Page 10 - Terroir_2014

2 0 1 4 • N A P A V A L L E Y V I N T N E R S
Photographer Sam Aslanian made his home here eight
years ago, after feeling the tug of the Valley from time
spent at his family’s vacation home in St. Helena growing
up. It’s easy to understand why he fell so hard for a place
that even on a bad day, if there is one, is a photographer’s
paradise. When he decided to capture the story of Napa
Valley in pictures, he knew he had to make it as unique as
the place itself.
Using expired film to create unexpected color saturation,
textures, and grain, Aslanian’s photography book,
Perspective Napa Valley, is a hauntingly beautiful look at
the randomization of life, which is fitting for a place that
is often at the mercy of Mother Nature from one moment
to the next. “Each photograph is a one-of-a-kind moment,
much like how we look at wine,” he explains. “Wine is
handmade. It is not digital. It is very, very analog, and so is
my style. And that seemed to marry well together.”
It also captures a nostalgia for which Napa is known.
Aslanian pushes the film to its limits and beyond. “That’s
why you get the overemphasis of colors. A photo where
the clouds are purple has nothing to do with Photoshop
and everything to do with the spectrum of colors old film
produces.” Interspersed with chapter essays on everything
from culture to climate, the book speaks to the beauty
of place in an unexpected way. Real people, buildings,
vineyards, and situations, hardly manipulated to expose
the unintentional. A unique perspective that points to the
kind of randomization for which Napa Valley is famous.
To purchase go to: napavintners.com
A COMMON GOAL
Perhaps in no other business do competitors come together like they
do in Napa Valley. “People don’t often realize it, but Robert Mondavi
brought this industry to the world stage by aggressively promoting
Napa Valley first and individual brands second,” explains Jim Regusci.
“That is the key to marketing Napa Valley. Here, you can take people on
a journey—breaking down the districts, then the AVAs, and finally the
individual producers. The bottom line is, we all make good wines due to
the geographics. If a consumer comes in and likes wine, regardless if it’s
mine or not, that is good for the entire community.”
It’s a shared vision. A common goal to promote the Napa Valley and
share in the same brand ideology, which is rarely seen in businesses
today, especially in a relative small place like this. It is what makes Napa
Valley unique and their wines so good. There is a lot of cooperation and
camaraderie and above all, a united desire to produce the best in the
world. w
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NAPA VALLEY
PERSPECTIVE
Reynolds Family
Bartolucci Family