Wine Country Living: There's an App for That

Actually there are several and many more in the making. Just a few weeks ago, a group of application developers (designers?) spent an afternoon in the cellar at Martin Estate honing the design for their own pending luxury Napa Valley winery application. But, the app I want to talk about is for the Decanting Napa Valley Cookbook, which just hit shelves and Amazon.com this month. A collaboration between the wineries and top chefs of Napa Valley, the book tells the story of dozens of small Napa Valley producers, and then pairs their top wines with exclusive recipes from the likes of Cindy Pawlcyn, Michael Chiarello, and Thomas Keller. Michelle Higgins, an incredible graphic designer and the publisher of the Decanting Wine Country Series, is the woman behind this beautiful, hardcover coffee table book, a book that will spend more time open on the kitchen counter than it will collecting dust on the sofa end table. 

I had the honor of penning a piece on the evolution of wine writing for the book. You'll have to pick up the actual cookbook to read it, however, as it - along with several amazing essays penned by some of the Napa Valley's most prominent and historic wine voices - is not featured on the application. But, for those who want amazing recipes and wine pairings safely tucked into their iphones - within scrolling distance - visit itunes.com, type in Napa, then find and download the Decanting Napa Valley app. 

It's the first day of sunshine in weeks here in the valley and another storm is moments away, so I'm off to enjoy all the beauty the rain has brought - the green ground, the chest high mustard flowers - while I can.