Just before last year’s Auction Napa Valley, I wrote about an experience at the 2000 auction that I shared with a young couple from Ohio as we had the opportunity to taste some Harlan Estate wine — the same wine that brought $700,000 for a 10-bottle vertical at the auction.

In talking about that column with Stacey Dolan Capitani at Napa Valley Vintners I mentioned that I’d love to follow up with that couple but had no clue as to their identity. A few hours later Stacey sent an e-mail with the names of three couples from Ohio who attended that auction. I e-mailed the first one on the list and, bingo, it was the right one.

The couple are Mary Cusick and David Wible, and it turns out they have a long history with Napa Valley. They had come here several times a year in the 1990s because, Dave said, “We have an affinity for the wine and the place.” When they decided to get married, they chose Napa Valley as the location. In May, 1998, a wedding planner took them to several places, and they decided on the then Traulsen Winery, now Zahtila Vineyards, in Calistoga, as the wedding site. They were married on the steps of the winery building. In searching for wine that they could serve to their guests, they noted that Robert Craig Winery had received great reviews, so they contacted Lynn Craig and she sent them an assortment from which to choose. They became Robert Craig fans.

Fast forward to 2000 and the wine auction. Dave said Mary had given him the trip to the auction as a Christmas present because “I was so difficult to buy for,” and while the live auction items were out of their price range, they bought two cases of Robert Craig wine at the barrel auction. That led to a friendship with Robert and Lynn Craig and winemaker, Rudy Zuidema.

On a subsequent visit to Napa Valley, Dave was tasting wine at the winery and on a whim he asked Zuidema if he could use any help during crush. Zuidema replied, “Sure, come on out.”

“I’m not sure they believed me,” Dave recalled. “I think I kinda amazed them because I truly came to work as opposed to spending an hour or two at the winery and the rest of the week touring the valley.”

That was 2002, and he’s been working every crush since.

He comes to Napa Valley alone for what he calls “a bit of a work to relax week.” He remains for two weeks each year, stays at a house on the winery property, and begins his day at 7 a.m., often working as late as 10 p.m. Asked what he does, he replied, “Everything. Whatever is needed. It’s an opportunity to do a lot of things.”

Is he paid for his work? “No. The reward is they send me some wine. But the real reward is being there and being a part of it and being part of the family. They treat me just like I’m family.”

In an e-mail, Dave expanded his thoughts: “As a benefit I get to work at the winery for ‘free’ as I see that some of the forward thinking wineries are actually charging visitors to come work at their wineries. ... I do love capitalism!”

It has become an annual tradition. “Now they call me (in advance) to make sure I’m coming,” he said. “I’ll come out as long as they’ll have me.”

Dave, who has been a wine enthusiast since the 1970s, is executive director of North Market in Columbus, Ohio, a 132-year-old public market  with 35 merchants and nearly 20 participants in a farmers market. He took over the position in 2002 after a lengthy career as senior vice president of marketing and sales for Red Roof Inns.

His wife, Mary Cusick, who stays in Columbus while he’s working the crush, is senior vice president for marketing and communications for Bob Evans Farms, a major family restaurant and food products company in the Midwest.

The 2000 auction was the only auction they have attended, and it was an incredible experience for them. But it opened the door for Dave’s involvement with Robert Craig, and when he said that he and Mary came to Napa Valley because they had an affinity for the wine and the place, that really had a double meaning. Robert Craig’s flagship wine is named Affinity.

Jack Heeger is on hiatus and can be reached at  jheeger@pacbell.net.