Arrow&Branch Investor Weekend Comes To A Close!

It was hard to believe that our time at Arrow&Branch Winery was coming to a close, but after two long days and nights filled with all manner of wines, conversations and culinary delights, Sunday, June 30th marked the end of the A&B investor Retreat of 2024.

As you’ll recall from my last few posts about this series of events, our Investor Retreat Weekend began on Friday night, June 28th, with a Welcome Reception at the Arrow@Branch Estate and Vineyard, aka the Contursi family home. Before our dinner at The French Laundry, we joined our hosts and around four dozen other invited guests for wine and canapés on the back deck. Now, less than 48 hours later, we found ourselves approaching the house once more for what was billed as a “sendoff brunch.” A chance to reminisce about this memorable series of experiences.

This time around, the festivities were being held in the lovely backyard of the property. When we first entered the home, we headed straight in that direction but on our way happened upon Steve Contursi. In the time since we arrived in Napa for this trip, he and I had not really had a proper chance to connect. That was not surprising, as I can only imagine how hectic and nerve-wracking it was to be one of the folks planning and executing three days' worth of fairly elaborate gatherings and celebrations of this sort for around 50 assorted people."

I took this opportunity to see how he was enjoying himself, and to thank him for the lovely time Dio and I’d been having as we toured the new facilities and sampled their latest offerings. We caught up for a few minutes before things really kicked off, and he was kind enough to join me in a snapshot for the blog. This was taken on the back porch of his lovely home.

WE ENTER THE EVENT

Once we made it to the backyard, we realized that this was to be a much more intimate affair than the Opening Reception, as it seemed approximately half of the group who’d been on hand for that initial gathering had already left by this point — perhaps to return home to parts unknown.

It was pretty hot that day in the valley, but they had just gotten some wines chilled to a proper temperature, so of course we had some. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time I’d had a chance to try the A&B Rosé of Cab Franc. Here’s some pictures of that!

We sought shelter from the sun under a large umbrella, and eventually some of the other investors joined us for their pour. That was cool, because it gave us a chance to meet and chat a bit with some of the folks we had not yet had a chance to get to know at either of the previous A&B functions over the prior couple of days.

Again, an unusual mix of interesting people were on hand. After a while, I headed around the corner to the food preparation area, and who should I run into but Michael Ploetz’s wife, Mariesa. She was helping with the brunch, which was a nice surprise.

What the Contursis had done was hire a respected local pizza chef to set up a station and make homemade pizza for everyone, right on site. The chef had also prepared wonderful pasta as well as a special gluten-free crust just for Dio (which was both kind and most appreciated). Here are some images of the pizza and pasta setup they had going, as well as a shot of the chef himself:

After we grabbed some food, we retired to a gorgeous canopy to once more shield ourselves from the warm California sun (I’m pretty sure there’s a song in there somewhere). There we were able to get to know Steve and his wife Seanne much better as we were all able to casually hang out and enjoy a lovely meal together.

TIME TO BID FAREWELL

We continued to meet and chat with other investors, but around this time things started to feel as though they were beginning to wind down. People began to slowly filter out as they headed off to the airport to catch flights or simply to begin their drives back to their respective homes. It seemed like a good time to take our leave as well, because we had to get downtown to meet up with our friends Rami and Keiko for our final tasting of the trip (which you can read about here.)

We bid our hosts and fellow guests goodbye and left, feeling as though we had taken part in one of the most special and unique experiences to date on our journeys into the world of Napa wine.

It was a whirlwind of activities: seeing the new winery, the crush facility and the hospitality area; getting to know the Contursi family on a deeper level than we had before; and meeting fellow investors from a wide variety of backgrounds. We wound up trading contact info with a number of those folks, and in the days and weeks since, we’ve found ourselves staying in touch a bit and at times commenting on each other’s CellarTracker notes.

Plus, as of writing this blog post, I have already been back to Napa and visited and had a tasting at Palisades Canyon Wines, where I had some of the finest wine I’ve had in a great while. Thanks to “Geaux Tigers” for that recommendation!

TAKING STOCK

All of which brings me back to the very real sense I have that this particular trip to Napa may stand as a turning point of sorts for Dio and I in terms of our relationship with that area in particular and to the wine industry in general.

As I noted in an earlier post, some of the people we met who are involved financially with the Contursi family’s grand expansion of their winemaking venture did so because they view it as a reasonable investment. A risk worth taking, based on the family’s long standing reputation as rare coin dealers and wine producers. We certainly took part because we felt it was a wise investment as well.

However, we also did so because of our abiding and sincere interest in wine.

I love wine. The history of it, the art of producing it, and the time-honored ceremonies and idiosyncrasies associated with trying, evaluating, savoring and collecting it. That should surprise no one, as I started a blog all about it! For Dio and I, the entire world of wine and winemakers is fascinating ― and we’re thrilled to continually learn more and more about that world, all while enjoying the fruits of our studies.

But after this trip, I can’t help but feel that we are now much more connected to that world than ever before. We’ve taken the plunge and put some money where our mouth is, pitching in alongside many others to bankroll a major step forward in Arrow&Branch Winery’s ability to create, market and distribute some truly wonderful offerings. Dio and I now have some “skin in the game,” as they say. And I suppose that means we’re taking all of this much more seriously than the average enthusiast or hobbyist.

I have a strong feeling that years from now, when we look back at the creative, talented and passionate people we met and the moments we shared over the course of this Investor Retreat, they will stand as our first serious glimpse of the magic behind the Napa wine business. It’s endlessly fascinating.

Just in case I don’t say it enough: thanks for reading my blog. It means a great deal to be able to document and share my continuing dive into this world, and to share it with friends and strangers ― just as I would a bottle of fine wine.

Until next time…