NAPA VALLEY FEELING HEAT FROM SOMETHING OTHER THAN FIRES

The most iconic wine sign in America. Is Napa’s rhythm of its poetry becoming dissonant?

Napa Valley Vintners – the premier marketing and lobbying arm of the country’s most visible wine region – is doing its job. Since March*, NVV has launched a marketing campaign with a series of short videos on YouTube extolling the virtues of the Valley. The clips – whose headlining phrase asks, “Why Napa?” -- are slick, homey, even enticing. Why not? Napa Valley is all those things and much more. Know though, I think the region is feeling the heat from the tightening grip of a changing landscape of wine drinkers. Napa Valley, for the first time in my four decades covering it, is on the defensive.

I want to make it clear: I love Napa Valley. While my wine journalism career didn’t begin there, it is where I really learned about wine from some of the nicest and smartest people I’ve met, who’s winecraft has been some of the best in the world. Walking its vineyards, tasting from barrel in its cellars, and having long talks while eating and drinking some of best of both that Napa have to offer, it has been a long education and endearing relationship.

That relationship is now difficult to swallow. The wines, food, hotels are way above my pay grade. The wines, while becoming more in balance apropos oak, fruit, acid and reasonable alcohol levels, it pains me to say that many are one-dimensional and way too expensive.

For these reasons and much more – as a Napa vintner Ted Hall, who is courageously writing in his Substack newsletter, Tell The Truth & Do The Right Thing – and as I have written about for a long time, Napa has thrown its lot in with predominantly one grape variety; and with luxury.

They are some of the signposts as to why mostly younger cohorts have been priced out and turning their backs on what was and by some measure remains, one of the most significant wine regions in the world.

But Napa Valley has begun to teeter. As evidenced by those videos being promulgated on YouTube.

To wit: In its latest effort, “Why Napa? Because the Best Chapter is Still Being Written”, is at once a throwback to better times and an aspirational grab-for-the-gold-ring it once had in its hip pocket.

In the little more than three-minute love letter, the following once-relevant words spoken on the video associated with Napa Valley, are now merely wishful thinking. Words and phrases such as:

Unique

Passionate

Authenticity

Everyone loves everyone

People support each other

Environmental stewardship

Sustainability

Jobs for Everyone

Place of Opportunity

These are becoming platitudes. While once, most of the above bon mots were indigenous to Napa Valley, some of those notions are simply that, conceptions. I know the Napkins, fostered mostly by Robert Mondavi, aspired to and achieved intra-regional support from colleagues. Environmental stewardship was realized; and was the envy of California’s wine community.

But banalities such as “unique” “passion” and “authenticity” are so commonplace as much as the word “natural” has become.

When I’m not writing here, for the last 17 years I’ve had a small winery media relations (PR) consultancy. When I meet with prospective clients for the first time, I query: Why wine?

The retort is usually, “We are passionate about wine” and “We’re authentic in our story”. I come back with, “You know, everyone tells me things like that. What really makes you unique and passionate? Prove it to me!”

I want them to go beyond those words, rise above what others are saying; and really make me believe you are those things, so that I may show media how truly different you are; and in turn, they might write about your winery, or have you on their podcast.

I think the good folks in Napa Valley, as they once did, have to prove once again why they are passionate, why they are unique, and why people should drink their wine again.

In other words, Why Napa?

(*Shortly after this piece was posted, I received a message from Napa Valley Vintners, clarifying the premise of the Why Napa? promotional campaign. This newsletter reflects some changes and the clarification. Before there was Why Napa?, there was Why Wine?:

“The Why Wine? Project was started in the summer of 2024 in response to industry trends we were seeing with wine consumption decreasing. The idea was to ask a simple question that would spur conversation about wine … This was meant to be a social media promotion to get the conversation going. …”

In March, NVV launched Why Napa? campaign. “The Why Napa? videos were created by participants in the Napa Valley Leadership Program. The program brings together aspiring leaders who will help shape the future of our region. … A key part of the program is a group project. Each cohort identifies a need in the industry or community and they develop a plan or a program to help provide solutions. Each participant takes responsibility and shares ownership of the project. Participants … chose to focus on engaging and inviting Gen Z and Millennial generations to experience Napa Valley and become Napa wine consumers through a series of short videos.”)