The French author Charles Pierre Monselet once said, “The pleasant hours of our life all are connected…with some memory of the table.”

Ira C. Smith came to Northern California for the first time to broadcast a 1974 football game between the Michigan Wolverines and Stanford Cardinal. Visiting Napa Valley afterward, “I thought, ‘Wow, this is really a nice area,’” Smith said. He realized that if he lived in California, “I wouldn’t have to shovel snow or scrape windshields.”

One of the advantages of having a small business in Napa County is our size. The county is small enough that local businesses and community events are featured, yet we are big enough to have our own, local print media. Getting your business featured in the local media can obviously boost sales, but it can also provide you more credibility with vendors, bankers and the community at large. Media attention can be very important, but it is only a small part of your overall promotion strategy.

The arrival of one more luxury resort in the Napa Valley would be hardly worth mentioning except that eco-developer Phil Sherburne’s new Bardessono, recently opened in Yountville, just raised the bar for sustainable development in Napa County. And it may also be the hospitality model for the future.

Dear Len & Rosie, My mother named my sister and me as successor co-trustees in her revocable living trust; and co-executors in her will. We are the only heirs and will split her property 50/50. My question is, upon my mother’s passing, do we need to register with the probate court to be able to disburse her property? Her estate is less than $3 million (that includes her home owned free and clear) and there’s no dispute as to who inherits what. We’d rather do this ourselves and not use an attorney.