Sunday E-dition: Survey results and so much more

By Tim Carl

First, we want to thank everyone who participated in our first-ever subscriber survey. Here are the results.

Napa Valley harvest - Emma K. Morris Photo

The subscriber base of Napa Valley Features has grown to nearly 900 members in its inaugural month.

• Approximately 77% of the subscribers are using the free service, while the rest have opted for the $5 per month subscription, paid for a full year, 27 of whom are founding members.

• Survey participation rate was 12.5%.

• Survey respondents have varying opinions about taking surveys, with 43% finding them tolerable once a month at most and 10% enjoying surveys weekly.

• We were relieved to find that the vast majority of respondents (85%) reported that their experience interacting with Napa Valley Features has been “flawless,” with only minor glitches for 15%.

• When it comes to the frequency of receiving content, 60% of respondents prefer a few times a week, 28% prefer one original story every morning and 13% would like multiple posts per day.

• Topics of most interest include in-depth journalism (29%) and profiles of local people (25%).

• In a bit of a surprise, wine/restaurant reviews are of least interest to 41% of the respondents.

• Suggestions from respondents include holding in-person subscriber events (25%), including obituaries (25%) and printing a monthly magazine (22%).

• Within the comment section, besides encouragement and supportive comments, readers also suggest more coverage of local sports, adding school-age voices, artist profiles and the occasional surveys.

For all who participated, thank you. We’ve learned a lot, and your feedback has sparked quite a bit of excitement along with new ideas. For the 88% of our subscribers who didn’t participate this time, don’t worry, you can always leave comments and suggestions any time, and there’s always the next time when it comes to being an active member of Napa Valley Features.

Beyond the survey, we also heard from Sasha Paulsen on how the Napa Valley Vintners have transformed what had become rather predictable annual auctions into something more intimate that she referred to as a “return to Napa.”

Dave Stoneberg provided a deep dive into the history and compelling need for the upcoming WineaPAWlooza event to support Jameson Humane’s efforts to protect and care for the region’s displace animals, and another from Stoneberg on a development that is poised to have major impacts on the area.

Red-winged blackbirds - Tim Carl Photo

We learned from UC Master Gardeners about the importance of pollinators, read a vibrant review from Rosemarie Kempton of “The Great American Trailer Park Musical" and an intro to E & M Presents two upcoming family friendly shows and, of course, we had the ever-popular Paul’s Picks for weekend activities. And there was more, too.

Next week expect a piece on the growing use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) within Napa Valley wineries, a “organic” product that has been found to include banned synthetic chemicals, a breaking story that will likely ruffle some feathers, something on sake and a piece from our SoCal correspondent, Bonnie Graves, on what it was like to attend a recent Napa Valley Vintners event held in LA.

And as a special treat today, in a separate post solely available to our paid subscribers, we will delve into the world of Emma K. Morris, a talented photographer based in Napa Valley.

“Breaking” events

The Estate Yountville is hosting complimentary wine tastings on Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the month of June. On Thursday, you can enjoy wine tasting from Maxville Winery, and on Friday, Faust will be featured. The tastings are held at The Estate Yountville located at 6481 Washington Street in Yountville.

If you're looking for live music and a fun-filled evening, Calistoga's Concerts in the Park series is back! On June 15th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., you can attend these free concerts sponsored by the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce. They mark the "official" start to the summer and are highly anticipated by locals. This week, "The Magic Band" will be performing, specializing in Cumbias, Oldies, Latin Rock, and Old School music.

Calistoga Concerts in the Park - Tim Carl Photo

There’s also a neat-free event (although you need to RSVP) for Concierges and Drivers at the recently opened Calistoga Depot. The Calistoga Depot is a Boisset Collection-owned gallery of shops, food venues, bars, and an outdoor cafe with a pizza oven. Even if you don't meet the requirements for this event, it's definitely worth checking out at some point soon.

If you're looking for family-friendly activities, the annual Girl Scout Family Fun Fest is taking place on Saturday, June 17th, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will be held at Napa's Kennedy Park. While the event is free, tickets are required to attend. It promises to be an enjoyable experience for families, so make sure to secure your tickets in advance.