SEPT-OCT 2020 ISSUE

S A N F R A N C I S C O | S I L I C O N VA L L E Y | M A R I N | N A PA | N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A

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The Wine Country Issue MOTHER NATURE OPENS HARVEST SEASON IN WINE COUNTRY WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF OUTDOOR WINE EXPERIENCES

ORNIA N CALIF ORTHER NAPA | N MARIN | VA L L E Y | SILICON | O C S I NC SAN FRA

• +20,000 Highest valued homes in California • +2,800 High Value Private Jet Owners in USA • Private Jet FBOs in Selected Airports Nationwide • Luxury auto dealer showrooms • Leading Yacht Clubs in San Francisco Bay Area • Forbes list of billionaires • Top 2,000 corporate CEOs/owners in San Francisco, Silicon Valley & California • Luxury hotels in Northern California • Powerful websites on ISSUU.com, HauteLivingSF.com, and email marketing • Wall Street Journal list of top 250 luxury real estate agents in the USA • All events we sponsor and cover

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S A N F R A N C I S C O | S I L I C O N VA L L E Y | M A R I N | N A PA | N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A

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IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, LEGENDARY ACTRESS SOPHIA LOREN REVEALS HER SECRETS TO LIVING A LONG, HEALTHY, ACTIVE LIFE.

Publisher’s LETTER

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OLIVIA HSU DECKER OWNER/PUBLISHER Olivia@HauteLivingSF.com www.HauteLivingSF.com Text 415.720.5915 Keep up with us digitally at www.HauteLivingSF.com

he world has endured both spring and summer in COVID-19 pandemic mode, and we are welcoming fall in this issue.

Fortunately, Mother Nature did not shut down: our cover story and other feature articles share with you the abundant outdoors and sunshine of California Wine Country in Napa and Sonoma. An easy trip, visit without boarding an airplane for safe wine tasting, dining, relaxation, and exploration of nature’s beauty during the fall harvest season.

In this issue, we profile six female winemakers who turn grapes into wines and generous, philanthropic Alpha Omega vintners Michelle and Robin Baggett. Please reach out to support their efforts. Whether you visit the wineries we showcase in our articles live and in person or whether you participate in the harvest and wine tasting virtually, please raise a toast for the speedy recovery of our Wine Country community from the wildfires.

We also profile two amazing San Francisco residents: San Francisco’s beloved fashion designer and immigrant from Iran, Lily Samii, and Akbar Oluwakemi-ldown Gbajabiamila, a first-generation American of Nigerian descent and the host of American Ninja Warrior. Their heart-wrenching stories of success against all odds showcase the American Dream we should be very proud of and cherish. You absolutely need to read these stories. They are far more interesting than any novel.

For your wellness and beauty, we feature the articles on Resonant Technology Group’s advances in physics, bringing new technologies to health, environment, and energy, including Soniphi, the innovation detecting COVID-19 through voice; the articles on essential oils and on the power of cultivating presence in the moment; and, the big story on thermal delight in Colorado. Sorry, that one’s not in the Bay Area.

I am so proud of my editor-in-chief, art director, and contributors who have adapted and thrived since the pandemic, changing our content for our readers’ wellbeing and lifestyle.

Please stay safe, stay well, and stay positive,

The Ultimate Celebrity Estate 940 W Dove Rd, Southlake, TX 76092

This spectacular 4.8 acre estate, custom built by one of

the world’s greatest basketball players, is located in the prestigious suburb of Southlake, only 10 minutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

An impressive, 2-story entrance foyer, wood floors, luxe details, and a spectacular grand staircase come together to create the ultimate estate. Designed for grand scale entertaining and family living, this 16,477-square-foot estate has it all: a game room with wet bar, dual lane bowling alley, tiered media room, lounge space, and game tables, and an indoor full-court basketball court with separate entrance.

There are 8 bedrooms,10 ½ baths, 6 living areas, 3 fireplaces, a commercial elevator, 6 garages, an exercise gym, and a safe room.

Plus, with a gourmet, eat-in kitchen, multiple dining areas, and a spacious master suite with a huge bath/dressing complex.

Hoffman International Properties, Inc. 214-698-1736 marilyn@marilynhoffman.com Marilyn Hoffman

Lexington 859-523-2812 Chappell Hill 512-970-8601 Jacksonville 904-248-8502 Aspen 970-300-3319 Houston 713-300-0532 Greenwich 203-660-6146 South Carolina 843-303-9110 Atlanta 404-666-4458 Fort Worth 817-996-8080 London 011-44-808-189-6489

Offered at $9,999,900 including custom furnishings www.MarilynHoffman.com www.SouthlakesFinestEstate.com

A Mansion With Everything 525 Ticino Dr, Imperial, Missouri, 63052 A wealth of spectacularly good architecture is represented

in this superb estate on 120 breathtaking acres. A beautifully elevated point is home to an equally stunning residence of nearly 14,000 square feet overlooking the loveliest views of the Mississippi River in the quaint area of Imperial, Missouri.

Drive up the sloped driveway to the property you may want to call home and you might even feel like royalty not just because the estate is in a town with such a regal name! You will have an incredible opportunity to keep the acreage as a private estate or develop part of it. The property has a fine equestrian facility that can house 12 horses with a riding ring, a pool and spa along with a detached carriage house, greenhouse, tennis court, workshop and hobby area, garage for 16 vehicles, plus a caretaker’s home quietly nestled on the land.

Built in 1915 and lovingly restored and kept up pristinely, the two-story foyer invites one to enter the multi level structure. An amazing staircase greets upon entry and reflects the stature the home deserves. Both levels of the mansion have complete master suites with a total of 6 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. The interior is sublimely comforting with built-in bookcases, cathedral ceilings, historically significant period millwork, and special

millwork such as the fireplace mantle - There are 3 wood burning fireplaces altogether within the home. This very private estate lies in splendor and awaits another Imperial family to live inside it and to enjoy all the amenities of the area.

$4,250,000 • www.MissouriEquestrianEstate.com

Hoffman International Properties, Inc. 214-698-1736 • marilyn@marilynhoffman.com Marilyn Hoffman

Lexington 859-523-2812 Chappell Hill 512-970-8601 Jacksonville 904-248-8502 Aspen 970-300-3319 Houston 713-300-0532 Greenwich 203-660-6146 South Carolina 843-303-9110 Atlanta 404-666-4458 Fort Worth 817-996-8080 London 011-44-808-189-6489

www.MarilynHoffman.com

Rolling Meadows Estate 822 Poplar Springs, Westminster, South Carolina, 29693 This 158 acre estate is the ultimate equestrian estate, with

emerald green pastures, studded with huge towering trees and miles of horse fencing. Perfectly suited for those wishing to escape to an elegant and active country setting, this estate is perfect for vineyards and winemaking.

Resting gracefully In the foothills of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains in the upstate Of South Carolina, yet just 4 Hours from Atlantic Coast Beaches, the location of this unique oasis was carefully considered, offering many geographic advantages as well as unrivaled tranquility, complete privacy, and perfect year-round moderate weather.

This Grand Residence, complete with an 11 Stall Barn, is 15 Minutes from an Executive Airport, and one hour from an International Airport. This residence features over 16,000 sq. ft. of museum quality construction with 9 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, lavish entertaining rooms, and spectacular views of the rolling South Carolina countryside.

214-698-1736 marilyn@marilynhoffman.com Marilyn Hoffman

Lexington 859-523-2812 Chappell Hill 512-970-8601 Jacksonville 904-248-8502 Aspen 970-300-3319 Houston 713-300-0532 Greenwich 203-660-6146 South Carolina 843-303-9110 Atlanta 404-666-4458 Fort Worth 817-996-8080 London 011-44-808-189-6489

Offered at $10,000,000 with extensive furnishings www.MarilynHoffman.com www.RollingMeadowsEstate.com

Ultimate Texoma Estate 1282 Tanglewood Blvd, Pottsboro, Texas, 75076

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his exquisite 117 acre estate is set amid private and professionally designed grounds with stone walkways throughout, directly across the street from The Exclusive Tanglewood Resort and Golf Course. The scenic 18-hole championship golf course was designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer and renowned architect Ralph Plummer. The 17,865 SF self sufficient estate home was recently updated with the latest in ‘smart home’ technology which can be controlled at the tap of a fingertip, a category 5 safe room and generator, along with many other amenities. The Estate will make an excellent permanent or weekend home, peaceful and secure with private jet access just 10 minutes away! The award winning media room sports custom leather seating, wet bar, 40 TB BluRay storage and 4K player along with game and billiard tables. The centrally located elevator serves all three floors and the spacious third floor office has a view of Lake Texoma. Take a quick 1 mile ride down the street to Lake Texoma where 2 boat slips are located in the prime dock. Both slips along with a yacht and speed boat are negotiable. The 7 acre professionally designed and maintained lake is stocked with black bass, tiger perch, tilapia and shad. A short walk from the main home is a 15,000 SF workshop/barn which is heated and partially air conditioned. The barn could be converted into first class stabling for equines and quarters for staff.

What more could an owner ask for ...A private Resort you never need to leave!

www.UltimateTexomaEstate.com Lavishly Furnished.

Patricia Hoffmaster Realtor®, ASP, IAHSP Chappell Hill Office 512-970-8601 • 713-300-0532 pat@marilynhoffman.com Dallas 214-698-1736 Houston 713-300-0532 Lexington 859-523-2812 Atlanta 404-414-0690 London, UK 44-203-05-14025 Monte Carlo, Monaco 800-93498 Saudi Arabia 966-8111-04-3807

MarilynHoffmanRealtor.com

$8,250,000

MICHELLE GR•CIE w

Q. WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO REAL ESTATE? I have a great love for the arts and for helping people in general.

My father was a contractor and I’ve been on construction sites of homes for as long as I can remember. Funny enough, I even spent some summers spackling nails and sanding down dry wall! Real estate has always been part of my life.

After working in production, I’m able to

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GET TO KNOW TOP REALTOR

Luxury Real Estate Specialist | DRE# 01925500 818.967.8295 | MGracieEstates@gmail.com www.michellegracie.com

combine my love of being creative while assisting people with one of the most important investments in their lives.

Q. WHAT IS YOUR MISSION? My mission is to provide the most professional, informative, ethical, loyal and dedicated services in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I am committed to making my clients a top priority as well as provide an incomparable level of service.

Rodeo Realty | DRE#: 00951359 202. N. Canon Drive | Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Q. WHAT STANDS YOU APART FROM OTHER AGENTS? I truly believe people should not be pushed into a sale. Buying or selling a home is a huge decision, so many factors weigh heavy on people’s emotions. The stakes are high and it is important to take time to find the perfect home. While this may not sound as aggressive as the approach other agents take, to me, it is more important to support your client. I also offer turnkey services, including staging properties and many other services post transaction. I don’t “sell and tell” and I certainly don’t “sell and run.”

MICHELLE GRACIE + ASSOCIATES

Emma Wiener

mgracieestates@gmail.com

(310)433-4295 Dre: 02122250

Haute Living MAGAZINE PUBLISHER Olivia Hsu Decker Olivia@HauteLivingSF.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Teresa Rodriguez Teresa@HauteLivingSF.com ART DIRECTOR Krisha Chhaganlal Krisha@HauteLivingSF.com COPY EDITOR Karen M. Smith henhousepublishing@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stephanie Block, Jennifer Boden, Maria Castellucci, Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Becca Hensley, Steph Keay, Jennifer Raiser, Sharon Seto, and Erin Hunt Moore LUXURY AUTOS CONTRIBUTOR Tim Lappen TL@JMBM.com WINE COUNTRY AMBASSADOR Kelly E. Carter Kelly@KellyeCarter.com LITERARY AMBASSADOR Stephanie Block Stephanie@HauteLivingSF.com HEALTH AND WELLNESS AMBASSADOR Lydia Graham LIFE COACH AMBASSADOR Nina Clark Ericson, Ph.D. ninacericson@att.net SUBSCRIPTION AND DISTRIBUTION INQUIRIES Olivia Hsu Decker Olivia@HauteLivingSF.com AD SALES REPRESENTATIVE Cindy Pelland Cindy@HauteLivingSF.com ACCOUNTING Sarah Trissel St.bayarea@gmail.com LEGAL Carl Lippenberger Carl@lippenbergerlaw.com

PHOTO CREDIT: ©ALEX RUBIN

Haute Living San Francisco Visit us at www.HauteLivingSF.com

Outdoor wine experiences at DeLoach Vineyards

TABLE of CONTENTS

Maestro Carlo Ponti, Jr.

Cover story: Raymond Vineyards bottles grapes

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PUBLISHERS’ LETTER EDITOR’S LETTER HAUTE ART

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Haute couture designer Lily Samii celebrates an incredible career in fashion.

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Alpha & Omega owners combine their passions for wine and philanthropy.

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Estate vineyard St. Supéry goes digital with virtual wine tastings.

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Tara Jasper crafts award-winning spirits and honors women pioneers at Sipsong Spirits.

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First-generation American Akbar OluwakemiIdowa Gbajabiamila inspires through ambition, hard work, and a life well-lived.

Dianna B Designs plants seeds of hope through with handcrafted jewelry

HAUTE SHOPPING

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HAUTE PROFILES 44

Oakville Grocery is a wine and food destination in itself.

HAUTE KITCHEN

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Autumn inspires local chefs’ harvest time favorites: get the recipes!

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Six women turn grapes into remarkable wines.

HAUTE DRINKS

HAUTE HOTEL 32

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The Setting offers peace and private luxury for a home away from home.

40

Lynmar Winery opens its doors for sublime and secure al fresco dining.

ON THE COVER JEAN-CHARLES BOISSET CELEBRATING HARVEST NAPA STYLE AT RAYMOND VINEYARDS

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Jean-Charles Boisset celebrating Harvest Napa style at Raymond Vineyards

HAUTE BEAUTY 74

Relax with a massage, dine well, and enjoy the great outdoors at the Meritage.

HAUTE CUISINE

Chef-Owner Ray Lee of Akiko’s

COVER STORY 68

Essential oils use olfactory senses to harmonize body, mind, and spirit.

HAUTE WELLNESS 78

Head to Colorado for healing hot springs.

84

Resonant Technologies Group puts California at the forefront of healthcare and COVID-19 testing.

Haute Living, San Francisco. www.HauteLivingSF.com

Haute Cuisine

Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowa Gbajabiamila

Haute Residence

Adam Driver

Sipsong Spirits

HAUTE TRAVEL 90

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Combine old-fashioned travel with modern-day luxury: charter a

Paula West train carriage.

With safety protocols in place, Yountville invites visitors to

experience all Napa Valley has to offer.

HAUTE RESIDENCE 98

Get the best view on the Bay with this boater’s paradise in Belvedere.

HAUTE AUTO

102 Mercedes AMG GLS 63 vs. Alfa Romea Stelvio Quadrifoglio:

everyone wins!

HAUTE AMBASSADOR 106 Kelly reports how the pandemic can’t stop the V Foundation Wine Celebration or WineaPaWlooza from raising money for philanthropy.

108 Lydia teaches a daily practice of mindfulness and gratitude to relieve stress and contribute to a happier, healthier mind and body.

110 Stephanie stays creative by taking art classes online.

112 Nina reveals how living in the now yields peace of mind.

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Editor-in-Chief ’s LETTER

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TERESA RODRIGUEZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Haute Living San Francisco Teresa@HauteLivingSF.com www.HauteLivingSF.com

PHOTO CREDIT: ©VINCENT GOTTI, HAIR AND MAKE UP BY NELLIE MUGANDA

“September is California Wine Month. The state’s 3,900 wineries and 5,900 grape growers have a significant economic impact on the nation, contributing $114 billion and 786,000 jobs.”

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ittle did we know what this year had in store for us. So much has changed within our society, businesses, and public events in 2020. But one thing that will not be swayed by rhetorical cries from politicians or unsettling statistics of this current pandemic is Mother Nature. She stands firm in her commitments to the seasons and the harvest. This season she gives her love and attention to her incredible children, the grapes. Like us, grapes are multi-colored, rich with possibilities and unique histories that span centuries, oceans, and continents. In France, they call this terroir. Terroir, a French word that means soil or earth, is a highly prized yet often-elusive quality of wine you can taste. Cistercian monks, responsible for cultivating the vineyards in Vougeot, were the first to try to define and establish terroir. Legends say the monks even tasted the soil in different areas of the vineyards to discover different terroirs. Jean-Charles, who graces our cover, describes it as a Sense of Place within the wine. But where, exactly, does this sense of place come from? What makes a Pinot Noir from California different from a Pinot Noir from Burgundy? It is a perfect trifecta of soil, weather, and the grape.

Besides the ground, the climate, and the vine, two more essential components affect terroir. It is the people and the passion of those involved in the process of creating wine. At every level, individuals are the common denominator. This makes terroir a mystical yet tangible product of nature and nurture; synchronicity between what nature supplies and what impassioned vintners do with what Mother Nature supplies.

In this issue, we celebrate the Sense of Place created by the grape and its many manifestations. Read about the top female winemakers who work hand-in-hand with Mother Nature to create splendid elixirs in “Crushing It: Female Winemakers.” Visit the region’s top wineries offering outdoor experiences that meet CDC guidelines in our cover story, “Social Distancing, Sunshine & Wine.”

For more fun in Wine Country, escape to The Meritage resort in rural Napa or settle in at The Setting Inn in Yountville. In this issue, we spend some time exploring the quaint city of Yountville and its many splendid offerings.

I truly hope that this issue will give you an opportunity to enjoy some time to relax. Reading has always been my favorite way to renew my spirits.

I remember, as a child, I would enjoy lazy afternoons with big, glossy magazines as my companions. Sitting in the sun, I read through each page with delight and wonder. I hope you find that childlike joy and a Sense of Place when you read through this issue of Haute Living, San Francisco.

To all those on the front line, we honor your service and commitment!

Thank you!

San Francisco’s CONTRIBUTORS STEPHANIE BLOCK

Stephanie Block is a third generation family partner in RNDC and Young’s Market Company. She holds a WSET 3 certification in wine and spirits and is a recent graduate of an executive MBA program from both Brown University and IE Madrid. Previously, Stephanie ran St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery’s social media and worked Napa harvest 2016. Stephanie has championed gender equality as a national board member of the US National Committee for UN Women and once traveled the globe as an award-winning travel writer. She has lived in six countries and visited over 80. Elle adore parler français.

JENNIFER RAISER

Jennifer Raiser walks between the worlds of strategy and storytelling. Along with being a mom, she is the bestselling author of five books, including Burning Man: Art on Fire, In the Spirit of Napa Valley, and The Art of Being Bill Murray.

She works in marketing consulting and is an avid nonprofit board junkie. Her BA in English literature and MBA, both from Harvard University, are her prerequisite for writing about swell parties. You can find her at the hottest parties in San Francisco or on the Playa at Burning Man.

MARIA CASTELLUCCI

Entrepreneur, first generation American, and mother of three children, Maria Castelucci earned her BA in finance in 2001 from Dominican University on a tennis scholarship.

She later studied at New York University and the London School of Economics. Maria took a strong interest in global affairs, which led her to become an ambassador for nonprofit foundation Roots of Peace. In 2012 with her siblings, Maria founded Castellucci Napa Family, a luxury wine and real estate brand that has expanded into the boutique hotel business. She now runs two inns, a wine label, and a family real estate development company.

SHARON SETO

A graduate of Golden Gate University and serial entrepreneur, Sharon loves the excitement and creativity of the business world and its people. Her addiction to business ventures began with the acquisition of the El Cid Building, site of the famous SF Jazz Mural. She has served as a board member, fundraiser, and event chair for nonprofit organizations, including the SF Symphony Board of Governors, City College of San Francisco Foundation Board, Red Cross Board, National Colo-rectal Cancer Alliance Board, SF Ballet, and Dress for Success.

STEPH KEAY

Steph Keay is a Canadian freelance and technical writer currently based in Silicon Valley. After completing her Bachelor of Commerce in her hometown of Calgary, Alberta, she spent a summer in Croatia assisting The Yacht Week with events management on the islands of Hvar and Vis. Formerly in PR/ marketing, she has also placed stories for a variety of clients— including tech leaders, international artists, and acclaimed actors and musicians—with ABC, FOX, NBC, San Francisco Chronicle, The Mercury News, American Way, and others. In her spare time, she enjoys adventuring, photography, and travel—all of which she documents on on her website, StephKeay.com.

JENNIFER BODEN

Jennifer is a freelance wine, food, and travel writer based in beautiful Sonoma County and has an extensive career in journalism. She contributes to KRON 4 News San Francisco, ABC 10News San Diego, and others. Prior to her writing career, she worked for several network affiliates as a news anchor and executive producer. She earned her degree in broadcast journalism from Arizona State University’s prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

LAURIE JO MILLER FARR

Laurie is a US/UK dual citizen and dedicated urbanite who loves walkable cities. As a San Francisco-based travel writer, she enjoys views from its crazy signature hills following halfa-lifetime promoting her two hometowns—a couple of ohso-flat places: New York City and London. Laurie’s byline is found in USA Today, CBS, Where Traveler, Haute Living, Epicure, Frommers, Fast Company, Napa Valley Life Magazine, Food & Travel Magazine, Eater, Google Touring Bird, and other major media titles. She was awarded Yahoo Contributor of the Year and is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.

BECCA HENSLEY

A bon vivant journalist who believes travel is the ultimate celebration of life, awash with lessons waiting to be learned, widely-published, Texas-based Becca Hensley is travel editor for New Orleans Bride and editor-at-large for Insider’s Guide to Spas. In a career spanning three decades, she has contributed to scores of magazines and newspapers, including Architectural Digest, Elite Traveler, Global Traveler, Conde Nast Traveler, and the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @beccahensley.

ERIN HUNT MOORE

A connector, storyteller, mission-driven communicator, and mom, Erin Hunt Moore lives with her family in beautiful Sonoma wine country. A seasoned public relations and marketing consultant for over two decades, Erin has worked her PR magic for brands and companies on both US coasts and in Germany, where she studied international relations and languages. A veteran of the food and beverage world, she now focuses her energies on supporting women entrepreneurs and thought leaders, companies, and brands leading with a strong social impact ethos and non-profit organizations pioneering change in the world.

We are very fortunate to have such a prestigious list of writers. Each has succeeded in their respective careers as bestselling authors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and on-air talent. We are honored and humbled by their commitment to creating content that is relevant, timely, and really fun to read!

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BY ERIN HUNT MOORE

HauteART

Salatia gold multi necklace ($750), Dianna B Designs

DIANNA BADALAMENT, DIANNA B DESIGNS & HER FUTURE COALITION DIANNA BADALAMENT’S JEWELRY is a seamless fusion of the organic and rustic elements of nature, urban grit, and industrial aesthetics, reflecting her own history and winding journey to Sonoma wine country. A native of New York State, Dianna’s love for jewelry began as a child on the shores of Long Island, combing the beaches and pulling together shells and bits of treasures into necklaces and adornments. An elective jewelry making class in high school introduced her to the jeweler’s torch and the challenge of molding metals into objects of beauty, but she didn’t immediately connect with the idea of jewelry design as a career path.

After completing her B.A. at the University at Albany, New York, she pursued a corporate path, spending years 12

Dianna Badalament, Dianna B Designs

“Nature is my muse.”

– Dianna Badalement

working in the public relations field in New York City and San Francisco.

Feeling worn down by the office grind, she found herself drawn to the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe—and, as an avid skier, to carefree days on the slopes. It was here that she met her husband, freestyle skier-now-winemaker Jeff Restel. When Jeff began working toward his degree in viticulture and enology, Dianna seized the opportunity to rekindle her passion for jewelry making, specifically goldsmithing. While studying classical techniques of metalworking at Jewelry Arts Institute in New York City and learning under Alan Revere at the Revere Academy of the Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, she truly felt that she had found her passion, and the idea for Dianna B Designs was born.

PHOTO CREDITS: ©SARAH ANNAY PHOTOGRAPHY; ©NICOLE BREWER

Planting the Seeds of Hope Through Jewelry

Sterling silver star anise necklace with rose cut chalcedony (Cardamom Collection)

PHOTO CREDITS: ©SARAH ANNAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Dianna in India with students

But another opportunity crossed her path. Ten years ago, just after completing her program in San Francisco, a social media post caught her eye: a few sentences that would forever change her world and the lives of many women and girls across the globe. The post was by an NGO looking to start a jewelry making mentorship program. The international organization, now called Her Future Coalition, works to combat human trafficking and gender violence with education and shelter, serving some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Dianna responded immediately and, within weeks, was on her way to Kolkata, India to set up the very first jewelry workshop for the program, training future instructors, securing the right tools, and planting the seeds of hope, freedom, and economic independence.

Today, Dianna has set up at least seven workshops throughout India and Nepal and has trained roughly 60 women, creating some of the first female goldsmiths in India, a career path not traditionally available to women. Most of these women—typically in their teens and early twenties—had little or no prior education. Giving them a skill ensured they could build more secure futures for themselves and their families and break out of the cycle of exploitation.

Sterling silver star anise pod ring and sterling silver ring with rose cut chalcedony (Cardamom Collection)

Masala hoops with bell pod dangle (Cardamom Collection)

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HauteART

Teaching at one of the workshops in India

Utilizing classical metalsmithing foundations and bold, contemporary design are the cornerstones of Dianna’s work. Her jewelry collections bear the names of gods and goddesses from the ancient world. Every deity in mythology has a story, filled with symbolism and often connected to nature or an experience; mythology is an endless muse.

Dianna is deeply committed to responsible and ethical business practices, including, leaving the smallest environmental impact possible. All studio practices are eco-friendly, using recycled metals, conflict-free stones, or recycled stones from reputable sources. All jewelry is crafted by Dianna in Healdsburg, CA, USA. www.diannabdesigns.com

Dianna and her family

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PHOTO CREDITS: ©NICOLE BREWER; ©SARAH ANNAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Masala bell pod earrings

PHOTO CREDITS: ©SARAH ANNAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Salatia Keum-Boo shell and 18K chain earrings ($310), Diana B Designs

Masala bell pod earrings; Masala bangles with gems; marquise pod necklace with carnelian (Cardamom Collection)

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Her Future Coalition.

Through their shelter homes, community centers, and educational and vocational programs, they have helped more than 3,000 women and girls to recover from violence and achieve healthy, independent lives. In celebration of this benchmark and the many seeds of hope and change “planted,” Dianna was tasked with designing a collaborative jewelry line with her jewelry makers in India. Launching this fall, the Cardamom Collection will feature beautifully crafted pieces in sterling silver with sapphires and semi-precious gemstones, inspired by the seeds and pods of Indian spices with a modern, luxurious twist on traditional Indian craftsmanship.

Dianna continues to plan and create for her own Dianna B Designs fine jewelry line, finding inspiration from the sea, vineyards, and mountains in her own backyard, while staying closely connected to her Indian “family.” She and her husband, Jeff, are raising their young daughter, Selene, while growing their family wine label, Elevate Wines.

Dianna’s jewelry can be purchased online www.diannabdesigns.com and through Gallery Lulo in Healdsburg, CA www.gallerylulo.com. To learn more about Her Future Coalition and the soon-tolaunch Cardamom Collection, visit www.herfuturecoalition.org 15

BY STEPH KEAY

HauteSHOPPING

NOT YOUR USUAL ROADSIDE ATTRACTION With Baccarat chandeliers, high-tech wine stations, and a fully stocked market with gourmet local goodies, Oakville Grocery is a destination in itself.

I still fondly recall early mornings loading into the family car, the open road beckoning at the outset of a new adventure. Along the way, we dsicovered shops to peruse odds and ends, icecold sodas and fresh sandwiches from country stores, and the discovery of hidden gems that faded into the distance—and eventually my memory—as we continued on our way.

For Jean-Charles Boisset, one of these fond memories persisted. A native of France, Boisset toured California with his grandparents and sister when he was just 11 years old. It was then that he discovered Oakville Grocery, a long-standing general store next to the St Helena Highway. “A lover of history even then, I marveled at the rustic feeling of the place, which spoke to me of the courageous American pioneers I had read about in my native France,” he says.

When an opportunity to acquire the store arose two years ago, he leaped at the chance to own the charming property he so adored. Born in Vougeot, Boisset’s father was a vintner, and his family owned iconic vineyards and wineries all over France. Surrounded by such history, he grew up with great appreciation for the time-honored traditions behind viticulture. His approach to winemaking combines this respect for history with modern innovation—not unlike his stunning restoration of Oakville Grocery.

Oakville Grocery

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The gorgeous interior of 1881 Napa

A one-stop shop for wine, local delicacies, and artisanal crafts

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OAKVILLE GROCERY

THE HISTORY

Nestled among grapevines and rolling hills just north of Yountville, Oakville Grocery neighbors some of the most renowned wineries and restaurants in the country. The renovated country store perfectly combines the nostalgia of the childlike wonder of stepping into a candy store with the upscale luxury and gourmet offerings for which Napa Valley has become world-renowned. Adjacent to the grocery store is a picturesque Victorian house, 1881 Napa, housing the Napa Wine History Museum and Oakville Wine Merchant.

The little roadside business—blink and you’ll miss it!—has survived Prohibition, two world wars, declines, and recessions. First opened as P. B. O'Neil's “dry goods, groceries, and hardware store” in 1874, it was rebuilt after a fire in 1893, and has operated as the country’s oldest, continually operating grocery store ever since. “It is a landmark and iconic destination at the crossroads of history in Napa. It has been the community gathering place, mercantile, farm stand, and grocery for neighbors and visitors alike for well over a century,” says Boisset. Oakville Grocery Manager Michael Ingellis points to a small window at the front of the store, which he says used to serve as the mail pick-up window when Oakville Grocery once doubled as the site of the town’s post office. Now, the small corner has become a luxe espresso bar offering an array of locally made pastries.

The store's facade reflects the store's long history

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HauteSHOPPING THE FOOD

Private label jams and jellies, artisanal gifts, and even locally sourced caviar: the carefully curated, gourmet goods at Oakville Grocery are not the convenience store staples of yore. Boisset applies his magic touch to the store’s shelves, stocking a variety of sweet and savory delights.

Tasting Room Manager Ali Madrid explains that the focus here is on local, whereas Atelier—Boisset’s epicurean boutique in nearby Yountville—is the stop for gourmet imports. Nearly 700 wines from 250 producers, primarily from Napa Valley, line the back half of the store, in addition to a semiprivate wine cave (where guests can chat in private with Madrid if they’re seeking a specific label or type of wine).

We make our way across a sleek sheet of glass in the back corner that covers an original well from the 1880s, and enter the brightly lit wine vault which features highly sought-after selections from Bond, Shafer, Dominus, Dalla Valle, and others (which Madrid tells me can be shipped internationally for far-flung visitors).

Previously known for simply salads and sandwiches, the new Oakville Grocery’s offerings, under Boisette, have been upgraded to include woodfired pizzas, local cheeses (such as offerings from Point Reyes Station’s Cowgirl Creamery), and salumi (including the hard-to-find ’nduja, courtesy of Sonoma’s Journeyman Meat Co.).

Local cheeses

THE WINE

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Store Manager Michael Ingellis

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OAKVILLE GROCERY

Boisset focuses on the vast history of wine and educating wine lovers inside 1881 Napa. The ground floor houses Oakville Wine Merchant, featuring 12 Napa Technology Wine Stations installed in February. Guests can serve themselves a taste, half glass, or full glass of more than 50 wines grouped by Napa Valley sub-appellations—including 100-point wines such as 2016 Colgin Cellars IX Estate Red. The unique horizontal tasting experience is focused on terroir, inviting guests to sample same-vintage varietals from different American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Boisset’s goal? To educate, in an approachable way, wine aficionados on the importance of the soil and how it changes the taste, body, and texture of the same wine. Maps and detailed information on each of Napa Valley’s 16 AVAs line the walls and ceiling of the beautifully restored 2-story building from which a gargantuan, glittering chandelier hangs 30 feet above. The 48-light Baccarat crystal Zenith chandelier complements the one-of-a-kind decanters from Boisset’s personal collection lining the walls. In partnership with Baccarat, he also designed a collection of exclusive glassware guests can sip from when visiting the tasting room.

A winding staircase next to the entrance leads visitors to the second floor, while providing a history lesson of the valley via a painstakingly curated collection of photos and facts as they climb the steps. At the top is the Napa Wine History Museum, where a rotating display of artifacts borrowed from the Napa Valley Museum are displayed inside a specially made acrylic case. A wraparound balcony overlooking the tasting room below features vineyard tools sourced from Europe as well as portraits of the founders of the first wineries in the valley. (Be sure to look closely at the artwork for an Easter egg ...)

Nearly 700 wines are available in-store

1881 Napa and Oakville Grocery

THE FUTURE

Oakville Grocery also offers private label goods

Much like its past, Oakville Grocery persists as a gathering place where people can eat, drink, share, learn, and celebrate together—a reminder of the simpler times of a bygone era. An invaluable piece of the valley’s history, the store’s current adaptation to the times showcases the wonderful advancements of California’s food and wine culture. Its highly curated selection of local products from the best of wine country’s farmers, artisans, and purveyors is delightful for locals and visitors, young and old, day trippers and faraway travelers alike to discover. Oakville Grocery is committed to learning from history and sharing its roots, while pushing the boundaries and pursuing its lifelong mission of creating community through food.

Oakville Grocery has been carried forward through history by owners who saw the beauty and value of this unifying hub. Continually building upon its foundation to adapt to changing times, the future of this charming property glows bright under the new ownership of Jean-Charles Boisset, his elegant taste, and his entrepreneurial spirit.

Self-serve pouring stations

1881 Napa

Proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset

1881 Napa Winemaker Thane Knutson

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BY SHARON SETO

HauteKITCHEN

IN CONVERSATION WITH SHARON SETO FALL IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR SAN FRANCISCANS, AS WE bust out halter dresses, tank tops, shorts, and sun hats to celebrate what locals call “Indian Summer.” During September and October, while the rest of the country (poor things) are bundled up with heavy coats and warm gloves, I get to bask in the sun, sip ice cold lemon drops on rooftop decks, and dine al fresco with my peeps. What’s more, the SF Bay Area is packed with vibrant occasions for an excuse to “take it outdoors and PaRty:” Labor Day weekend, Autumn Moon Festival, Fleet Week, Día De Los Muertos, and Oktoberfest to name a few. Hope you F A L L in love with these delectable, autumn seasonal recipes—eat ’em al fresco—and enjoy learning about the chefs behind them in Haute Kitchen.

Ray Lee, chef owner of seafood-centric Akiko’s Restaurant in SF, has a cult following. He’s pretty “chill” and easygoing outside his “business;” but when it comes to his restaurant, Ray turns into a product-driven, gastro-artist beast. Without exception, this chef partners only with the best purveyors to hunt down the best fish, both locally and from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market—yes, that place which sold a monstrous bluefin tuna for $1.8 million earlier this year. To conscientious sushi connoisseurs, Ray is known to support those as environmentally friendly and sensitive as he is. By “doing the right thing,” Ray developed special, likeminded connections which bring in rare, highly coveted, fresh, seasonal seafood, often exclusively for his discerning patrons. Each visit is always a different experience. Ray enjoys creating surprises for the senses—and what you get at Akiko’s is a sensory “ride” on custom ceramics accompanied by some Motown and all-time favorite Eighties hits.

Since 2014, Akiko’s has been listed four times in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 restaurants. Chef Ray also co-owns Family Café, a Japanese kissaten-inspired café ranked in the top 25 restaurants and bars 2020 in North Beach, according to Eater SF. As a San Francisco native, Ray grew up inspired by his father, a sushi master with roots from Osaka (which some say is “the food capital of the world”). Pour a drink, take a seat, and let’s see what Ray’s been up to.

Akiko’s ’s Snake River Ribeye Gyu preparation

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PHOTO COURTESY OF AKIKO’S RESTAURANT

FALL in love with the AUTUMN season!

Chef owner Ray Lee of Akiko’s

“The comeback is sweeter than the setback” – Ray Lee

Q&A

PHOTOS CREDIT: (HEADSHOT) ©ERIC HOOTEN

HAUTE LIVING X RAY LEE HL: These are challenging times for restaurants during shelter-inplace. How’s Akiko’s ’s been managing through COVID-19?

RL: While I’m solution-oriented, it’s been quite the pivot. Akiko’s has been offering takeout service, via Tock, since April.

Things are far from normal, but I’m inspired to create homefriendly dishes that are both beautiful and delicious. Despite limiting our hours and menu, it’s been a great way to support my purveyors and bring some of my team back to work.

HL: We’re spending a lot of time at home these days. What dish reminds you of home and why?

RL: All-time comfort food is chawanmushi. When I was a kid, both my grandmother and mom often made this dish for us.

This is why I’m sharing my autumnal spin on it: it’s just a few, simple ingredients that never disappoints.

HL: Akiko’s ’s started off as a family business—how did you learn your craft and get to where you are today?

RL: I was a “restaurant baby.” I grew up around the kitchen, learning from my parents, both at home and at the restaurant. As I got older, I didn’t want to be involved in the family business; so, I started my career in marketing. When my parents wanted to retire, it was then that I realized running Akiko’s was my calling. I was energized to revamp the menu to be

sushi-focused. Akiko’s was the first omakase restaurant that paved the way for many others to come. I am a firm believer that by being product driven, teaching myself new skills, and learning from trial and error are all reasons why my team delivers such a unique experience.

HL: Like us, everyone is probably thinking about the first place they want to jet off to, once things normalize from COVID-19.

Where will your first flight take you?

RL: Without a doubt, Tokyo. I’m looking forward to the day I can meet with my purveyors and select some craft barware for my next big project.

HL: A new project? How exciting! Please, do tell …

RL: In conjunction with Related Group, we are building a flagship restaurant at The Avery in San Francisco. We’re excited to bring outdoor seating, a bar, and a 20-seat chef counter to the community.

HL: Your zest for growth is inspiring! What motivates you to keep going?

RL: My passion is bridging traditional Japanese food and what I like to call “Californian bounty.” Neither the vibe at Akiko’s ’s nor the dishes I serve are what you’ll find at any traditional omakase experience anywhere in the world.

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HauteKITCHEN

Seasonal chawanmushi

CHEF’S INSIDE TIP: Purchase Japanese ingredients or products directly from Chef Ray’s friend, who typically sells only to restaurants: www.thejapanesepantry.myshopify.com

Japan is a country with a rich culinary heritage. From beautiful and elevated kaiseki cuisine to simple yakitori, Japanese food is all about the quality of the ingredients. Our travels to Japan have opened our eyes to the vast array of Japanese products, crafted from pristine ingredients with great care and respect for tradition. Sadly, most never see the light of day in North America. When, by chance, some do make it here, they are poorly marketed and consumers have no idea how to use them. The Japanese Pantry aims to change all of that.

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2 servings This savory appetizer is found in formal Japanese restaurants and eaten cold or hot. Chawan means teacup or rice bowl and mushi means steamed in Japanese.

Step 1: Simple Dashi (makes 1 L) • 1 liter cold filtered water • 12 grams (0.42 oz) kombu • 12 grams (0.42 oz) bonito flakes Combine water and kombu. Cook at 140 ̊ F for at least 20 minutes, up to an hour. Remove kombu. Heat liquid to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add bonito. Let sit for 5 minutes, then strain through a fine strainer lined with paper towels. Let cool.

Step 2: Chawanmushi (makes 150 ml) • 1 egg (organic, free range) • 110 ml (½ cup) dashi • 5 ml (1 heaping tsp) usukuchi (light soy) • 5 ml (1 heaping tsp) mirin Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Strain through a fine sieve. Portion into 2 cups and cover with lid. Transfer to stovetop steamer and steam for 8 minutes.

Step 3: Dashi Gravy • 60 ml (1.5 tbsp) dashi • 2.5 ml (½ tsp) usukuchi (light soy) • 2.5 ml (½ tsp) mirin • 20 ml (4 tsp) water • 1.25 ml (½ tsp) kudzu (arrowroot powder) Mix water and kudzu in a bowl and set aside.

Separately in a small pot, mix dashi, soy, and mirin, and bring to a boil. Stir in water and kudzu slurry and boil for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and it’s ready to use.

Step 4: Finish Your Chawanmushi 1. Flash boil, then char, peas (snap or snow peas) and slice in half lengthwise.

2. Season maitake mushrooms with grapeseed oil and salt, preheat oven to 325 ̊ F, and roast for 10-15 minutes.

3. Char pork belly or bacon over the stove.

4. Pour 3 tsp of dashi gravy onto each serving of chawanmushi 5. Gently plate one piece of roasted maitake mushroom, one slice of charred pork belly (omit for vegetarian version), and two pea halves onto each serving of chawanmushi.

6. Finish with a sprinkle of finely chopped chives and one sliver of lemon rind.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AKIKO’S RESTAURANT

SEASONAL CHAWANMUSHI

Step 4: Sautéed Pea Sprouts • 3 oz pea spouts • grated garlic • 2 tsp grapeseed oil • 1 heaping Tbsp cooking sake • ½ tsp white tamari soy • salt 1. Preheat sauté pan with grapeseed oil to medium-high.

2. Add garlic first, then pea sprouts, and quickly sauté with sake. Season with white tamari soy and pinch of salt to finish.

Akiko’s ’s Snake River Ribeye Gyu

PHOTO COURTESY OF AKIKO’S RESTAURANT

AKIKO’S SIGNATURE GYU (SNAKE RIVER WAGYU)

Step 1: Prepare Wagyu • Snake River Ribeye Wagyu, 28-32oz (2-inchthick cut) • salt and pepper • cast iron pan • grapeseed oil, 1½ Tbsp • vacuum machine • vacuum bag, 10X12 inches • emersion circulator (sous vide machine) 1. Set emersion circulator temperature at 53.4 ̊ C or 129.5 ̊ F. This will perfectly cook your steak to medium rare.

2. Remove steak from refrigerator and lightly salt and pepper both sides of the meat.

3. Preheat cast iron pan (high heat) with 1 oz grapeseed oil. Hard sear to golden brown on each side, approximately 1 minute.

4. Vacuum seal steak and drop in the emersion circulator for 1 hour (cooking temperature 53.4̊ C or 129.5̊ F).

5. Remove steak from the vacuum bag and season with heavy salt and light pepper.

Preheat cast iron pan on high heat with 1 oz grapeseed oil. Hard sear both sides for 1 to 2 minutes until you see a nice, golden brown crust.

6. Rest the steak for 5 minutes and slice.

Step 2: Fried Brussel Sprouts • 3 – 4 oz Brussel sprouts (quartered) • 2 tsp red boat fish sauce • 1 – 1 Tbsp ponzu • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar • 1 tsp sugar • finely chopped chives • ½ oz grated daikon (radish) • 2½ cups frying oil 1. Preheat oil in a frying pan at 325 ̊ F (162.7 ̊ C).

2. Add the brussels sprouts and fry until light golden brown and crispy.

3. In a mixing bowl, add the brussels sprouts, grated daikon, ponzu, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Mix and finish with finely chopped chives.

Step 3: Pickled Shallot • 5 shallots (sliced) • ½ cup aged red rice vinegar • 20 g (11⁄3 Tbsp) Okinawa brown sugar • 3g (2⁄3 tsp) salt 1. Add shallots to a mixing bowl, season and mix with salt. Rest for 10 minutes.

2. Add sugar and mix.

3. Add red rice vinegar.

4. Store and refrigerate.

Step 5: Final Toppings • 4 peas (snap or snow) • 2 handfulls of maitake mushrooms • 4 broccolini stems 1. Flash-boil peas or char on the stove.

2. Break apart maitake mushrooms into small pieces, season with grapeseed oil and salt, preheat oven to 325 ̊ F, and roast for 10 – 15 minutes.

3. Steam broccolini for 5 minutes. Let them cool and cut off stems. Save florets for plating.

Step 6: Finishing Touches • edible flowers • rice (or other diet-specific replacement, optional) 1. Plate our signature gyu as-is, over rice*.

2. Spread small portions of all previously prepped vegetables onto the dish, except for the peas.

3. Split peas in half lengthwise and place the shell with pods in the middle of your dish.

4. Garnish with edible flowers (optional).

*Enjoy our signature gyu as-is, over rice (recommended), or substitute your specified diet-friendly replacement for rice.

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HauteKITCHEN

Sid Espinosa

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“It’s so important that we take the pandemic seriously, but we also need to celebrate life and focus on the things that make us happy.” – Sid Espinosa

Q&A HAUTE LIVING X SID ESPINOSA HL: You’ve been to more countries than almost anyone I know. Which country has the best food?

SE: (Laughing) That’s not fair! I love almost everything about travel—learning about people, cultures, customs, history, architecture, politics, etc., and of course, food. Food can create community, unite families, spark love, and so forth—and that’s a wonderful and common human experience wherever you are in the world.

HL: So, who has the best food?

SE: You’re tough. I was a kid who grew up on a local farm where we often ate from our garden and orchards. One of the things that I’ve loved about

traveling is seeing how different cultures use local ingredients to create magic. Sure, I’ve been blessed to eat in the world’s best restaurants, but I’ve also fallen in love with street food everywhere, in Bhutan and Botswana and Belize. You can find incredible meals in every country. Iceland, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Morocco, Tibet, Tasmania: I can remember show-stopping meals in all these places. It’s a universal language. Food is sacred, it binds us all together.

HL: Is it true that you’ve cooked a new and different thing every day of the pandemic?

PHOTO CREDIT: ©TAMI ESPINOSA

Food is a universal language that bridges all the people in the world together. Before the pandemic, Sid Espinosa seemed to travel to a different international locale every week. No exaggeration. Markedly the first Hispanic to be elected to public office in Palo Alto history, this former Silicon Valley mayor and current tech executive at Microsoft, had just taken his extended family to Portugal for his father’s 70th birthday.

Before that, Sid was recently in Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria, and was about to leave for Tasmania. He was having extraordinary global food adventures wherever he went. Times change, of course. And now without his typical summer on the Mediterranean, this globetrotting bachelor is having great success creating that amazing cuisine here in the Bay Area, al fresco. Here are some perfect Indian Summer plates!

SE: Yes. I had never really cooked much for myself or others, but I love entertaining. Before the pandemic, I had been living at The President Hotel (in Palo Alto) for many years, without a kitchen, and then I moved to San Francisco, into a great entertaining space with a massive kitchen— but then COVID hit. And I couldn’t travel. So, I just started making the meals that I’ve loved from around the world, a different, new dish every day, sourcing the best chefs and recipes. French mille-feuille, Chinese dumplings, Norwegian lefse, Brazilian pao de queso, Japanese sushi rolls, Spanish paella, and so forth. It’s been a fun and hilarious and great challenge.

HL: Who is eating all this delicious food?

SE: My neighbors mostly. I mean, how many pain au chocolat or tiramisù or fresh croissants can one person eat? The COVID-19 pounds are real.

Throughout this crisis I have tried to stay positive and upbeat—that’s my nature—so, I started posting pictures of my cooking on social media for fun, and it kind of went viral. Of course, it’s so important that we take the pandemic seriously, but we also need to celebrate life and focus on the things that make us happy. We need to laugh, love, eat, and serve others.

HL: Did I read that you’ve also been working to provide meals to children?

SE: I have the privilege to work in philanthropy, partnering with and empowering nonprofit organizations and leaders. For Microsoft, this means hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in nonprofits every year. Early

in the pandemic, we started providing meals to underprivileged school children who were suddenly sheltering at home and missing school meals, which for many were their only guaranteed meals each day. It was an incredible mobilization effort. That said, our main philanthropic focus areas are skills/workforce training, racial equity, environmental sustainability, accessibility, and humanitarian response. However, if kids are hungry, they are not listening or learning. We knew that we had to act, and fast. And I can’t take credit for this work, but I am so proud of our whole team. Now is the time—and it will increasingly be a time—that we all need to focus on how we can help those most in need.

HL: How rewarding. Okay, back to food, tell us about this meal you’ve prepared.

SE: Imagine that you’re in Malta or Tuscany or Santorini. It’s almost sunset and you’re looking over a vineyard or an ocean, with a great bottle of wine, at a long table with family and friends, and you’re about to enjoy an al fresco dinner. For me, these are the best times. Hours of stories, laughing, memories—and great food! This recipe is perfect for an al fresco evening: artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, a light pesto linguini, all made from ingredients that are in season right now in northern California. Add out-of-the-oven focaccia or ciabatta, some fresh burrata with heirloom tomatoes and an olive oil drizzle, and maybe a Greek yogurt with honey and fresh fruit for dessert. Enjoy the al fresco life!

CAPRESE SALAD

Serves 4 – 6 • 4 organic vine-ripened or heirloom tomatoes • 8 ounces burrata di bufala or fresh mozzarella cheese • 4 Tbsp good olive oil • 3 Tbsp good balsamic vinegar • Sea salt to taste • Fresh basil, black pepper, or ¼ tsp crushed oregano (optional)

Step 1: Cut tomatoes and cheese in slices.

Step 2: Whisk dressing together. Arrange tomatoes and cheese using your own creative juices. Rinse and add basil leaves, if using.

Step 3: Whisk the vinegar and oil together, drizzling over the tomatoes and cheese. Season with sea salt. Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper and/or oregano if desired.

YOGURT, HONEY AND FRUIT DESSERT

PHOTO CREDIT: ©SID ESPINOSA

Serves 4 – 6 • 2 cups vanilla yogurt • ½ – ¾ cup honey • 1 tsp ground cinnamon • Assorted fresh fruits (such as apples, berries, pineapple, mangoes, bananas) • Handful of your favorite granola Preparation: Combine yogurt, honey, and cinnamon in small bowl; stir to blend. Place bowl on platter. Surround with assorted fruits and granola. Serve.

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HauteKITCHEN

PHOTO CREDIT: ©SID ESPINOSA

Sid Espinosa's Al Fresco Linguini

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SID ESPINOSA’S AL FRESCO LINGUINI

Serves 4

PHOTO CREDIT: ©TAMI ESPINOSA

Step 1: Pesto • 1⁄3 cup fresh pine nuts (lightly toasted) • 2 cup of fresh Genovese basil (wash and dry, remove stems) • 2 garlic cloves, peeled • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated • ¼ tsp Kosher salt • ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice Mortar and pestle method (to be authentic): Crush garlic, salt and pepper in mortar with pestle until garlic is paste -like, about 1-2 minutes. Add fresh basil in 3 or 4 additions, crushing leaves until a fine paste forms, about 10 minutes.

Add pine nuts and crush. Add cheese a little at a time to incorporate into mixture by pounding together, about 5 minutes. Drizzle in olive oil a tablespoon at a time, pounding into the sauce to emulsify completely into the mixture. Drizzle in lemon juice and mix. Transfer sauce into a bowl. You may drizzle a touch of olive oil on top.

Food processor method: Combine all ingredients, except oil, in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped (5-10 pulses). Adjust to low setting and slowly add olive oil. Scrape sides as needed. Consistency should be well blended but still textured. Taste-test and add ingredients depending on preference (add more garlic or cheese according to you taste). Cover and refrigerate.

Step 2: Sauce • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 small onion, minced • In skillet at medium heat, cook until onion is translucent (2 – 3 min) • 1½ cups baby spinach • 1 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped • 1 large garlic clove, minced • 1 tsp fresh oregano, minced Add ingredients above and cook until spinach is wilted (2 – 3 minutes) • 1 cup Sauvignon Blanc • ½ cup milk • 1 cup pesto (recipe above) • 10 oz (about 6 – 7, depending on size) fresh large artichoke hearts, steamed and quartered Bring to a boil while stirring (2 – 3 minutes). Set aside and cover.

Step 3: Pasta Use fresh linguini fini, if possible. Fill large pot with water to half-full, add 1 Tbsp of salt and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Bring to boil. Add pasta. Stir to avoid sticking (3 – 4 minutes). Do not overcook or it will clump. Tastetest pasta. It should be al dente, firm not crunchy.

Strain. Toss with ingredients in skillet.

1. Final: Garnish recommendations according to taste 2. Sprinkle of shredded fontina cheese 3. Squeeze of fresh lemon 4. Red pepper flakes for a kick *(Strips of roasted chicken or seared scallops are both good additions for a fuller meal. Add on top of pasta when serving.)

SID’S WINE TIP: Artichokes are famously difficult for wine pairings, but they shouldn’t be. There’s one key factor: dry, dry, dry. Cynarin, a chemical in artichokes, predisposes a sweet taste, and, when combined with some wines, will negatively impact the taste of the wine and the food.

Both red and white wines pair well with artichokes if they’re bone dry. I find that Sauvignon Blancs, bold dry Rosés and fino sherries pair particularly well, but again: dry, dry, dry.

Sid Espinosa at Besson Family vineyards

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BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR

HauteDRINKS

CRUSHING IT: FEMALE WINEMAKERS In Step with the Rhythms of Mother Nature, Six Women Who Turn Grapes into Wine SO MUCH ABOUT 2020 IS OUT OF SYNC. NEVERTHELESS, THE TIMELESS seasonality of harvest stays with the rhythms of Mother Nature, an appropriate time to pay tribute to female winemakers.

Research by Santa Clara University indicates that women comprise only 10 percent of the winemakers in California’s 4,000-plus wineries. With gratitude and admiration, we’re shining a spotlight on several of the women who turn the fruits of 2020 into wine.

Theresa Heredia, winemaker at Gary Farrell Winery

Chief winemaker since 2012, Theresa Heredia makes award-winning wines without a vineyard. The formula for success is based on her handshake deals with three dozen trusted growers providing high quality grapes to match with her terroir-driven winemaking techniques.

Heredia nurtures the brand’s Russian River Valley legacy of producing small lots of Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that capture the balance and stylistic elegance of some of the finest vineyards in the region.

“My daily inspiration is the beautiful fog from the Pacific Ocean that gets pulled through Russian River Valley. Experiencing the foggy mornings and waiting for the tiny droplets hanging from the tip of each berry on cold mornings inspires me to make great wines from this area,” says Heredia.

Theresa Heredia studied biochemistry at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and went on to the graduate enology program at UC Davis. She is one of the few Latina and lesbian winemakers in California. | garyfarrellwinery.com

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PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) SHUTTERSTOCK; (BOTTOM) ©WILL BUCQUOY

THERESA HEREDIA | GARY FARRELL WINERY

ROSEMARY CAKEBREAD | GALLICA

Since 1979, Rosemary Cakebread’s career went from cellar jobs at Inglenook Vineyards to blending cuvées at Mumm Napa Valley to longtime winemaker at Spottswoode Vineyard and Winery.

She founded Gallica in 2007 with the simple philosophy of handcrafting organically farmed, elegant, single vineyard wines from two gravelly acres in St. Helena. Since the inaugural vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gallica has earned a reputation for sought-after wines of grace and balance with remarkable consistency across vintages. There are limited quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Albariño, Syrah, plus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Rosé.

Inspiration comes from her vegetable and flower garden and the family vineyard where she lives with her husband, Bruce Cakebread, co-owner of Cakebread Cellars. | gallicawine.com

Jessica Boone in the vineyards

Rosemary Cakebread by olive trees

JESSICA BOONE | PASSALACQUA WINERY

Jessica Boone has a couple of decades under her belt as a wine industry veteran.

Starting out as a harvest lab technician at a winery in St. Helena, she fell in love with the labor-intensive transformation of grapes into wine. She joined the Passalacqua team as winemaker in 2012, a family-owned winery that had been growing grapes in Dry Creek Valley for five generations.

With carte blanche access to the winery’s Cabernet ranch, Boone chooses the fruit that appeals to her palate, block by block and season by season. Passalacqua specializes in single block Cabernet from the winery’s ranch in Dry Creek Valley, as well as Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Fiano, an Italian white varietal. She also introduced extensive development of a single vineyard Zinfandel program. | passalacquawinery.com

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP RIGHT) ©MIMI GIBOIN; (BOTTOM IMAGES) COURTESY OF PASSALACQUA WINERY

Jessica Boone, winemaker

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HauteDRINKS Gia Coppola

GIA COPPOLA | GIA COPPOLA WINE

A passion project for Gia and female winemaker Jordan Costello, Orange is made from 100 percent Lake County Riesling grapes fermented for 15 days, aged in steel, and unfiltered. The result is a hazy, funky wine with tasting notes of quince, kumquat, clove, and honeydew. Their other creation, SanGia, uses cultivated Pinot Noir grapes, fermented and aged with brandy from Great Women Spirits for an aromatic, balanced sangria with notes of cherry and strawberry, plus aromas of baking spices and orange peel.

In 2018, Gia and her grandfather, Francis Ford Coppola, introduced this unpretentious style aimed at the younger generation. The summer campaign donated $5 from every bottle of SanGia and Orange wine to Allies in Arts in support of short films directed by BIPOC womxn and trans and non-binary artists. Wine labels feature a photograph from Gia’s own archives. | thefamilycoppola.com

“In 2018, Gia and her grandfather, Francis Ford Coppola, introduced this unpretentious style aimed at the younger generation. The summer campaign donated $5 from every bottle of SanGia and Orange wine to Allies in Arts in support of short films directed by BIPOC womxn, trans and non-binary artists.”

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PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) ©TORI TIME PHOTOGRAPHY; (BOTTOM) ©LOUISE PRICE

Gia Coppola wines

MAGGIE KRUSE | JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY

In the summer of 2019, Rob Davis, longest-tenured winemaker in Sonoma County, turned over the lead to Maggie Kruse, with whom he’d worked for 13 previous harvests.

A graduate of UC Davis with a degree in viticulture and enology, Kruse studied in the laboratory of respected sensory scientist, Dr. Hildegarde Heymann, before joining Jordan’s laboratory in 2006.

Kruse oversees all aspects of day-to-day cellar operations, including quality control experiments, fermentation monitoring, tank and lot organizing, selecting and inspecting barrels, blending, batonnage, selecting corks and bottles, bottling, and labeling as she and her team guide the grapes from vineyard to winery.

Proprietor John Jordan noted, “For family businesses like ours, leadership changes like this only come around two or three times in a century.” | jordanwinery.com

Maggie Kruse

PHOTO CREDITS: (BOTTOM IMAGES) COURTESY OF INMAN FAMILY WINES

KATHLEEN INMAN | INMAN FAMILY WINES

For 20 years a one-woman show, Kathleen Inman’s 10.45-acre Olivet Grange Vineyard in Russian River Valley produces high quality wines through “eco-ethics.” Sensitive farming, natural winemaking, and environmentally responsible business practices supplement organic farming. For fertilizer, Kathleen employs Four-Course Compost, so named because it derives from table scraps discarded by San Francisco restaurants, hotels, and residences.

When Kathleen produced her first sparkling wine in 2009, she was one of the first domestic producers to take an artisan approach to sparkling wine. Inspired by the Grower Champagne model in France, she wanted to make single-vineyard and single-vintage sparkling wines. The wine was so popular that in 2012 she added a Méthode Champenoise Blanc de Noir, and in 2017 she introduced Whole Buncha Bubbles, a premium sparkling wine bottled in a playful 1960s-style Fillmore concert poster. | inmanfamilywines.com

Kathleen Inman in the barrel room

Winemaker Kathleen Inman

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BY STEPH KEAY

HauteHOTEL

THE SETTING INN NAPA VALLEY Thoughtful Amenities and Understated Luxury Set Apart This Cozy Gem in the Heart of Wine Country

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The Setting Inn's famous photo frame

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ©BOB MCCLENAHAN

NESTLED IN A PATCH OF VERDURE JUST off the St. Helena Highway, The Setting Inn’s two-story farmhouse glimmers in the early afternoon sunlight. Pulling into the driveway, it feels as though we’ve arrived at the welcoming home of a long-time friend.

The remodeled 1901 building, surrounded by lush walnut and fig trees, sits on a 1-acre property located in the tranquil Oak Knoll district. The unincorporated Napa community—one of the most acclaimed American Viticultural Areas in California—is renowned for its moderate climate, thanks to marine influence from the San Pablo Bay and a coastal fog that rolls in from the west. Here, the vineyards are warm enough to perfectly ripen red varieties, while being cool enough for grapes such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Formerly known as the Napa Vineyard Inn, the reimagined boutique hotel debuted last June under new owners Jeff Cova and Noah McMahon, also the proprietors of The Setting Wines in Sonoma County, famously known for the world record-breaking sale of a bottle of its 2015 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for $350,000 at a charity wine auction. Cova and McMahon preserved the property’s historical landmark status, while incorporating contemporary flourishes, courtesy of Orange County’s Cora J Designs, in its signature and deluxe guest rooms, as well as its premiere 2-bedroom suite located in a separate cottage.

A restored barn houses a luxurious, shared indoor-outdoor lounge

The courtyard portico

The indoor-outdoor lounge

The shared courtyard and wraparound patio

Despite the obvious luxury—such as heated bathroom floors, a soaking tub, and fireplace—each of the oversized rooms also features delightfully homey touches, such as studio roller message boards and brightly-colored yoga mats propped up in hand-woven baskets. “The most incredible part of staying at The Setting is our ample community space and an invitation to enjoy a flight of our distinguished wines, crafted

by Jesse Katz,” says General Manager David Kerr. “The property is surrounded by vineyards in every direction and is an incredibly peaceful and serene location for guests to connect with dear friends and loved ones over an exceptional bottle of wine. We invite you to discover your perfect ‘setting.’”

After dropping our bags off in the airy king suite, we venture out to the shared courtyard area for one of the inn’s complimentary tasting for all guests upon arrival.

A spacious patio wraps around the back of the house, and the suite’s doors slide open with direct access to the courtyard and a semi-private nook tucked away in the corner—perfect to indulge in a little tête-à-tête.

The beautifully restored barn, and centerpiece of the backyard opens to a lush green lawn fit for an afternoon game of ladder ball or early evening picnic. The indoor-outdoor entertaining space lends itself to group retreats and destination celebrations. It’s easy to imagine hosting a family reunion or friends’ getaway in the spacious yet cozy courtyard area.

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HauteHOTEL Besides the barn’s luxurious lounging area, replete with leather sofas and a communal guitar, guests also have access to a fitness center with a Peloton as well as electric cruisers complimentary for hotel guests. (Kerr is more than happy to offer pointers on nearby trails and restaurants.) The generous tasting, held al fresco under the inn’s portico as the sun sets behind the Mayacamas Mountains, features a sampling of The Setting Wines’ portfolio of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In the morning, a daily continental breakfast featuring a tray of fresh pastries from Bouchon Bakery and orange juice is packaged neatly and dropped off at the door so as not to disturb guests.

The sky is a cool gray as we raise the automatic blinds, and the morning air is crisp—scented by the surrounding stalks of towering Spanish lavender— as we step out to enjoy coffee and the picturesque vineyard views in our semi-private nook. Although the itinerary for the day ahead beckons with wine tasting at the historic Trefethen Vineyards, Castello di Amorosa, and Sterling Vineyards, among the many other gems in close vicinity, it’s difficult to peel ourselves out of the inn’s lavish robes and hit the road. More than just a place to stay, The Setting Inn is a warm and welcoming wine country escape to indulge in one of California’s finest food and wine destinations. In just a little under a day, it has become our home away from home.

Across the lawn, beyond the sliding barn door, an Instagrammable, vertical garden boasts a pink neon sign that proclaims: “These are the days.” Indeed, those words hold a bit more weight now than only a few months ago—but this stay has reminded us that there is always a moment to stop and be grateful for the ability to create our own “setting” with loved ones amid the chaos.

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The Spring Mountain Room

he Oak Knoll Room

Complimentary electric cruisers for guests

A place to create your own "Setting" in the heart of Napa Valley

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MERITAGE RESORT & SPA

BY TERESA RODRIGUEZ

HauteHOTEL

THE PERFECT LOCAL FAMILY GETAWAY Escape to the rolling hills of Napa with your loved ones ALTHOUGH THE NAME VISTA COLLINA SOUNDS LIKE A PRIVATE estate in the Tuscan mountains, it is a beautiful luxurious resort just up the road in Napa. The resort boasts a large pool with cabanas; a delightful tasting village; a locally sourced, artisanal market; and, a spacious community lawn for picnics, plays, and private concerts. Vista Collina is the destination for families who want to create joyful memories during this global pandemic.

For the active family, make sure to reserve a Vista Collina 1-bedroom suite. Ideal for sheltering-in-place, the suite is equipped with everything you need to feel at home. It’s a cozy, home-away-from-home experience that invites guests to relax and reconnect in 850 square feet of contem-

porary, bright living space with a living room, a fully equipped kitchen with full-sized appliances, and the option to add a connecting king or queen room creating a 2-bedroom suite. Cook your meals, bring a few bottles from your private wine collection, enjoy warm evenings on the balcony overlooking the pool: it is truly an incredible experience.

What's even better is that the spa, Spa Terra, now offers outdoor massages during the temporary suspension of operation in the underground Estate Cave. Enjoy a much-needed massage in a beautiful outdoor cabana or on a relaxing terrace. Vista Collina offers these services to guests who are not staying on-property. What could be better than a half-day adventure for a spa treatment in Napa?

Meritage Resort and Spa

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HauteHOTEL Treatment rooms with soaking tub

Vista Collina’s current 50-minute treatments include:

Estate Cave at Spa Terra

Private treatment rooms

SWEDISH MASSAGE: Relax, rebalance, and renew with this classic massage tailored to your specific needs.

DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE: A therapeutic massage uses

deep pressure strokes and trigger point therapy designed to alleviate tension and muscular stress.

TENSION TAMER MASSAGE: A deep pressure massage

targets the classic areas where tension lurks: the back, neck, and shoulders.

MOTHER-TO-BE MASSAGE: This relaxing, full body mas-

CBD WELLNESS MASSAGE: The calming, soothing effects of CBD work in unison with Swedish massage techniques to restore natural movement, eliminate chronic pain, and improve your state of mind.

THE MINDFUL MASSAGE: This indulgent massage com-

bines touch with a moment of mindfulness to help you achieve a higher level of well-being.

Breakfast in bed at Vista Collina

To reach their spa concierge, call 707-251-3000.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MERITAGE RESORT & SPA

sage alleviates tired muscles and soothes the body, providing comfort, care, and much-needed pampering during this special time.

DINING: The resort has a full-service, in-room dining service, along with a bevy of dining options.

Fivetown Grocery: With farm-fresh, local ingredients and products, this upscale market offers a taste of the five towns that make up Napa Valley.

Food & Wine Center: Sip, taste, and create with new food and wine cooking classes and demonstrations designed to ignite your inner chef.

Olive & Hay Restaurant

Big Italian salad

In-Room Dining: Room service at Vista Collina Resort is a Wine Country experience. Menu items from the Napa Valley restaurant feature ingredients from local purveyors, crafted into traditional fare and Napa cuisine with a twist.

In-Suite Cooking: Vista Collina proudly partners with Hestan Cue to offer a truly unique, in-suite culinary experience. Guests can also enjoy the amenities at their sister property next door, Meritage Resort & Spa.

Vista Collina lawn

Pool at Meritage Resort & Spa

Olive & Hay Restaurant: Locally sourced California cuisine combines with rustic Italian influences at the resort's signature restaurant. Enjoy cuisine prepared by chefs honoring past generations, the al fresco dining experience, and an award-winning wine list.

Crush Lounge: The resort's many amenities include a 6-lane bowling alley with the latest pinsetter technology.

Blend: The cafĂŠ serves up everything from cappuccino and coffee to a fresh fruit plate, parfait, or sandwich for a casual breakfast in Napa.

The Commons: Relax and unwind at the lobby bar where rich wood accents, low lighting, and an inspired wine list make it a popular gathering place for locals and guests alike.

Terrace Bar: Open seasonally, the pool bar serves up cold drinks and lighter fare with views of the resort’s hillside vineyards and the Estate Cave.

Room service at Vista Collina

During COVID-19, rules and regulations are changing. At the time of print, this information was correct. To learn more about the resort, visit meritagecollection.com.

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BY JENNIFER RAISER

HauteCUISINE

Fine dining al fresco

LUNCHEON AT LYNMAR: SUBLIME, SERENE, AND SECURE IN SONOMA THIS IS USUALLY THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN OUR LATE SAN Francisco summer gets a little stifling, when we yearn for drawn-out days of wine and Rosé. Any other September, it would be the time to head to the country and get deliciously hazy with a perfect picnic. We don’t need to tell you what happened instead, but we couldn’t quite give up on the idea.

How could we stay safe and still have our grape escape?

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We could meander over to Sebastopol, where Lynmar Estate Winery knows exactly what to do. Just an hour north of the Golden Gate, we’d drive into the heart of Russian River Valley to a place that feels timeless and true. Nestled alongside a lush garden overlooking the vineyards, they will set aside a secluded spot for us and provide everything we need for our own dejeuner sur l’herbe, Sonoma style.

Lynmar Estate Winery is a closely kept secret among the vinoscenti, growing and producing ultra-premium Chardonnay, Rosé, and Pinot Noir on a 100-acre estate. Lynmar wines are only available from the winery or in top-rated restaurants, with more demand than supply. This small-is-beautiful approach means they welcome relatively few visitors and take very, very good care of them. Wine club members often forgo shipping to claim their wine in person, to touch the terroir, and to indulge in a Lynmar luncheon. Even in sybaritic Sonoma County, Lynmar’s 4-course, wine-paired midday meals are legendary. Using ingredients and wines entirely grown on the estate, the experience offers a full tutorial on terroir.

Like so many wineries, Lynmar was forced to pause when the tasting rooms were closed. Proprietors Lynn and Anisya Fritz used the time to re-imagine Lynmar hospitality. They would still make estate wines, because, as Anisya Fritz said, “Nature didn’t have a shut-down; the gardens and grapes continued to grow. We just couldn’t share them the way we had become accustomed to.”

“Nature didn’t have a shut-down; the gardens and grapes continued to grow. We just couldn’t share them the way we had become accustomed to.”

– Anisya Fritz

PHOTO CREDITS: ©DAWN HEUMANN PHOTOGRAPHY

Lynmar Executive Chef David Frakes (L) joins Proprietors Lynn Fritz (M) and Anisya Fritz to see how their gardens grow

Lynmar luncheons celebrate fruit, flowers, and grapes grown entirely on the estate

The realities of the pandemic required new approaches. The hands-on couple initiated a series of virtual wine tastings and the congenial tasting room staff were discharged to deliver allocations to wine club advocates who were eager to return to Lynmar. When this was allowed, Anisya Fritz worked with longtime chef, David Frakes, to design a safely distanced, but superlative, experience.

The result is “Lynmar On Your Own,” an ultra-posh picnic for parties of two, four, or six outdoors in Lynmar’s abundant organic garden. Guests are greeted with Rosé and ushered to their distantly designated tables sparkling with crystal and china. Sunny market umbrellas frame the idyll, with the vineyards to the west and the Laguna de Santa Rosa to the east. The meal is delivered alongside bottles of Lynmar Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Your picnic begins with still-warm popcorn accented with Mariposa plumpreserved lemon salt and drizzled with the estate’s floral olive oil. Next you find a sumptuous, composed salad foraged from the garden you currently inhabit, a main course of Garam Masala-brined chicken breast on grilled, seeded sourdough with ricotta and vegetable spread spiked with a carrot and herb emulsion, and a decadent orchard plum clafouti with olallieberry cream literally bursting with fruit from the trees which lend you shade. There are thoughtful touches: sanitizing handwipes, a charming field guide, and a poetic menu with tasting notes.

After lunch, you are welcome to wander, perhaps finding feathers from the bald eagles that nested in the spring or counting the butterflies which alight on the roses and rosemary. Is that buzz from the leisurely lunch or the happy bees pollinating the lavender? If you are truly besotted with the experience, you can even make prior arrangements to stay on-property at the aptly named Bliss House.

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HauteCUISINE Chef David Frakes, who has served Lynmar for a decade, is the menu mastermind. He procures ingredients through the sun and soil. “We’ve been experimenting with which fruit and vegetable varietals best complement the flavors of the wine. We grow from seed, and then cook with each of them to discover what works. We taste the wine, then the dish, then the wine again, and adjust accordingly.”

His seasonal menus are modified each day. “Our beds are well-protected, but when the rabbits sneak in to eat the rest of the radishes, we adapt!” Everything is picked at its prime. “The gardens are singing to us right now,” he says. “The Gravenstein apples are dropping off the trees, and soon we’ll have pears and then squash. Everything is freshly prepared just before it is served. We make our own balsamic, we dry cure our garlic, we grow our plant starts from seeds saved from the year before.

This is a complete estate-grown experience.”

Winemaker Pete Soergel boasts a similar relationship to his produce, which ends up in bottles as Lynmar Estate wine. He says, “Having complete control of the grapes that you grow yourself is a real privilege. We can farm each block and fine-tune every variable. Because we have our team year-round, we can choose to just pick the southern-facing side of the vine on one day and wait for the northern-facing side to ripen a bit more. We can pay very close attention to the vines. I’m allowed to work incrementally, to experiment a bit, to understand what the grapes need to make their best wine. Temperature, native versus inoculated yeast, which particular barrels to use … the process allows you to experience this sense of place with every sip.”

Winemaker Pete Soergel keeps a close eye on the ripeness of each cluster

Your luncheon includes plating suggestions and tasting notes

Proprietor Anisya Fritz accompanied by Hannah, the newest member of the Lynmar family

Overlooking Quail Hill vineyard and the winemaking operation

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Each party has their own exclusive corner of the estate’s 100 acres

When Lynn Fritz purchased the Quail Hill acreage 40 years ago, he found the climate and terrain were ideal for Pinot Noir grapes. Over the years, he and his wife Anisya have continued to upgrade the property, replanting vines and acquiring neighboring parcels well-suited for certain varietals. Anisya, a professor with a Ph.D. in strategy who teaches the popular “Business of Wine” course at Sonoma State, is a full partner in managing the operation. They are devoted to ensuring their customers, their longtime staff, and the fruits of their soil are equally well-tended.

Lynn says, “Making wine at this level is all about respect for the land. It’s a privilege to share what nature so gladly offers us.”

Anisya adds, “When thoughtfully considered and lovingly presented, a great wine and food pairing invites the sensation of savoring, of sharing, of being fully present in the moment.

It can offer the experience of joy. That’s what we strive for: to create the conditions for joy. Right now, it’s the greatest thing we can give."

Lynmar “On Your Own” luncheons are by reservation only. Thursday through Sunday at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Lynmarestate.com 707-829-3374, x102, or reserve@lynmarestate.com.

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Lily SAMII

PROFILE

A woman of ingenuity who soared from the depths of adversity to grace center stage

Lily and model at a fashion show

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PHOTO CREDIT: ©CHARLIE NUCCI

BY MARIA CASTELLUCCI

PHOTO CREDIT: (TOP) ©NATHAN DEHART; (BOTTOM) PHOTO COURTESY OF LILY SAMII

Woven like webs of featherweight silk, yet vehemently steadfast in their bonds, are the ties of family, resiliency, and devotion. The respect for and fondness of her family and clients have carried through in her most exquisite work, while her capacity for growth fully formed the amazing woman she is today. We tell the tale of a girl who came from Iranian nobility and rose through the ranks to the fashion icon we know today. Wreathed within her work are apologues of love, loss, and tragedy, allowing her garments to showcase richness and personal affluence in nature. Lily Samii was born in Isfahan, Iran, a city known for its unique and breathtaking PersianIslamic architecture. Decorating the city was the Hasht Behesht palace, Hašt-Behešt signifying “The Eight Heavens” in Persian. Its impressive architectural elements and shapes gave Lily the appreciation for color, contour, and design from a young age.

Those beautiful surroundings heavily influenced her affection for pattern, composition of design, and luminosity of wonder.

Her mother was coined as a true visionary, while her father’s adoration for her mother gave Lily a strong foundation fueled by compassion, respect, and love. Her grandfathers were honored noblemen: Prince Abdol-Ali Mirza Homayounpour, grandson of Crown Prince Fath Ali Shah of the Model with tulle shawl Qajar Dynasty was her grandfather on her mother’s side. Lady Farkhondeh, Lily’s grandmother gave birth to 10 children; the fourth child was a special little girl named Ashraf-ol-Molook, who became Lily’s mother. Dressed in beautifully tailored little outfits as child, Lily became accustomed to the art of tailoring and couture from a young age.

“When I was just a small child, my mother would take me with her to meet Madam Sophie, her dressmaker, at her atelier to be fitted for whatever beautiful outfit my mother was getting made. I was mesmerized by Madam Sophie and the way she carefully worked with a tape measure around her neck and pins in her mouth, carefully pinning my mother’s dress.”

Lily’s mother wanted anything but for Lily to become a dressmaker.

She made sure to occupy Lily’s free time with hobbies such as ballet, “but I always went back to my scraps of fabric and pins.”

At eight years of age, Lily was enamored with creating and the art of formation. From early on in her childhood, she observed textures, movement, and complexions among the life forms all around her. She echoed those that caught her eye and mirrored their detail in her materials. “I would arrange the fabrics in order of color, creating a rainbow of hues and textures.

Then I would go into the garden and find something that captured my attention—from a flower in our garden to the fishes in the pond or The book butterflies fluttering through the air. I would pull from my fabrics to mimic whatever I was focused on, and voilà!”

A particular backdrop at her childhood home resembled that of “The Eight Heavens” with defining architectural interest and allure, a blueprint that remains etched in her mind to this day. Lily pondered geometric lines.

Color palettes and movement thoughtfully enabled her imagination and inquisitiveness to take shape. “When I was a child, my room opened onto a long terrace with French doors that led to our garden. My favorite thing was to get home from school and run into my room to set up my fabrics—my grandmother called it ‘my shop.’”

Lily strongly considered becoming an architect, yet her obsession with fabrics, pigments, and people—connecting through the loving example she was exposed to as a child—cemented her love affair with fashion. As shown in her work, her garments all have beautiful structure and function with, of course, beauty and grace.

Her signature style is in her talent to look at a women’s body type and create flattering pieces that highlight the client’s best attribute.

Each of her pieces echoes the 14th century palace designs from 45

Sketch of a blue gown

From left: Courtney Labe, Maryam Muduroglu, and Kate Shilvock at the 2017 San Francisco Opera Opening Gala

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her childhood. Her gowns evoke elegance paired with sophistication and thoughtful precision, while the use of brightly colored palettes could have been said to be bold. With her father’s guiding light, her mother’s visionary perception, and her cultural influences, Lily blossomed in the world of the arts. She learned deep compassion, social graces, and with her detailed personality, Lily was able to deeply connect to her audience in ways that set her apart from other designers.

The tapestry and depth of her life unfolded in awe-inspiring ways.

At the age of just 14, Lily was accepted into a French design school in Tehran, while simultaneously attending high school. At 16, she was in full creation mode. She hosted fashion shows at her home with family and friends, creating each piece thoughtfully curated with her Frenchinfluenced studies of design in mind.

After graduating high school, Lily received an airline ticket to fly around the world, a customary tradition of noble and respected families in Iranian culture. She traveled to far-away places: enchanted lands from India and Thailand to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Honolulu. The expedition was filled with cultural delights, educational experiences, and awe-inspiring adventure. The wisdom and growth Lily experienced on this journey imparted her with immense strength and affirmed her love of the arts, of people, and of diversity of cultures. She was offered the opportunity to spend a couple of semesters at UCLA and decided California was where she would further her education.

Lily’s career truly took off shortly after spending time in Los Angeles.

While studying at UCLA, she was offered a job at a lavish boutique that carried brands like Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, and many others.

Her fascination and appreciation for the extravagant pieces showcased at the boutique—and not to mention the clientele with whom Lily was working—fueled her passion for fashion. It was couture at its finest and Lily Samii had a front row seat!

Her couture fashion mentor, Edith Head, Hollywood designer to the stars, began working closely with Lily. In her love for costume design, their collaborations took Lily to prodigious heights, designing alongside Edith for Hollywood movies including The Cincinnati Kid, Marriage on the Rocks, and Ship of Fools. Lily Samii was building a name for herself in the competitive world of fashion. “I was also very lucky to have the opportunity to intern with James Galanos. From him, I learned the importance of fit, finishing, and making women feel comfortable. He was a master at draping, and that is where my strength lies to this day.”

For Lily, her life inched on at a perfect pace. Her studies, as well as her job at the boutique, marched seamlessly on course. While focused on her career path and trajectory, she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart. They wed in Iran and came back to Los Angeles to build their life together. Lily’s career and fashion design aspirations grew by the day. Her internships with the famed Edith Head and James Galanos drew the attention of many; they were not glossed over or unnoticed by her peers.

In the spring of 1967, Lily’s world turned upside down. In a flash, an accident at work compromised her career and changed the landscape of her life forever. She had missed a step, tripped, and tumbled down two flights of stairs: “The next thing I remember, I was in an ambulance—

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) ©MIMI JEON; (BOTTOM) ©DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY

PROFILE

PHOTO CREDIT: (TOP) ©DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY; (BOTTOM) ©DAVID PEREZ

little did I know that the course of my life changed at that moment.”

Extensive neck and back injuries left Lily in the hands of doctors, hospitals, and physical therapists. After hospital stays and surgeries, it was unknown if she could ever return to her love of sewing and designing. She was unable to bend her neck and the uncertainty that she might never be able to sew again set in. “After months of rehab in Los Angeles, my husband and I moved to San Francisco to start a new life and be close to his parents. In the meantime, he was able to get a job in Chronicle SF IS article the language department at the College of Marin in Kentfield, a quiet suburb north of San Francisco. We rented a small apartment in the adjacent town of Larkspur.”

Leaving Los Angeles and her esteemed career disoriented Lily. Her glamorous Hollywood life had come to an abrupt halt. After relocating to Marin, she took a position with College of Marin, teaching in their art department. This sleepy yet beautiful county had a solemn vibe compared to the vibrant, haute lifestyle Lily had grown accustomed to in Los Angeles.

The landscape of her days shifted from dynamic and elegant to subdued and plain. While estranged from her previous life of glamor and curating, she yearned for the opportunity to work intimately with textiles again: touching the fabrics allured her most.

A woman by the name of Mrs. Alice Zimmerman took Lily in as her dearest friend and changed her life in immeasurable ways. The two later started their own business, and the famed L.Y.Z boutique was formed. This boutique carried all the couture brands and became a famed, ultra, madeto-order boutique known from coast to coast. Co-owning one of the most acclaimed and prominent boutiques in the country, Lily continued her buying trips to New York. Her yearning for learning and growing continued.

At this point her sister Laleh came to America from her European studies to assist Lily with her boutique. In the spring of 1980, Lily’s young husband tragically passed away from a heart attack and her world once again shattered. That time, it was Laleh who helped Lily pick up the pieces and trudge along. Although the devastation of sudden bereavement brought on immense pain for Lily, her perseverance and strength, paired with her family’s emotional support, enabled Lily to push forward. Incredibly resilient and steadfast in her determination, Lily’s vitality and spirit exhibited most brightly when she did what made her heart sing. She then put all her energy into L.Y.Z. boutique. Tragedy turned to advantage as

Lily’s tenacious spirit propelled her forward to international recognition in the prestigious publications of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, among others.

In 1984, she met Mark Hormoz Samii, a charming and elegant man of whom she felt quite fond. They later married. Her husband desired Lily to take a step back from work, perhaps traveling the world with him. He adored Lily and promised her a life of elegance, travel, and la bella vita!

Lily’s heart yearned for something else. She thirsted for the creation of what could be her very own fashion label. It was on this anniversary trip to Italy, dining under the stars at the esteemed Villa d’este, that Lily experienced another life-altering moment.

Her dream of becoming a couture fashion designer felt so right.

Putting all her energy and savings into this new venture renewed Lily and reinvigorated her life once again. The Lily Samii label was born.

Her partnership with Harpers Bazaar in the spring of 1989 put Lily on the main stage of her career. Her love of creating and her need to design

From left: Debbie Messemer, Lisa Grotts, and Rosemary Backer on the NHG cover

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and construct were now at the forefront of her agenda. After months of searching for the perfect space to unveil her incredible artistry, her very own showroom in Union Square was birthed and, boy, was it was exquisite!

“I was reborn again! I had the excitement of a young person, even though I was nearly 50 years old at the time and had given up a very successful business for a whole new adventure! But it was exciting, and I was finally in my world of textiles and trims and everything that I had ever wanted.” With an impressive resume and her dream team in place, Lily was shaping up to be one of our nation’s most celebrated designers.

Lily’s story reminds me of a true American dream story: rich in risk, deep in emotion, and enveloped in reward. Gracing the covers of our most coveted fashion magazines, Lily’s work was requested at frenzied speeds, unsustainable to boot! She dressed the likes of Senator Barbara Boxer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and royals and socialites alike, for any occasion and in any location. Lily Samii gowns graced the red carpet in droves.

This new, beloved, and show-stopping brand drew much fascination, as it became the haute new commodity in the world of design. Lined in fine silks and made in San Francisco, the detail and richness of fabrics and texture from her coats and suits to her cocktail dresses and red carpet gowns gave her clientele beauty and sophistication, glamor, and gentility, enveloped into one.

Her fashion spoke volumes and took the design world by storm. Lily Samii’s personality debuted in each of her designs: authentic, graceful, dazzling, and elegant. Her silhouettes of vibrant colors and patterns were not only unique in nature, but also ready to wear for the modern woman.

Romantic yet structured, intricate and meticulous in their detailing, Lily’s creations were timeless and modern, always allowing her client to shine. Her creativity and edge for excellence propelled her to the top.

Hew name now appeared alongside her fellow designers. From runway spectacles to charitable fashion shows, Lily’s pieces delighted the audience in their gorgeous blends of texture, fabric, and the beautiful intricacies of beading. To Lily, it was therapeutic, the process of selection and working with her hands to create a masterpiece in each piece. “My soul is so connected to the delicate artwork of hand embroidery. In moments when I would find myself stressed out, I’d find solace in carefully sewing beads, sequins, pearls, and stones on gowns with a steady eye and focus.

Embroidery is my therapy and work like this calms me.”

Making women feel beautiful was her style. Understanding the craftsmanship and the fabrics themselves were her gifts. Her clients became her friends and her family. For Lily, designing was not only an art form, but a creation of wonder, of mystery, a way of relating to others. Her communication style was in the form of fashion, but her true gift to society was the feeling she evoked in the eyes of her clients. My own mother wore one of Lily’s gowns to my wedding. Being a couture seamstress herself, my mother knew quality when she saw it.

Lily’s family upbringing in Iran and the gifts shared by her mother and father gave her the edge that perhaps others designers lacked. As of September 2019, Lily Samii has closed that chapter of her life.

She exits her stage, carrying with her the utmost grace, poise, and refinement, just as her noble relatives would have wanted for her.

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Model in yellow

PHOTO CREDITS: ©CHARLIE NUCCI

PROFILE

PHOTO CREDIT: (CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP LEFT) ©LIZ HAFALIA; DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY; ©CHARLIE NUCCI; ©JOCK MCDONALD; ©CHARLIE NUCCI;

Lily in her office in San Francisco

Chronicled in her recent publication titled Lily Samii: A Journey through Life and Fashion, her biography highlights Lily’s remarkable life. The garments showcased in her newest release are truly an exquisite compilation of her greatest work. Yet, aside from her outstanding craftsmanship, it is the grace and authenticity of Lily’s character which stand out in each piece. This publication reads as a memoir with superb photographic imagery and an incredible synopsis into the life of one of our greatest to grace the fashion world. Undoubtedly, it would make the perfect holiday gift.

Now retired, Lily reflects upon her incredible odyssey with such resilience and dexterity for all the twists and turns life throws us. Her story shows us that through all our challenges, our internal passions and desires to showcase our gifts to the world are those which we are compelled to pursue.

Dreams can come true! Her journey showcases one abounding in character, individual in spirit and of tenacious courage. We can all uncover our own individual truths, thanks to the inspiration of Lily Samii.

“Today, I’m sitting in my garden, reminiscing about my life and my career as a fashion designer. In the last decade or so, I knew I needed to document my life for, if nothing else, just my soul! This book is my story, the story of love, passion, and serendipity! The whole journey is truly like a dream; and I can say with all certainty that I have lived my dream!

Due to the uncertainty that our universe has been dealing with these days, my retirement plans have changed; but, this is a small price to pay for all the other blessings that I have had in my life.”

For inquiry and pre-order of Lily Samii’s book please contact Saks Fifth Avenue window display laleh@lilysamii.com

Diane Rubin at San Francisco Opera Opening Gala

Lilac and gold strapless gown

Model on the runway

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PROFILE

Robin and Michelle Baggett at Alpha Omega

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THE

BENEVOLENT BAGGETTS

A passion for philanthropy powers Alpha Omega vintners

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALPHA OMEGA, FESTIVAL NAPA VALLEY

BY KELLY E. CARTER

NEARLY 15 YEARS AGO, ALPHA OMEGA winery owners Robin and Michelle Baggett glided into Napa Valley from San Luis Obispo, their hearts of gold exposed for all to see. It didn’t take long for the unknown, starry-eyed vintners to develop a reputation not just for the world-class wines produced at their new, blockbuster winery on the Rutherford Bench, but also for their eagerness to contribute to the community they now called home. Their days are full, balancing their winery responsibilities—he is managing partner and she oversees marketing and the Alpha Omega Foundation—and “Zooming” from one board meeting to another, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Robin, who hails from Salinas, relies on his trusty pocket calendar to keep track of his schedule. He’s chair of the Napa Valley Vintners’ board and vice chair of Festival Napa Valley, and he sits on the boards of the Wine Institute, Land Trust of Napa County, First Tee of Monterey County, and the Cal Poly Athletic Director’s Council. Michelle, a Marietta, Georgia native known as much for her creativity as she is her vivaciousness, serves on the boards of the Rutherford Dust Society and the St. Helena Hospital Foundation. They exude the same warmth that permeates through their farm-style winery. Passionate about supporting charities focused on children’s education, medical technology, and community needs, this couple strives to leave the world a better place than they found it.

Robin and Michelle Baggett at Festival Napa Valley

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PROFILE

Robin and Michelle Baggett present checks to Napa Valley Community Foundation CEO Terence Mulligan and Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department Chief Davie Pina

“Before Governor Newsom closed all wineries, we identified our first plan of action was to work with our COO to create a strategy to keep our staff employed should we have to close the winery. We accomplished that.”

– Michelle Baggett

How have Napa Valley Vintners and the Wine Institute been instrumental to their members during the pandemic?

Robin: The biggest thing both organizations have done is work with our government officials on the national, state, and local levels to come up with guidelines and methods on how we can continue to operate our wine businesses safely, as well as outside dining at restaurants on city streets. Those were all negotiated with the Wine Institute and NVV. As a member of both boards, you can’t say enough good about what both have done in this respect. They have worked their tails off.

Michelle: All of this came on the heels of an NVV trip to Washington, DC, in February to lobby for the wine industry. We had a lot of discussions and discoveries during that trip and said we needed to get ahead of this. We were very fortunate to be a part of that contingent.

Before Governor Newsom closed all wineries, we identified our first plan of action was to work with our COO to create a strategy to keep our staff employed should we have to close the winery. We accomplished that. My husband took the draft of protocols to our COO and asked him, are these all doable and do you have any more ideas to supplement these? Before Governor Newsom and Napa County gave wineries the green light to open, we had already restaged our entire outdoors with seating at a distance well above what is required and met with our team for intense training on the mandated protocols, so we were two weeks ahead of the game.

$200 million to community health and children’s education over the past 40 years. The money will come from a reserve fund the NVV established years ago. It was set up for circumstances just like this, so those charities and nonprofits that we have supported throughout the years wouldn’t go without. We also invested in several endeavors to bring COVID-19 testing to Napa.

Napa Valley Vintners continues to be a leader in the community.

Robin: I’ve been very proud of what Napa Valley Vintners has done this year. Although its signature fundraising event, Auction Napa Valley, was canceled, NVV still pledged to make donations at least equal to last year’s giving. That’s pretty impressive, considering NVV has donated

How do you select which charities to support?

Michelle: I like to diversify. First, we look within our community.

NVV raises enough money to be able to support a lot of our local community’s foundations and charities. So, there is a broad bandwidth and that’s very appealing. Being on the St. Helena Hospital Foundation

What other good work are you up to these days?

Robin: We recently joined with nine other wineries to produce a special wine with the goal of grossing $4.5 million for the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition which is building a 47-mile path from Vallejo to Calistoga.

Each winery is donating three barrels of wine that will be sold over the next five years, beginning this fall. Everything is being donated from the bottles to the corks to the etching. It’s a novel approach to fundraising and a collaboration that, hopefully, is finally going to get the Vine Trail across the finish line.

Michelle: Why is that important? It is not curing an illness or feeding a family or helping children through education—all causes we support— but it is mental and physical health for our community, visitors, and Mother Earth. The more people who are biking means fewer people in their cars, resulting in a lower carbon footprint. Plus, the Vine Trail is much safer than having people ride their bikes on the highway.

board is important to ensure that we have the most updated technology and finest doctors in the Bay Area to be able to take care of our community, so that they don’t have to travel outside of the county to get cancer treatment, cardiology support, or hip and knee replacements.

St. Helena Hospital scores at a very high level in cardiology and joint replacement and has its own Martin-O'Neil Cancer Center which provides multi-disciplinary cancer care from medical oncology, chemotherapy, and surgery to advanced radiation treatment. Since we both lost our moms to cancer, the V Foundation Wine Celebration introduced us to a new way to support cancer initiatives through cancer research. Research is so important in the fight to beat cancer. Also, the V Foundation has a 4-star (highest) Charity Navigator award for financial health, accountability, and transparency. It gets better: 100 percent of the funds raised through donations go directly to cancer research!

We love music. Robin and I both grew up in musical families. Music and arts are so important for children’s development. Music is math and math is science. Arts education is really education in so many different arenas.

We are also big supporters of The First Tee of Monterey County, part of an international youth development organization that introduces the game of golf and its inherent values to young people.

Where does your desire to give back come from?

Michelle: I come from a Christian—Baptist—family and, as a little girl, remember digging in my purse for a dollar when the offering plate would come by. It’s growing up in that environment of learning to support other people—and that starts within your family, then leads into your community where you do things like go across the street to help a neighbor take groceries inside. You see a smile on someone’s face whom you’ve helped, and you just want to do more. Sometimes, you feel like you can’t do enough and some people feel like they are not going to make a difference, but every little thing you do makes a difference in someone’s life. My first charity I participated in was March of Dimes. As a little girl in elementary school, I did a March of Dimes walk. I was sunburned and exhausted after my tiny legs walked 20-plus miles, but it felt good to be raising money and helping an unknown.

We all have value!

Michelle and Robin Baggett

Robin Baggett, Rep. Mike Thompson, Michelle Baggett

Robin: I also grew up in a very Christian, Baptist family. We were taught early on it was better to give than to receive and to live by the Golden Rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That was ingrained in me from day one. The only thing I’ve added to that is to leave this earth a better place than we found it. A lot of things that we do, such as with the Land Trust of Napa County and the environment, are because of this motto.

How did you begin using your smokers for charity?

Robin: It all started when serving on charitable boards and seeing that half the proceeds for events would go to the caterer and not to the foundation.

We decided to create the Baggett Ranch BBQ Team to cook the food which we cover the cost of. We have 10 commercial smokers that are used for charitable purposes, such as when we annually host the Festival Napa Valley finale, participate in the V Foundation Wine Celebration’s Marketplace, and feed people affected by fires. During the Northern California wildfires in 2017, we helped prepare 33,000 meals for emergency personnel and evacuees. After the fires, we put on two Big Bottle BBQ benefits that raised $100,000. We gave 100 percent of that to the Napa Valley Community Foundation and the Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department. For the past two years, we’ve donated our manpower and/or equipment to help feed people in disaster areas. We’re so pleased to be able to do this.

The Alpha Omega Foundation’s mission is to inspire and encourage charitable giving in the next generation of Napa Valley’s leaders. How are you going about that?

Michelle: One of the things we do with our foundation—which, by the way, doesn’t use any donated funds for administrative or fundraising costs and, therefore, donates 100 percent of everything we raise—is emphasize the importance of donating your time. You don’t have to be financially wealthy.

It’s asking your favorite restaurant owner if they would donate a lunch for someone at the Rianda House, a senior activity center in St. Helena, because you want to take someone out to lunch. There’s a lot of value in being able to help someone who lost their job by offering to fill their pantry or gas tank.

Giving back encourages others to pay it forward.

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PROFILE

HARVEST Goes THIS Year Digital Current Mood: Virtual Wine Tasting

Napa’s storied St. Supéry offers virtual wine experiences

BY STEPHANIE BLOCK

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PHOTO CREDIT: ©SARA SANGER

St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery in Rutherford, California, just north of the town of Napa, has a pandemic plan: If you can’t join them in person for harvest this year, then CEO Emma Swain says, “We will bring the spirit of harvest to you!”

St. Supéry and many other wineries are quickly pivoting to digital experiences to stay connected with their global fans.

And what an experience a virtual or live visit to St. Supéry is! French-owned and Napa-grown, St. Supéry perfectly blends a European heart with a distinctly local terroir since opening in 1989. Being an estate winery means that they own the vineyards from which they make their wine. The winery itself is surrounded by 35 acres of prime Rutherford soil planted with classic Bordeaux grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

Atop another 1500 majestic acres in the northeastern Napa hills sits Dollarhide Ranch, with 500 acres planted to vine at varying elevations and the rest left wild.

St. Supéry takes land stewardship very seriously and is certified Napa Green. In addition to grapevines, the estate vineyards boast sustainably farmed fruit tree orchards and a vegetable garden. Estate Chef Tod Kawachi makes delicious use of these resources.

Harvest is an extraordinary time for a winery. It’s all hands on deck with long, tough work shifts, intense physical labor, and winemaker Michael Scholz catching what sleep he can up in a cabin at Dollarhide Ranch. This year, Swain points out, “We will be without our international harvest interns. People might think that interns are entry-level workers, but harvest interns bring a vast array of winemaking knowledge from all over the world.” The loss of this rich tradition to the pandemic means that many wineries won’t have access to the critical talents of aspiring winemakers, viticulturists, enologists, and those studying for major wine exams, all willing to spend several months at Northern and Southern Hemisphere wineries to soak up and disseminate best practices.

RU3 sets the perfect harvest table

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PROFILE To keep the spirit of harvest alive, St. Supéry has planned six “Harvest Series” virtual tastings through September 17, aptly hashtagged #InJoy. To participate, simply purchase a kit online and join the Zoomtastic festivities. Goodies in your InJoy Harvest Tasting Kit include delectable estate wines to pair with Chef Tod’s seasonal recipes, which he will demonstrate. How about Cabernet Franc paired with a fresh garden vegetable frittata? Mais oui! You’ll also get to see behind-thescenes action from the vineyards and cellar. Which grapes have been deemed ready to pick? What’s being fermented in which vessels? What are those winery dogs chasing out there? Gus? Tahoe? Come back!

When the harvest concludes and the young wines are resting in bottles, tanks, or barrels, thoughts turn to the holidays. The next virtual tasting series will be InJoy At Home Entertaining, beginning October 15.

Experiences like these where you can engage with your favorite winery have become the lifeblood of the industry as it struggles to overcome so much. Here in Northern California, there have been fires, an earthquake, and now a pandemic. But through it all, Napa and Sonoma Counties and other growing regions have stayed strong. By signing up for virtual tastings, wine clubs, and more, you lift up these communities. Yes, you can do good by eating and drinking well! Treat yourself and change lives—that’s a win-win worthy of a toast.

Sheep are the best vineyard keepers!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit StSupery.com/Virtual to learn more about the InJoy At Home Harvest Series and Injoy At Home Entertaining Series. Follow them on social media at @stsupery. For inquiries about visiting in person, please contact the winery or visit them online for up-to-date news.

Chef Tod Kawachi makes delicious use of the vegetables in the garden

St. Supéry

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PHOTO CREDITS: (CLOCKWISE) ©BRENT WINEBRENNER; ©JIM MCCARTHY; ©ROBERT HOLMES

InJoy At Home Harvest Series tasting Kit

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Sipsong & Indira Gin Founder & Distiller, Tara Jasper

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PHOTO CREDIT: ©KATE KARWAN BURGESS

PROFILE

TARA JASPER,

Sipsong Spirits & Indira Gin WINE COUNTRY’S NEW LEADING LADY OF GIN

BY ERIN HUNT MOORE

Tara Jasper, distiller and owner of award-winning Sipsong Spirits, belongs to a new wave of female distillers and craft spirits entrepreneurs in Sonoma County, joining the ranks of pioneers Ashby Marshall of Spirit Works Distillery (Sebastopol), Jenny Griffo of Griffo Distillery (Petaluma), and Caley Shoemaker of Hangar 1 Distillery (just south in the East Bay).

A native of Sonoma County, Tara grew up foraging the hills and redwood forests surrounding the Russian River. Her curiosity for flavors and ingredients led her to travel the world and, ultimately, to a culinary degree, providing the foundation and inspiration for what would become her awardwinning Indira Gin. Her path to distilling wasn’t a straight one.

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PROFILE

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Tara Jasper’s award-winning Sipsong Indira Gin, Double Gold winner at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Sipsong Indira Tea (non-alcoholic botanical tea)

PHOTO CREDITS: ©DEVIKA MASKEY

While pursuing a business degree, she continued to explore her passion for flavor and hone her savvy palate by developing new recipes and experimenting with new ingredient combinations, which she continued nurturing while raising three young children. A desire to capture the essence of her environment and the unique notes and tastes of her Northern California home led her to begin crafting liqueurs under the name Sipong Spirits. Looking for the best techniques and expert advice, she sought out local distillers.

While tasting through a range of locally crafted products, she fell in love with well-made gin and there was no turning back.

Gin felt like the perfect outlet for her love of blending and infusing botanicals. Thus, her own concept was born, and she began formulating the recipe for her Indira Gin (named after two incredibly strong women, a dear friend and Indira Gandhi) in 2016. Drawn to warm spice profiles and wanting to create something utterly unique, Tara landed on 13 botanicals which generated a beautiful balance of depth and brightness, including toasted coriander, cumin, Moroccan sweet orange, lavender, hibiscus, angelica root, star anise, and pink peppercorn distilled in neutral grape spirit to add a touch of sweetness and liven the botanicals. After launching in 2018, Indira Gin was awarded a silver medal at the 2019 Singapore World Spirits Competition and recently captured a double gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition—unexpected recognition at this early stage of her distilling career.

Tara takes nothing for granted. Last year, just as she was gearing up to launch a new seasonal gin expression and a non-alcoholic botanical tea, she received news that rocked her world: she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the same disease that took her mother. As an active and healthconscious woman barely 40 years old, mother to three young children, and a philanthropist and entrepreneur who had just started to gain momentum with a brand she was passionate about, this was a difficult blow. She had dedicated years to promoting wellness and supporting healthcare access for marginalized communities as a board member and philanthropic force for a number of Sonoma County organizations—and now she was fighting for her own life.

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP RIGHT) ©WILL BUCQUOY; (BOTTOM LEFT) © KATE KARWAN BURGESS; (BOTTOM RIGHT) COURTESY OF SIPSONG SPIRITS

Fast forward a year after chemotherapy and numerous surgeries, she is thankful to be cancerfree. But Tara is still fighting—fighting to ensure that women have access to information and education around breast cancer and their options, including valuable advance genetic testing that would enable women to screen for cancer genes and be able to make preemptive decisions. To support her efforts, she launched the “Fight Like a Girl” cocktail initiative to raise funds for the national breast and ovarian cancer charity, Bright Pink. Sponsored by Indira Gin, proceeds from any “Fight Like a Girl” cocktails sold at participating bars and restaurants will directly benefit the organization.

Tara doesn’t want to stop there. She is looking for new ways to align with more opportunities to educate and empower women about their health and wellbeing—and, hopefully, a bright future free of cancer and filled with passion for something with purpose. For more information about Tara Jasper, her award-winning Indira Gin and Indira Botanical Tea, and her efforts to empower women and promote health, visit www.sipsongspirits.com and follow her at @sipsongspirits (IG and FB).

Sipsong Indira Tea & Tonic

Beautiful Indira Gin summer cocktails

Sipsong & Indira Gin Founder & Distiller, Tara Jasper at work

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PROFILE

Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbajabiamila.

What a distinctive name for a man of great distinction. You’ve probably seen him, hosting American Ninja Warrior or playing football for the Raiders, the Chargers, or the Dolphins. If you have, you know that he’s a big guy (6 feet and 6 inches) and very fit.

What you may not know is that it was not always thus.

It wasn’t unusual for Akbar to have to explain his name during his childhood, an issue which persists today. In one of his

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father’s languages, Arabic, Akbar means “great.” His last name is based on his father’s dad, who was seven feet tall and a highly respected man in his Nigerian village. Akbar’s last name means “big man come save me,” which didn’t necessarily fit Akbar during the early years of his life. He was tall, but hadn’t yet come into his power.

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles (a.k.a. the Crenshaw District or Leimert Park), he was, of course, always a big kid.

But, not surprisingly, height does not always come with coordination at a young age. Akbar was no exception to that rule. His grammar school and even some of his middle school experiences on the playground were not the stuff of dreams (at least, not the good kind).

First at Dublin (name then changed to Tom Bradley) Elementary then to Audubon Junior High, he wasn’t the first kid picked to play ball. In fact, if it weren’t for friend Brandon French—a child athlete who chose Ak-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NBCUNIVERSAL AND TONY GONZALEZ

An interv Akbar Oluwakemi-I

view with Idowu Gbajabiamila

BY TIM LAPPEN

bar for his teams—he might have been the most fit benchwarmer yet. But play he did, and he was so motivated that he got better and better so that, when he was at Crenshaw High, he played on the school’s basketball team. Like his older brother (by three years) Kabeer, he tried football and was pretty good at it; but, he still thought that basketball might be his ticket to big-time sports. When the end of high school drew near, Akbar did get one offer of a basketball scholarship ... and five scholarship offers for football.

Sports was not always foremost on Akbar’s mind, however. Growing up as a firstgeneration American—his mother, Bolatito (which means “how joy sanctifies me” in her native language), and father, Mustapha (which is another name for Muhammad, and in his native language means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred") had emigrated from Nigeria, mom in 1969 and dad in 1974—had its challenges.

His father lost a brother in the NigerianBiafra war in the late 1960s and decided to

move to America. He was an educated man, who spoke three languages (Arabic, the Nigerian dialect Yoruba, and English) and who planned to be an architect. He was about to enter the market when technology began replacing drafters with computer-assisted devices, so he ended up starting and running a plumbing company, his main career for his adult life. His mother was bilingual (Yoruba and English) and a serial entrepreneur, owning, running a beauty shop, and working in real estate and sundry other matters.

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PROFILE

To the family, education was paramount. Although approved, athletics were not seen as the children’s pass to the big time; so, Akbar and his six siblings strove hard in school and did well.

His parents emphasized the “power of the pen,” focusing on the abilities to think deeply, speak well, and write convincingly. Mustapha and Bolatito’s parenting style mandated that kids were at school or at home unless they were playing sports—the only three approved activities— so academics and athletics became Akbar’s two main interests.

Sports became Akbar’s therapy, a dreamland in which mostly good existed. He visualized himself like Rocky Balboa, overcoming the odds to achieve success. The drive that served him well in his childhood has benefitted him ever since. And he internalized his father’s frequent admonition: “You’ve got to burn your candle!” Most of you who have heard candle metaphors know that 64

you can’t burn them at both ends, but Akbar’s father used the burning candle to illustrate that a candle not being burned accomplishes nothing.

But even academic and athletic prowess didn’t make up for the feelings of being different, which came from being a first-generation American whose family still followed Nigerian customs, especially wearing of Nigerian-style clothing to school. At a time of life when kids can pick on others just based on something as superficial as style of dress, Akbar and his siblings were teased about their fashion sense; but, they continued their adoption of Nigerian clothing and many of their meals were traditional Nigerian foods. Akbar is proud of his Nigerian heritage, but it did cause some strain during his childhood.

When Akbar entered college at San Diego State University, he entered a whole new world.

Until then, he had to navigate two worlds—Nigerian and African American—but college added

a world which was not as well-known to him, the white world. Until then, Akbar only had one Caucasian teammate on any sport he had played; but at college, with classmates from multiple states and countries, he was exposed to new ways of thinking and being. Fortunately, he also was there with his brother, Kabeer, an upperclassman, who served as a helpful guide in getting acclimated. It also helped that Akbar had his SDSU Aztecs football teammates, creating a world within the world in which he was comfortable as well as successful, red-shirting one year so he actually played six football seasons there.

There was great camaraderie among his college football teammates, where one’s race was not the defining issue and his athletic prowess and winning personality won him many friends. Akbar excelled in college, both in academics and football. When it came time for the next step, he joined the Oakland Raiders in 2003.

Akbar wasn’t drafted. He still was rather new to the game, only picking it up in high school, whereas many pro ballers start playing as children. He joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, playing defensive end, but he was behind three other prime defensive players. True to his “underdogs try harder” mantra, he worked hard at the position and stayed with the team for the 2003, 2004, and 2008 seasons, along with such illustrious teammates as Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, and Bill Romanowski. Being able to spend time with such luminaries—heroes from his childhood—was a terrific experience for him. He didn’t stay with the Raiders during the intervening years: he played the 2006 season with the San Diego Chargers and the 2007 season with the Miami Dolphins, accomplishing a fairly long career in an industry where the average NFL player’s tenure is two and one-half years.

After Akbar was cut by the Raiders, he decided to try sportscasting. He worked for free, in order to gain the experience, with the San Diego NBC affiliate, covering the SDSU Aztecs’ and the San Diego Chargers’ games. He enjoyed it and, in 2009, was hired by CBS College Sports to cover college games. In 2010, he added television coverage of the Conference USA games and, in 2011, moved to coverage on NBC college sports with the Pac-12 Conference. In 2012, the NFL Network hired him. A year later, he was asked to audition for American Ninja Warrior, where he not only serves as commentator, but also has participated in the obstacle course that is the basis for the show. (He did well). Akbar has helped ANW become one of the top shows on television, averaging over 5,000,000 viewers per season.

To watch Akbar on ANW is to know him: kind, affable, funny, smart. He is very competitive, of course and a fierce advocate for his family (wife Chrystal—they married in 2009—son Elijah, daughter Saheedat, son Nasir, and daughter Naomi). Overcoming the obstacles in his life has defined Akbar as a man with a low tolerance for mediocrity. His kids are achievers, naturally, but he has the typical parental self-questioning of “how much do I push my kids and when do I just support what they’ve chosen to do.” Elijah is in college, but the rest live at home in Southern California and can be seen some days training in the family’s garage/gym or on the street at an impromptu session, with such training aids 65

PROFILE as a high-stepping obstacle course, reminiscent of a football camp.

Akbar loves to travel and has visited 40 countries so far (out of what, at last count, were 195 countries in the world). He and a football buddy have done a lot of that traveling together and plan to continue a two-to-three-per-year pace as long as they can. Their longest trip so far? Five weeks in Morocco. Akbar was enthralled with the country and amazed that many of the kids whom he met spoke seven languages, no doubt helped by the wide variety of tourists who travelled there. And can there be a better “ambassador” for the United States, especially these days, than a giant, good-natured, friendly, fit, affable, and outgoing guy? Akbar really should hold public office or be part of our country’s international outreach in some way.

What does he want to be when he grows up?

Well, Michael Strahan is a good model for him.

Akbar was so impressed by Michael’s successful move from the field to the studio that he called Michael and asked if he could shadow him, something that no one ever had asked of him before. Michael agreed, and Akbar had a terrific time experiencing Michael on the Live With Kelly And Michael show and then on Good Morning America. Akbar is well on his way there, with a successful career in the NFL, impressive television credentials, and now a bestselling book: Everyone Can Be a Ninja: Find Your Inner Warrior and Achieve Your Dreams. It has been very well-received, no doubt by people who “know” Akbar from ANW and want to know more about him. Unlike some well-known people, the more you know about Akbar, the more you’ll like him!

Akbar also has served as a brand ambassador for Toyota and will be fulfilling that role in

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the rescheduled Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and commonly known as Tokyo 2020, which now commence in July of 2021), which should be a terrific experience that plays to his strengths. He also is in discussion with other brands that want his help with their products, so he’s as busy as he’s ever been.

Looking back at his life so far (he’s only 41 now), he credits the collective experience of his lifetime—of course, Brandon French, but also his innumerable caring and supportive teachers, teammates, friends, coaches and others—for seeing something in him and choosing him as a teammate (in athletics and in “real life”) when others passed him by. Life can be that way: we’re on a path, oftentimes one of our own choosing, then we meet someone or something happens, and there’s a vector of change. Many people’s belief in Akbar created such vectors, and Akbar is eternally grateful and humbled by their willing assistance. In fact, Akbar even called Brandon recently, some 30 years after their last conversation, to thank him. They immediately reconnected and had a great call, to no one’s surprise.

Akbar is fond of saying, “Other people can see something in you that you can’t see yourself.” Clearly, that was true of Brandon, and it became true so often of many, many others who came in to his life (some for a short while, others for far longer) that he internalized that sense of success and exudes it in his own charismatic way. Perhaps, though his efforts, growth, and major accomplishments in a life being so welllived, the true meaning of his name has become “great guy,” as he is known to all who know or even have just met him. And isn’t that the definition of a winner?

B I O G R A P H Y

&

A U T O B I O G R A P H Y

AKBAR GBAJABIAMILA

“Akbar’s enormous heart and honesty shine through on every page of this book. He not only reminds us that anything is possible with hard work and a positive attitude—he goes one step further to show how it’s done. This is a book to inspire the warrior inside all of us.” —MICHAEL J. FOX

IT’S EASY TO SEE GREATNESS IN OTHERS; IT’S HARD TO SEE IT IN OURSELVES.

FIND YOUR INNER WARRIOR AND ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS

Akbar Gbajabiamila, the host of NBC’s Emmy-nominated hit show American Ninja Warrior, is renowned for his quips and enthusiasm. But most people don’t know the challenges he has faced throughout his life. From earning a spot in the NFL and becoming the host of American Ninja Warrior to realizing he would never be a pro sports legend and struggling to make ends meet, Akbar’s stories are universal. In Everyone Can Be a Ninja, he proves that it doesn’t matter if you make it through every step of the obstacle course on the first try. What does matter is your ability to overcome moments of hardship, failure, and self-doubt to make the most of your unique gifts. After all, ninjas don’t let anyone or anything stand in their way.

AKBAR GBAJABIAMILA

is the host of NBC’s Emmy-nominated, heart-racing

obstacle course competition series American Ninja Warrior. He also hosts Universal Kids’ spin-off show American Ninja Warrior Junior, as well as NFL Network’s highest-rated show, NFL Fantasy Live. He completed the Executive Certification Entrepreneurial Program from Wharton School of Business.

SimonandSchuster.com

COVER DESIGN BY EMMA A. VAN DEUN COVER PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS FANNING

ISBN 978-1-9821-0976-9

AKBAR GBA JABIAMILA

$16.99 U.S./$22.99 Can.

@GalleryBooks PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

Facebook.com/GalleryBooks

H O S T O F A M E R I C A N N I N J A WA R R I O R

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COVER STORY

Social Distancing,

SUNSHINE & WINE Napa and Sonoma wineries offer safe wine tasting experiences outdoors

BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR

Raymond Vineyards bottles and grapes

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COVER STORY

PHOTO CREDITS: ©ALEX RUBIN

PHOTO CREDITS: ©ALEX RUBIN

IN OUR SPECIAL CORNER OF THE WORLD, harvest arrives at the enviable intersection of three local hallmarks—gorgeous views, sunny days, great wine—and we’re so here for it. It’s not just the wonderful wines we’ve been missing ... it’s also the indelible beauty of wine country landscapes, cool coastal morning fog embracing the vineyards, receding as sunshine warms the air.

Wineries in Napa and Sonoma are welcoming us back, being creative about outdoor tasting spaces and contactless ways to adapt to our shared reality.

So, grab the sunglasses and the face mask; this is the ideal moment to benefit from wine country’s splendor in our own exceptional backyard.

Perhaps because the ups and downs of winemaking have always been punctuated with challenges, the obstacles of 2020 are just another to overcome.

Exciting new experiences and collaborations are cropping up in 2020, including wineries and chefs capitalizing on the beauty of Northern California’s outdoors.

Wine country relates to wide open spaces measured in acres rather than distances measured in feet and inches. So, social distancing for outdoor experiences is more than manageable. Reservations are required and groups are generally limited to a maximum of six people.

SPOTLIGHT - BOISSET COLLECTION

Raymond Vineyards | Located beside an outsized candelabra straight out of a Broadway stage set, dramatic and whimsical, the entrance draped in white canvas curtains reads “Theater of Nature.” Inside, two acres of elegant landscaped gardens and gravel paths are reminiscent of the Jardin du Luxembourg, reflecting the French roots of proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset.

Fresh air, vineyard views, an organic vegetable garden: An outdoor table beneath the sycamore trees is the setting for both Cabernet is King and Tasting in the Grove, a flight of limited production red and white varietals. Garden to Grove guests sip on Raymond Napa Valley bubbles while selecting fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables for Chef Rafael Molina to turn into delicious small bites in the on-site Gaggenau kitchen.

Let the grapes express themselves in Winemaker for a Day Pop-Up. Under the outdoor canopy of the Generations Cellar, guests will blend their own Napa Valley Bordeaux-style red blend. Cork it, foil it, dress it with a custom label and take it home.

849 Zinfandel Lane, St. Helena raymondvineyards.com Raymond Vineyards

“It’s not just the wonderful wines we’ve been missing... it’s also the indelible beauty of wine country landscapes, cool coastal morning fog embracing the vineyards, receding as sunshine warms the air” 69

BRICOLEUR VINEYARDS | Bricoleur is a boutique, family-run, 40-acre

estate with a hospitality barn, pavilion, rose garden, bocce ball courts, and two ponds (home to a swan named Quarantina) set in the pretty Russian River Valley. Try the award-winning Brut. Executive Chef Shane McAnelly, formerly of Chalkboard and Brass Rabbit, heads the in-house culinary program. And there’s more—an outdoor weekly session in partnership with Yoga One at Well Sonoma followed by wine tasting.

7394 Starr Road, Windsor bricoleurvineyards.com

ABBOT’S PASSAGE WINERY & MERCANTILE | In advance of the 2021

grand opening, be among the first guests. This is a new project from the Bundschu family who have been producing wine in Sonoma Valley since 1858. Now open for outdoor tastings in the olive grove, the historic 60acre property on the banks of Sonoma Creek is now home for the Abbot’s Passage brand, a vision from sixth-generation vintner Katie Bundschu.

777 Madrone Rd., Glen Ellen abbotspassage.com

when a peaceful tasting grove with picnic tables is set under the redwood canopies. It’s a family affair at the ranch in the Sebastopol hills. Charlie and Amy Chenoweth grow grapes for rockstar winemakers in three Russian River vineyards and produce their own label handcrafted acclaimed Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rosé.

5550 Harrison Grade Rd., Sebastopol chenowethwines.com

Gardens at Bricoleur Vineyards PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) ©ASHLEY URDANG; (BOTTOM LEFT) BRICOLEUR VINEYARDS; (BOTTOM RIGHT) CHENOWETH WINES

Chardonnay grapes at Chenoweth Wines

CHENOWETH WINES | There’s no need for an indoor tasting room

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PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) ©ASHLEY URDANG; (BOTTOM LEFT) BRICOLEUR VINEYARDS; (BOTTOM RIGHT) CHENOWETH WINES

In the olive grove at Abbot’s Passage

BUENA VISTA HISTORICAL WINERY | With a story like no other, California’s first premium winery is proud of its 1857 legacy. In its own canyon of the Mayacamas, the first and second stone winery buildings built in California set the mood alongside a beautiful 300-plus- year-old California live oak. Re-imagined by the vision of Jean-Charles Boisset, the California Historic Landmark is welcoming guests this season.

Current Release Wine Tasting is being hosted outdoors. Add cheese or a gourmet boxed lunch from Oakville Grocery.

18000 Old Winery Rd., Sonoma buenavistawinery.com

Deloach Vineyards

DELOACH VINEYARDS | Take a self-guided walk through an idyllic

certified biodynamic and organic Russian River Valley estate’s culinary garden. It contains vegetables and herbs as well as medicinal plants such as yarrow, chamomile and dandelion used in biodynamic composting.

Greet chickens, sheep, and goats which encourage biodiversity and entertain younger guests. The complimentary 30-minute, 1-mile tour (without wine) takes guests through some of the most picturesque locations on the estate, part of Boisset Collection.

Other outdoor experiences at DeLoach, the Pinot Noir pioneer of the Russian River Valley, are four DeLoach wines with either cheese and charcuterie or an Oakville Grocery boxed lunch for a picnic on the estate grounds.

1791 Olivet Rd., Santa Rosa deloachvineyards.com

Deloach Vineyards

DOMAINE CHANDON | During harvest, reserve a vineyard walk and

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP TWO PHOTOS) ©ALEX RUBIN; (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF DOMAINE CHANDON

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP TWO PHOTOS) ©ALEX RUBIN; (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF DOMAINE CHANDON

grape picking experience followed by an introduction to the sparkling winemaking process plus a light continental breakfast. Alternatively, enjoy a sparkling flight while being guided through the story of the Champions of Bubbles. Soak up the estate’s lush landscape: Picnic on the Lawn, Tartines + Tastings, Summer Cabana. Or ask her to say “yes” with the Proposal Picnic Experience.

1 California Drive, Yountville chandon.com

Domaine Chandon entrance

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Faust Haus outdoors

Faust Haus

FAUST HAUS | Following a 3-year renovation, an 1875 farmhouse on a

hill near downtown St. Helena has been given a new life as of Labor Day weekend. Limited production Cabernet Sauvignon from the Faust Estate in the Coombsville AVA is served at outdoor tables on the veranda where sweeping vistas of Howell Mountain explain why 19th century farmers chose this exact spot as the homestead.

2867 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena faustwine.com

FLOWERS VINEYARDS & WINERY | Enjoy a flight of coastal estate

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in a cabana-like arrangement set in the achingly pretty gardens facing the vineyards with the Mayacamas as a backdrop. Add hummingbirds, water features, and pine trees for the full effect. In a hurry? Chef Tyler Florence’s partnership is called “Flowers & Florence To Go” a pickup-option for Flowers wines paired with his signature fried chicken.

4035 Westside Rd., Healdsburg flowerswinery.com

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PHOTO CREDITS: ©ADRIAN GAUT

Faust Haus outdoors

the centerpiece is the 1884 Larkmead building, third oldest structure in Napa Valley, listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Estate tastings, including the Winston Hill Tasting pouring the namesake flagship Cabernet, are held on the shady estate courtyard, inviting back patio and the big, beautiful front lawn with its gorgeous valley views.

1091 Larkmead Lane, Calistoga frankfamilyvineyards.com

PHOTO CREDITS: ©ADRIAN GAUT

FRANK FAMILY VINEYARDS | The showpiece is a big red barn and

GUNDLACH BUNDSCHU WINERY | Where soft breezes blow from San

Pablo Bay from the south and Petaluma Gap from the west, this estate at the southern end of the valley has always been ideal for outdoor tastings.

Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Merlot lead the way for chilling out at California’s oldest family-owned winery under an olive tree by the pond or at the arbor bar with vineyard views. Wine refrigerators placed in several locations around the expansive property maintain optimum bottle temperatures.

2000 Denmark Rd., Sonoma gunbun.com

Gundlach Bundschu Winery

JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY | Under the shade of oak, sycamore, and

Jordan Vineyard & Winery

KISTLER VINEYARDS | Single Thread is partnering with the Chardonnay specialist house to bring their exceptional dining experience to the sprawling estate near Forestville. Dine in the vineyard through Sept. 28 on Thursday through Monday evenings, when a 10-course meal is served with single-vineyard wines to benefit Sonoma Family Meal and Community Foundation Sonoma County COVID-19 Resilience Fund.

7095 Trenton Healdsburg Rd., Forestville kistlervineyards.com

magnolia trees, Paris on the Terrace is Jordan’s delightful interpretation of an afternoon in the French countryside. They’re serving wines paired with a classic 5-course lunch prepared by Chef Todd Knoll featuring produce harvested from the winery’s own garden. There’s also a guided hiking excursion through the estate to appreciate mountain views, vibrant vineyards, wildlife, and a chef ’s lakeside picnic with wine pairings.

1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg jordanwinery.com

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) COURTESY OF GUNDLACH BUNDSCHU WINERY; (MIDDLE) JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY; (BOTTOM) NEWTON VINEYARD

PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP) COURTESY OF GUNDLACH BUNDSCHU WINERY; (MIDDLE) JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY; (BOTTOM) NEWTON VINEYARD

NEWTON VINEYARD | Atop the steep slopes of Spring Mountain, the

huge terraced estate spanning one square mile was closed to the public for decades. Through October, request the 2-hour Newton Vineyard Exploration that escorts a maximum of four guests in an electric ATV to an open air platform 1,600 feet above the valley floor for a wine tasting.

Panoramic views of St. Helena and Howell Mountain cannot be outdone, and below, the landscaped gardens reveal 11 internationally themed sections.

2555 Madrona Ave., St. Helena newtonvineyard.com

NOTRE VUE ESTATE WINERY & VINEYARDS | A sprawling 350 acres

Newton Vineyard garden

of oak woodlands are protected as Forever Wild space where red-tailed hawks soar overhead. Discover the natural beauty of the vineyard estate while dining outdoors with a flight of exclusive Notre Vue and Balverne wines. Enjoy breezes through the Russian River Valley as you relax at a lakeside pavilion observing the daily gathering of ducks, geese, and wandering cranes.

11010 Estate Lane, Windsor notrevueestate.com

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HauteBEAUTY

Your nose knows “SCENT IS A POTENT WIZARD THAT TRANSPORTS YOU ACROSS thousands of miles and all the years you have lived,” mused Helen Keller, an American author and the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. We’ve all experienced this déja vu-like phenomenon, that moment when an aroma delivers us to instant recall, to sudden happiness and bliss. That reaction can heal and fortify us, affecting our wellbeing and harmonizing our mind, body and spirit. That’s the philosophy behind Britishbased Aromatherapy Associates, a heritage brand founded by therapists Geraldine Howard and Sue Beechey. For more than 30 years, they studied the therapeutic powers of essential oils, founding their company in 1985 to share their curative largesse. Today, Aromatherapy Associates continues to celebrate and share the therapeutic benefits of essential oils with an evergrowing range of award-winning products and transformative treatments that can be found all over the world.

We caught a whiff with Christina Salcedas, Global Head of Education and Wellbeing at Aromatherapy Associates to find out more.

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Christina Salcedas

Q&A HAUTE LIVING X CHRISTINA SALCEDAS An ancient healing system, aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and wellbeing. How does it work?

Aromatherapy has such a transforming effect because it taps into our limbic system. This part of the brain deals with emotions, memories, and stimulation, and can even influence hormonal responses. Essential oils are able to bypass the blood-brain barrier through the olfactory system. Once inhaled, essential oils can alter our brain chemistry, stimulating memories, moods, and feelings. Our sense of smell is estimated to be 10,000 times more acute than other senses. Traveling faster to the brain than either sight or sound, it provokes a cascade of physical and emotional reactions before we even register the aroma in our conscious brain: from endorphins that uplift our mood to our central nervous system relaxing. The real power of aromatherapy is in its a holistic effect on our wellbeing, setting our minds, bodies, and spirits back in balance.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AROMATHERAPY

INHALE YOUR WAY TO WELLNESS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AROMATHERAPY

BY BECCA HENSLEY

How do your products differ from other essential oils?

All of Aromatherapy Associates bath and shower oils are formulated with up to 30 percent essential oils. We work from a therapeutic palette, selecting each oil in the right percentage to truly deliver the specific benefit you want to achieve. We quality test the oils: these distilled, pure essential oils are sent through a rigorous quality testing procedure and evaluated by the nose of our highly trained master blender who smells and vets each and every oil. Our secret formulae are then hand-blended, initially using a few of the most influential and complementary essential oils together in small microblends. The ratios of essential oils are imperative—too much or not enough will upset the balance. Hence, knowledge, practice, and artistry are at the heart of each of our bottles.

How can these products enhance our health and wellbeing? How can they play a role during these stressful times?

Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy that has been used for centuries to maintain wellbeing, whether it be to help one sleep, relieve bites and stings, or uplift one’s mood. The options are endless. During stressful times, we always recommend bathing in an oil to create that sanctuary and moment of peace, and then re-using that scent during the day with a roller ball or mist to recall those emotions. My favorite during these times has been Forest Therapy; with cypress, ho wood, and pink pepper, it grounds

Forest Therapy Wellness Mist

you and restores you to balance. You can use it in the bath or over the body with the wellness mist.

How can oils boot our inner strength and unlock our potential?

We have the ability to change how we feel just by smelling an oil, and Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Oil testifies to that. Created by one of our founders to pull her through some tough times, this is an oil that strengthens emotionally and physically with frankincense, cardamom, and clary sage.

What do you recommend for focus? Grief? A good night’s sleep?

Focus: Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Mind with frankincense, petitgrain, and chamomile, especially the roller ball which you can carry around to apply when you need it most. Grief: either Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength or Equilibrium with rose and geranium. It is as we named it in the office: the hug in a bottle.

Tell us about your summer products.

We have a selection of products perfect for the summer, including: Support Lavender and Peppermint Bath & Shower Oil for keeping you cool at night. Support Lavender also helps with mosquito bites or breakouts. Rose Hydrating Body Gel is the perfect after-sun application for the body.

De-Stress Frankincense Pure Essential Oil

Support Lavender and Mint Bath & Shower Oil

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HauteBEAUTY Is Aromatherapy ethically sourced?

Yes, we are currently in the final stages of B-Corp certification.

Are these ancient recipes that have been tweaked for modern times?

This is the magic of our brand. The blends were created in the 1980s and are still relevant to today. The blends have not been tweaked and still work as well as they did then.

What is your favorite regimen with the products?

You cannot beat a long soak in the bath with any of our shower oils paired with our overnight repair mask … absolute heaven.

PHOTO CREDITS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) ©SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY OF AROMATHERAPY; COURTESY OF LANCÔME

“This is the magic of our brand. The blends were created in the 1980s and are still relevant to today. The blends have not been tweaked and still work as well as they did then.”

– Christina Salcedas

Renewing Rose Body Gel

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Inner Strength Bath & Shower Oil

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Foundation

Where can we buy the products?

You can purchase all Aromatherapy Associates products on AromatherapyAssociates.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LANCÔME

SideBar: Lancôme Launches a Virtual Makeover During COVID Era Imagine. I’m no fool. I can certainly tell the difference between light and dark, note the subtle hues of yellow, pink, or blue in my skin and know every scar and imperfection on my face. Long a beauty aficionado, I’m acutely aware of exactly what colors look good on me. So, when I had to reorder my favorite Lancôme foundation, Teint Idole, smack in the middle of COVID quarantine, I had no concerns. I simply picked up the empty bottle to read my shade from the label. Much to my dismay, however, all that was left was an unreadable smudge. A sudden freak out was followed by a sense of calm. No problem. I’d just guess the color. How hard could it be? Turns out, matching your skin

tone against a color chart on the computer is tantamount to brain surgery. It’s not a task for amateurs. In my case, I carefully chose the shade I thought was perfect, then placed my order. When, it arrived, I had to laugh. My new foundation was at least ten shades off. Good thing I was stuck sheltering at home!

Here’s some good news. Thankfully, Lancôme’s ModiFace app launched in June to save the day. It uses augmented reality to superimpose colors, shapes, and other characteristics in real time. In the case of makeup, ModiFace shows how certain shades and finishes look on your face, ensuring a perfect match. Plus, it’s the ideal activity for a long, sheltered-in afternoon.

How to do it? Browse the website for items that have a “Virtual Makeup Try-On” badge in the corner of the product photo. Press the badge, upload a photo (or do a live makeover with a selfie), and experiment with various shades and finishes. You’ll become your own make-up artist.

We believe nature holds the power to our wellbeing.

Our blends are created from natures therapeutic palette, with each oil playing a key & active role.

Our blends are powerful and really work for whatever moment you are seeking: sleep, de-stress, energy, confidence, uplifting & more.

Lancôme Launches a Virtual Makeover During COVID Era

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BY BECCA HENSLEY

HauteWELLNESS

SUBMERGE FOR THE SOUL: COLORADO IS A HOTBED OF THERMAL DELIGHT AT COLORADO’S IRON MOUNTAIN HOT SPRINGS, A THERAPEUTIC, natural spring set amid mountains in Glenwood Springs near Aspen, I soak in an infinity-edged pool called Garnet, which overlooks the Colorado River. Suffused in relaxing warmth, I don’t think about the 14 curative minerals, from boron to silica and including zinc and iron, that compose the water. I just ease into the peaceful relaxation of the moment.

While I gaze at the view (kayakers negotiating the rapids, purple-intoned mountains piercing an immense blue sky) and listen to the com78

bined lullaby of birdsong and rushing water, the minerals do their job.

My cells drink them up with the gluttony of a thirsty child in summer.

Healing (or, at the very least, extreme wellbeing) happens effortlessly as I float. Numbed to a state of languorous bliss, I occasionally come to consciousness enough to chat with my partner, before returning to my watery cocoon of floaty euphoria. Feeling hedonistic and indulgent, I note that this moment differs from other hard-earned self-care efforts— as in a strict diet or a challenging workout. Denial free, I partake of nature’s gift—water—where floating cures all: mind, body, and spirit.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLORADO HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS LOOP

Glenwood Springs Pool, largest mineral pool in world

Glenwood Play Pool

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLORADO HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS LOOP

Iron Mountain Hot Springs

Glenwood Springs might be best known for two other geothermal classics: Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, a mecca for health conscious swimmers since 1888 and home to the biggest hot springs pool in the world, and Yampah Spa Vapor Caves, underground steam baths reputed to aid in detox and the amelioration of ailments from the common cold to arthritis.

Both have been supplementing good health for decades.

Iron Mountain Hot Springs, reimagined on the site of a former bath house in recent years, adds a contemporary, European-style alternative to this long beloved spa town. Its 16 variously shaped pools, terraced on a hill, sport different temperatures, ranging from 98 to 108 degrees. Spread out so that it never feels thronged, the retreat even has a romantic, heart-shaped pool for coquettish pursuits.

A bar and café, plus myriad lounge chairs, lure guests to spend the day, dipping in and out of the water at 15-minute intervals—as suggested by the management.

“This has been the best day of our life,” says a couple to me as they stumble from the premises, unwound and recalibrated. I couldn’t agree more.

Hot springs bathing around the world dates back to indigenous people who settled around mineral-rich waterholes. Many cultures around the globe have indulged since. The turn of the 20th-century brought a trendy cult of bathers (such as President Teddy Roosevelt who adored Glenwood) to various mineral rich springs for health reasons. That’s when many grand hotel-cum-bath houses, like Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, were built to cater to the craze. While the movement faded in the US, it continued to play an integral wellness role in places as diverse as Europe and Japan.

Although the geothermal pools never dried up, Americans have only recently rediscovered their curative powers. Called balneotherapy, (the treatment of maladies by immersing in mineral-heavy H20), a wellness water bath boosts the immune system, resets the spirit, harmonizes the emotions—and can specifically help with skin disorders, lung problems, arthritis, and issues from insomnia to depression.

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HauteWELLNESS As it turns out Colorado reigns as a hot springs hotbed. With as many as 100 hot springs (and possibly more), the mountainous state offers a plethora of options that range from cabin-side tubs to fancy hideaways, plus allpurpose swim centers and funky havens. To experience some of the best, follow the Colorado Hot Springs Loop, a stunning, 720-mile driving route that showcases five peerless geothermal destinations and 17 remarkable facilities across the state. From Steamboat Springs to Pagosa Springs, including lesser traveled ports of call (such as Chafee County), the journey takes intrepid dippers and dunkers through jaw-dropping terrain for swims in world class lap pools, naturally formed ponds, and water parks suitable

Balloons in Pagosa Springs at The Springs Resort

for all ages. I’ve submerged in wooden tubs on a hill, sat in steamy caverns, slept in a yurt steps away from the water, swum laps in rotten-egg-smelling (wonderful) water, and had my shoulders pummeled by sigh-evoking waterfall spouts—all in Colorado.

“I wish you water,” writes H20 apostle and advocate, Wallace J. Nichols, author of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do. His water-revering book explains how water can bring us to wellness in many ways. Wishing you water, I mention a few favorite places to submerge in Colorado.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLORADO HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS LOOP

Balloons in Pagosa Springs at The Springs Resort

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HauteWELLNESS DUNTON HOT SPRINGS

Dive in to Dunton Hot Springs like Maria Sharapova and Kourtney Kardashian, who did socially distanced getaways here this summer. Remotely situated near Telluride, this utterly unique, intimate retreat occupies a refurbished miner’s village, restored in its entirety, amid a collection of hot springs. With 12 original cabins-turned-lavish-suites, a glamping tent, and six original swimming holes, the all-inclusive luxury resort offers a slew of activities (like rock climbing) to help you earn your soak.

THE SPRINGS RESORT & SPA

Melt into a mélange of 13 healing minerals drawn from the world’s deepest, geothermal hot spring in southern Colorado’s Pagosa Springs at The Springs Resort & Spa overlooking the San Juan River. Like a party for the soul, the retreat comprises 24 pools, each amusingly named, which pepper a hill. Temperatures from 83 to 114 degrees beckon, with a restaurant and bar on site. While day passes are possible, elevate your immersion with an overnight stay at the 79-room hotel, which a friends-with-benefits advantage means 24-hour access to the pools.

AVALANCHE RANCH

A family-owned sanctum anchored between Redstone and Carbondale, this 36-acre ranch has 18 cabins, including a few caravan-style wagons and a collection of friendly farm animals. Far away from jarring city lights, guests have the chance to spot stars and planets they never imagined existed. Access to three on-site hot spring pools ensures all-body repose. Book cabin #4, The Dog House, a canine-themed extravaganza for two. Don’t forget your furry friends—they’ll love it.

Steamboat Springs

Iron Mountain Hot Springs

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLORADO HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS LOOP

Mt. Princeton, near Salida

PHOTOS COURTESY OF (TOP PHOTO) DUNTON HOT SPRINGS (BOTTOM PHOTOS) COLORADO HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS LOOP

Dunton Hot Springs Resort

Heart-shaped pool at Iron Mountain Hot Springs Ouray Colorado

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BY OLIVIA DECKER

HauteWELLNESS

THE NEXT TECHNOLOGY FRONTIER IS HERE AND IT GIVES US HOPE Advances in physics are helping bring new technologies to health, environment, and energy A FEW MONTHS AGO, RESONANT TECHNOLOgies Group (RTG) was planning which of the company’s technologies—all of them potentially paradigmshifting—would be launched first in the coming year.

When COVID-19 emerged, they immediately pivoted to focus on the most important solutions the world needed now. RTG, a technology incubator and accelerator, develops companies with geniuses who need help manifesting their visions into reality and commercial viability. Now in the post-COVID world, they are preparing to launch two solutions for COVID: a voice detection application and a serum that spurs an innate immune response to the virus. This Sausalitobased innovator is making its mark.

RTG’s founder and CEO Mark Hinds and President and CIO Roland Van der Meer help foster and build one of the most exciting portfolios of companies in the world. In the early 2000s, when the concept of resonance physics seemed like a vision from Star Trek, Hinds was invited to hear scientist Nassim Haramein give a 6-hour talk on physics. The presentation changed the course of Hinds’ life and work.

“I didn’t even know how to spell ‘physics’ at the time,” Hinds jokes. “Listening to Nassim’s unique perspective on where energy comes from, how matter organizes, where many of the phenomena we’re today experiencing comes from, I realized this advanced understanding of physics had the opportunity to change every issue we’re dealing with in the world today.”

In 2003, Hinds helped Haramein found the Resonance Project Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides a framework for resonance physics ideas and projects undertaken by Haramein and his colleagues. The foundation has served as a communication tool for the science behind the technologies at RTG. After almost 14 years of funding and developeing various technologies, RTG was formed by Hinds and Vandermeer to help bring 12 different paradigmshifting companies to market. The team combined over 40 doctors, scientists, engineers, and business professionals focused on three critical areas: health, environment, and energy.

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After a 20-year venture career in early stage communications funding such companies as Broadcom and a decade of real asset investing in water, agriculture, waste, and energy, Van der Meer met Hinds and recognized not only the value of the technologies, but also the potential to create systemic change in the world, change that sustainable investment investors would jump on if they could see the potential.

“Not only does resonance physics answer many of the questions that are left open by the standard model of physics; but, these technologies, working with nature, enable us as a species to begin to thrive with nature, not against it,” Vander Meer explained. Directly confronting the issues and unprecedented times of COVID-19 has rapidly placed RTG’s expansive ideas and over a decade of research on the front line. Hinds and Van der Meer have seen not only a societal acceptance for broader thinking, but also an eagerness to bring forth solutions.

“When coronavirus first hit, we brought all our people together on a call to discuss the significance of this event. And we saw this not as an ‘opportunity,’ but rather as an ‘expansion;’ and, by that, I mean an expansion of recognizing that the current solutions many people are working on ... aren’t solutions, just a patch on a broken system. So, maybe there’s a better way,” Hinds says.

Across its portfolio, two of the 12 companies in RTG’s stable are positioned to turn futuristic thinking into real-time solutions for COVID. One company, Divina Biotech, focuses on immunebased solutions, including a product called Paravi which works with the science of immunology and “immune modulating,” a process that allows the innate intelligence of the immune system to function at a high level. “It’s a wide-spectrum, antiviral technology and, in a lab, it seems to be capable of being a significant tool to help resolve COVID-19,” Hinds says of Paravi. Human trials are beginning in Australia this month. Divina is also starting SARA-CoV-2 animal studies in the US this fall.

For a more immediate solution, RTG’s work with California-based Soniphi (soniphi.com) uses one’s own voice to detect the presence or absence COVID-19. This technology can analyze voice frequency and information the voice contains. Soniphi’s many-year quest to provide a revolutionary health algorithm has instantly perched the RTG-backed company at the forefront of the coronavirus testing frontier.

“The research and concept leading to Sonaphi has been in development for almost two decades,” Hinds says. “Three years ago, we started fully developing it with a pretty significant breakthrough in understanding how to gain this access of information from the human voice.”

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HauteWELLNESS

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In months past, Soniphi was readying to release its first voice fre- quency commercial product. Set for debut this summer, the tool comes in the form of a mobile application providing analysis on sleep, energy, physical condition, brain function, and stress.

That has changed entirely. RTG shifted its entire Soniphi focus.

“When COVID-19 came, we saw a chance to be a positive impact on how this pandemic unfolds. We can help here,” Hinds says. “So, every single person in all facets of the Soniphi project stopped everything they were doing. In a span of a few months, we’ve pivoted everything to focus on COVID-19 detection and development of an app that will allow people to analyze whether they are exhibiting the frequency or symptoms of COVID-19.”

The company is working with the FDA to validate the process, techniques, and accuracy of the technology. Because of their approach, they anticipate being able to match any gold standard that all biological tests do for detection. Hinds explains, “A frequency from the body is the equivalent of a biomarker; and once you understand and can delineate these, you know you have it.” Soniphi is also seeking

a fast-track approval called the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization).

The app will record 30 seconds of one’s voice and send the recording to the processing backend which, in a matter of seconds, returns a result. The name and profile of the user is always secure and separated from the data for privacy purposes and HIPPA compliance. As of this writing, the app will be released to the world early this fall.

“The app will record 30 seconds of one’s voice and send the recording to the processing backend which, in a matter of seconds, returns a revsult.”

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HauteWELLNESS They also plan to have a commercial enterprise version available, which we believe is of great importance right now. This tool can provide an instantaneous analysis enabling a company to allow somebody to enter the building or not, based on their results. The goal is to move the economy and move back to coherency very, very fast.

To complement Soniphi and frequency and sound technology, Form Audio was launched to build and deliver the world's purest sound through headsets or speakers. If you have the opportunity to listen to the speakers or headphones, it will truly change your perception and experience of music. It has been tested by many audio experts. The company is now working with some of the world’s top music producers and artists, who are helping guide the products through esthetic design and launch. The company expects to see these epic headphones be introduced before the end of the year and be fully available in early 2021.

RTG also has a derma patch company, SourceWave, which offers five different bio-frequency patches to prominent brands. These help relieve pain and support sleep, energy, immunity, and tranquility. All are natural and contain only the information and frequency of many natural ingredients. The surprising thing is they work incredibly well. Many top athletes as well as ordinary individuals swear by them. The results speak for themselves. That said, SourceWave is running clinical trials on all of them to proclaim what the results have shown.

Another amazing company in the RTG portfolio, Cell Code, is one of the most innovative and, curiously, less invasive stem cell treatments in the world.

The progress and results they are seeing will be revealed to the world in 2021. In agriculture, RTG’s star is Agriculturally which applies their knowledge of water and frequency to plants. With their approach and equipment, the company is working with the largest almond, potato, oat, and grape growers and seeing a reduction in water use from 30 to 50 percent with a commensurate reduction in amendments and pest control. We could go on about the entire portfolio in water, mining, energy storage, generation, etc., but that would take too long. Everything the firm does is in resonance with nature. Working with nature and understanding the principles of physics are what tie it all together. We highly recommend reaching out to the team or at least visiting the website at www.RTG.io.

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MARK HINDS, CEO Mr. Hinds is a successful serial entrepreneur who advocates new thinking in science which has specific implications in human health, energy, and agriculture, He has a long track record of growing businesses and making them profitable, first in the real estate sector, turning $16.8M into $128M (Exit), and later in health and energy companies, through Novus Via, a $20M fund that has quadrupled in five years.

“This pandemic, the power of this event, has motivated many people to look beyond what they might normally be comfortable looking at. This type of forward thinking is happening at a very significant level right now.” – Mark Hinds Given the current state of the world, we need new, audacious ideas and a fresh outlook on what is possible. One need look no further than these bold inventors and their backers. In a world of societal skepticism, these ideas, once considered unfeasible and unrealistic, have found sudden embrace. Fiction has met fact. The Enterprise has landed. “To bring about an entirely new level

of thinking isn’t so easy; but when people look into our science now, they’re incredibly open to new ideas, because we need solutions,” Hinds says. “This pandemic, the power of this event, has motivated many people to look beyond what they might normally be comfortable looking at.

This type of forward thinking is happening at a very significant level right now.”

ROLAND VAN DER MEER PRESIDENT & CIO Mr. Van der Meer has 20+ years experience of venture early-stage investing, 10 years of real asset investing in agriculture and water, and has managed $2+ billion capital with over a 20% IRR personal track record.

Mr. Van der Meer is passionate about finding scalable solutions to the critical problems that we face as a society.

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BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR

HauteTRAVEL

WHY CHARTER YOUR OWN PRIVATE HERITAGE TRAIN? BECAUSE YOU CAN. A New Way to Do the Grand Canyon SOMETHING REMARKABLE IS HAPPENING IN THE POST-QUARANTINE world out at the Grand Canyon. You can charter a heritage train—that’s right, the whole train. The private experience, known as the Baron Rail Charter, has been in operation only since 2019. Intrigued, we decided to take a closer look.

THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY It’s not just any train that will deposit you and your guests within 200 steps of the South Rim. The throwback period décor of these iconic private railroad cars puts the first class section of commercial jets to shame. Three 90

handsome, post-WWII rail carriages feature interiors done up in fine fabrics, leather trim, handcrafted teak, and fine wood finishes. In the dining room, choose a comfortable window seat and order a favorite cocktail from the bartender prior to enjoying a meal that’s prepared onboard by private chefs and served on china place settings by attentive wait staff.

Built in the late-1940s and early-1950s, the restored cars have names such as The Kansas, a spacious platform sleeper accommodating six, including a master bedroom suite, also comprising day use for 12 featuring a rear openaired observation car; The Utah, a parlor, café, and lounge car seating 26

The Kansas car observation deck at dusk

PHOTOS COURTESY OF XANTERRA TRAVEL COLLECTION

The Utah car interior

guests; and The California, a coveted, vista-domed sleeper car with day use for 22 passengers that sleeps 16 in eight private bedrooms.

“These elegant carriages are as good as it gets,” said Samuel Langner at Xanterra Travel Collection, the specialist company which oversees and operates the Grand Canyon Railway. “We can certainly appreciate that people want to control their personal environment these days, so buyout of a carriage or for the entire train is attracting attention.”

Because The Grand Canyon Railway is one of the rather rare, privately operated railroads in America, it’s possible to charter one or more railroad cars or an entire train pulled by a vintage diesel engine. Even before you step onboard, everything is customizable. It’s even possible to fire up one of the railroad’s magnificent steam engines to pull the train. Naturally, the train engineer, brakeman, conductor, and passenger service attendant come with the deal.

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HauteTRAVEL Bedroom on the Rail Baron Charter

THE WAY BACK WHEN STORY In 1901 at the newly constructed railway junction, there was cause for celebration when 65 miles of rail track were completed, a spur of the Santa Fe Railway. This branch line first connected Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim, a milestone for developing the Grand Canyon’s earliest infrastructure. Suddenly, there was safe, reliable, and inexpensive transportation to this remote canyon, and visitor numbers rose exponentially. However, within 25 years, Route 66 and the 20th century American love affair with the automobile came along, changing both the far west and the romance of the rails forever.

Yet, Grand Canyon Railway is not a tourist railroad or heritage museum—it's very much an authentic working passenger train steeped in Arizona territory and state history.

ALL ABOARD AT WILLIAMS A modern day journey to the Grand Canyon begins in Williams, population barely 3,000 and elevation 6,765 feet. Just 160 miles from Phoenix/Scottsdale, the Northern Arizona town, founded in 1881, is now retro-cool and all about paying tribute to the rough-and-tumble past of the Old West.

Using the train as a blank canvas, private parties can create a signature event. Fancy a chuck wagon-style dinner, a pretend wild west hold up, or a staged shoot-out? Perhaps something more cultured such as live music or a talk from an expert conservationist? “We’re happy to oblige and we can make a trip into exactly what a guest wants,” suggests Langner. “We simply don’t know the word 'no.'"

Once the whistle blows and the train journey gets underway, a slow and curvy route scales the massive Colorado Plateau and passes through high country, prairie and ponderosa pine, scenic plains, beyond Valle, and into the peaceful, vast Kaibab National Forest where places with names like Dogtown Lake and Whitehorse Lake are anything but mundane.

The railway’s destination is Grand Canyon Depot at the canyon’s South Rim where America’s last operating log train station is a National Historic Landmark. From the depot, it’s only an eight-minute walk to El Tovar, the 1905 landmark limestone and Oregon pine hotel perched on the Bright Angel Trailhead. Sensibilities of the era are complementary; the principal architect of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway also designed this celebrated hotel, envisioned as a cross between a Swiss mountain chalet and a Norwegian villa.

Now a National Historic Landmark, the rustic El Tovar was considered the most elegant west of the Mississippi and the epitome of chic—its position on the canyon’s edge affords stunning Grand Canyon views to this day.

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The Kansas bedroom on the Rail Baron Charter

Rail Baron Charter Utah Carriage

SCOTTSDALE AND STARGAZING TIPS Skip big airports, 2-hour check-ins, and TSA protocols. JSX flies into and out of Phoenix with roomy 30-seat jets that depart from their own terminals in both Oakland and Concord.

Attractive 5-star resorts are operating at a fraction of their normal capacity, just right for guests to settle in on poolside chaise lounges for a few hours before stargazing in the foothills of North Scottsdale. Check out the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North and Boulders Resort & Spa for ideal after-dark locations.

En route to Williams, less than three hours’ drive, Sedona is an internationally recognized Dark Sky City, a prestigious designation indicating exceptional, unobstructed views of the heavens. The Grand Canyon itself was granted certification as an International Dark Sky Park in 2019, so now "half the park is after dark."

All aboard! The only people aboard are those the host invites. With an unmatchable, commanding presence, a privately chartered train lends itself to wedding parties, family reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement parties, class reunions, or other milestone moments. And there’s plenty of space for safe social distancing on this moving train set.

The cost to reserve a single car starts at about $10,000. The cost to reserve the full train for the day, providing flexibility on departure and return times, typically ranges between $15,000 and $20,000. www.thetrain.com/connect/take-over-how-to-charter-the-grand-canyon-railway

Dining in the Kansas Carriage, Rail Baron Charter

PHOTOS COURTESY OF XANTERRA TRAVEL COLLECTION

The Kansas bedroom on the Rail Baron Charter

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BY JENNIFER BODEN

HauteTRAVEL

Hot air balloons above Yountville

WELCOME BACK TO YOUNTVILLE Enjoy everything the heart of Napa Valley has to offer MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU VISITED NAPA Valley. People are wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and embracing other commonsense efforts to keep the novel coronavirus at bay. But poke underneath these shifts and you’ll find Napa is the same as it’s been for years—a great place to enjoy fine food and wine, shop, golf, stroll, and just relax. Despite COVID-19, Yountville is keeping these traditions alive.

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“The town of Yountville partnered with the Yountville Chamber of Commerce to create the Transitional Support Program which allows businesses to move retail, dining, and wine tasting outdoors,” said Whitney Diver McEvoy, the Yountville Chamber President and CEO. “This was approved by the Yountville Town Council back in April. Adopting this program so early on enabled our businesses to get ahead of this new normal.”

HOTEL YOUNTVILLE Sparkling with tradition, Hotel Yountville is a Wine Country retreat with enticing charm. Eighty romantic, spacious guest rooms housed in stone buildings constructed of stacked Napa river rocks feature four-poster beds, oversized tubs, and fireplaces. Relax, dine at Heritage Oak, and recharge at the decadent pool courtyard.

BARDESSONO HOTEL AND SPA: LEED Platinum Certified Bardessono provides a luxurious experience for guests within a sustainable environment. Deep green with luxury and a subtle aesthetic, the hotel offers indulgence through Lucy Restaurant’s farm-to-fork fare, in-room spa treatments, electric Lexus vehicles, curated art collection, and rooftop pool access.

With 15 tasting rooms, spas, hiking trails, and more, Yountville has an experience for everyone. You may be a first-time visitor or a sommelier; but, no matter what your tastes, Yountville is ready for you.

NAPA VALLEY LODGE IN YOUNTVILLE European charm and contemporary comforts, Napa Valley Lodge is a family-owned retreat. Resort-like grounds. Thoughtful, personalized service.

Quiet serenity.

SAFETY FIRST To ensure the town was safe to reopen, the Yountville community rallied to adapt local practices to mitigate the risk of COVID-19.

“Yountville has quickly pivoted to allow more outdoor dining and tasting experiences,” said Diver McEvoy.

“Tasting rooms are offering exceptional experiences outdoors, and all of our restaurants are open for outdoor dining and ready to welcome you. Yountville is abiding by strict public health and safety measures, including social distancing, requiring that masks be worn at businesses and in crowded areas, and encouraging handwashing.”

Naturally, Yountville’s wine tasting opportunities are plenty—try Jessup Cellars or JCB Tasting Salon, Handwritten Wines, or RH Yountville Wine Vault where you can taste a variety of Napa Valley wines. For dinner, enjoy some of the region’s world-famous restaurants, such as The French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro.

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HauteTRAVEL

RH Wine Vault at the historic Ma(i)sonry Building

RH Wine Vault at the historic Ma(i)sonry Building

RH Wine Vault at the historic Ma(i)sonry Building

Outdoor wine tasting at Jessup Cellars

Outdoor patio at JCB Tasting Salon

Outdoor tasting experience at Handwritten Wines

For lodging, there’s something for everyone, from luxurious Hotel Yountville to a range of lovely B&Bs. Most are within walking distance of delicious food and wine. Speaking of walking, Yountville has perfected passeggiata—the art of the stroll. Take in the architecture, restaurants, gardens, and the beautiful vineyards and hillsides.

Fine art is everywhere. In addition to its many art galleries, the town has created an impressive art walk, with more than 60 outdoor sculptures, including Chaos Pamplona, which was shipped all the way from Spain.

For exercise, there’s hiking, biking, tennis, and, of course, golf.

The charming Vintner’s Golf Club is a challenging, 9-hole course with beautiful greens, fine food, and a great atmosphere.

“Yountville is the heart of the Napa Valley, because we offer everything that the valley is famous for in one place,” said Diver McEvoy. “Just park your car and spend the whole day in Yountville, then walk away with a memorable Napa Valley experience.”

Perry Lang's famous baby back ribs barbecued by Executive Chef Tim Humphrey

Vintner's Golf Club

Artwalk sculpture: Chaos Pamplona

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BY OLIVIA DECKER

HauteRESIDENCE

SPONSORED

BOATER’S PARADISE ON SAN FRANCISCO BAY Waterfront living at its finest REMINISCENT OF PORTOFINO IN ITALY, BELVEDERE COVE AND Corinthian Island comprise the most desirable enclave on San Francisco Bay for waterfront homes with boat docks. Flanked by the San Francisco Yacht Club on one side and the Corinthian Yacht Club on the other side with stunning views of Belvedere Island, Bay Bridge, the San Francisco skyline, and the Bay in between—not to mention the one-minute walk to Downtown Tiburon-Belvedere restaurants and ferry services to San Francisco and Angel Island—this is, by far, the best yachting paradise.

The residence at 35 Bellevue, Belvedere is one of the brightest gems on the entire San Francisco Bay. Living on the cove nestled between Belvedere and Corinthian Island is a visual treat year-round. The current owner bought it after 25 years of knowing that the best weather, best access to the bay, and picturesque, Italian lake region vistas were incomparable. While the home has full heat and AC systems, it was designed to never need AC in the summer nor heat in the winter, due to the sea’s cooling effect in summer and the sun’s warming rays through the windows in winter.

Living here is like living in a painting or a constantly moving post card that delights and thrills all. The days are filled with smallest of kids sailing their little Opti 8-foot sailboats to the racing machines coming in and

out of the San Francisco Yacht Club. Sunrise reflections off the Belvedere homes grace the mornings, and sunsets awe with painted skies Mt. Tam. The marine and wildlife action year-round was a great surprise to the current owner. Squadrons of pelicans, those magnificent prehistoric birds, maneuver around the bay, seeking their next meal and plunging into the water from 60 feet above. Schools of herring fish swim through the cove in the winter, chased by birds, otters, and seals. There is never a dull moment on the water in this paradise.

One of the finest homes on Corinthian Island, 35 Bellevue is a magnificent, contemporary style home overlooking San Francisco Yacht Club harbor with amazing views. Designed by Dan Phipps and built by Stroub Construction in 2001 and renovated by current owner in recent years, the home features four bedrooms and three and a half baths. The main floor features a living, dining, and kitchen open floor plan with 14-foot high ceilings and 12-foot tall folding doors opening onto a spacious viewing deck for outdoor dining; a sleek kitchen with pantry and marble center island; an office with built-in desks and cabinets, and a garden patio; a powder room; a spacious TV room/home theater/family room combo; and, a large storage room with built-in cabinets and Sub-Zero refrigerator.

PHOTOS CREDIT: (HEADSHOT) ©ERIC HOOTEN

SPONSORED

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HauteRESIDENCE The middle floor features a spacious master bedroom with private viewing deck, a beautifully appointed bathroom with views, a walk-in closet, plus wall-to-wall closets. Two other bedrooms share a bath and a laundry room.

The lower floor features a bedroom with full bath and a bar/exercise room opening onto an enormous deck on the water (the biggest deck in the cove), large floating dock, a huge spa tub, an outdoor shower, a sauna, and a 10,000 lb. boat lift.

The property also features a hill elevator from street level to the lower deck and the boat dock, which stops at each floor; parking for three cars, including a Tesla charger and a natural gas generator to supply power in case of rolling power outages, plus a compressor for general use. Other features include two workshops and ample storage, HVAC system with forced air heat and AC, and a large water heater circulating water system.

The Belvedere Cove location is known for the great weather protected from wind and fog. It’s a short walking distance to downtown Tiburon-Belvedere, two world-class yacht clubs, and the ferry. For floor plans, video, and photos: www.35Bellevue.com

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SPONSORED

SPONSORED

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BY TIM LAPPEN

TheHAUTE LISTAuto

MERCEDESAMG GLS 63 AND ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QUADRIFOGLIO AWD These utes are made for driving LADIES & GENTLEMEN! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE! Fighting from the northeast corner is the heavyweight champion, the almost 3-ton GLS 63, the big boy of the Mercedes family, with muscle that befits its heft: a 4.0 liter biturbo V8 producing 603 HP and 627 lb-ft. of torque.

And fighting from the southwest corner is the challenger, weighing in at two tons plus a few cases of beer, is the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, the standard bearer of FCA utes, a 2.9 liter twin-turbo V6 producing 505 HP and 443 lb-ft. of torque.

Before you place your bets on this V8 German versus the V6 Italian match-up, read on!

Let’s start with the 2021 AMG GLS 63. Is it heavy? I would say so, since it tips the scales at over 5,900 pounds. But don’t stop with your analysis quite yet. Prodigious torque can cure a lot of poundage ills, including inertia, and this GLS can do 0-60 in an unheard-of 3.6 seconds! That number indicates that this 7-person family hauler (and grocery getter and long-distance traveler and …) could blow the doors off of the GTOs, Camaros, Mustangs, and the other “super” cars of the 1960s that your car-addled uncle waxes on and on about under the heading of “they don’t make ’em like that anymore, and they sure aren’t as fast.”

Keep in mind, this is a vehicle that can transport seven adults (well, maybe if numbers six and seven aren’t too tall), plus some luggage (in back and on the roof), over hither and yon. With incredible power and pull, coupled to a 9-speed transmission and all-wheel drive, all it’s missing is a blade to be the best snow plow around. No doubt its amazing alacrity is helped by the 48-volt (!) electric motor shoehorned in between the engine and trans, adding an immediate boost 102

of about 20 HP when called upon. That 48-volt system also gets credit for the GLS 63’s handling, as it can tweak the anti-roll system to handle body sway. You wouldn’t buy this car as your next canyon carver, but it probably would outrun many of the competitors out there on a Sunday.

Back to my loaner. The “comfort/convenience” list on the build sheet are impressive, too: a panorama roof that seems like it’s six feet long; the normal (these days) over-the-top digital display and embedded navigation system, all using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; a high-end Burmester Surround Sound system; heated and cooled front seats; wireless phone charging; and, ambient lighting that’s adjustable using 64 colors (I hate those which are limited to only 50 choices).

“Mine” was no stripper, either. To a base price of $132,100, Mercedes North American kindly added about $17,000 of whistles and bells, such as 23-inch forged wheels (cha-ching at $4,950, the single most-expensive option on my test loaner); augmented video for the nav system, plus a heads-up display ($1,500); some other packages; and a carbon fiber engine cover, which looks great but runs $1,500.

I wasn’t too familiar with the GLS before this loan and, I must say, I really was impressed.

It “drives smaller” than it looks. Once inside, I felt comfortable and, in the few places where I was concerned about one or more of the vehicle’s corners, the camera system gave me perfect guidance. On the road, it has a great ride, one which mostly requires great heft to smooth out the road. “Heft” may be the GLS’s middle name. Mercedes does build heavy cars, but there are many benefits to driving a car that sits high and weighs a lot; and, with the AMG motor to make it move, it feels far lighter than it is.

Mercedes does a great job in matching luxury with practicality and performance. The GLS 63 doesn’t disappoint using any of those metrics. Nice, heavy switchgear that feels good to the touch, plenty of leather and chrome to create a great cabin, and legendary performance— acceleration, stopping, and (somewhat surprisingly) handling—allow the biggest of Berthas to cruise or streak at the driver’s command.

A lifelong petrol-holic, mechanic (cars, motorcycles, boats), and automotive journalist since penning a column for his high school newspaper, internationally recognized attorney Tim Lappen is a partner at a major Los Angeles-based law firm, where he chairs the firm’s Family Office Group and its Luxury Home Group and is, of course, a member of its Motor Vehicle Group. He can be reached at tlappen@gmail.com.

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TheHAUTE LISTAuto The 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvia Quadrifoglio looks Italian. Carved sides and flourishes abound on the exterior, and leather and details show attention to style. The sound of the high-performance V6 in the Quadrifoglio edition is worth the price of admission. (By the way, quadrifoglio means “four-leaf clover” and denotes Alfa’s performance versions, like AMG does for Mercedes.)

The exhaust notes give clue to the Alfa’s engine heritage, which may or may not be related to Ferrari (official explanations vary), but they sound similar enough to be chips off of the same (engine) block. With a twin turbo not really masking the exhaust chorus, the sound is one of the things that adds to the great joy in driving this car.

Its looks don’t belie the performance at all, especially in the “Rosso” (deep red) paint of my loaner. Coupled with black leather interior and dark 20-inch rims and blacked-out brightwork, one would expect that it would be a performer. One would be right and then some. This really is a 4-door hatchback with the spirit of a stoplight grand prix car. The Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of this well-mannered ute, which can get up and boogie with the supercars, allows it to fit in to any milieu in which it may find itself.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a lightweight only in comparison to the GLS 63.

The “tale of the tape” on both cars is remarkably similar in many respects:

0-60 ¼ mile Top speed

MB

Alfa

3.6 12.0sec/115MPH 174MPH

3.3 11.8sec/116MPH 176MPH

The stats diverge when it comes to size, especially length (206.4inch Mercedes, 185.1-inch Alfa) and, of course, weight (5,927 lbs.

Mercedes, 4,309 lbs. Alfa). However, other than them both being SUV-like—with four doors and a hatchback, all-wheel drive, and automatic transmissions with paddle shifters—they aren’t really that similar to the driver. The Alfa seats five and, due in large part to its weight, in 2017, it broke the course record for the Nurburgring Nordschleife race track for an SUV. (The record then was broken by the GLS 63’s cousin, the GLC 63, with “only” 503 horsepower.)

I enjoyed the “spirited driving” which the Alfa encouraged from me (sure, blame the car!), but the aural feedback was almost intoxicating enough by itself. The seating was comfortable front and back and the luggage area sufficient. It’s really closer to a midsize SUV, much like an Audi Q5, since it’s some 21 inches shorter than the GLS 63. “Mine” had a nice set of options, taking the base price of $80,445 up to $97,790, including: big-time Brembo brakes (that’s $8,000 right there), special red exterior paint ($2,200), and the Quadrifoglio AWD package for $2,000, including driver-assists like lane-departure warning, blind-spot notification, adaptive cruise control, and more.

I really enjoyed my time with both cars, especially due to my nature as an inveterate drag racer (don’t fault me: in my teen years, cars didn’t really corner or stop, so all we could do was accelerate).

The GLS 63 is an amazing car that does so many things perfectly.

Were I in the market for a full-size SUV, this car would be in the running, for sure. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is terrific as well, but it feels much more “car-like” due to its size and weight. For me, it would make a great second car, blending my desire for a sports car with luggage space and practicality. While the luxury and performance SUV market has many options (all of which I have experienced and have loved for different reasons—including the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q, Jaguar F-Pace, and the upcoming Aston Martin DBX), and the midsize SUV and the hybrid/all-electric SUV markets do as well, the GLS 63 and the Selvio Quadrifoglio are terrific contenders.

A place to create your own "Setting" in the heart of Napa Valley

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Kelly E. Carter is the director of communications at Alpha Omega winery on Napa Valley’s Rutherford Bench. The former editor of “Haute Living San Francisco” previously enjoyed a lengthy, award-winning career in journalism writing about sports, entertainment, and luxury lifestyles for various media outlets.

Kelly co-authored New York Times bestseller “Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession” with Venus Williams and penned “The Dog Lover’s Guide to Travel” for National Geographic Books. She has traveled to more than 40 countries and territories on six continents and called Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Italy home. Visit Kelly at: www. kellyecarter.com

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HauteAMBASSADOR

Wine Country

Wayne Kocourek, Nan Kocourek, Michelle Baggett, and Robin Baggett at Alpha Omega for V Foundation Wine Celebration

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, SOLD! Napa Valley Virtual Fundraisers Play Big on the Small Screen In these days of everything going virtual, I wondered, how could the thrill of bidding on luxurious, live auction lots in an electrified room full of wine-fueled auction-goers be replicated on Smart TV screens when charitable supporters are sheltering-in-place alone or with immediate family? I found out when I tuned in to watch what turned out to be spectacularly produced and successful virtual fundraisers put on recently by a couple of my favorite Napa Valley charities.

The V Foundation Wine Celebration, which in its 21 years had already raised more than $115 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, brilliantly offered a month-long, virtual series, Momentum of Cancer Research: Vintner Grant Honoree Edition, to help build excitement and its coffers leading up to its 22nd annual event on August 8, Momentum 2.0.

Alpha Omega Vintners Robin and Michelle Baggett, the 2011 Vintner Grant honorees, were among the Vintner Grant honorees to host live virtual wine tasting experiences benefiting the Wine Celebration. Via Zoom and Facebook Live on July 18, teary-eyed Alpha Omega wine lovers watched and listened to a clip of the late coach Jim Valvano’s legendary speech at the 1993 ESPYs. In between four wines being tasted and discussed, NFL great Joe Theismann virtually popped in from his Memphis home to banter with the Baggetts and provide inspirational words to participants, as did Olympic gold medalist figure skater Scott Hamilton from his residence and renowned immunologist Dr. Olja Finn, a member of the V Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee, from hers. Singer Andy Grammer entertained for the finale.

PHOTO CREDITS: ©BOB MCCLENAHAN; ©REMY KREY-REBENTISCH; COURTESY OF FESTIVAL NAPA VALLEY

BY KELLY E. CARTER

V Foundation Wine Celebration virtual auction viewing at Alpha Omega

Vanessa Conlin, Monica Stevens, and Fritz Hatton at WineaPAWlooza at Meadowood Napa Valley

Screenshot of Young People’s Chorus of New York City performing “Give Us Hope”

Maria Manetti Shrem, Jan Shrem, Karen Walker, Rick Walker, Gina Gallo, and Jean-Charles Boisset watch Festival Napa Valley’s One Night, Many Voices at Solage

That was just the beginning of the Wine Celebration. On August 8, ABC aired an inspirational, hour-long television special, V for Victory. Then, on YouTube, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski hosted Momentum 2.0 live from Raleigh, North Carolina with assistance from college basketball analyst Jay Bilas and auctioneer John Curley, also in Raleigh, and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele in Connecticut.

Cameras popped over to Alpha Omega, the Napa Valley host site and where the Baggetts hosted four couples for a virtual auction viewing on large screen TVs set up outside two beautifully decorated cabanas on the Vineyard Terrace. Viewers from around the country and abroad watched as one couple at Alpha Omega, longtime V Foundation Wine Celebration supporters Wayne and Nan Kocourek, kicked off the Fund-a-Need lot with a $1 million challenge donation, which was met—and more. A collaboration between Gemstone Vineyard and Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry featuring a ruby encrusted 3L of 2019 Gemstone Ruby Barrel Selection, one of six one-of-a-kind auction lots, was the top lot at $300,000 and helped the virtual event raise more than $3.6 million for cancer research. The Wine Celebration’s auction is always the most emotional fundraiser I attend in Napa, and watching it virtually was a reminder not to forget about the need for cancer research during this COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 5, I tuned to SOMMTV to watch Jameson Humane’s (formerly known as Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch) signature fundraising event, WineaPAWlooza 2020: ’PAWlooza in Place. Kudos to Jameson founders Monica and David Stevens for bringing in producers Jason and Christine Wise for this virtual fundraiser, which raised more than $1 million and also had viewers in other countries watch. Philanthropic vintners promoted their fabulous

auction lots through beautifully shot videos that captured the people and stories behind the wine. With cowbells ringing, auctioneer Fritz Hatton, who joined the Stevens at Meadowood Napa Valley to cohost along with Master of Wine Vanessa Conlin, showed that he doesn’t need to be inside a tent packed with people brandishing numbered paddles to start a bidding war. Lots included a 3L vertical of 1995, 1996, and 1997 Screaming Eagle and the highly coveted Beckstoffer Bonanza, a tribute to honorary event chairs Andy and Betty Beckstoffer who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Beckstoffer Vineyards this year. That lot featured 16 jeroboams (3L) from legendary Beckstoffer Vineyards, donated by Alpha Omega, Alejandro Bulgheroni, TOR, and more.

As soon as WineaPAWlooza ended, I switched to YouTube to watch Festival Napa Valley present One Night, Many Voices, a free concert featuring festival favorites Joshua Bell with soprano Larisa Martínez, tenor Michael Fabiano, soprano Nadine Sierra, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and the sensational Young People’s Chorus of New York City, whose performance of “Give Us Hope” was moving and memorable. The concert culminated with a swinging jazz performance by pianist Aldo López-Gavilán and his band—direct from Havana, Cuba. Although Festival Napa Valley postponed its 15th anniversary season to 2021, its virtual programs have been a wonderful way to keep supporters engaged.

As much as I miss clinking glasses with everyone at live Napa Valley events and seeing what everyone is wearing, one of the most positive aspects of virtual fundraisers is knowing nonprofits can spread their message to a lot more people than just those who can attend their annual live events. Now that’s something to raise a glass to. Cheers!

“One of the most positive aspects of virtual fundraisers is knowing nonprofits can spread their message to a lot more people than just those who can attend their annual live events.

Now that’s something to raise a glass to.

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BY LYDIA GRAHAM

HauteAMBASSADOR

Health & Wellness

A DAILY DOSE OF MINDFULNESS, MEDITATION, AND GRATITUDE May reduce stress and help you live healthier and longer, too

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BENEFITS BACKED BY SCIENCE Dedicated meditators have long espoused the benefits of meditation, expressing subjective feelings of reduced stress and increased calm, more alertness and focus, and more emotional resilience. Long viewed as anecdotal, scientists, armed with MRI scans and randomized control studies, now confirm these feelings as not just subjective. Real physical changes happen as well.

Notable physical effects of meditation have been linked to reducing inflammation, thereby strengthening immunity and improving heart health, lowering blood pressure by helping to dilate blood vessels, and improving our physiological response to and perception of pain. Meditation can alleviate stress because it turns down the “flight or fight” sympathetic response which pumps out too much cortisol and adrenaline and accelerates aging if stress becomes prolonged. Instead, meditation turns up the parasympathetic pathway, producing the “happy” hormones of dopamine

and serotonin which promote relaxation, rest, and improved sleep.

There’s more… especially in the brain. Meditation actually reverses the thinning of the prefrontal cortex that happens with age and contributes to cognitive decline. Meditation reduces the density of the amygdala region (which can increase from stress) and helps maintain its healthy structure and promotes emotional regulation. Additionally, stress hormones can shrink the hippocampus over time, interfering with our memory and navigation: meditation can help maintain its size. Too, meditation can positively impact our capacity for creativity and self-reflection, due to its effects on the density and size of the posterior cingulate cortex.

What’s more, one form of meditation might just make us more compassionate, which our world could really use right now. Cognitively based compassion meditation training has been shown to impact the brain’s temporoparietal junction governing perspective and empathy.

There are many studies and more benefits suggested than there is room to mention here, such as effects on gene expression and telomeres. For example, in 2019, genetics researchers at Harvard published a study in Nature concluding, “a calm mind could lead to a longer life. Our study raises the possibility that modulating excitation state (in the brain) can affect lifespan.”

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDITATION, MINDFUL MEDITATION, MINDFULNESS, AND A GRATITUDE PRACTICE? Meditation and mindfulness mediation are limitless areas to explore. There is a meditation style to suit every individual.

Mindfulness can be done throughout your day. It’s about being in, and focusing your attention fully in, the present moment. One can be fully present doing any task, however mundane. But the mind frequently wanders off, and herein lies the challenge and the work. A study conducted by two Harvard psychologists found that most people spend about “47% of their day thinking about something other than what they’re doing.”

PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Lydia is a passionate advocate of healthy living. She has launched and positioned many health and wellnessrelated companies, products, technologies and organizations receiving more than 100 awards nationally and internationally. Her focus in the health sector is specifically on life sciences, aging and longevity. She is a partner and investor in several recognized national brands.

She sits on the board of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging whose mission is to eliminate the threat of agerelated disease for today’s and future generations. It is the only independent research organization globally dedicated to extending the healthy years of life. Like the scientists at the Buck, Graham envisions it will be possible for people to enjoy life at 95 as much as at 25.

To support Buck’s mission, please visit www.buckinstitute.org.

MOST OF US KNOW THE STOCK MARKET HATES uncertainty. Humans don’t deal with it particularly well either—it can affect both our physical and mental well-being. Right now, no question, we are living in uncertain times. Stress, anxiety, and depression are escalating as economic instability and social isolation rises with companies struggling and job losses mounting and no end in sight. In a study recently conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, “one third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression” (30% nationally and 34% in California).

So, how do we find shelter from this current storm? It might just be the perfect time to explore the daily practices of gratitude, mindfulness, and meditation to help get you through.

What began decades ago as a predominantly Eastern alternative philosophy and practice has today become so Western mainstream, you will find meditation and mindfulness in the classrooms of prestigious higher learning institutions, places of worship, and a myriad of centers and studios online and off. Respected medical institutions, such as Harvard and Stanford, and research scientists worldwide study and tout its benefits.

Mindfulness meditation is about bringing awareness of and attention in the present moment to one’s breath, thoughts, sensations, and/or emotions.

Gratitude practice consists of taking a few moments each day to acknowledge—either in your mind, aloud, or in writing—the things you are most grateful for. Those may include the big things as well as the small things. A product of positive psychology, many studies have found people who take the time to do a gratitude practice are happier, have a greater sense of well-being, and have more empathy toward others.

Meditation also comes in many varieties. Some you might consider are: • sound meditation, • breathing meditation, • guided imagery, • visualization, • mantras, • loving kindness/compassion, or • movement meditations, like walking meditation, tai chi, and qigong.

ESTABLISHING A PRACTICE: So, why aren’t you meditating? Nike’s brilliant ad slogan, “Just Do It,” comes to mind. Getting started is likely the hardest part. Some of the same obstacles to exercise apply to a meditation practice. Let’s break it down into three simple steps: 1) get started, 2) be consistent, and 3) stay with it. Easier said than done, right?

1. Get started: Explore, make a commitment, take time.

“Just do it,” i.e., begin, start small, and build up. Don’t rush to climb the mountain before you learn to walk. For the type-A overachievers out there, don’t, for example, let the first thing you do be to commit to a 7-day silent meditation.

That’s like going on a crash diet: you’re setting yourself up to fail. The internet and app store are full of resources; some are listed here.

Daily practice is key: even five-to-ten minutes a day can make a difference. Twice a day is better than once. One of my meditation teachers once told me, if you don’t think you have the time, that means you need to meditate even more.

Meditation has a wonderful way of slowing time down.

Ironically, you may feel as if you have more time. Research

by Harvard Medical School and Boston University shows the benefits of meditation are residual and continue outside the meditative state.

Meditation is personal. Explore, find a method that resonates—one you can stay with at least for a while. This might take some searching, but make the commitment to experiment. Then sit and practice. Guided, timed meditations can be an easy way to start. See the apps listed

in the sidebar for great resources. Don’t fall into the perpetual seeker trap, such that you get so lost in exploring or reading books on meditation, you forget to practice.

Dedicate a place in your home or office to practice each day. It need not be a dedicated, all-decked-out meditation room or corner; it can be a simple meditation pillow on the floor or even a chair or seat on the sofa—just one not so comfortable you fall asleep every time (although don’t feel like a failure if that happens occasionally—it’s okay).

2. Be consistent: Establish a routine. No judgment.

Once you select a way to practice, stick with setting a consistent time each day to do it. Like exercise, it’s best to establish a routine. I love meditating first thing in the morning, as I find my mind is not so busy yet and it gets the day off to a great start. Other good times are afternoon when our minds are busy and need a reset or early evening as we begin to wind down. The main thing in a meditation practice is to give your mind something repeatable to focus on—such as the breath, an image, a mantra, or movement (if doing moving meditation).

Our minds are like toddlers: they need to be occupied. A wandering or monkey mind is the human condition: we all have it. A meditation teacher once told me it’s as if you’re puppy training your mind. The mind will wander off. Do not judge, just gently and lovingly bring your mind back to your focal point as you would bring the puppy back to the paper. As you begin to notice your thoughts, emotions, or sensations, you will be amazed at the endless stream of useless thoughts racing through your mind, many we’re not even aware of because they’re subconscious.

3. Stay with it: It’s a journey, not a destination.

As you progress, you may add new methods or advance in your practice techniques. This is where exercise and meditation diverge. In a meditation practice, there is no goal to achieve and no place to go. You are simply practicing being present, which is more difficult than you might think. Some days you will have a quiet mind or ability to focus; some days, you won’t. That’s okay. Each meditation experience is unique. Most of all, you will be giving yourself the gift of presence and all the physical and mental benefits that come with that.

CONCLUSION The value of spending time “just being” may be a hard concept to embrace, especially in a world that holds “doing” in higher esteem. But with a consistent meditation practice, you may be surprised that your capacity to “do” and focus on what you do will be greatly enhanced by the time you spent simply “being.”

Note: if you suffer from clinical anxiety or depression, consult with your medical professional when starting a meditation program.

RESOURCES: Anchor Meditation (www. anchormeditation.com) Compassion Meditation (www.jackkornfield.com/ meditations) Harvard University Health Services (www.wellness. huhs.harvard.edu/relaxation-room) Plum Village International (www.plumvillage.org) San Francisco Zen Center (www.sfzc.org) Spirit Rock (www.spiritrock.org) Stanford University (www. mindful.stanford.edu) University of California School of Medicine, San Diego (www.medschool. ucsd.edu/som/fmph/ research/mindfulness/ Pages/default.aspx) Your Local Place of Worship Online Learning Sites: Coursera (www.coursera.org) Udemy (www.udemy.com) Apps: (available in the App store) Calm (www.calm.com) Headspace (www.headspace.com) Insight Timer (www.insighttimer.com) 109

BY STEPHANIE BLOCK

HauteAMBASSADOR

Literacy Reviews

BAY AREA ILLUSTRATORS OFFER FREE ONLINE CLASSES Paint your way through the pandemic

DAN BRANSFIELD:

The main reason for doing these live painting sessions on Instagram is that it’s a fun way to “hang out” with my family back in Chicago and anyone else who wants to drop in. It also acts as good exercise to see just how much I can create in about an hour. As a freeform and loose format, everyone is free to chime in and throw out suggestions for subject matter, ranging from robots to wine. In any case, the sessions are typically lighthearted and lean more toward the whimsical.

FOR MORE INFO: Dan Bransfield is a San Francisco-based freelance illustrator and author of Pizzapedia: An Illustrated Guide to Everyone’s Favorite Food. He typically works in watercolor, gouache, and ink, and periodically hosts live painting sessions live on Instagram at @danbransfield. Visit DanBran.com to see his portfolio and peruse his pizza prints shop. From the East Bay to Philly, choose a pizza print that feels like a slice of home to you!

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Adam Driver

Professor Pachydermos and His Cabinet of Curiously Clever Creatures First Responder

Dahl Beck Electric Co.

PHOTO CREDITS: ©DAN BRANSFIELD

Stephanie Block is a third-generation family partner in RNDC and Young’s Market Company.

She holds a WSET 3 certification in wine and spirits and is a recent graduate of an Executive MBA program from both Brown University and IE Madrid.

Previously, Stephanie ran St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery’s social media and worked Napa harvest 2016.

Stephanie has championed gender equality as a national board member of the US National Committee for UN Women and once traveled the globe as an award-winning travel writer.

She has lived in 6 countries and visited over 80. Elle adore parler français.

ROBOTS, GREAT BLUE HERONS, RACCOONS, and telephone boxes: these images and so many more grace my sketchpad, thanks to free classes on Instagram offered

by Bay Area illustrators. Artists have been hit hard by COVID-19, so this generous sharing of skill is all the more spectacular. It creates community, fosters positive mental health, and sprinkles a little fairy dust across dark times.

Dan Bransfield and Karima Cammell are published authors and illustrators. Dan Bransfield is known for his food and beverage work, as well as fun with puns. He is the darling of restauranteurs and used to work on-site with a portable watercolor set capturing chefs in action, even leaving little sketches on paper menus like a 21st century Picasso.

Karima Cammell was the proprietress of Berkeley’s famed Castle in the Air shop and is celebrated for the adventures of her extraordinary books’ characters, such as trolls and mice.

Here are the artists in their own words.

Karima Cammell’s books: All of my books focus on themes of perseverance, the power of imagination and hard work, and living in harmony with nature

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CASTLE IN THE AIR STUDIO

KARIMA CAMMELL:

As an artist it’s easy to feel isolated, even in the best of times. A lot of my work is done alone, and I often find myself losing, in the solitude and details, the grounding sense of purpose and urgency that motivates me.

That’s why I love teaching. The connection to my students keeps me tethered to the value of creating.

My name, Karima, translates as “generous” in Arabic, and I have certainly spent some time puzzling over the meaning of the word. I didn’t think I was being generous when I started offering my free painting classes over Instagram. It actually felt like I was being selfish, hoping to glean companionship and inspiration from the people who would join. But if I’ve learned one thing about generosity, it’s that the more you give, the more you have. And something truly wonderful has grown from the series, benefiting us all. It turns out that during quarantine, creating community and beautiful visions of what is possible has never been more important.

I started the Sunday sessions as an easy, low-stress way to stay connected. I didn’t know what to expect, but the sessions have turned into a reliable moment every week for us to gather, champion each other, get stronger, listen closely to inspiration, exercise our skills, and take a moment to simply enjoy. Several times a day throughout the week, I hear from students sharing their incredible artwork and thanking me for generously organizing what has become the highlight of their week. I blush because it doesn’t feel like a gift I’m giving, since I’m benefitting from my connection to all of them.

The best and worst thing about being an artist in the age of Corona is my professional imagination.

Because of my imagination, and through my painting practice, I’ve already spent a lot of time wrestling with visions of dystopia. I spent my last “normal” day, before lockdown, in Venice, Italy. It was the height of Carnival, and I was dressed in a skeleton costume of my own creation. The day before that, I wandered the streets as Persephone, the goddess of the underworld.

My sketchbook was filled with beautiful images of Venice underwater and Italy in a plague year. I was already steeped in creating a body of work, exploring hopeful and bittersweet visions of change for a solo show next year. I’ve titled the collection “High Water,” because the tides are turning.

One of the challenges of having a strong imagination is that, during difficult times, it can make my fears very vivid. In reading and talking with others, I know I’m not the only one struggling with this. It takes a lot of work to train the imagination to create positive and uplifting visions. The good news is that, if I look for them, there are plenty of beautiful things that we can imagine resulting from this crisis. The Sunday painting classes—or the gathering of “the Knights of the Kitchen Table” as I jokingly call our class—are regular reminders that positivity can find a way.

Dressed as skeletons in Venice during Carnival in what turned out to be a plague year. I worked on making this costume for months before the outbreak

During a violent storm in Florence last summer—the hottest European summer on record—I witnessed the Duomo’s copper ball being struck by lightning

FOR MORE INFO: Karima Cammell is a painter, author, teacher, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Castle in the Air and Dromedary Press. Her books include Pirate & Hoopoe, The Troll Cookbook, and Commonplace Mouse. A 2-time honoree at the Berkeley Public Library Authors Dinner, she is also the recipient of a number of literary awards, including the Independent Publisher Book Award and two Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Karima’s current studies include egg tempera painting and the archetypal truths found in fairytale traditions. She lives in Northern California.

You can learn about free Sunday classes other classes offered at Castle in the Air, her art activism, published books and cards, and much more at www.castleintheair.biz, on Instagram at @castleintheairstudio, and her personal account @1castleintheair.

Original artwork by Karima Cammell

My husband and I dressed as Hades and Persephone two days before Venice was locked down due to the coronavirus

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LifeLife Coach Coach

CULTIVATING PRESENCE Tools to quiet the chatter and find power in the moment WITH THE CURRENT CHAOTIC STATE OF THE WORLD, ONE topic getting attention is mindfulness and being present. But do we truly understand what cultivating presence means?

Sometimes, the best way to explain a subject is to discuss its opposite. It is not being out to dinner with friends (socially distanced), thinking about the webinar you are creating, rather than ignoring them, and missing the actual conversation. It is not doing yoga and wondering what the holidays will look like this year. It is not spending time with your children while checking the latest news on your phone between sentences.

One clear way to know if you are present? Interact with a horse. Horses are thousand pound biofeedback mechanisms that will reflect your presence, or lack thereof. As prey animals, horses need to be present and aware, always, or else they could be lunch. And they expect that presence from their herdmates and humans- it makes them feel safe.

Earlier this week, a horse “told” me I wasn’t present. I was showing an Equus coaching client how she could interact with Sparrow, a horse. I invited Sparrow, who was not on a leadline, to follow me as I walked. Initially, I heard the beautiful sound of Sparrow’s hooves in the sand, right behind me. Then it was silent.

I checked myself and realized that my focus had switched from the beautiful present moment to my worry about an upcoming business meeting. Sparrow was saying, in horse language, “You left, and I am no longer following you, because you aren’t here.”

Sparrow was reminding me to stop listening to the ever-present, mindless chatter that can devour the present moment. Usually, like in the above case, that voice is a worrisome critic, telling us what we’ve done wrong and what will go wrong. Imagine, I was listening to my inner worries rather than being with Sparrow!

How often do we get stuck in our heads, hijacked by worries about our futures, jobs, finances, COVID, and other topics?

“Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh Wouldn’t you love to live a life in which you no longer let your fears or worries take control of your thoughts?

So, what is being present, and what is the big deal about it? Being present is acknowledging the current moment and all its nuances. Right now, I am typing. I hear a crow squawking and an airplane flying overhead. I feel a slight breeze coming in through my window. I see my computer and a very messy desk. My brain is focused on thoughts regarding how to be present. I am truly present.

Traveling or being in a new environment is another great way of being present. With COVID, we can’t fly to Europe and practice mindfulness under the Eiffel Tower, but we can still drive our car to a pretty spot and take in the beauty around us. Roll down the window. What scents does the air carry? What do you see? A beach scene, the mountains, maybe just a parking lot where you can watch the trees move in the breeze. There, you have found a space of mindfulness.

Practice not worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Those are the two things we will never change. In Eckhart Tolle’s bestselling book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, he writes: “If your mind carries a heavy burden of the past, you will experience more of the same. The past perpetuates itself through a lack of presence. The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future.”

PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Nina Clark Ericson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with a practice in Palo Alto. Dr. Clark Ericson helps people live more empowered, happier lives through psychotherapy, life coaching, dating coaching, and Equus Coaching (coaching with horses, not riding). Her areas of expertise include anxiety and depression, difficult life transitions, and emotional eating.

Haute HauteAMBASSADOR AMBASSADOR

PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

BY NINA ERICSON

WHY DOES BEING PRESENT MATTER? In December 2019, researchers at Brown University found that being mindful, or present, is associated with lowered blood pressure, improved gastrointestinal functioning, sharper thinking, and better sleep. Mindfulness is also linked to decreased anxiety and depression. UC Berkeley researcher Matthew Killingsworth, Ph.D., found that people are significantly less happy when their minds wander and when they are not present. This is true even when the content of the person’s thoughts is neutral. Wow, that’s enough incentive for us to hone my mindfulness skills.

COMPLIMENTARY COACHING SESSIONS FOR HAUTE LIVING READERS Have a problem or issue that you’d like to discuss with Dr. Clark Ericson? Please send your question to nina@ninaclarkericson.com. If you’re chosen, Nina will contact you for a complimentary and confidential coaching session.

PRACTICE THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO INCREASE YOUR MINDFULNESS If you can devote 10 minutes a day to this practice, you will see a remarkable shift in your attitude in as little as 10 days: 1. Stop what you are doing and be still.

2. Tell the nonstop commentator in your head to take a break. You are going to focus on the present moment right now. For the rest of this exercise, if that chatter returns, let the thoughts glide out of your awareness, like a leaf flowing by in a stream. Don’t judge the thoughts or yourself for having them.

3. Take in a few deep breaths. Pay attention to your inhale, following your breath as it fills your lungs. Now exhale and again observe how you feel as the breath leaves your body.

4. Notice what you see. Take in the colors, the shapes, the movements.

Watch for your mind making judgments. (In my earlier example, I noticed my messy desk but didn’t judge it. It’s just how I work.)

5. Now close your eyes (of course, only if safe to do so). Our sight can easily dominate our senses, so closing your eyes makes it easier to tune into your other senses.

• First, notice your feet on the ground. Are your feet on a cold, hard floor, a soft carpet, or the warm hard surface of the earth?

• What do you hear? Birds, the air conditioner, people talking, nothing?

Just be aware of the sounds in your environment. Don’t judge.

• What does your skin feel? If you are outside, is it warm, can you feel the sun? Or is it shady, perhaps with a slight breeze?

• What do you smell? The fresh scent of redwoods, or a bland smell from your neighborhood?

You can do this exercise anywhere. I find it easiest to do within a natural environment, surrounded by redwoods or enjoying an ocean view. But I practice being present everywhere—a traffic jam, waiting in a doctor’s office, and especially when horseback riding. Mindfulness is a skill: the more you practice it, the better able you will be able to be present at any moment.

The better you get at being mindful, the more you can use the calm feeling of being present to help you stay grounded during potentially stressful situations. The grande dame of wellness, Oprah Winfrey, says when you are mindful, “You are tuned in to the present moment instead of the jumble of thoughts in your head. You gain clarity. You stop giving power to your past.

You know that, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, you will be okay.” That sounds good to me.

113

California Lifestyle Collection Stunning Golden Gate Bridge Views

4 Beds | 5 Baths | 3,303± sq. ft. | 7,819± sq. ft. lot Gorgeous views from every room! Prime location for views and privacy, this two-level home features vaulted ceilings in the spacious living room, walls of windows and doors looking out to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco and Sausalito, with sliding glass doors opening onto spacious view decks, a private patio/garden with water feature and stone benches. All perfect for entertaining and indoor/outdoor living.

Belvedere, California

$4,150,000

The home’s upper level has generous living spaces, formal living and dining rooms, kitchen opening to family room, two bedrooms and two full baths. The lower level features the master suite with his/hers bathrooms and closets and a fourth bedroom (currently being used as an office) with full bath.

For more detailed information, please visit: 29Eucalyptus.com

Olivia Hsu Decker | SanFranciscoFineHomes.com Cell: 415.720.5915 | Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

California Lifestyle Collection Stunning Golden Gate Bridge Views

Olivia Hsu Decker | SanFranciscoFineHomes.com Cell: 415.720.5915 | Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

Belvedere, California

California Lifestyle Collection Magnificent San Francisco Masterpiece

7 Beds | 8 Baths | 3 Half Baths | 16,000Âą sq. ft.

This stunning Italianate mansion enjoys views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz Island, Marin Headlands, Fort Mason, Russian Hill, Coit Tower, City and the East Bay hills. Exquisite architectural detailing is found throughout, with seven en-suite bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and three half bathrooms, formal living room, formal dining room, reception hall, grand foyer, mezzanine, library, seven fireplaces, eat-in kitchen, media room, family room, wine room, au-pair quarters with kitchen, gym, five marble terraces, six cast bronze balconies, garden with irrigation, gated driveway with parking plus four car garage, elevator, security system with cameras, two laundry facilities, and is wired for Wi-Fi, automatic drapery, and Lutron lighting throughout. Close to Union Street

Offered–atOr $21,000,000 $21,000,000 Best Offer shopping district, prestigious schools, transportation and easy access to the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco.

This immaculate Italianate villa of approximately 16,000 square feet has been completely renovated using the finest materials and craftsmanship to create the ultimate modern amenities and luxury living, and still retains the elegance and beauty of the classic era. It was the San Francisco Decorator Showcase in 2008.

For more detailed information, please visit: SanFranciscoShowcase2008.com

Olivia Hsu Decker | SanFranciscoFineHomes.com

Cell: 415.720.5915 | Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

Golden Gate Bridge View Estate

Tiburon, California

$6,488,000

4± Beds | 4 Baths | 1 Half-Bath | 4,800± sq. ft.

Beautiful 4,800± square foot high quality home on approximately

spacious grand gourmet kitchen, and high ceilings. Located on one

half acre level land with panoramic views of San Francisco, Golden

of the best streets in Tiburon, this immaculate home was remodeled

Gate Bridge, Belvedere Lagoon and Island, Sausalito and Richardson

in 2015 with high quality designer touches throughout, such as 9-foot

Bay. Spacious gated courtyard entry with ample parking and

solid wood interior doors, crown molding, 8-inch baseboards, hand

gorgeous landscaping throughout the property, including matured

painted Italian plaster walls, ceilings and window/door trims, coffer

olive trees, cypress trees, colorful flower beds and a level lawn. 4+

ceilings, special fine stucco and more.

bedrooms. 4.5 bath, living room with stone fireplace, formal dining

For more detailed information, please visit:

room with view terrace, large family room with book-case, office or

11Acela.com

5th bedroom, wine cellar, 3-car garage, luxurious master bath,

Olivia Hsu Decker

SanFranciscoFineHomes.com

Direct Line 415.720.5915

Olivia @ SanFranciscoFineHomes.com

|

Lic.# 00712080

California Lifestyle Collection Napa Vineyard EstateEstate NapaValley Valley Vineyard

Napa, California

$4,195,000

5 Beds | 6 Baths | ±5,653 sq. ft. | ±9.46 Acres A Nantucket inspired vineyard estate situated between Saint Helena and Calistoga, this charming residence on ±9.46 acres features a gated entrance with tree lined drive, appx. 5,653 sq. ft. main residence offers 4 en-suite bedrooms, spacious living/dining room, generous gourmet kitchen, plus a separate charming apartment with 1 bedroom, 1 bath and kitchen, a wine cellar adjacent to wine bar, billiard room, a pool and a stone pool house which currently serves as a guest house with bedroom, full-bath and kitchenette. Appx. 1.3 acre fully managed vineyard produces

around 3 tons of Zinfandel grapes and is farmed by the professionals from Alpha Omega Winery. The level lawn and many patios offer ample outdoor entertainment venues, and the convenient Silverado Trail location offers easy access to downtown St. Helena, Calistoga and the beautiful lifestyle of Napa Valley.

For more detailed information, please visit: CalistogaEstate.com

Olivia Hsu Decker | NapaValleyFineHomes.com

Cell: 415.720.5915 | Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

California Lifestyle Collection St. Helena Reserve — Napa Valley 2 Estate Homes + 5 Lots | 605± Acres | Vineyard Potential St. Helena Reserve

Napa Valley

St. Helena Reserve, Napa Valley 2 Estate Homes + 5 Lots | 605± Acres | Vineyard Potential | Entire Project $21,500,000 Extremely rare opportunity to purchase the entire St. Helena Reserve, consisting of 2 magnificent homes and 5 extra parcels for total of 605.65± acres with 173± acres potentially plantable for vineyards, subject to approval. Luxuriate in the world-renowned indoor-outdoor Napa Valley lifestyle in the two newly constructed fabulous private gated ridge-top estate size homes, plus build a family compound or vineyards in the extra 5 parcels, with majestic panoramic views of vineyards, lush greeneries and Lake Hennessey. One estate has 7,400± sq. ft. contemporary style 6 bedroom, 6.5 baths home on

67.4± acres, boasting grand spaces in all the rooms. Entertainer’s dream kitchen opening to a broad lawn and infinity edge pool, spa, bocce ball court, grand living/dining room with 18-foot high ceilings, family room with fireplace, home theater/media room and a separate guest quarters. Second estate of 6,350± sq ft. on 69.4± acres with 6 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, pool, spa, bocce court. All within 15–20 minutes to the convenience of Rutherford, Yountville and St. Helena’s shops, gourmet restaurants and two world class resorts at Auberge du Soleil and Meadowood.

For more information, please visit www.StHelenaReserve.com Olivia Hsu Decker SanFranciscoFineHomes.com Cell: 415.720.5915 Olivia @ SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080 Olivia Hsu Decker | SanFranciscoFineHomes.com

Direct Line 415.720.5915 | Olivia @ SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

California Lifestyle Collection

Waterfront Living at its Finest with City and Bridge Views 35Bellevue.com $8,396,000

Belvedere Home with Stunning Golden Gate Bridge Views 29Eucalyptus.com $4,150,000

Silicon Valley 52± acre Estate Overlooking Valley and Bay AztecEstateLosGatos.com $15,950,000

Tiburon home with Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito Views 11Acela.com $6,488,000

Napa Valley 9.5± acre Vineyard Estate with Pool & Pool House CalistogaEstate.com $4,195,000

Majestic San Francisco Mansion with Bridge and Bay Views SanFranciscoShowcase2008.com $21,000,000

San Rafael 2± acre Estate with Pool and Tennis Court 75Margarita.com $5,995,000

St. Helena Reserve 2 Spacious Homes + 5 lots on 605± acres Prices and details on website: StHelenaReserve.com

Olivia Hsu Decker | SanFranciscoFineHomes.com Cell: 415.720.5915 | Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com | Lic.# 00712080

ICONIC ROCKY POINT RESTAURANT CARMEL, CALIFORNIA Rocky Point Restaurant is located 10 miles south of Carmel, fifteen-minutes scenic drive down Highway 1, between Carmel and Big Sur. A perfect place to enjoy the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the iconic Bixby Bridge in Big Sur as you sit perched cliff-side on the spacious open deck overlooking the ocean or inside through panoramic windows by the cozy fireplace and catch a glimpse of playful sea-otters, dolphins, seals, and many whales as they migrate up the coast. Opened in 1947 as a roadside lunch restaurant, Rocky Point became a must-stop vista point on California Coast for decades. In December 2012, the restaurant went through renovation of the entire building down to the foundation and reopened in March 2013. Locals and tourists from all over the world are impressed by its spectacular views and amazing ambiance. The property sits on approximately 2 acres land above Ocean on a gentle hill. This one-of-akind world class view property can be yours to create your own restaurant/club lounge or convert to a residence if approval can be obtained. Liquor license is included in the sale price. For details, please contact Olivia Hsu Decker at olivia.HsuDecker@SothebysRealty.com.

Offered at $10,000,000.

OLIVIA HSU DECKER Text 415.720.5915 Email: Olivia.HsuDecker@SothebysRealty.com www.SanFranciscoFineHomes.com DRE #00712080

WINE COUNTRY REGION NAPA

MARIN COUNTY REGION

NOVATO

EAST BAY REGION

SAN RAFAEL ROSS VALLEY STINSON BEACH

GREENBRAE MILL VALLEY BELVEDERE - TIBURON

OAKLAND - MONTCLAIR

Serving San Francisco Bay Area with 27 offices in 6 counties with over 530 agents, and gross sales of $5.2 billion in 2019, we are proud to be the #3 affiliate for sales volume in the entire Sotheby’s International Realty network worldwide.

With the spirit of our Sotheby’s brand established in 1744, we have weathered the real estate storms for nearly 30 years and thrived. We are staying safe and strong to serve your real estate needs.

Cell: 415.720.5915 Direct: 415.435.1600 Olivia@SanFranciscoFineHomes.com Lic. #00712080

LAFAYETTE

BERKELEY

SAUSALITO

Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty

Olivia Hsu Decker, Co-Owner

NORTH BERKELEY

DANVILLE

SAN FRANCISCO

BURLINGAME

PENINSULA REGION

SAN CARLOS REDWOOD CITY

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