Yountville, Calif. — It’s a flawless, 70-degree January day in Napa Valley, so quiet and still that Carmen Policy’s Mediterranean-esque home, surrounded on all sides by grape vineyards backed by mountains, feels like an oil painting. The pool sparkles, and the lemon and orange trees lining the garden’s stone paths are heavy with fruit.
It’s lunchtime. Former Indy 500 race-car driver Randy Lewis drops by bearing bottles of his winery’s Chardonnay and 2006 Van Gris Rosé. He and Mr. Policy, former president of the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers, seat themselves at the 14-foot limestone table in the outdoor kitchen where they share a meal of Cornish hen and roasted fingerling potatoes, cooked in the wood-burning oven by a chef from Bottega, a local restaurant.
Completed on 14 acres a little more than a year ago, Mr. Policy’s $15 million estate is one of the hubs for the community of professional athletes and big-time sports executives who have channeled their competitiveness and their resources into the Napa wine scene. Mr. Policy’s winery, housed in another location, will release its first batch of Cabernet Sauvignon this March. Former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana grows grapes down the road. Arnold Palmer, Mario Andretti and Jeff Gordon all have their names on local labels.
wsj.com
1/23/09
