Those who can't find their dream experience in Traina's impressive lineup can fill out a "wish list." "On her watch we were really able to discover our styles and blend them," says Alexis. First Name. Something special that you can build anticipation for. Like Napa, Alexis latest travel and lifestyle guide is enchanting, full of hidden treasures and favorite spots not to be missed! For me it has always been the peoplea tapestry of interwoven multigenerational tribes made up of families, farmers, field-workers, wine- makers, chefs, and creative talent of all sorts. Alexis Swanson Traina, the San Francisco-based author and renowned authority on wine, style, and entertaining, celebrates the launch of her new book, From Napa With Love. When I was growing up here, we had this thing we called scary walks, and after dinner wed go out with our flashlights and walk through the vineyards. With this in mind, they were careful to create "public spaces separate from our private spaces.". Trevor Traina has been married once. Haute Living 2023 - All content and source 2019 Haute Living |, Social Media Management for Interior Designers, Social Media Management for Real Estate Developers, How Tennis Star Caroline Wozniacki Is Acing Life On And Off, 6 Skin Myths Debunked Courtesy Of The Red Door Spa, Haute Living Celebrates Rob Lowe At Grant Cardones, Haute Living Celebrates Chef Pierre Gagnaire With The, Haute Living Celebrates Katie Holmes & Her New IFC, A Celebration Of Cover Star Emily Hampshire With The, The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel Will Open Its Illustrious, Lenny Kravitz Is The New Face of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cooking For A Cause: Out Of The Kitchen South Florida, How Padma Lakshmi Is Stirring The Pot In The Second. He says, In 1975, I bought an old cabin, put a cupola on the top, and called it Tucker Farm Schoolhouse to make it sound legit-ish. "And I told my parents that they were now free to live as long as they wished." Plus, there are our daily edits of the hottest openings, tables and tickets, as well as our coverage of the most glamorous events in what is the most stylish state in the USA. My parents house is an enchanted, imaginative and romantic world with donkeys, sheep, chickens, playhouses and banana trees along the Napa River, says Alexis. There was a knock on the door, and the company's photography conservator came in to offer a print for his office. Everything awesome about summer in Napa Valley can be traced back to a glass of rosepeople sip it like water here. 2023 Cond Nast. Trevor in turn applauds his wife's "fabulous and whimsical eye," informed by legendary decorators including Tony Duquette, Michael Taylor, and Thomas Britt. Michael Taylor decorated Trevors parents homes, and his grandmothers house in Newport, Rhode Island, was done in the 1960s by Valerian Rybar; Thomas Britt decorated the homes of Alexis parents. I started by collecting American art in my twenties. Parker Thatch always makes the best summer totes loaded with personality and charm." His hobby is collecting photographs, an exhibition of his collection in summer 2012 at the Fine Arts Museum was discussed in the media. Fantasy environments are certainly a leitmotif in the couple's life together; Trevor proposed in the handbag rotunda of Bergdorf Goodman. Over the course of the next decade, he and his partners founded and sold three more tech companies: SchemaLogic (a document-management service), StepUp Commerce (which connected retailers with online shoppers) and DriverSide.com (a site on which car owners could manage their vehicle maintenance). Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. The home today is spacious enough that Trevor and Todd and their families are able to share it as a weekend retreat from their primary residences in Pacific Heights. "It really hit home that San Francisco has become the center of the idea economy." He sits on the board of six other nonprofits as well. He arrived in Napa Valley at age 12 when his parents, Eleanor and Francis, bought a house and moved the family up from San Francisco. "San Francisco right now is like the Florence of the Medicis. The house we built together in San Francisco is very contemporary, with my photography collection and objects weve inherited and purchasedits a more sophisticated mix, in a sense, Trevor says. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. 1999 Traina started his career as brand manager at Seagram's. I wanted to tell a new story about Napa Valley, one that illuminated the talent, spirit, and creativity that enriches our kitchen tables, wine cellars, homes, closets, book shelves, and celebrations. Trevor's latest Internet venture is DriverSide.com, a Web site focused on car maintenance. Alexis Traina Shares Her Summer Essentials. Now comes our first glimpse into their glamorous new lives in Europe. Just about the only member of Traina's clan who seemed to have escaped the blessings of providence was President James Buchanan, who had the misfortune of being followed in the White House by Abraham Lincoln. The home was built in the 1860s by H.W. And what better place for a Renaissance man to play than amidst the dizzying variety of activities offered by IfOnly? And then one day, the pay phone rang in the hallway of my dormitoryit was my Dad calling, with news: Were moving. Here, time slows down, and things like cars, wine and friendships evolve and improve with age. Thats when I thought, how is it possible that in a world of so much color, we were operating in blue text bubbles and emojis, or modern caveman hieroglyphics as I call them." Larry Lovett, Nicole Hanley, Alexis Swanson and Trevor Traina attend Venetian Heritage MAN RAY Photo Exhibition at VBH on May 4, 2006 in New York. . Allison Speer, Alison Pincus, Marissa Mayer, Denise Hale, Dede Wilsey, Kathryn Lasater, Alicia Engstrom, and Ken Fulk were some of the locals who jumped the pond to attend Trainas festivities. Alexis parents, Elizabeth and W. Clarke Swanson, uprooted their family (Alexis sisters, Veronica, a clothing designer, and Claiborne, a photographer, are based in New York) from Naples, Fla., in 1985, when they purchased 100 acres on Oakville Cross Road and started Swanson Vineyards. All I knew about Napa was what I learned watching Falcon Crest. I started to research my book, From Napa with Love, which was published by Abrams in September, by reaching out to the areas most colorful characters, people I grew up around or just admired, like film-maker and writer Roman Coppola, interior designer Ken Fulk, and Elizabeth Swanson, my wonderfully talented mother. There's also a philanthropic component to the business. "Most of the luminaries are doing this for charity, so most, if not all, of their part is usually donated," Traina explains. / AFP PHOTO / APA / HANS PUNZ / Austria OUTHANS PUNZ/AFP/Getty Images, Dubs fans picking apart video of possible Poole-Draymond incident, Bay Area preschool teacher suspected of dumping body along road, Bay Area mom influencer found guilty of lying about kidnapping, Destructive landslide closes historic California institution, More rain, 'unseasonably chilly' temperatures coming to Bay Area, 'Horrible': Oakland rapper dumps on Chase Center Warriors fans, 49ers out in full force at Warriors-Kings Game 7, Sold-out Berkeley crowd gets rowdy at country star's concert, Horoscope for Monday, 5/01/23 by Christopher Renstrom, Shock, fear as 2 killings in 3 days rock quiet Davis, Steph Curry killed off the Kings with a smile, On an island of resorts, this Hawaii hotel is the budget option, Des Linden unveils new book, shares race day must-haves, 11 gadgets to boost your WFH productivity, Why every Californian needs an air quality monitor, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). There's this incredible mix of business and art and creativity that's producing a new Renaissance." by Alexis Swanson Traina (Author) 68 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $2.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $26.94 Other new and used from $4.25 Napa Valley is a wonderland boasting beautiful weather, exquisite vistas, bespoke hotels, Michelin-rated restaurants, and world-class wineries. "We were both so passionate about creating a home and a family and a life," says Trevor. But, if you ask Alexis Swanson Traina, that s exactly why she launched a line of $12.99 wines at Target. There is madcap Dodie Rosenkranz, whose villa was decorated by Michael Taylor in a style that Britt characterizes as "palace in Calcutta." Now theyre reinventing the narrative of wineand doing a good job at it. "It used to be embarrassing to go to bars and demand Sunset Passions," he remembers, as he sips a glass of cabernet from his in-laws' Swanson Vineyards in the Napa Valley--his wife, a wry Southern beauty, is from the frozen-foods family. With unparalleled photography, insightful journalism and sophisticated wit, it is the arbiter of Californias taste and trends. My mother-in-law, here with my daughter Delphina, is known for philanthropy, her collectors eye, and, in Napa Valley, her vineyards in Rutherford surrounded by gardens and a miniature train station. She resides in San Francisco with her family. She is a devoted advocate for people with disabilities. Photo: Photographed by Drew Alter. As a child, my family lived in a small town in southwest Florida, where my after-school friends were the elderly ladies of the neighborhood who taught me everything I know about dark chocolate, cards, port wine cheese, housecoats and men. He commissioned Venice-based textile maven Sabina Fay Braxton to create a stamped crimson velvet and, in the tradition of grand eighteenth- and nineteenth-century establishments, "bathed the whole thing in itwalls, curtains, sofas, the works." The ceremony took a half-hour, according to Daniel S. Mattern, public affairs official with the American embassy. The airy dining room overlooking the garden is balanced by two custom-made banquettes, Venetian grotto furniture and a proud pair of peacocks. I wondered if wed live near Lorenzo Lamas. In the end, it enriched our friendship deeply. We spend our weekends tinkering with old cars. A signed pair of golf pants worn by Gary Player in the 1960 British Open ($10,000) will come wrapped with white golf tees. Katie has a passion for travel and all things beautiful. He is heir to a name that has long been synonymous with Napa. In the blink of an eye, Napa was no longerjusta destination for wine lovers but a haven for conviviality, hospitality, peacockery, tastemaking and soul-seeking. She chronicled it all in a blog, Alexis Napa for the Curious and Eccentric. Traina and his wife, Alexis, packed up their two children and moved to Vienna. Alexis Traina, creative director at Swanson Vineyards, is one busy person. This website is a curation of past articles. 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