November 26, 2024 • 39 mins
In episode twenty-five of the Napa Valley Insider Podcast, Andrew sits down with Lindsay Hoopes, owner and CEO of Hoopes Vineyard, to discuss her inspiring journey from Napa Valley roots to leading a family-owned winery with a focus on sustainability and community impact. A passionate advocate for regenerative farming and small businesses, Lindsay shares her vision for a more inclusive and vibrant Napa Valley.
Episode Highlights:
- Napa’s Evolution Through Lindsay’s Eyes: Hear Lindsay’s firsthand account of growing up in Napa, from her father’s early days in the wine industry to the region’s transformation into an internationally acclaimed destination.
- Innovating with Purpose: Lindsay discusses her work at Hoopes Vineyard, including regenerative farming practices, animal rescues, and community-driven projects like the Yountville Snack Shack.
- Tackling Napa’s Challenges: From affordability concerns to an identity crisis, Lindsay offers candid insights on how Napa can align more closely with modern consumer trends.
- A Vision for Collaboration: Learn why Lindsay believes collaboration and visionary leadership are key to ensuring Napa’s continued success as a premier wine region.
This episode is brought to you by Cuvée, your go-to for exclusive Napa Valley experiences.
For behind-the-scenes content and updates, follow Napa Valley Insider Podcast & Cuvée on Instagram. Be sure to subscribe to the Napa Valley Insider Podcast for more stories from the people shaping the future of wine and hospitality in Napa Valley!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This is the Napa Valley Insider Podcast brought to you by Cuvée, the Napa Winery Guide in
(00:07):
partnership with Highway 29 Media.
All right, all right, all right.
Welcome back to another episode of Napa Valley Insider.
I am Andrew Allison.
I am CEO of Cuvée, a Napa Winery Guide app.
I work on the Napa Valley Insider Podcast with collaboration from Highway 29 Media.
We make this podcast in support of them.
(00:29):
Today I have a guest I have known for a few years.
I'm so excited to have a chance to sit down and have a conversation with.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Lindsay Hoops.
I am the owner, CEO, alpha dog of Hoops Vineyard.
And I'm a mom of two, soon to be four.
(00:54):
And I am a law professor at UC Law.
So I'm a recovering lawyer.
I've been on every side of the bar.
I have seen you in so many different hats.
I'm just in awe of all the things that you're doing.
But most recently you won the opportunity to put a farm stand that I want to ask about
(01:19):
before the end of this podcast over at the New Yonville Community Center.
So we'll get to that.
But can you just share your story?
How did your family come to Napa Valley?
And what is the origin of that?
My family moved to Napa and actually Yonville specifically in 1981.
So we've been here for quite some time.
(01:41):
When we first moved to Yonville, there were about 81 people.
Most of the development that you see here today did not exist.
We did not have any restaurants.
We did not have the culinary reputation that we have.
We did not even have housing.
So I've pretty much seen the entire development of Yonville throughout my life cycle.
(02:04):
I grew up on Yonville Road.
So just literally right behind the Yonville Hill.
That was my childhood.
And when?
It was your father.
Is that correct?
It was your father that was the first member of your family that got into the Napa wine
(02:24):
industry?
Yeah, we've been wine in the wine industry or wine adjacent since 1981.
So my father retired from the military.
He moved up to Napa.
And the reason that he moved to Yonville was because he heard about the veterans home and
he was in the military at the Presidio.
So not the typical draw, but that was just a town that he knew.
(02:49):
And so we bought a property.
And at that time, Yonville was considered the other side of the tracks.
Everyone wanted to move to St. Helena or to Calistoga because they were much more of a
town feel.
And so we bought what we could.
Our neighbor was a single mother and she actually ended up selling us a lot of her land because
(03:10):
it was just too cumbersome to take care of.
And so my father said, okay, now that I have all this land, what do I do?
And although today I think everybody thinks of Napa as having sort of the great reputation
for growing grapes and making wine, in the early 1980s, the trajectory into the wine
industry and sort of that focus was actually much further away than we think.
(03:37):
So it wasn't the obvious agricultural crop.
At the time you had prunes and citrus and quite a few other things.
Most people actually, even in Oakville and Yonville, if they were planting grapes, they
were planting Chardonnay.
So my father kind of went up and down the street, made good friends with the Polissa
family.
They've been here for five generations, the Hoxie family.
(03:59):
And they basically said, oh, we think grapes are the next big thing.
And so my dad said, well, why not?
We planted a Cabernet vineyard.
It turned out to be the right thing.
It turned out to be the right thing in Oakville.
So we sort of, you know, from the other side of the tracks, we ended up having our home
in Yonville and our vineyards in Oakville.
So kind of in the two most amazing places in Napa Valley.
(04:20):
That is such a cool, cool origin story.
How did you get into law and when did that happen?
Well, I spent most of my youth trying to get out of Napa.
I felt like it was very sleepy agricultural town and I didn't necessarily, you know, I
(04:40):
had big aspirations.
I'd go to San Francisco.
I'd see cities and I said, oh, you know, I want to be I want to be more than just, you
know, in agriculture.
I felt like why would you go to college and come back?
And my dad wasn't in the wine business and the wine business and industry wasn't as famed,
if you will, you know, in internationally at that time.
(05:03):
And so I really wanted to explore.
I mean, I was a teenager.
I wanted to get out of, you know, out of Dodge.
Just felt small.
And so I spent many years thinking about how to get away.
I threw a very large party in high school, which my father didn't appreciate.
(05:26):
And so he ended up suggesting I go to boarding school and I went to boarding high school
and I felt like that was my ticket out.
And I went to boarding high school on the East Coast and over Massachusetts.
And then I stayed on the East Coast for college.
And at that time, my dad transitioned from growing grapes for other people into making
wine for himself.
(05:46):
My dad had some of the only Cabernet vineyards that survived the phylloxera outbreak.
And so they he became very well known for sort of helping the industry get through some
very tough agricultural incidents.
And so people wanted to start using his name on a single vineyard designate.
And at that point in time, he said, oh, well, you know, if somebody else thinks my name
(06:07):
is worth a darn putting on a bottle of wine, I might as well do it myself.
And you know, from afar, I said, well, that's a lot sexier.
You make wine now.
You don't just sort of help prop other people up.
Maybe I should come home and try to get a job.
And he said, why would I hire you?
You have no work experience and you spent your entire life trying to get out of Napa.
(06:28):
So, you know, I want you to know this is a lifestyle.
This is a very tough job.
Agriculture is extraordinarily difficult.
And you really need to want it and you need to understand what you're getting into.
This is not just, you know, fun, drink wine all day, hang out, which I think a lot of
people still think.
So anyway, you know, fast forward, I tried to get the job for many, many, many years.
(06:50):
I worked for some larger wineries and I just I wanted to work for our family.
I wanted to tell that story.
I remember planting the vineyard all the way to creating the label.
And so I wanted to tell that story.
And I couldn't do that if I was working for other people.
And so when my father continued to reject my job application, I decided to go to law
(07:13):
school and I, you know, I'd always wanted to be a spy growing up.
And I felt like I didn't get very far in my applications when I was at Georgetown.
I tried to do that.
And so I thought, OK, well, what's something else that feels a little bit like that law
in order, but it's something that I would be good at.
(07:35):
And so I ended up applying for law school and wanting to head into the D.A.
And I loved I mean, it was the perfect, perfect job for me.
I loved it.
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So interesting.
Before we go forward on what you're up to now, I just want to ask, how did your father
manage to keep the vineyard safe from phylloxera?
So we planted on a St. George's rootstock from the beginning, from the beginning.
(08:21):
And actually, at the time, a lot of people weren't planting on rootstock at all.
But my father decided he did want to plant on rootstock, but there was no AXR available.
So he would say now that it was because he was smart, but I actually think generally
it was a supply demand thing.
(08:42):
He felt like, let's go with something that's more affordable.
Yeah.
And when you kind of jump ahead back to what you're working on right now, how do you split
your time between being a professor and the actual vineyard property itself?
(09:04):
That's such a hard question because I feel like...
Does it ebb and flow?
I mean, it doesn't necessarily ebb and flow.
I teach one day a week, and certainly a lot of what I teach are legal fundamentals.
I teach first year students in law.
And so the content doesn't change year over year.
(09:27):
So luckily, a lot of it is very intuitive and it's much more about connecting with the
students and helping them find a way to learn this new language.
They're all very smart.
They're all very passionate about what they do.
But whenever you run your own business, and especially a farm, I mean, you work 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.
(09:47):
So I don't really get a ton of off time.
And one of the reasons that I built such a family-friendly winery is because I wanted
my kids to come to work with me and enjoy that because I knew that they would be spending
a lot of time with me on the farm.
And that's my memory too.
When I was growing up, I would go out and help my dad with the tractor and everyone
(10:09):
has a job when you grow up on a farm.
And so I wanted it to be fun.
The boys drive on the tractors, they hang out with the animals, they help us plant the
vegetable garden.
So it's a family, it's a lifestyle.
It's not a job.
And for those that are unfamiliar, your Hoops Family Vineyard is definitely unique.
(10:35):
How would you describe it?
Well, my vision was to bring Napa back to the early 1980s and the family-friendly, accessible
winery experience that I remember.
Would you describe that as rustic or?
I don't know.
I mean, certainly it was more rustic than let's say the luxury marble mausoleums that
(11:00):
you can see today.
I mean, I think there's a lot of both and there's a lot of room for both in the Napa
Valley.
And I think people's definitions of luxury have changed over the years.
So Napa has done an incredible job at establishing itself as an internationally acclaimed wine-producing
(11:21):
region and it's a very well-deserved reputation.
But I think the types of experiences and or sort of visitor viewpoint has changed over
the years.
And a lot of people really wanted that incredibly elite, hard to access experience and maybe
(11:41):
still do.
And then there are a lot of people who feel like luxury is something that is great quality,
but that they can bring their dog and their children to also come enjoy.
And I, selfishly, obviously having a young family wanted my kids to feel comfortable,
(12:02):
but I have a lot of friends in the same situation who said that they weren't coming to Napa
because they didn't feel like there were places for them the way that they wanted to travel.
And so we've opened up the vision of Napa, which really isn't, I don't think new, it's
just more of a throwback to the authentic Napa that I grew up in.
(12:26):
Could you describe for the listeners what you've built on the property?
Sure.
Yeah.
I mean, when I say authentic versus rustic, I think that there were and are still a lot
of family-owned properties.
We have a regenerative farm.
So we have an animal rescue sanctuary that is actually part of our farming operation.
(12:48):
So the animals are rescues mainly from the fires, but a lot of them have jobs producing
compost or going out and doing non-mechanical tilling in the vineyards, weed control.
We also have a very large farm, it's a year-round crop of different vegetables that we actually
(13:11):
use now to sell at the farmers market and farm stand that you mentioned earlier on in
the conversation.
And then we have our winery production facility and we have our vineyards.
So the idea behind showing everybody this diverse ecosystem was that we wanted to, you
know, create a place where flora and fauna are working together to create biodiversity.
(13:38):
A lot of vineyards have replaced the other crops that used to be in Napa.
And so that has caused increase in disease, that's caused some problems with monocropping.
And what we wanted to do was actually improve the health of our ecosystem, even albeit on
a small basis, by reintroducing biodiversity.
(14:01):
So we've done that through reintroducing the animals, reintroducing other crops, and helping
people visually.
And we don't do tours or educational seminars, but I think visually when people come to our
property they can see how all of those things work together to create a much healthier environment
than just a singular winery production facility.
(14:24):
When you describe the regenerative farming, I've seen some of the crop yield that you're
able to produce from other things besides grapes, but maybe it's a good time to ask
about the food stand or the farmer stand.
Can you describe for those that don't know, what entitlements did you win at the Yontville
(14:47):
Community Center and their baseball diamond?
What is that?
And what can folks expect to be able to purchase when they get there?
I'm so excited because we've had a farm stand at the property, but we're close to town,
but we obviously aren't on everybody's radar and we're not visible from the street.
(15:11):
We don't have a ton of foot traffic.
And so we partnered with the town to help accomplish a couple objectives.
One is to bring all of the produce that we have to town to provide healthy food options
for locals by way of a farmer's market.
A lot of the locals in town, believe it or not, don't drive.
And so even though there are farmer's markets in Napa or St. Lena, they don't have access
(15:34):
to a lot of fresh vegetables.
Makes sense.
So we had a lot at our place.
We wanted to make that available much more accessible to the locals.
But we have a year-round crop.
So right now we're selling squash, pumpkins, potatoes, herbs.
I don't think I've ever left your property without you stuffing my pockets full of whatever's
(15:56):
on harvest at the moment.
So I think you gave me a load of tomatoes last time, but it was something.
Yes.
Well, we have farm fresh eggs.
We have chard.
We have peppers.
So everything is always very seasonal, and we have a large three-acre area where we grow
(16:20):
all the crops.
So we have everything throughout the year.
Obviously summer is the most abundant.
But the idea really also was, I think, to recreate the community farmer's market that
used to be there about 10 years ago, before the community center was built.
And a lot of locals in town requested from the community center that we start figuring
(16:44):
out how to provide local perks or benefits to locals living here who felt like Yontville
had started converting to a place for weekenders, second and third homeowners, and or tourists.
They felt like those local amenities had been disappearing.
And so when the town bought Yontville Elementary School, there was now this large development
(17:07):
in space in the middle of town that the town, I think, very smartly wanted to keep occupied
while they find out and determine what the long-term plans are.
And so they've put a gym in there, or they're going to put a gym in there.
They've put a dog park in there recently, and they've also given you a new structure.
(17:27):
And so when does that officially open, and where is that on the property?
So the Little League stand or the Little League baseball diamond is still there, and there
is a commercial kitchen, which is a very elaborate commercial kitchen behind the stand that used
to serve as the concessionaire for the Little League.
(17:48):
And Little League has been, you know, sort of touch and go in Yontville just because
of the declining student population.
And so I don't know if Little League is going to survive or not necessarily, but the idea
is to create a snack stand for locals that will be a much more permanent farm stand.
(18:10):
So we were setting up temporary shop between April, and yesterday was actually our last
farm stand, seasonal farm stand.
And we'll be moving over to the new snack shack where we're going to make prepared foods
and also continue to sell the produce from the farm at that facility.
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(19:16):
And do you know what the schedule is going to be or when when that is on the calendar
that you'll be in that in a more permanent basis?
I know that the town is celebrating a big anniversary in February.
So for sure, we're going to be open by February to showcase the menu and kind of help people
get a feel for what it is.
But I imagine that it's going to be in its full abundance probably by early spring.
(19:41):
And so the idea is to run that as kind of like a nine to five or something, whatever
the hours end up being, but a more permanently open establishment?
Yeah, it's going to be, you know, probably more like 730 to four o'clock.
We're going to have coffees and, you know, produce, but also, you know, things that are
(20:01):
easy to grab and go.
Amazing.
Or eat there.
When and if Little League is playing, we will also have concessions for that.
And we're hoping to provide concessions for any events that are going on in the Yontville
parks.
So we're really excited to partner with the town to produce food for the locals from produce
(20:25):
that we grow right here in town.
And one of I think the cooler initiatives is that we definitely plan on bringing chefs
in from other parts of San Francisco or the Bay Area to come and do little pop ups, because
I think that that was another piece of feedback that, you know, we don't see a lot of different
kinds of food coming through Yontville.
(20:45):
And we want to be able to give people a touch of the Bay Area, you know, so that they don't
necessarily have to travel to go get it from a locals perspective.
But we're also really excited to partner with some of the student chefs at the schools,
the culinary schools and give them an opportunity to create menus.
So I'm excited to give them a sort of footprint to showcase their items.
(21:09):
So we're going to have a lot of fun with it.
We'll have a stand, you know, we'll have a sort of typical menu and then we'll have some fun events.
Do you know when the gym is supposed to open out there?
2025 before the end of 2024?
I wish I had more information.
I know that, you know, part of part of the issue with the school itself is I'm not sure
(21:30):
it had been updated for a minute and I don't know what kind of accommodations they have
to make for the gym.
But I mean, they have an operator and they have, you know, the plan for it.
So I know it's definitely underway.
Yeah, I think all of those things are going to complement each other.
I can easily see somebody wanting to stop in for something either pre or post a workout.
(21:51):
And so I think they all go together.
Smoothies, juice, like those are some of the things we don't have in town that a lot of
people want.
And we always have so much excess amazing greens and produce and, you know.
Yeah, staples, all the staples.
Absolutely.
When you think about your business at large, have you shared your case production or where
(22:16):
you were able to actually sell today?
Do you mostly sell by the bottle or do you sell nationally or are you distributed nationally?
How can folks find your wine?
Well, you know, luckily with the internet, everyone can buy the wine online.
But I think with every single winery, our direct to consumer channel is becoming so
(22:40):
much more important because although we are nationally distributed, you know, competing
as a small winery is increasingly difficult.
Do you mean mind share at the distributor level or?
Mind share at the distributor level.
Because of consolidation at the distributor level as well, a lot of the smaller producers
(23:01):
are actually just being turned away entirely.
I mean, even if we had distribution at some point, we are no longer, you know, a lot of
times when they get purchased by some of the larger entities like R&DC, they get rid of
a large portion of the book because they're combining portfolios and it's increasingly
(23:23):
impossible to get shelf space, mind share, you name it.
And then it's additionally difficult for us to promote the brand because we can't
compete with any of the large wineries from a marketing perspective or being in, you know,
being present in the market as much as some of our larger corporate competitors.
And I think that what we offer, you know, to be honest, is a very different, you know,
(23:50):
experience just in terms of the brand, right?
It's not necessarily physically being there, but we're small family owned.
We are still family owned.
We're still one of the smallest wineries in all of Napa.
We are, you know, family friendly.
We are all those things.
And for people who are looking for a very high quality wine, but also really care about
(24:12):
supporting small business and supporting a family that actually lives in Yonkville and
sort of supports the local economy, we provide that for people.
But we're not going to be everywhere.
And so a lot of times people have to come to us to get that.
And when you think about some of the major industry trends as a winery, what are some
(24:37):
of the things that you feel like are really going right today in the industry that do
compliment or make your job easier?
Well, I think the consumer is much more mindful about their purchasing decisions.
They really care who they're purchasing from much more so than I think they have been historically.
(25:01):
People are very interested in craft small producer movements across the board.
They like to support small business and purchasing local.
And so that, you know, our brand really does resonate with a lot of those consumer trends.
I think people want to have profits for a purpose.
So that's an important trend that our brand resonates with.
(25:24):
And I think one of the great things about Napa is there is a lot of family.
There are a lot of family owned wineries to the extent that, you know, they are not as
easy to find and they're not necessarily as prominent in the general marketplace, but
they do exist here.
So I hope that people start learning about, you know, looking beyond just the strip and
(25:48):
Highway 29 to come find some of the smaller gems.
Those are not just out in Sonoma.
Napa still has a lot of them and they're here.
Maybe they're harder to find, but you can get that experience here in Napa Valley.
When you think about some of the challenges, we've talked about discoverability, we've
(26:11):
talked about some of the rate limiting at the distribution level because it's hard to
get the mind share.
What is some of the challenges that you're experiencing in particular here in Napa Valley
and with running an establishment?
Well, I think, you know, the global trends are going to impact, you know, Napa in the
(26:34):
same way that they impact the wine industry across the board.
And so we have to be mindful of those.
And one of the big things is consumer trends away, quote, from alcohol.
I think where wine has an advantage that we have to focus on is making wine feel much
more like a food product and something that's on your table every day as part of dinner,
(26:56):
as a grocery item, as opposed to something that is, you know, alcohol for Bowton that
you, you know, you shouldn't be drinking or, you know, is part of a negative lifestyle.
In the French way, in the sense that it's a part of every meal and it is culturally
a part of every decision and the wine.
And I think that that's very possible with wine in ways that not with alcohol.
(27:19):
So I'm not sure that the trend away from, quote, alcohol is necessarily going to impact
or should impact wine the same way if we get together.
But I think one of the problems that, you know, that that Napa has specifically is we
don't have a lot of vision.
We're kind of having an identity crisis.
We don't have a lot of vision or leadership about where we're going in terms of how do
(27:44):
we more closely align with consumer trends.
And I think, you know, a lot of people feel that Napa is very expensive.
Napa is elitist.
Napa is not family friendly.
Napa is not, you know, Napa is turning into this corporate, very out of touch area.
And I know that we can reverse that trend because I know that we have a lot of lot to
(28:08):
offer that is the opposite of that.
But I think that we do lack a lot of vision as to how to get there.
And we have been hearing the data for years and years and years from Silicon Valley Bank.
But our government and a lot of the politics in Napa are not seemingly very aligned with
(28:30):
what the industry knows is necessary for change within the industry.
What is the one thing anyone that participates in this industry could do or should do?
Or what is the action that people can take to help reverse that trend?
Well, I think, you know, I mean, this probably sounds like somebody who worked for a politician.
(28:52):
But, you know, I mean, I think people need to get engaged in their community and they
really need to support small business.
And they need to make Napa a place where people want to do business.
So they need to make it more business friendly.
They need to make it so that people can come here and thrive.
They can live here.
They can have a good lifestyle.
(29:14):
They can send their kids to good schools.
And unfortunately, because Napa has sort of become complicated to do business in, and
Napa has become complicated to live in, we are losing a lot of those young, vibrant families
that you need to stay here in order to populate your workforce, your schools, your maternity
(29:36):
wards.
I mean, the reason they closed the Yontville School is because they don't have enough children
in town.
The reason they closed the maternity ward at St. Helena Hospital is because we don't
have enough young families having children.
So at some point, you know, the younger consumer is not going to feel connected to who's here
in Napa, who's running the businesses.
(29:57):
And it's become a very, it's become a very difficult, expensive place to do business.
California is tough in general.
Alcohol is heavily regulated in general.
But Napa has become a very unfriendly place for small business.
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Cheers.
I always love chatting with you because you have such interesting and insightful perspectives.
When you talk about how some community-wide initiatives or groups, like either the Vintners
(31:05):
or an initiative like the Vine Trail, all come to be, they're multi-generational initiatives
or decades-long initiatives that are slow and steady with the progress that they make.
How can this industry take some deliberate steps in the next year or two to help really
(31:25):
beachhead this trend?
You've said community, but how do we double-click on what community is in some of the ways to
activate beyond supporting small business?
Is there some immediate trends that folks can lean into with their business and work
(31:46):
on?
Well, when I say small business, I mean, unfortunately or fortunately, Napa is very overly indexed
in wine, right?
And the derivative businesses that support the wine industry.
So tourism is very intertwined with a healthy wine industry because that's why people are
coming here.
The food industry is intertwined with the wine industry.
(32:10):
And so I think we have to be mindful of what the trends are.
What are the tourists chasing and what do they need?
And I don't know that we're doing enough listening.
I think Napa has sort of put its heels in the ground and felt for many years like we
are Napa, they will come.
And I think we have to be a little bit more open-minded.
So that's one of the things that we have to think of is what are we doing right, but also
(32:31):
have sort of a post-mortem of like what aren't we doing wrong and how are we not listening
to the trends?
And one of those things is looking at the wineries and making offerings or making it
a little bit easier to do business here so that people who are going to Sonoma are going
(32:51):
to Paso Robles because they're able to listen to music or they're able to get married there,
whatever it is, are things that they can do in Napa.
But I think one of the biggest problems I've seen is that no one in the county government,
for example, has any wine industry experience.
(33:14):
No one has worked in the wine business.
No one has come from the wine industry.
And so you have this governing regulatory force that has zero experience in effectively
what they're regulating.
Isn't that wild?
Well, I think you would never hire a 70-year-old man to do social media for a 25-year-old.
(33:36):
You would never hire somebody who had zero operating experience for most businesses.
So why would you do it for a government that is so overly focused on one industry?
I think you need to be collaborating and partnering as opposed to working at sort of antagonistic
(33:57):
ends.
I also have the same observation.
And I think Visit Napa Valley is an organization that effectively has a board of hotels and
private equity firms that own hotels.
There's almost no, there's one that I'm aware of.
There's one wine group that's in the Visit Napa Valley board.
(34:22):
And yes, the TOT and the self-assessment that the hotel industry has really self-funded
the Visit Napa Valley overall budget and marketing program.
The wine industry feels like it just doesn't have enough representation on the Visit Napa
Valley board, which feels as a wild statement that feels like that's a miss.
(34:47):
They do have different stakeholders and different initiatives and different committees where
they have invited members to participate that are winery owners.
But it just, it feels like Visit Napa Valley in that same way that you just described really
needs to lean into hospitality training and education.
If I was asked the question, I really think hospitality training and education would be
(35:12):
the number one way I would focus on Napa's rebook rate or revisit rate for the folks
that are staying the nights in general.
I do believe many millennials, like you said, are going to Sonoma or going to Paso because
it's just a little bit more, you can let your hair down, it'd be a little bit more relaxed.
It's a little bit more cavalier and they take their wine just as seriously, but there are
(35:36):
wineries or tasting rooms don't take themselves as pretentiously as Napa has built the reputation
of and so I think that's just kind of my point of view or to mirror back your point, I think
that's same, same, but my kind of perspective.
Lindsay, I always love catching up with you.
So maybe my last question, what are you looking forward to in 2025?
(35:59):
You have some big personal milestones also going on.
You know, that's tough.
I am incredibly excited about setting up shop with the Snack Shack and really bringing my
town, my hometown, something that they want and they feel like is a big contribution.
(36:20):
I'm very excited for that.
I obviously am excited about the twins that are coming.
I can't decide if I'm more terrified or excited, but it's one of the two.
So you're going to have twins very soon.
Yes.
So I'm excited about that.
But ultimately what I hope for, I don't know if we'll get it, is I hope that we get some,
(36:44):
I would love to work more collaboratively.
I think, you know, I really appreciate your insight about Visit Napa Valley and I think
one of the things is that it's the same, even when you have the voice of a winery, a lot
of times they have the same winery speaking and I just went to the California Wine Institute
year in review and I feel like, you know, we have a solution.
(37:07):
We have wineries that represent the solution.
We just need to tap into that.
We can't always have the same voices dominating the conversation.
We can't always have the same, you know, big players.
And so I hope that our community realizes we're much stronger working together because
we all benefit from building a stronger industry and we definitely have everything to offer
(37:31):
that the customer wants.
We just have to be open minded into how we provide that.
We can't, just like newspapers, we can't just say, you know, because we've always done
it this way and it's been successful, we're going to keep doing it that way.
We have to evolve.
We have to innovate and we have to work together to do that.
And I find that instead of sort of getting to your castle and closing the door behind
(37:53):
you, I hope that we sort of see the rich diversity and tapestry that we have in Napa Valley and
make use of that instead of shutting the door on the small wineries or shutting the door
on, you know, some of the people that are trying to change the status quo because just
like anywhere, we can listen.
So I'm hoping for collaborative, more visionary leadership to have a positive impact on the
(38:19):
community instead of trying to rip everybody down.
Amazing.
Wise words from Lindsay Hoops.
Thank you so very much for jumping on today's episode of Napa Valley Insider.
Again, I'm Andrew Allison.
I'm the CEO of Kuvei.
We make this in partnership with Highway 29 Media.
Lindsay, thank you so much.
Can you just tell folks where they can find you and we can put all links and emails in
(38:41):
the show notes, so whatever you'd like to share.
Sure.
We do have a website, www.hoopsvineyard.com.
We are going to be at the Snack Shack.
So for those of you who are in town, if you know where the school is and the baseball
diamond, we'll be back there at least, you know, starting in February.
And our other farm stand and winery are located at 6204 Washington Street in Napa County.
(39:09):
Amazing.
Well, thank you.
Thank you.
Cheers.
The Napa Valley Insider podcast has been brought to you by Kuvei, the Napa winery guide.
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Cheers.
This is the Napa Valley Insider Podcast brought to you by Cuvée, the Napa Winery Guide in
(00:07):
partnership with Highway 29 Media.
All right, all right, all right.
Welcome back to another episode of Napa Valley Insider.
I am Andrew Allison.
I am CEO of Cuvée, a Napa Winery Guide app.
I work on the Napa Valley Insider Podcast with collaboration from Highway 29 Media.
We make this podcast in support of them.
(00:29):
Today I have a guest I have known for a few years.
I'm so excited to have a chance to sit down and have a conversation with.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Lindsay Hoops.
I am the owner, CEO, alpha dog of Hoops Vineyard.
And I'm a mom of two, soon to be four.
(00:54):
And I am a law professor at UC Law.
So I'm a recovering lawyer.
I've been on every side of the bar.
I have seen you in so many different hats.
I'm just in awe of all the things that you're doing.
But most recently you won the opportunity to put a farm stand that I want to ask about
(01:19):
before the end of this podcast over at the New Yonville Community Center.
So we'll get to that.
But can you just share your story?
How did your family come to Napa Valley?
And what is the origin of that?
My family moved to Napa and actually Yonville specifically in 1981.
So we've been here for quite some time.
(01:41):
When we first moved to Yonville, there were about 81 people.
Most of the development that you see here today did not exist.
We did not have any restaurants.
We did not have the culinary reputation that we have.
We did not even have housing.
So I've pretty much seen the entire development of Yonville throughout my life cycle.
(02:04):
I grew up on Yonville Road.
So just literally right behind the Yonville Hill.
That was my childhood.
And when?
It was your father.
Is that correct?
It was your father that was the first member of your family that got into the Napa wine
(02:24):
industry?
Yeah, we've been wine in the wine industry or wine adjacent since 1981.
So my father retired from the military.
He moved up to Napa.
And the reason that he moved to Yonville was because he heard about the veterans home and
he was in the military at the Presidio.
So not the typical draw, but that was just a town that he knew.
(02:49):
And so we bought a property.
And at that time, Yonville was considered the other side of the tracks.
Everyone wanted to move to St. Helena or to Calistoga because they were much more of a
town feel.
And so we bought what we could.
Our neighbor was a single mother and she actually ended up selling us a lot of her land because
(03:10):
it was just too cumbersome to take care of.
And so my father said, okay, now that I have all this land, what do I do?
And although today I think everybody thinks of Napa as having sort of the great reputation
for growing grapes and making wine, in the early 1980s, the trajectory into the wine
industry and sort of that focus was actually much further away than we think.
(03:37):
So it wasn't the obvious agricultural crop.
At the time you had prunes and citrus and quite a few other things.
Most people actually, even in Oakville and Yonville, if they were planting grapes, they
were planting Chardonnay.
So my father kind of went up and down the street, made good friends with the Polissa
family.
They've been here for five generations, the Hoxie family.
(03:59):
And they basically said, oh, we think grapes are the next big thing.
And so my dad said, well, why not?
We planted a Cabernet vineyard.
It turned out to be the right thing.
It turned out to be the right thing in Oakville.
So we sort of, you know, from the other side of the tracks, we ended up having our home
in Yonville and our vineyards in Oakville.
So kind of in the two most amazing places in Napa Valley.
(04:20):
That is such a cool, cool origin story.
How did you get into law and when did that happen?
Well, I spent most of my youth trying to get out of Napa.
I felt like it was very sleepy agricultural town and I didn't necessarily, you know, I
(04:40):
had big aspirations.
I'd go to San Francisco.
I'd see cities and I said, oh, you know, I want to be I want to be more than just, you
know, in agriculture.
I felt like why would you go to college and come back?
And my dad wasn't in the wine business and the wine business and industry wasn't as famed,
if you will, you know, in internationally at that time.
(05:03):
And so I really wanted to explore.
I mean, I was a teenager.
I wanted to get out of, you know, out of Dodge.
Just felt small.
And so I spent many years thinking about how to get away.
I threw a very large party in high school, which my father didn't appreciate.
(05:26):
And so he ended up suggesting I go to boarding school and I went to boarding high school
and I felt like that was my ticket out.
And I went to boarding high school on the East Coast and over Massachusetts.
And then I stayed on the East Coast for college.
And at that time, my dad transitioned from growing grapes for other people into making
wine for himself.
(05:46):
My dad had some of the only Cabernet vineyards that survived the phylloxera outbreak.
And so they he became very well known for sort of helping the industry get through some
very tough agricultural incidents.
And so people wanted to start using his name on a single vineyard designate.
And at that point in time, he said, oh, well, you know, if somebody else thinks my name
(06:07):
is worth a darn putting on a bottle of wine, I might as well do it myself.
And you know, from afar, I said, well, that's a lot sexier.
You make wine now.
You don't just sort of help prop other people up.
Maybe I should come home and try to get a job.
And he said, why would I hire you?
You have no work experience and you spent your entire life trying to get out of Napa.
(06:28):
So, you know, I want you to know this is a lifestyle.
This is a very tough job.
Agriculture is extraordinarily difficult.
And you really need to want it and you need to understand what you're getting into.
This is not just, you know, fun, drink wine all day, hang out, which I think a lot of
people still think.
So anyway, you know, fast forward, I tried to get the job for many, many, many years.
(06:50):
I worked for some larger wineries and I just I wanted to work for our family.
I wanted to tell that story.
I remember planting the vineyard all the way to creating the label.
And so I wanted to tell that story.
And I couldn't do that if I was working for other people.
And so when my father continued to reject my job application, I decided to go to law
(07:13):
school and I, you know, I'd always wanted to be a spy growing up.
And I felt like I didn't get very far in my applications when I was at Georgetown.
I tried to do that.
And so I thought, OK, well, what's something else that feels a little bit like that law
in order, but it's something that I would be good at.
(07:35):
And so I ended up applying for law school and wanting to head into the D.A.
And I loved I mean, it was the perfect, perfect job for me.
I loved it.
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(07:58):
our audience wants to know your favorites around the valley.
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Link in the show notes.
So interesting.
Before we go forward on what you're up to now, I just want to ask, how did your father
manage to keep the vineyard safe from phylloxera?
So we planted on a St. George's rootstock from the beginning, from the beginning.
(08:21):
And actually, at the time, a lot of people weren't planting on rootstock at all.
But my father decided he did want to plant on rootstock, but there was no AXR available.
So he would say now that it was because he was smart, but I actually think generally
it was a supply demand thing.
(08:42):
He felt like, let's go with something that's more affordable.
Yeah.
And when you kind of jump ahead back to what you're working on right now, how do you split
your time between being a professor and the actual vineyard property itself?
(09:04):
That's such a hard question because I feel like...
Does it ebb and flow?
I mean, it doesn't necessarily ebb and flow.
I teach one day a week, and certainly a lot of what I teach are legal fundamentals.
I teach first year students in law.
And so the content doesn't change year over year.
(09:27):
So luckily, a lot of it is very intuitive and it's much more about connecting with the
students and helping them find a way to learn this new language.
They're all very smart.
They're all very passionate about what they do.
But whenever you run your own business, and especially a farm, I mean, you work 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.
(09:47):
So I don't really get a ton of off time.
And one of the reasons that I built such a family-friendly winery is because I wanted
my kids to come to work with me and enjoy that because I knew that they would be spending
a lot of time with me on the farm.
And that's my memory too.
When I was growing up, I would go out and help my dad with the tractor and everyone
(10:09):
has a job when you grow up on a farm.
And so I wanted it to be fun.
The boys drive on the tractors, they hang out with the animals, they help us plant the
vegetable garden.
So it's a family, it's a lifestyle.
It's not a job.
And for those that are unfamiliar, your Hoops Family Vineyard is definitely unique.
(10:35):
How would you describe it?
Well, my vision was to bring Napa back to the early 1980s and the family-friendly, accessible
winery experience that I remember.
Would you describe that as rustic or?
I don't know.
I mean, certainly it was more rustic than let's say the luxury marble mausoleums that
(11:00):
you can see today.
I mean, I think there's a lot of both and there's a lot of room for both in the Napa
Valley.
And I think people's definitions of luxury have changed over the years.
So Napa has done an incredible job at establishing itself as an internationally acclaimed wine-producing
(11:21):
region and it's a very well-deserved reputation.
But I think the types of experiences and or sort of visitor viewpoint has changed over
the years.
And a lot of people really wanted that incredibly elite, hard to access experience and maybe
(11:41):
still do.
And then there are a lot of people who feel like luxury is something that is great quality,
but that they can bring their dog and their children to also come enjoy.
And I, selfishly, obviously having a young family wanted my kids to feel comfortable,
(12:02):
but I have a lot of friends in the same situation who said that they weren't coming to Napa
because they didn't feel like there were places for them the way that they wanted to travel.
And so we've opened up the vision of Napa, which really isn't, I don't think new, it's
just more of a throwback to the authentic Napa that I grew up in.
(12:26):
Could you describe for the listeners what you've built on the property?
Sure.
Yeah.
I mean, when I say authentic versus rustic, I think that there were and are still a lot
of family-owned properties.
We have a regenerative farm.
So we have an animal rescue sanctuary that is actually part of our farming operation.
(12:48):
So the animals are rescues mainly from the fires, but a lot of them have jobs producing
compost or going out and doing non-mechanical tilling in the vineyards, weed control.
We also have a very large farm, it's a year-round crop of different vegetables that we actually
(13:11):
use now to sell at the farmers market and farm stand that you mentioned earlier on in
the conversation.
And then we have our winery production facility and we have our vineyards.
So the idea behind showing everybody this diverse ecosystem was that we wanted to, you
know, create a place where flora and fauna are working together to create biodiversity.
(13:38):
A lot of vineyards have replaced the other crops that used to be in Napa.
And so that has caused increase in disease, that's caused some problems with monocropping.
And what we wanted to do was actually improve the health of our ecosystem, even albeit on
a small basis, by reintroducing biodiversity.
(14:01):
So we've done that through reintroducing the animals, reintroducing other crops, and helping
people visually.
And we don't do tours or educational seminars, but I think visually when people come to our
property they can see how all of those things work together to create a much healthier environment
than just a singular winery production facility.
(14:24):
When you describe the regenerative farming, I've seen some of the crop yield that you're
able to produce from other things besides grapes, but maybe it's a good time to ask
about the food stand or the farmer stand.
Can you describe for those that don't know, what entitlements did you win at the Yontville
(14:47):
Community Center and their baseball diamond?
What is that?
And what can folks expect to be able to purchase when they get there?
I'm so excited because we've had a farm stand at the property, but we're close to town,
but we obviously aren't on everybody's radar and we're not visible from the street.
(15:11):
We don't have a ton of foot traffic.
And so we partnered with the town to help accomplish a couple objectives.
One is to bring all of the produce that we have to town to provide healthy food options
for locals by way of a farmer's market.
A lot of the locals in town, believe it or not, don't drive.
And so even though there are farmer's markets in Napa or St. Lena, they don't have access
(15:34):
to a lot of fresh vegetables.
Makes sense.
So we had a lot at our place.
We wanted to make that available much more accessible to the locals.
But we have a year-round crop.
So right now we're selling squash, pumpkins, potatoes, herbs.
I don't think I've ever left your property without you stuffing my pockets full of whatever's
(15:56):
on harvest at the moment.
So I think you gave me a load of tomatoes last time, but it was something.
Yes.
Well, we have farm fresh eggs.
We have chard.
We have peppers.
So everything is always very seasonal, and we have a large three-acre area where we grow
(16:20):
all the crops.
So we have everything throughout the year.
Obviously summer is the most abundant.
But the idea really also was, I think, to recreate the community farmer's market that
used to be there about 10 years ago, before the community center was built.
And a lot of locals in town requested from the community center that we start figuring
(16:44):
out how to provide local perks or benefits to locals living here who felt like Yontville
had started converting to a place for weekenders, second and third homeowners, and or tourists.
They felt like those local amenities had been disappearing.
And so when the town bought Yontville Elementary School, there was now this large development
(17:07):
in space in the middle of town that the town, I think, very smartly wanted to keep occupied
while they find out and determine what the long-term plans are.
And so they've put a gym in there, or they're going to put a gym in there.
They've put a dog park in there recently, and they've also given you a new structure.
(17:27):
And so when does that officially open, and where is that on the property?
So the Little League stand or the Little League baseball diamond is still there, and there
is a commercial kitchen, which is a very elaborate commercial kitchen behind the stand that used
to serve as the concessionaire for the Little League.
(17:48):
And Little League has been, you know, sort of touch and go in Yontville just because
of the declining student population.
And so I don't know if Little League is going to survive or not necessarily, but the idea
is to create a snack stand for locals that will be a much more permanent farm stand.
(18:10):
So we were setting up temporary shop between April, and yesterday was actually our last
farm stand, seasonal farm stand.
And we'll be moving over to the new snack shack where we're going to make prepared foods
and also continue to sell the produce from the farm at that facility.
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(19:16):
And do you know what the schedule is going to be or when when that is on the calendar
that you'll be in that in a more permanent basis?
I know that the town is celebrating a big anniversary in February.
So for sure, we're going to be open by February to showcase the menu and kind of help people
get a feel for what it is.
But I imagine that it's going to be in its full abundance probably by early spring.
(19:41):
And so the idea is to run that as kind of like a nine to five or something, whatever
the hours end up being, but a more permanently open establishment?
Yeah, it's going to be, you know, probably more like 730 to four o'clock.
We're going to have coffees and, you know, produce, but also, you know, things that are
(20:01):
easy to grab and go.
Amazing.
Or eat there.
When and if Little League is playing, we will also have concessions for that.
And we're hoping to provide concessions for any events that are going on in the Yontville
parks.
So we're really excited to partner with the town to produce food for the locals from produce
(20:25):
that we grow right here in town.
And one of I think the cooler initiatives is that we definitely plan on bringing chefs
in from other parts of San Francisco or the Bay Area to come and do little pop ups, because
I think that that was another piece of feedback that, you know, we don't see a lot of different
kinds of food coming through Yontville.
(20:45):
And we want to be able to give people a touch of the Bay Area, you know, so that they don't
necessarily have to travel to go get it from a locals perspective.
But we're also really excited to partner with some of the student chefs at the schools,
the culinary schools and give them an opportunity to create menus.
So I'm excited to give them a sort of footprint to showcase their items.
(21:09):
So we're going to have a lot of fun with it.
We'll have a stand, you know, we'll have a sort of typical menu and then we'll have some fun events.
Do you know when the gym is supposed to open out there?
2025 before the end of 2024?
I wish I had more information.
I know that, you know, part of part of the issue with the school itself is I'm not sure
(21:30):
it had been updated for a minute and I don't know what kind of accommodations they have
to make for the gym.
But I mean, they have an operator and they have, you know, the plan for it.
So I know it's definitely underway.
Yeah, I think all of those things are going to complement each other.
I can easily see somebody wanting to stop in for something either pre or post a workout.
(21:51):
And so I think they all go together.
Smoothies, juice, like those are some of the things we don't have in town that a lot of
people want.
And we always have so much excess amazing greens and produce and, you know.
Yeah, staples, all the staples.
Absolutely.
When you think about your business at large, have you shared your case production or where
(22:16):
you were able to actually sell today?
Do you mostly sell by the bottle or do you sell nationally or are you distributed nationally?
How can folks find your wine?
Well, you know, luckily with the internet, everyone can buy the wine online.
But I think with every single winery, our direct to consumer channel is becoming so
(22:40):
much more important because although we are nationally distributed, you know, competing
as a small winery is increasingly difficult.
Do you mean mind share at the distributor level or?
Mind share at the distributor level.
Because of consolidation at the distributor level as well, a lot of the smaller producers
(23:01):
are actually just being turned away entirely.
I mean, even if we had distribution at some point, we are no longer, you know, a lot of
times when they get purchased by some of the larger entities like R&DC, they get rid of
a large portion of the book because they're combining portfolios and it's increasingly
(23:23):
impossible to get shelf space, mind share, you name it.
And then it's additionally difficult for us to promote the brand because we can't
compete with any of the large wineries from a marketing perspective or being in, you know,
being present in the market as much as some of our larger corporate competitors.
And I think that what we offer, you know, to be honest, is a very different, you know,
(23:50):
experience just in terms of the brand, right?
It's not necessarily physically being there, but we're small family owned.
We are still family owned.
We're still one of the smallest wineries in all of Napa.
We are, you know, family friendly.
We are all those things.
And for people who are looking for a very high quality wine, but also really care about
(24:12):
supporting small business and supporting a family that actually lives in Yonkville and
sort of supports the local economy, we provide that for people.
But we're not going to be everywhere.
And so a lot of times people have to come to us to get that.
And when you think about some of the major industry trends as a winery, what are some
(24:37):
of the things that you feel like are really going right today in the industry that do
compliment or make your job easier?
Well, I think the consumer is much more mindful about their purchasing decisions.
They really care who they're purchasing from much more so than I think they have been historically.
(25:01):
People are very interested in craft small producer movements across the board.
They like to support small business and purchasing local.
And so that, you know, our brand really does resonate with a lot of those consumer trends.
I think people want to have profits for a purpose.
So that's an important trend that our brand resonates with.
(25:24):
And I think one of the great things about Napa is there is a lot of family.
There are a lot of family owned wineries to the extent that, you know, they are not as
easy to find and they're not necessarily as prominent in the general marketplace, but
they do exist here.
So I hope that people start learning about, you know, looking beyond just the strip and
(25:48):
Highway 29 to come find some of the smaller gems.
Those are not just out in Sonoma.
Napa still has a lot of them and they're here.
Maybe they're harder to find, but you can get that experience here in Napa Valley.
When you think about some of the challenges, we've talked about discoverability, we've
(26:11):
talked about some of the rate limiting at the distribution level because it's hard to
get the mind share.
What is some of the challenges that you're experiencing in particular here in Napa Valley
and with running an establishment?
Well, I think, you know, the global trends are going to impact, you know, Napa in the
(26:34):
same way that they impact the wine industry across the board.
And so we have to be mindful of those.
And one of the big things is consumer trends away, quote, from alcohol.
I think where wine has an advantage that we have to focus on is making wine feel much
more like a food product and something that's on your table every day as part of dinner,
(26:56):
as a grocery item, as opposed to something that is, you know, alcohol for Bowton that
you, you know, you shouldn't be drinking or, you know, is part of a negative lifestyle.
In the French way, in the sense that it's a part of every meal and it is culturally
a part of every decision and the wine.
And I think that that's very possible with wine in ways that not with alcohol.
(27:19):
So I'm not sure that the trend away from, quote, alcohol is necessarily going to impact
or should impact wine the same way if we get together.
But I think one of the problems that, you know, that that Napa has specifically is we
don't have a lot of vision.
We're kind of having an identity crisis.
We don't have a lot of vision or leadership about where we're going in terms of how do
(27:44):
we more closely align with consumer trends.
And I think, you know, a lot of people feel that Napa is very expensive.
Napa is elitist.
Napa is not family friendly.
Napa is not, you know, Napa is turning into this corporate, very out of touch area.
And I know that we can reverse that trend because I know that we have a lot of lot to
(28:08):
offer that is the opposite of that.
But I think that we do lack a lot of vision as to how to get there.
And we have been hearing the data for years and years and years from Silicon Valley Bank.
But our government and a lot of the politics in Napa are not seemingly very aligned with
(28:30):
what the industry knows is necessary for change within the industry.
What is the one thing anyone that participates in this industry could do or should do?
Or what is the action that people can take to help reverse that trend?
Well, I think, you know, I mean, this probably sounds like somebody who worked for a politician.
(28:52):
But, you know, I mean, I think people need to get engaged in their community and they
really need to support small business.
And they need to make Napa a place where people want to do business.
So they need to make it more business friendly.
They need to make it so that people can come here and thrive.
They can live here.
They can have a good lifestyle.
(29:14):
They can send their kids to good schools.
And unfortunately, because Napa has sort of become complicated to do business in, and
Napa has become complicated to live in, we are losing a lot of those young, vibrant families
that you need to stay here in order to populate your workforce, your schools, your maternity
(29:36):
wards.
I mean, the reason they closed the Yontville School is because they don't have enough children
in town.
The reason they closed the maternity ward at St. Helena Hospital is because we don't
have enough young families having children.
So at some point, you know, the younger consumer is not going to feel connected to who's here
in Napa, who's running the businesses.
(29:57):
And it's become a very, it's become a very difficult, expensive place to do business.
California is tough in general.
Alcohol is heavily regulated in general.
But Napa has become a very unfriendly place for small business.
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(30:18):
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(30:39):
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Tax ID 93-466-2744.
Cheers.
I always love chatting with you because you have such interesting and insightful perspectives.
When you talk about how some community-wide initiatives or groups, like either the Vintners
(31:05):
or an initiative like the Vine Trail, all come to be, they're multi-generational initiatives
or decades-long initiatives that are slow and steady with the progress that they make.
How can this industry take some deliberate steps in the next year or two to help really
(31:25):
beachhead this trend?
You've said community, but how do we double-click on what community is in some of the ways to
activate beyond supporting small business?
Is there some immediate trends that folks can lean into with their business and work
(31:46):
on?
Well, when I say small business, I mean, unfortunately or fortunately, Napa is very overly indexed
in wine, right?
And the derivative businesses that support the wine industry.
So tourism is very intertwined with a healthy wine industry because that's why people are
coming here.
The food industry is intertwined with the wine industry.
(32:10):
And so I think we have to be mindful of what the trends are.
What are the tourists chasing and what do they need?
And I don't know that we're doing enough listening.
I think Napa has sort of put its heels in the ground and felt for many years like we
are Napa, they will come.
And I think we have to be a little bit more open-minded.
So that's one of the things that we have to think of is what are we doing right, but also
(32:31):
have sort of a post-mortem of like what aren't we doing wrong and how are we not listening
to the trends?
And one of those things is looking at the wineries and making offerings or making it
a little bit easier to do business here so that people who are going to Sonoma are going
(32:51):
to Paso Robles because they're able to listen to music or they're able to get married there,
whatever it is, are things that they can do in Napa.
But I think one of the biggest problems I've seen is that no one in the county government,
for example, has any wine industry experience.
(33:14):
No one has worked in the wine business.
No one has come from the wine industry.
And so you have this governing regulatory force that has zero experience in effectively
what they're regulating.
Isn't that wild?
Well, I think you would never hire a 70-year-old man to do social media for a 25-year-old.
(33:36):
You would never hire somebody who had zero operating experience for most businesses.
So why would you do it for a government that is so overly focused on one industry?
I think you need to be collaborating and partnering as opposed to working at sort of antagonistic
(33:57):
ends.
I also have the same observation.
And I think Visit Napa Valley is an organization that effectively has a board of hotels and
private equity firms that own hotels.
There's almost no, there's one that I'm aware of.
There's one wine group that's in the Visit Napa Valley board.
(34:22):
And yes, the TOT and the self-assessment that the hotel industry has really self-funded
the Visit Napa Valley overall budget and marketing program.
The wine industry feels like it just doesn't have enough representation on the Visit Napa
Valley board, which feels as a wild statement that feels like that's a miss.
(34:47):
They do have different stakeholders and different initiatives and different committees where
they have invited members to participate that are winery owners.
But it just, it feels like Visit Napa Valley in that same way that you just described really
needs to lean into hospitality training and education.
If I was asked the question, I really think hospitality training and education would be
(35:12):
the number one way I would focus on Napa's rebook rate or revisit rate for the folks
that are staying the nights in general.
I do believe many millennials, like you said, are going to Sonoma or going to Paso because
it's just a little bit more, you can let your hair down, it'd be a little bit more relaxed.
It's a little bit more cavalier and they take their wine just as seriously, but there are
(35:36):
wineries or tasting rooms don't take themselves as pretentiously as Napa has built the reputation
of and so I think that's just kind of my point of view or to mirror back your point, I think
that's same, same, but my kind of perspective.
Lindsay, I always love catching up with you.
So maybe my last question, what are you looking forward to in 2025?
(35:59):
You have some big personal milestones also going on.
You know, that's tough.
I am incredibly excited about setting up shop with the Snack Shack and really bringing my
town, my hometown, something that they want and they feel like is a big contribution.
(36:20):
I'm very excited for that.
I obviously am excited about the twins that are coming.
I can't decide if I'm more terrified or excited, but it's one of the two.
So you're going to have twins very soon.
Yes.
So I'm excited about that.
But ultimately what I hope for, I don't know if we'll get it, is I hope that we get some,
(36:44):
I would love to work more collaboratively.
I think, you know, I really appreciate your insight about Visit Napa Valley and I think
one of the things is that it's the same, even when you have the voice of a winery, a lot
of times they have the same winery speaking and I just went to the California Wine Institute
year in review and I feel like, you know, we have a solution.
(37:07):
We have wineries that represent the solution.
We just need to tap into that.
We can't always have the same voices dominating the conversation.
We can't always have the same, you know, big players.
And so I hope that our community realizes we're much stronger working together because
we all benefit from building a stronger industry and we definitely have everything to offer
(37:31):
that the customer wants.
We just have to be open minded into how we provide that.
We can't, just like newspapers, we can't just say, you know, because we've always done
it this way and it's been successful, we're going to keep doing it that way.
We have to evolve.
We have to innovate and we have to work together to do that.
And I find that instead of sort of getting to your castle and closing the door behind
(37:53):
you, I hope that we sort of see the rich diversity and tapestry that we have in Napa Valley and
make use of that instead of shutting the door on the small wineries or shutting the door
on, you know, some of the people that are trying to change the status quo because just
like anywhere, we can listen.
So I'm hoping for collaborative, more visionary leadership to have a positive impact on the
(38:19):
community instead of trying to rip everybody down.
Amazing.
Wise words from Lindsay Hoops.
Thank you so very much for jumping on today's episode of Napa Valley Insider.
Again, I'm Andrew Allison.
I'm the CEO of Kuvei.
We make this in partnership with Highway 29 Media.
Lindsay, thank you so much.
Can you just tell folks where they can find you and we can put all links and emails in
(38:41):
the show notes, so whatever you'd like to share.
Sure.
We do have a website, www.hoopsvineyard.com.
We are going to be at the Snack Shack.
So for those of you who are in town, if you know where the school is and the baseball
diamond, we'll be back there at least, you know, starting in February.
And our other farm stand and winery are located at 6204 Washington Street in Napa County.
(39:09):
Amazing.
Well, thank you.
Thank you.
Cheers.
The Napa Valley Insider podcast has been brought to you by Kuvei, the Napa winery guide.
Download the app for iPhone today and start planning your perfect wine country adventure.
Find out more at kuveiapp.com.
Cheers.
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