Judd Finkelstein spends his days making wine at Judd’s Hill, his family’s winery and micro crush facility on the Silverado Trail. But at the end of the day, when he wants to relax, he often opts for a mixed drink.

“I’ll never be sick of wine,” he said. “But if I’ve gone through 50, 60, 70 barrels … I’d probably go with a cocktail at that point. Let my taste buds play around a little.”

A lot of vintners share his interest. When Judd and his wife Holly moved back to the Napa Valley a few years ago, they discovered that wine country is full of cocktail-loving wine makers.

Finkelstein thinks the connection is a natural one. “(Mixed drinks) allow us to play with flavors and textures and nuances and complexities that we deal with every day in the wine business,” he said. He thinks the immediacy is part of the appeal. “We don’t have to wait so long for the wine to come out of the bottle and bottle age — we can just make a drink and play with all these components.”

Finkelstein’s interest in cocktails led him three years ago to create a Napa-based cocktail appreciation guild called FOAM (Friends of Ardent Mixology). The group, which began as a small collection of friends, relatives, and acquaintances, now has an e-mail list of about 70, with some three dozen dues-paying members in good standing. Ages range from the mid-20s through the 80s. A real interest in cocktails — and an invitation from an existing member — are the only entrance requirements. “We welcome new membership, but we also want to keep it exclusive,” Finkelstein said. (Though not all that exclusive — they did allow this reporter to join.)

FOAM meets monthly, alternating between formal presentations with guest speakers, usually at a member’s home, and field trips. At the spring meeting, Marko Karakasevic from Charbay brought along green tea vodka, vanilla bean rum and a limited release whiskey for the group to taste. In July Finkelstein hauled out his home tiki bar and discussed tropical cocktails, mixing up a half-dozen nearly forgotten grog recipes and expounding on the history of Don the Beachcomber, the Los Angeles bar that set the style for Polynesian-themed lounges.

Field trips have included visits to local bars to check out the drinks menus as well as visits to distilleries and other facilities around the region.

Serious drinkers

FOAM meetings make for a happy hour (or two or three), but surprisingly little drunkenness. FOAM members sign a pledge discouraging over-imbibing. There’s a lot of socializing, but most are serious drinkers — in the sense that rounds of tastes are apt to be punctuated by learned dissertations on the merits of various types of absinthe, or a critique of the balance between flavors. During field trips, participants fill out a form rating the locale’s ambiance and service as well as the originality and creativity shown in the glass.

The group votes rare (and they hope coveted) awards, accompanied by certificates “to anyone who is showing excellence in the world of cocktail mixology,” Finkelstein said. Only a handful have been given out so far, for cocktails and producers the members considered outstanding.

Andrew Salazar, bartender at Tra Vigne, received one for his invention of a cocktail called the Lambretta Rosa (named for the Italian motor scooter), made with ginger-infused vodka, pineapple, lime juice and a splash of bitters. “It’s kind of a dry cocktail, Finkelstein said. “It’s pink — not pink like a cosmo, but pinkish.”

Marty Harrington of Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen also earned one for an individual cocktail, the Aristocrat. Finkelstein turns rhapsodic describing it. “It has everything. It’s a bit spicy, but it’s not hot. A little bit sweet but not cloying. It has that smokiness from Qi (a tea-infused spirit made in Alameda). … It has complexity. It’s delicious.” The recipe remains a secret, but does include muddled fresh ginger, jalapeno pepper and cilantro, he said.

As FOAM becomes more established, the plan is to seek out and award other examples of creativity, and to announce the awards biannually. “We’ll call a press conference,” Finkelstein said. “At a bar, of course.”

Cocktail attire required

FOAM members on a field trip can be easy to spot, not just because of the lack of wine glasses at their table. Members must hew to a dress code — jackets and ties for the gentlemen, cocktail dress for the ladies, evoking cocktail parties of an earlier era.

“I like that it’s a bit of a throwback,” Finkelstein said. “Personally, I like a retro feel, but the reason is to separate FOAM meetings from the rest of everyday life … getting you in the mind frame.” Plus, “I like getting dressed up. I like making an event of going out.”

It can also break the ice. “When we take a field trip and we’re dressed up, it can open up conversation.” Another icebreaker is the business cards that members are issued, featuring their self-selected FOAM nickname. Finkelstein’s cards announce he is Guardian of the Grog; Holly is the Chanteuse of Chartreuse. Other members include Lord Absinthe, the Mixmaster General and the Right Honorable Duke of Jiggers.

The spirit of fun helps, but bartenders also warm to group members because they offer true appreciation and knowledgeable discussion. Recent years have seen resurgence in bar creativity, fueled in part by the arrival of new and interesting spirits in the marketplace, as well as by a growing focus on fresh local ingredients. Many mixologists bring a sophisticated palate and a chef’s approach to their work. 

“It seems like in the past year or two there’s been a lot of ‘fresh from the garden’ — bartenders are taking classic drinks and tweaking them just a touch,” Finkelstein said.

Infusing and muddling are the new watchwords, along with fresh ingredients. At a summer outing in downtown Napa, the group discovered two drinks that used cucumbers. One, “Clear Conscience” served at Angele, features muddled cucumber (and so is actually cloudy, not clear). Bartender Talani Moranda said it was their most popular drink. The other, the “Spa Martini” created by bartender Annie Barker at Celadon features vodka infused with cucumber, creating a crystal-clear drink with a surprisingly bright cucumber taste. (It got my vote for best drink of the night.)

Interest in cocktails is growing, even here in the heart of wine country. The scarcity of liquor licenses has kept the number of full bars down in Napa, but that will soon be changing. Fifteen new licenses were recently approved for the county. In addition, Piccolino’s and Tuscany in downtown Napa both recently announced they were installing equipment to become brew pubs — a move that will also allow them to offer full bars. Retailers are getting into the act, too. When Back Room Wines recently moved to its new location on First Street, they added a selection of fine spirits, mostly from small artisan producers, with plans to expand the offerings.

Cocktails have only been around a couple hundred years, and their appeal has waxed and waned during that time. But Finkelstein thinks the current revival of interest is no fad. He said cocktails have a timeless appeal, and are here to stay — and so is his drinking guild.

“As long as people are distilling spirits and creating these lovely flavors, there should be people like us to enjoy them,” he said.