It's completely befitting that the wine bible should have their west coast affiliate situated in Napa wine country, is it not?
And the fact that it is housed here, in this stately & majestic mansion in Napa, is equally befitting.
I'm not sure what I expected to find, but, knowing that WS is headquartered in New York, I wanted to check this branch out.
As soon as I got to the door, I saw the note that says they are not open to the public.
Well, I knew that already...
Just before I turned around to leave, someone came to the door & opened it.
I did not ring the buzzer, I swear.
Janine was uber gracious & warm. She didn't seem the least bit annoyed that I wasn't a rep, or here on official business.
We (my boyfriend walked me to the door) explained that we were in the area (totally true), & that I just wanted to see what goes on here.
Janine explained that WS is headquartered in New York, & that they moved in here in 2006, after the mansion renovations were completed in 2005.
She then went on to explain the various regions/wineries that this office reviews; most of which I don't remember because there are too many to list, & quite frankly I was kind of amazed that she was still talking to me in the first place.
THEN she asked us if we had seen the most recent issue...& gave us one to take home, along w the new issue that had yet to be released. The cherry on top? She put them inside of a WS tote bag.
Lastly, she actually apologized that she couldn't let us in & give us a tour. When we should have been the ones apologizing to her for taking up her time.
So how does a private office that is not open to the public get 5 stars on Yelp?
Janine. That's how.
And, it is the wine bible, after all.
5 stars. read more