Press Releases
Napa Valley Winemaker's Band Plays
St. Helena Park
Napa Valley | CA
Napa Valley, California, June 2006---Napa Valley's ukulele-playing
winemaker, Judd Finkelstein, of Judd's Hill Winery, and his band
The Maikai Gents Featuring The Mysterious Miss Mauna Loa, will
open the (free) summer concert series at Lyman Park in St. Helena
on June 29, playing from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The opening act for
the performance will be The Wine Country Flea Jumpers, a Napa
Valley group of ukulele players. It will be an especially lively
evening, since The Maikai Gents will be bringing additional hula
dancers who will demonstrate and teach the audience. The entire
Judd's Hill family will greet the public and the band's CD (released
last year) will be for sale as well.
Judd performs lead vocals and strums the ukulele. The "Mysterious
Miss Mauna Loa" is an authentic hula dancer (Judd's wife
Holly Finkelstein). The band was formed in 2002 when Judd wanted
to have Hawaiian music as part of a birthday celebration at a
tiki resort in southern California. When he couldn't find a band,
he and a friend taught themselves several Hawaiian songs and performed
them to general enjoyment. In the years since, the band has performed
around the country at hip urbanite soirees and luaus from coast
to coast. To hear samples of the music and hear an interview with
Judd on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, visit their
website, www.mkgents.com.
In another Napa Valley appearance, on August 27, The Maikai Gents will be performing at The White Barn in St. Helena as part of Hawaiian Bash On The Grass. There will be hula dancing, a limbo contest, tiki carving and a showing of the 1953 film From Here To Eternity, which won 8 Academy Awards and starred Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed and Ernest Borgnine. This WWII drama chronicles the lives and loves of soldiers on an army base in Honolulu. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; festivities begin at 6:00 p.m.; The Maikai Gents perform at 6:00 p.m.; the film starts at 8:15 p.m. The White Barn is located at 2727 Sulphur Springs Avenue; for more information, 707/963-8536.
Why Hawaiian music? "Hawaii is pure magic to me," Judd
explains. "I went on vacation there throughout my childhood
and was always so struck by the lush beauty and sensuality of
everything there, the black lava rock, the intense green, the
blue waves and white sea foam, the flowers perfuming the air,
the ever present music: I wanted to play this music as way of
bringing me back to my happy times there, to re-create a feeling
of well being and happiness," he adds.
Judd has been musical his entire life, having been part of different bands in his teenage and college years. In 2002 he started playing the ukulele, and today is a hugely enthusiastic and charismatic proponent of this traditional Hawaiian instrument brought to the islands by early Portuguese settlers. In 2005, Judd started a ukulele club in Napa Valley, The Wine Country Flea Jumpers, whose members include chefs, designers and other winemakers; the group meets monthly and welcomes new members; they practice songs sung in Hawaiian as well as American standards.
Last summer Judd's band released its first CD, The Wiki Wiki
Grog Shop. The album consists of 16 vintage Hawaiian songs and
retails for $15.00 at www.mkgents.com. "Wiki" is a Hawaiian
term for "quickly" Finkelstein explains, "and 'grog
shop' a lighthearted acknowledgment of what I do all day in the
vineyard and the cellar," he adds. The songs are Hawaiian
classics, mainly written between 1930 and 1960, in the style known
as 'hapa haole,' a reference to their popularity with mainlanders.
Some of the songs are slow and sentimental, some zippy and danceable
-- all evoke the romantic ideal of Hawaii in its golden age of
tourism in the mid-twentieth century.
Judd's 'day job' is as part of the highly regarded winemaking
team at his family's winery---Judd's Hill. His family has been
making fine Napa Valley wines for over 30 years. Raised in the
Napa Valley, Judd has been part of the family winemaking team
since he was able to stand up and squash a grape under his feet.
Current releases from Judd's Hill are 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon ($42), 2002 Lodi Petite Sirah ($28), 2001 Napa Valley
Syrah ($26), 2004 Napa Valley Pinot Noir ($28) and 2003 Napa Valley
Magic ($20). You can join the winery's club---The Red Wagon Wine
Club - by visiting www.juddshill.com.
Judd's Hill MicroCrush is a custom winemaking service within
the Judd's Hill operation. Since 1992, MicroCrush has been making
small lots, as little as one barrel, of hand-crafted customized
wine for a range of clients, from vineyard owners to wine enthusiasts.
The service is all-inclusive, from fruit sourcing through bottling.
MicroCrush has helped launch several commercial brands as well
as fulfill the dreams of wine aficionados from around the world.
The move to the new winery will allow MicroCrush to expand and
service an increased number of clients as well as develop new
programs, like their special Barrel Blending Day Camp.
As of July 1, Judd's Hill Winery and Judds Hill MicroCrush have
moved to a new location in Napa at 2332 Silverado Trail (94558).
The winery will be open daily by appointment for tours and tasting,
by visiting the website (www.juddshill.com) or calling 866-438-5833.
Judd's Hill Winery is owned and operated by two generations of
the Finkelstein family. Founders Art and Bunnie, joined by Judd
and Holly, their son and daughter-in-law, are dedicated to producing
ultra-premium, handcrafted wines. The Finkelsteins have been making
wine in Napa Valley since the 1970s and continue to produce signature
wines that are fruit-driven, concentrated and eminently drinkable.
Their annual production is less than 3,000 cases. "Our move
makes us more accessible to those who enjoy our wines. We will
also be able to hold special winery events for our wine club and
customers at our new location," explains Judd Finkelstein,
winemaker and owner.
The Finkelsteins are widely recognized for their fine arts-fine
wine connection. They are currently in their fourth year of producing
the Merlot for the Sundance Institute in Utah for the "Celebrating
Wine as Art" program. The Silverado Trail location will allow
the family to showcase their individual interests in the arts.
Contact: Julie Ann Kodmur, 707/963-9632, corking@julieannkodmur.com or Judd Finkelstein, 866-get-judd, judd@mkgents.com, www.mkgents.com, www.juddshill.com
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