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NEWSMAKERS Faces& Forums Wine Sales Rock at Napa Music Festival Karen Allen and Nicholson Ranch owner and winemaker Deepak Gulrajani (right) listen to Michael Franti & Spearhead from the winery tent. Zeynep Suryel (left) and Rob Bundschu kick back at the Gundlach Bundschu tent situated adjacent to the Citi Stage area. N apa, Calif.—The first-ever BottleRock Napa festival was a success, according to wineries that partici- pated in the event. Winery owners and staff said sales were strong and they were able to promote their brands to a younger audience during the concert held May 8-12. The fiveday festival drew an estimated 120,000 people to see major acts such as The Black Keys, Kings of Leon and Zac Brown Band. Wineries set up tasting areas in the tents that ringed the concert grounds. "It was absolutely a complete success, and it was so well orchestrated," said Amelia Moran Ceja, owner and president of Ceja Vineyards in the Napa County side of Los Carneros AVA. Jason Mendel, Jeff Brown, Keely Chalmers, Trisha Brown and Kelly Gardner (from left) crowd around a cardboard cutout of Mike Grgich. Gardner is the wine club administrator for Grgich Hills. Rombauer Vineyards in St. Helena enjoyed some time in the spotlight on the show's main stage when Perry Farrell, lead singer of the band Jane's Addiction, started off his band's performance by taking swigs from a bottle of 2009 Rombauer Merlot. The winery's sales operations manager John Egan said he was working in the Rombauer tent when people began calling to let him know about the onstage wine tasting. The music festival did illicit complaints from residents living near the venue, and city officials have been hesitant to commit to a return of BottleRock in 2014. Wineries, however, say they'd welcome it. "We can't wait to come back next year and do it Mitty and Christine Sully, who works at Somerston Wine Co., greet guests sampling the Priest Ranch and High Flyer wine brands. Shirley Ricketts (from left) gets a Miner Family Winery temporary tattoo from Dave Miner and winemaker Gary Brookman. again," said Rory Clements, general manager of Cairdean Vineyards in St. Helena. —Andrew Adams Win es & Vi n es JU LY 20 13 27