A Napa Newcomer in a Vineyard

The vineyard comes right up to the patio in one of the Cottage Rooms, photos courtesy of Auberge Resorts Collection.

I visited Stanly Ranch, an Auberge Resorts Collection property in South Napa Valley, as one of our recent atmospheric rivers dumped a bucket of water on our heads. Everything was misty, the fields, the birds (and worms!) visibly reveling in the rain. I’m here to tell you that, even soaked, Stanly Ranch is a gorgeous and revelatory property that is not just a beautiful hotel, but a working ranch as well.

Built on a 712 acre site that already encompasses two wineries, every scrap of land on the property is used, the grapevines planted in and amongst the cottages. Since Stanly Ranch is only a year old, everything here is in its baby stages of growth, yet I still enjoyed walking through the beautifully laid out resort. As with many Auberge properties, it’s laid out like a village. There’s a general store called Gavel, which includes a coffee shop. Meeting areas are dotted throughout the property with fire pits and comfortable chairs. It’s a comfortable way to experience a place, as if you were a swanky home owner here, which can also be arranged for a price.

The free-standing cottages have all the bells and whistles of Auberge properties and designed with a luxe Northern California aesthetic—colors that mirror the outside, nubbly fabrics, wood paneling and patios with fire pits. My spacious casita featured a deep soaking tub, an outdoor shower, and a cool pergola with adjustable louvers. I was at the resort alone, and it felt like a personal and luxurious respite from all the noise that’s lately been filling my life, in and out of my head.

The night after I arrived, I made my way to the culinary hub of the property, Executive Chef Garrison Price’s Bear. Sitting alone with the bright screen of my iPad, I began with a colorful Little Gem lettuce salad bedecked with pickled gooseberries, lavender vinaigrette and radishes. My main course was ember-cooked Tiger Prawns, flavored perfectly with sea bean chimichurri (sea bean!), and I finished the meal with a light and tart key lime, passionfruit, jasmine granita and vanilla meringue. That night I felt lucky to wind through the cool lanes of Stanly Ranch back home to find my casita moodily lit and the bed expertly turned down.

Fresh vegetables star at Bear, the culinary hub of the resort.

A crudite bowl straight from the garden.

There was a brief respite from the rain the next day, and I enjoyed exploring the property. Since I’m drawn to the wild, I sought out Rebecca Rosen, head of the falconry experience at Stanly. I found her exquisitely concentrated on Rocky, a Harris hawk, whom she called ‘my work spouse’ and ‘Boo.’

“He’s a partial imprint,” she told me. “Which means he was hand-raised by people and so sees us as the same as him.

The bird seemed huge to me, with a great wing span and—fuzzy britches?

Rebecca nodded, “These guys are desert species, so they don’t do well in the cold, and that’s why they drop their pants.” She must have seen my puzzled expression, because she added, ‘They sort of crouch down and fluff out their belly features to cover more of their legs and stay warm.”

It was the last thing she said though that really stuck in my mind.

“You never really get over,” she said. “How your falcon is this teeny speck right above you and you don’t even really know it’s there unless you look at your GPS. And then you shake your glove and you see his speed slowing because he’s about to drop straight down and then do an S curve and land on your glove.”

Farm Director Runkle takes care of his cherry tomatoes.

Next I checked out the growing and glowing kitchen garden. Chef Garrison was not on site when I visited, but I spoke to several people at the kitchen. They told me that the chef’s garden, also known as The Grange, is ground zero for the close collaboration of the farm and culinary teams. The kitchen ethos itself is focused on the property. Called Elemental Cuisine, one ingredient at a time is highlighted on the plate and given the Bear treatment. The micro seasonality of its ingredients encourages the team to be nimble and creative.

Farm Director Nick Runkle later elaborated over email: “The decisions for what to plant next are highly collaborative and normally happen many seasons in advance. For example, we decided which tomatoes to plant this spring at the very end of last year’s tomato season in September. We focus on planting vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers that are difficult (or impossible) to find elsewhere, expensive, don’t travel well, or all of the above. There is a large emphasis on harvesting crops at various stages of a plant's life cycle. For example, we grow crimson fava beans for the sweet tender leaves, delicious bright red flowers, and for the fresh beans once they’ve matured. We grow snap peas for the shoots, tendrils, flowers, and peas. We’ll grow cilantro not only for the leaves, but also for the sweet white flowers and the fresh coriander berries. We grow turnips for our crudite plate and also for the delicious edible leaves. As a season develops, there are multiple unique moments to harvest for almost everything that we grow.”

Runkle told me that the landscaping at Stanly Ranch uses recycled water, the majority of the food is sourced either from the property itself, or local farms, including meats. The vineyards are entirely organically grown. The farm team also works with a nearby animal sanctuary, Charlie’s Acres, to build compost out of scraps and coffee grounds.

In spite of the rigor of its sustainability commitment, Stanly Ranch also has all the accoutrements of a luxe Napa hotel. There are not one but two mountain pools, and a beautiful spa called Halehouse. You can visit two wineries already on the property. The Grange Harvest Dinners later this Summer look pretty great too—edible flowers is the theme for the next one coming up May 21st. And though the ranch is in Southern Napa, the vineyard action and shops aren’t far away.

My last night I ventured off property and ate at nearby Morimoto in the town of Napa, ordering Masaharu Morimoto’s specialty bibimbop. The waitress brought me a cast iron dish that was heated smoking hot with a mound of nori-seasoned rice inside and yellowtail sashimi piled in delicate layers. As I watched, she peeled away the fish like petals, searing one side against the bowl, then piled them back into the center and flavored the whole thing with ponzu sauce. I ate every last morsel and wanted more. On my way out of Napa Valley the next day—still pouring, of course—I also found my way to Oxbow Public Market, which has a super fun collection of vendors serving local oysters, grain bowls and drinks.

I kept thinking of Stanly Ranch though, remembering the sweet and self-contained houses sprinkled throughout the vineyard, and longing to turn back. As one of the ranch hands said to me right before I left, “I like to tell people the property will age like wine.”

Amongst the Vines: A Spectacular New Napa Hotel