until 2 a.m. with small plates to match their vino. You may be greeted by the lovely Helen Buehler who actually came to pour at the Beazley House last Thursday. She’ll be back.

Wine, women and song.

Napa now has it all!