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{ SOMMjournal.com } 113 Keeping Things Approachable So how did Acacia House manage to cir- cumnavigate the stereotypes oft reserved for resort restaurants? They started by charming the locals. "We're really after becoming a neighborhood and community restaurant, not a hotel restaurant," says Ploetz, who has worked in the restaurant industry since he was 14. "Come Decem - ber and January when visitorship in the valley is slim, it's the locals here who are supporting us." Operating under a philosophy best de- scribed as "If you build it, they will come," Ploetz also recognizes full-time residents are the key to the restaurant's success with the outside world. "We're after that regular business, because we want to be on the tip of everyone's tongue when they're making their recommendations," he explains. "If we focus on the local commu - nity, we'll get the tourist following." This dedication to all things Napa is apparent at each level of Acacia House's beverage program. While the Margarita Las Alcobas topped with an airy sea-salt foam may get people in the door—the secret here is substituting lemon juice for lime juice—it's the wine list that keeps them coming back. Featuring roughly 350 selections, the list is roughly 90 percent local. "Our main concept when we rst opened was that we didn't want to ignore what was in our backyard," says Sommelier and Beverage Manager Zoe Hankins. A Napa native and former sommelier at Michelin-starred La Toque, Hankins takes great pride in building a boutique list. She's always on the hunt for rare vintages or sold-out bottlings from cult producers, in - cluding the 2015 Patria Avoyelles Oakville from Anthony Biagi's personal brand. "Sometimes I have to ask, 'Maybe you have a couple bottles in your personal cellar, or older vintages?'" she says. "That's somewhat of our M.O.: Tell us what you have in the back corner of the cellar that maybe isn't on the list anywhere else," Ploetz adds. "Then we can feature it both as a way to represent the winery it's coming from and a unique experience here." All but two beers offered at Acacia House also hail from Northern California, including one brewed at Las Alcobas and a limited bottling of Mad Fritz made just min - utes away by a local brewer and winemaker. Accessibility is another tenet Acacia House embraces to help turn natives into regulars. "Something I'm very proud of is that we've been very approachable with our pricing on the wines. Oftentimes people will see a particular favorite wine, and they're like, 'Wow!' It's not the price they see at other places," Hankins says, citing the 2015 PAX The Vicar Grenache- Syrah—which can be enjoyed at Acacia House for just $73—as an example. The beverage team has also gotten creative with its offerings, with ve-dollar glasses of select house wines during happy hour and a new ight program helping to ensure there's something available for ev - ery budget. A current ight of three Pinot Noir pours ($55), meanwhile, features a 2016 Littorai from the Sonoma Coast, a 2016 Failla from Russian River Valley, and a 2015 Vivier, also from the Sonoma Coast. "It's meant to tell a story: We want to deliver more of an experience and not just capture the taste of the three wines, but also how those wines are connected," Ploetz says. "Only in Napa" The storytelling continues on pages 5-11 of Acacia House's wine list, where a handful of short narratives highlight local wineries and the people and places that shaped them. "Little tiny touches and little thoughtful details are, to me, the hallmarks of a great restaurant or a great bottle of wine," Ploetz explains. Even multi-generational Napa residents can learn a thing or two from these tales, like how Robert Biale's Black Chicken Zinfandel got its name (it was the under - ground code term for his giant jugs of wine during Prohibition). "We like to high- light the sense of place and history that's extremely rich here and feature people who are up-and-coming or that we're re- ally excited about," Hankins says. The stories rotate every month, and many of the highlighted producers are regulars at Acacia House. "The people who are here often, those are the people we like to feature on that part of the list because we feel connected to them," explains Ploetz. "Oftentimes you'll have a guest sitting there reading a story, and the winemaker or owner walks in. It becomes a moment that can only happen in Napa Valley, and I think that's why people are coming to this part of the world, for those things to happen." Michael Ploetz, Food & Beverage Director for Las Alcobas, and Zoe Hankins, Beverage Manager for Acacia House. The veranda at Acacia House provides a beautiful setting for lunch.