Napa-Eat Local? Shop Local? Then Drink Local
I have just finished a week of wine dinners and visiting restaurants in Texas. As I sit on the plane, it dawns on me that I always see more support of Napa wines outside of our valley than at home. There are many Napa Valley restaurants that value the fact that tourists come to our valley to taste Napa wines. But then there are an equal number of restaurants that seem to think when people visit this amazing wine region that they somehow want to drink French, Italian or other California appellations.
I visited more than 30 restaurants this past week and hosted three wine dinners. Every wine list had more than 50 percent of its wines from Napa Valley, and many had an even a higher percentage. Why is that? From my travels, it’s clear that restaurants in other wine regions in Italy or France, for example, would never think to offer Napa wines, let alone wines from outside their own appellations. The Napa Valley Vintners have done a good job of recognizing local businesses. If you stop to consider the volume that the more than 400 wineries bring to local restaurants directly from entertaining clients, as well as recommendations made to tasting room visitors, the local wine industry fully supports the local restaurant industry.
