Time for a wine co-op in Napa, crab feeds, garlic lemon mayo, Picayune Cellars
Welcome to Eat Drink Cook, where you get a little of all three...eat,drink and cook. This week I throw in some business talk.
Welcome back. Take your mind off the news of the day for five minutes. The events of the weekend got me so wound up I did something I haven’t done for 36 years. I went to the movies alone. I saw Marty Supreme. Really good, especially if you’re a Timothée Chalamet fan, which I am. By the way, the movie 36 years ago - Dances With Wolves. In San Francisco.
Super Saturday Night event coming on February 21. In honor of “Open That Bottle Night,” I’m co-hosting “Share That Bottle Night” with Outer Space Wines. This is a members & their guests event. DETAILS.
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Time for Napa to have a winery cooperative
Over a few bottles of wine, a prominent member of the Napa wine community laid out for me the merits of a Napa Valley wine cooperative.
I didn’t need much convincing — I think it’s a wonderful idea. With vineyards being ripped from the ground like stubborn Band-Aids and grape growers not knowing if their 2026 grapes will be purchased, the time is right for the tried-and-true wine cooperative business model to land in Napa.
Europe has hundreds of them. Truly, France alone has over 600 cooperatives, co-ops for short, accounting for roughly half the wine produced there. California, as far as I can tell, has zero. (Not counting co-ops focused on shipping, logistics and the like.)
Simply put, the members (vineyard owners) bring their grapes to the winery, where the co-op takes over: make the wine, market the wine, sell the wine. The members ultimately share the profits. While the variations are endless, the goals stay the same, which is for the growers to at least survive and ideally flourish.
The shining example of a successful winery co-op is Produttori del Barbaresco in Italy’s Piedmont region. They accept and make Nebbiolo, the sole grape allowed to make Barbaresco wine. Fifty members strong, Produttori del Barbaresco distributes profits according to the quality of the grapes supplied, not just the quantity — essential to the co-op’s success.
Like Barbaresco, Napa Valley has a head start on potential quality. While there are many “yeah, buts” to the idea, it’s better than grape growers leaving their vines unpicked or sold for too little to survive.
It should be pointed out that the concept for Produttori was born in 1894, the co-op began in 1958, and profits trailed behind by 30 years, so … And how about a sub-AVA co-op? I can just see my home AVA, “Producers of Coombsville,” up in lights!
Wine and crab
News flash: It’s crab feed season in the Napa Valley!
From late January to early March, wonderful Napa Valley nonprofits and schools put on Dungeness crab feasts, parties and fundraisers – 13 of them by my count. My wife Holly suggested for my column, “Why don’t you suggest some wines to take to crab feeds?” OK, let’s do this.
California’s two workhorse grapes, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, can be good to great with crab, but honestly recommending them is like a trip to Snoozeville. Shake it up with Semillon and Grüner Veltliner.
Both grapes make wines that are oily-textured, multi-flavored and a touch peppery, making for similar and contrasting flavor sensations. Both grapes make very nice wines in California but, if you can, buy their homeland versions – Grüner Veltliner from Austria, Semillon from Bordeaux, France (Australia makes a superb Semillon, too, but harder to find). Visit your favorite wine shop or grocery wine department and ask the wise wine merchant there for specific suggestions.
And if that doesn’t work, buy sparkling wine because bubbles make everything better, or any of Massican Winery’s food-friendly whites, available at Compline and Decant wine shops in Napa. And Napa’s Safeway as well according to the Massican website.
Dan cooks
My toasty garlic/lemon mayonnaise that I bring to crab feeds is a legend in my own mind. I pass it around with hopes to wean folks off of the flavor-domineering cocktail sauce typically served. I always make extra “TGLM” to spread on sandwiches, have with French fries and baked potatoes, and dollop onto fried rice. Watch how I make it on my YouTube channel @EatDrinkCookinNapa. Recipe is below.
1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup finely chopped garlic. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the garlic is mostly a light brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup mayonnaise until smooth. Add the garlic, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon fish sauce (my not-so-secret ingredient), a pinch of salt and 10 turns of the pepper mill. Whisk well.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning if you feel it’s the right thing to do. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours so the flavors marry. Your TGLM will hold in the fridge for at least two weeks.
At every crab feed in my life the Zen Master’s question is asked: “Eat as you pick or pick a pile and eat?” Think of me as you pick and ponder, Grasshopper. I eat as I pick, by the way.
Wine Tasting Pick Of The Week
Check out Picayune Cellars and Mercantile in Calistoga for very tasty and well-priced wines, and also tasty and imaginative food pairings, great shopping and outstanding service. That pretty much covers it, doesn’t it?
Located smack dab in the middle of Lincoln Avenue (Calistoga’s “Main Street”), Picayune’s relatively robust storefront grabs the eye. Step inside to a wine bar on your left, and on your right is a shop of very cool apparel, jewelry, gadgets and neat stuff that goes on and on until, finally, you reach the back and more tasting tables and a nifty outdoor patio.
I’m generally not a fan of dual business models in the same space, but Picayune pulls it off. Wine tasting and shopping complement each other.
Pick your preferred wine style and Picayune likely has you covered: Champagne, Albariño, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and more. They’re all very good. Standouts to me are the Albariño from Russian River Valley ($35), a high-acid white that tastes like citrus and orchard fruits, and “Padlock,” a Napa Bordeaux-style blend for $39. Tastings start at $35. I have my eye on the Food & Wine Pairing for $60, a five-wine tasting with a snack to go with each.
And welcome to the Picayune Hat Bar, a smart merging of tasting and shopping. Drink wine, buy a hat, accessorize. I’ll gladly do the first one and watch others do the next two.
Picayune Cellars and Mercantile is at 1440 Lincoln Ave. (Highway 29), Calistoga, and is open seven days a week. Visit picayunecellars.com for information and to book a tasting.
You made it: the end of this week’s Eat Drink Cook: a life-journal from a Napa Valley dad, wine expert and enthusiastic cook. I write stories about food, wine & cooking. Sometimes I sprinkle in bits about being a dad and just a guy enjoying these crazy times the best I can. Read me for food & wine tips, recipes, and stuff I come across that you may find interesting too. Join the club.
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I too am a pick and eat crabber. Thanks for the mayo recipe!
With Oregon dungeness crabs in, my thoughts turn to a 12" round of San Francisco sourdough stuffed with crab, jicama, red bell slices, gruyere cheese and a yogurt/mayo binder. That said, my mental tastebuds are telling me to test your TGLM on any leftover crab meat.