Meet Rob McMillan, EVP and Founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, based in St. Helena, Napa Valley Part Two.
Napa Valley Inside Out
On this episode of Napa Valley Inside Out, I’m back for Part Two of my interview with Rob McMillan, EVP and Founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, based in St. Helena, Napa Valley. His Division is regarded as the leading provider of financial services to the US Fine Wine Business. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Annual State of the Wine Industry Report”. We talk about the threats and solutions to the long term continued success of Napa’s wine industry – finding ways to market wine to both baby boomers and younger people, and the necessity to...
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Meet Rob McMillan, EVP and Founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, based in St. Helena, Napa Valley
Napa Valley Inside Out
Meet Rob McMillan, EVP and Founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, based in St. Helena, Napa Valley. His Division is regarded as the leading provider of financial services to the US Fine Wine Business. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Annual State of the Wine Industry Report”, and on this episode of “Napa Valley Inside Out” we talk about how baby boomers, millennials, cannabis and much more, play into his 2019 forecast for the wine business. This surprising conversation begins by noting a decrease in the volume of wine sales for the first time since 1993, and...
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Meet Sonia Tolbert, Chief Operating Officer of Festival Napa Valley
Napa Valley Inside Out
On this week’s episode of Napa Valley Inside Out, I sit down with Sonia Tolbert, Chief Operating Officer of Festival Napa Valley, one of the country’s premier summer destination Festivals, and one of the largest cultural institutions in Napa Valley. Sonia tells us about the extraordinary Board of Directors and sponsors that have greatly contributed to the Festival becoming the largest private funder of arts education in Napa Valley. We share our memories of some of the many highlights from the Festival's previous years, including: Carlo Ponte’s orchestral tribute to his mother...
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Meet Mark Harmon, Founder of Auberge Resorts Collection
Napa Valley Inside Out
Meet Mark Harmon, Founder of Auberge Resorts Collection which has resorts in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, the West Indies, Nicaragua, Greece and Napa Valley. His father, Bob Harmon, and his partner Claude Rouas were the Founders of the world famous Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford, Napa Valley, which started out as a restaurant in 1981. Mark shares the history of how that partnership evolved and how their highly successful restaurant led to the food scene that Napa Valley is famous for today. We hear about his family’s long and illustrious history in hospitality in Napa Valley. Mark tells us...
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Meet Greg Flynn, Owner of Carneros Resort & Spa & Solage
Napa Valley Inside Out
If you want to hear about all the changes at Solage in Calistoga & Carneros Resort & Spa in Napa, tune into this week’s ‘Napa Valley Inside Out” as Greg Flynn, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Flynn Properties & Flynn Restaurant Group gives us an update on all the new exciting changes at these two luxury resorts in Napa Valley. To say that Greg Flynn is a success would be an understatement. He has 3 university degrees, a restaurant group that is the largest franchise operator in the US with 40,000 employees in 30 states and $1.9B in sales, and ownership in 4 resorts in Napa...
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Meet Jean-Noel Fourmeaux, Owner of VGS Chateau Potelle
Napa Valley Inside Out
If you’re thinking about getting into the wine business be sure to watch this week’s “Napa Valley Inside Out” with Jean-Noel Fourmeaux, Founder and Owner of VGS Chateau Potelle. He was sent to Napa Valley in 1980 by the French Government to be a ‘spy’ for 6 months, following the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting, also known as the “Judgement of Paris” - a landmark event that put the California wine industry and Napa Valley on the map. He was attracted to the spirit of innovation in Napa Valley and decided to stay. Jean-Noel shares his experiences in the wine business, his challenges...
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Meet Joel Dickerson, Founder of Madrone Engineering in St. Helena
Napa Valley Inside Out
Before you build on property in the Napa Valley, particularly off the valley floor, you need to watch this week's "Napa Valley Inside Out" with my guest Joel Dickerson of Madrone Engineering. Joel is a Civil Engineer and we talk about his experiences with helping home owners in the aftermath of the October Wild Fires, Napa County’s building rules and regulations, residential permitting challenges, county zoning, the difference between standard and engineered septic systems, the many setbacks from wells, septic systems, creeks and pools to name a few. We talk about the challenges with...
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Meet Scott Goldie, Co-owner of The Napa Valley Wine Train
Napa Valley Inside Out
This week's "Napa Valley Inside Out" guest is Scott Goldie, co-owner of The Napa Valley Wine Train. Scott has over 30 years experience in real estate development and investment business experience. He and his partner Greg Brun and Noble House Hotels purchased the Napa Valley Wine Train and the 17 pieces of real estate that came with it in 2015. We talk about the partnerships they have with businesses in the community that have contributed to their success, their plans for a new hotel, restoring the historic Rutherford Train Station, all the fabulous tours you can take on the train, the Rail...
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Meet Emma Steele, Senior Marketing Manager at the Napa Valley Film Festival
Napa Valley Inside Out
Filmmakers and celebrities alike flock to the annual Napa Valley Film Festival, a celebration of film, food and wine, happening November 7- 11, 2018. Senior Marketing Manager Emma Steele joins me on "Napa Valley Inside Out" to talk about the Festival, which celebrities will be in attendance, a summary of some of the movies, current trends in the industry and how technology has changed the landscape. We talk about how they choose the 100 movies that will be shown during the Festival, the opportunities to meet the 300 filmmakers that will be in attendance and all the fabulous wine and food...
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Meet Robin Daniel Lail, Founder and Owner of Lail Vineyards - Part 2
Napa Valley Inside Out
Robin Daniel Lail, Grande Dame of Napa Valley, returns to “Napa Valley Inside Out” for Part 2 of our interview. We dive into the sale of her family’s winery ‘Inglenook’, where she grew up which is now owned by Francis Ford Coppola, her extraordinary journey in the wine business from working with Robert Mondavi and Bill Harlan to starting her own label “Lail Vineyards’ at the age of 55. Robin shares with us the challenges of starting and owning a wine label and what it takes to be successful in the wine business.
info_outlineBonnie Storm and Nena Talcott, founders of Grove 45, join me for this edition of Napa Valley Inside Out to talk all things olive oil, from best practices for pruning the olive trees and necessity of healthy soil to their special aluminum packaging which protects the olive oil flavor. Nena and Bonnie share the three worst enemies to fresh olive oil and how they’ve developed their brand to gain national recognition.