Napa Pros Share the Real Story If you’ve ever watched a glossy real estate show like Selling Sunset, Million Dollar Beach Houses or Buying Beverly Hills, the job looks irresistible. Who wouldn’t want a career spent touring stunning homes, admiring designer interiors, and collecting hefty commission checks? But how much of that is real—and how much is Hollywood? To find out, we turned to two respected Napa Valley Realtors: Broker Associate Ellen Politz of Corcoran Icon Propert

Makenna Kiminki | Rachelle Newbold | Rob Stewart Makenna Kiminki Makenna Kiminki moved to Napa four years ago, and she loves it. She’s a very social person, and has met a ton of people, many through her job as a barista at Naysayers. “I run in to people I know all the time, especially when I’m downtown,” she said. She loves the small town feel of Napa and the beauty of the Valley. She was born and raised in Moreno Valley near Riverside, where she witnessed a lot of poverty an

Legacy of Preservation, Scholarships, and Community Investment What began in the early 1990s as a small group of Napa High School graduates trying to save a piece of school history has grown into one of the region’s quiet but steady engines of community investment. Around 1991, several members of the Class of 1948 removed the original Indian emblem from the floor of the Napa High administration building after noticing it was being damaged by daily foot traffic. With the super

Whether you have a sprawling backyard or just a cozy balcony, thoughtful design choices can transform any outdoor space into a relaxing and inviting retreat. Blessed as we are with beautiful weather for most of the year, neglecting to fully utilize your outdoor space is like closing off an entire room in your home. Your initial order of business is to define the purpose of your outdoor area. How do you envision using the space? Do you enjoy entertaining guests? Are you lookin

Napa CART Builds a More Prepared, More Resilient Community By Kathleen Reynolds When the wind roared across her property at 80 miles per hour during the 2017 wildfires, veterinarian Claudia Sonder, DVM, faced a moment she’ll never forget. “The 2017 wildfires were terrifying to me,” she says. “The wind was coming through my property at 80 mph, and I had to load up my animals under those conditions. The animals were scared; I was scared; it was difficult not to pani

Justin Perkins | Michelle Hock | Kenny Ross By Craig Smith Justin Perkins If you’ve ever walked along the river promenade behind the Hatt Building, you might have seen a cluster of kayaks in the water—Justin Perkins in the middle of them in his wide brimmed straw hat, explaining to his clients how the Gold Rush impacted Napa, what changes in river wildlife have come about because of flood control, or maybe ghost stories about Captain Hatt. Perkins speaks with a co