President’s Letter

Dear Members,

We are pleased to be able to welcome two new board members, Bob Pecota, who gave such excellent help to the Varietal Seminar last year and said he’d emcee again this year, and Gary Jaffe, who is eager to assist with long-range planning and support. We also are glad to have Fiona Sutherland join us this year as our fifth Lamborn Scholar.

In May, we finally were able to hold a long-awaited publication party for the second edition of Napa Wine authored by Charles Sullivan and published by the Wine Appreciation Guild in cooperation with the NVWLA. Larkmead Vineyards was a great venue and we want to thank Kate and Cam Baker for a really nice event and Julie Dickson and Jane Burger for helping to put (and keep) it together.

Twelve audiotapes in the Heintz Collection have now been transcribed. After a careful editing by St. Helena Public Library Reference Librarian, Bobbie Vierra and Archivist, Chris Krieden, the transcripts were given to Wine Library board members to review. The transcripts included interviews with Fred Abruzzini, Harmon Brown, Jack Davies, Nathan Fay, Gil Nickel, Joe Heitz, Louis Klubescheidt, John Komes and Julia Komes-Garvey, Hanns Kornell, Jack Lyman, Bob Mondavi and Warren Winiarski. Board members called on colleagues for help as they corroborated proper names and provided missing or misunderstood words. Everyone enjoyed the project and bound copies of the transcripts should be ready to read in August.

Please note that this year’s Annual Tasting, featuring white wines, is later in August than usual, owing to scheduling demands. Chaired by Bob Long, the Tasting will again be organized by appellation, and Charles Sullivan will be on hand to sign copies of Napa Wine. Note also that in an effort to acquaint the membership with the many excellent facilities for wine education in Napa Valley, the Varietal Seminar preceding the Tasting is at CIA-Greystone in St. Helena, with Carolyn Martini coordinating the Seminar.

Since May of 2007, magnums of Barney’s Backyard Library Cuvée made for us by Turley Wine Cellars have been donated to:

• Acorn Soupe
• Blue Oak School
• Calistoga Educational Foundation
• Federated Women of Upper Napa Valley
• Montessori Family Center
• Napa Valley 4-H
• Napa Valley College Foundation
• Napa Valley Education Foundation
• Napa Valley Grapegrowers
• Napa Valley Museum
• Oxbow School
• River School of Napa
• St. Helena Catholic School
• St. Helena Cooperative Nursery School
• St. Helena Fire Department
• St. Helena Future Farmers of America
• St. Helena Historical Society
• St. Helena Kiwanis
• St. Helena Montessori School
• St. Helena Public Library
• St. Helena Public Schools
• St. Helena Rotary
• Soroptomist International of Calistoga
• Young School

We are always happy to welcome new members to this list of recipients.

In closing we wish to note the recent deaths of Jamie Davies, Bob Mondavi, Peter Newton, and Barney Rhodes. Barney, an avid wine connoisseur and grower, was the first president of the Napa Valley Wine Library Association and, until his death, a member of the board. (An In Memoriam follows elsewhere in this REPORT.) Newton Vineyards, Robert Mondavi Winery and Schramsberg Vineyards have all taken part in our Annual Tasting and seminars. We wish to thank the families and institutions associated with these members for the many generous contributions to this organization of their time, energy and financial support on behalf of the programs and collections of the

Kevin Alfaro, President