Loron N. McGillis Visits Bill Smith at His Howell Mountain Vineyard - 2012

 

Loron N. McGillis Visits Bill Smith at His Howell Mountain Vineyard

In September 2012, I watched as two old friends greeted each other in the warm California sun. While touring the Napa Valley with my father, Duke McGillis * and Carrie McCoy, we decided to visit the W.H. Smith Winery in the hills of Howell Mountain, east of the hamlet of Angwin. As he shook hands with W.H. (Bill) Smith **, my father reminisced, “Bill, I first met you and your wife, Joan in 1978”.

In those days Bill & Joan Smith lived in a century-old farmhouse at La Jota Vineyards, a few miles down the hill from where we stood. Subdivided from the original Spanish land grant of the same name, La Jota featured an 1898 gravity-fed, fieldstone winery. Despite the remaining early infrastructure, Howell Mountain had seen little wine produced or bottled since the Great Depression. Although the history of viticulture in around Howell Mountain was rich, the place was little-known to most wine critics, consumers and historians.

On July 4, 1978, I had the pleasure of attending the first La Jota Vineyards holiday barbecue. This annual event later achieved near cult status among the Smith’s friends and neighbors. Arriving a day early, we slept overnight in sleeping bags out in a small pasture. The next morning, Bill Smith used his new Kubota tractor to dig a pit for slow-roasting crabs or lobsters over the coals.

Several years later, during another celebration at the old farmhouse, Bill’s fine new Howell Mountain Estate - La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon flowed freely. Dinner that night was to be poached salmon. My father’s wife, the late Joyce McGillis had what must have been a twenty-pound salmon poaching atop the stove. When we finally wrestled the huge fish onto a cutting board, the first slice told us that the fish was still raw. Somehow, we got that huge fish back into the boiling water. The second time we tried it, the entire fish was poached to perfection. Since fish, wine and miracles go well together, we all broke bread, toasted to our chef and enjoyed the meal.

In his early days of wine making, Bill Smith was an admitted amateur at the craft. If something was not going well in the old stone winery, he studied it, and then fixed the problem. If the problem was beyond his own expertise, he sought qualified help. Bill's strategy of continuous improvement worked well. Critics and consumers alike enjoyed each new vintage of La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon. Those on the vineyard’s mailing list enjoyed limited releases of exotic varietals such as Viognier and Nebbiolo. While Cabernet Sauvignon remained the basis of La Jota’s fame, respect for the label grew. In 2001, the prestigious Markham Vineyards purchased Bill and Joan Smith’s La Jota Vineyard Company.

Not only critics and consumers loved the flavor concentration and firm structure of a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Historians, as well looked at the viticultural history of Howell Mountain. On its eroded and forested plateau, Howell Mountain had more vines planted in 1900 than it does today. Based on research by wine historian Charles Sullivan, Howell Mountain became the first sub-appellation to the Napa Valley. In 1983, Howell Mountain received recognition as an American Viticultural Area (AVA). Bill and Joan Smith’s leadership in reviving Howell Mountain as a premium wine making area helped make that prestigious designation possible.

In 2003, my father and I traveled again to Howell Mountain. This time it was to see the Smith’s new home, winery and vineyards. Their new place was only a mile or so up the road from their old La Jota Vineyards. Their beautiful new house featured a permanent barbeque pit large enough for a whole roast pig. On the next July 4, there would no need to dig a hole with a tractor. With its long view to the Napa Valley below, the Smith’s new Piedra Hill Vineyard looked like a sure winner. Later, when the Smiths purchased a Pinot Noir Vineyard in Sonoma County, the Piedra Hill label gave way to the new and current, “W.H. Smith Wines” label.

During our 2003 visit, Bill Smith had just begun his most ambitious construction project. Although Napa Valley vintners could build large-scale production facilities on the flatlands, no commercial building on Howell Mountain could protrude above the ridgeline. In order to create the perfect temperatures for finishing and storage of wine, Bill opted to go underground. With help from the experts, Bill Smith drilled three parallel tunnels into a Howell Mountain hillside. Today, the artificial caves house operations, barrel storage and finished inventory for the winery.

During our September 2012 visit, Joan Smith was in Kauai, conducting business for the winery. After a quick visit to their Spanish style home, we drove a short distance to the caves. After visiting with the office manager, we prepared to leave. Then, in a flash of light, Bill Smith drove up in a new black Chevrolet pickup truck. After greetings all around, Bill admitted in his own humble way, “It is a great vehicle, but I still cannot figure out how all the gadgets work”. Just as he did at La Jota Vineyards thirty-five years ago, I am sure that Bill Smith will figure out how to take full advantage of what his new vehicle has to offer.

* (Author's Note) On February 9, 2013, Dr. Loron N. (Duke) McGillis passed away peacefully, in his sleep, at his home in Berkeley, California.

** (Author's Note) William Howard (Bill) Smith passed away on June 13, 2017 at his home in St Helena, California.

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By James McGillis at 04:26 PM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link

Dining at the Legendary Paul Pink's Hot Dog Stand in Los Angeles, 90038 - 2012

 

Dining at the Legendary Paul Pink's Hot Dog Stand in Los Angeles, 90038

In January 2012, I toured Los Angeles, California, stopping first at the Hollywood Bowl for a water display created and produced by LACoFD Truck Company 8. After that memorable experience, I headed south on Highland Blvd. through old "Hollywood 28". After postal Zip Codes came into use, that designation changed to Hollywood 90028. Even today, the cognoscenti are aware that real Hollywood resides within that one postal designation. Nearby areas pretend to be Hollywood , yet no other Zip Code can legitimately make that claim. At Sunset Blvd., I turned west and then turned south again to 709 North La Brea Ave. There I stopped for lunch.

For readers who do not know that address, it is the location of Pink’s Hot Dogs. As the Great Depression wore on in 1939, Paul and Betty Pink bought a rickety pushcart and went into business selling hot dogs. At the time, a Hoffy brand hotdog “made special for Pink’s”, served in a long split roll and ensconced in cardboard boat lined with an under-sheet of wax paper, cost ten cents. If lunch at Pink's was then ten cents, was coffee a nickel?

The Pink family built, or possibly remodeled the current building in 1946. In a nod to the diverse neighborhood in which it stands, one half of Paul Pink’s contiguous building still houses the Things-Antiques store. In 1939, when Paul Pink purchased his pushcart, my father was fourteen years old and living in L.A.'s Fairfax District. Each weekend, he would travel between his father's home in Los Angeles and Sunland California, where his mother and stepfather lived. In researching this article, I asked if he had any memories of Paul Pink’s that he might share. Here is what he had to say.

Dr. Loron N. (Duke) McGillis: “Each Sunday, we would travel through Cahuenga Pass and then would navigate to the corner of Melrose Ave. and La Brea Blvd. On the northwest corner of the intersection, there was a station. Next door, at 709 North La Brea Ave. stood a pushcart where a man sold hotdogs. I do not remember if a hotdog cost a dime, but a Hershey bar or a Coke was only a nickel, so that sounds right. In those prewar days, there was no discernible smog in Los Angeles. With help from Google Street View, I can still see that cart, shining in the sun. It stood on the parkway or sidewalk, right where people still stand in line for a hotdog. His hotdogs were so great that Paul Pink's became our regular Sunday stop.”

On La Brea Ave., three blocks south of Pink’s is the local branch of the Bank of America (BofA). As Paul’s son told the story in a recent BofA Television ad, Paul Pink strode into the BofA branch one day and asked for a loan. The granting of that loan led to Pink's new location in 1946 and to an enduring business relationship.

In July 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridgee made headlines with their visit to Los Angeles, and to legendary L.A. eatery Paul Pink's Hot Dogs. Although no one so famous as they were present in the Hollywood crowd, I noticed Spokesmodel Carrie McCoy,waiting patiently in line.

“I’m having a chili dog and a Coke", Carrie stated. "What will you have?”

“I’ll have the same, thank you”, I replied with a smile. We had places to go and things to see, so this was no time for a complicated order.

As we wended our way through the slow shuffle of the line, I asked Carrie why she came to Pink’s Hot Dogs on that day. “For me”, she said, “it is all about Paul Pink. He was such a beautiful man”.

“So, you knew Paul Pink personally”, I asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yes. I was born nearby, at the Queen of Angles Hospital. My early childhood, I spent here in Hollywood. Later, in the 1980s, I worked at the BofA, here on La Brea Ave. Paul Pink would come in to deposit his cash receipts at our branch. I remember that he was happy and friendly to everyone he met. Almost daily, he would travel the three blocks from his store to the bank. Sometimes, he would bring hot dogs for everyone. It was always a treat to see Paul Pink. To me, 'Paul Pink’s' is the proper name for this place".

After several minutes, our simple order of two chili dogs received top priority from the staff. Soon, Carrie McCoy and I were sitting out back in the patio area. It was late January in Los Angeles and we were out there having fun in the warm California sun. The food was so good that we finished eating in a matter of minutes. Although each of our meals cost more than ten cents, I must say that for me it really hit the spot.

Thank you to Los Angeles native, Carrie McCoy for dining with us at Paul Pink’s. Her personal story added greatly to an authentic Hollywood experience, even if we were in Hollywood 90038.

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By James McGillis at 10:11 PM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link