Meet our girl in the valley. Natalie is Director, Sales and Marketing for Canopy Management wines and a founding member of the Wine Sisterhood. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Wine Business, Natalie began her career in the research department of Sutter Home/Trinchero Family Estates, and managed marketing projects for the National Accounts team before joining Canopy Management.

Among her many talents, we especially appreciate Natalie’s passion for food, wine and friends and how she mashes them all up in her own signature style. This makes Natalie our go-to girl whenever we want the scoop on the hot new dinner spot, a soon-to-be-famous winery, or the event to be at on a Saturday night. We joke that Natalie knows “everybody” in the Napa Valley, but that’s not far off the mark.  Need the perfect spot to propose—Natalie will ring up her friend the concierge at Napa’s most romantic inn. Want a private tasting at an appointment-only winery—Natalie will make a call. You get the picture.

Natalie is an avid bocce player on a team called “Joanie Loves Bocce” and as an accomplished home chef, is a member of an active and ambitious St. Helena cookbook club. Every so often she leaves the clubhouse a bit early to whip up paella or something else with way more steps than are necessary on a Wednesday night. Natalie and our friend Helen Jane Hearn also founded Cheese Whizzes, a Napa Valley social group devoted to the enjoyment of cheese and wine. No less than Food and Wine Magazine fell in love with the concept, and featured Natalie, Helen Jane and the Cheese Whizzes in their December 2009 entertaining issue.

Natalie’s network of friends and influencers goes beyond the Napa Valley. She recently attended the kick-off event of New York Fashion Week—the Red Dress Show—as a guest of the show’s creative director, and has provided us with Facebook updates from the East Village and McSorley’s “Wonderful” Saloon.

Natalie has been part of the Tough Enough To Wear Pink? breast cancer awareness project from its inception, and is our point person for Dress for Success and Wine, Women and Shoes, female-focused charities that the Wine Sisterhood and our portfolio of wine proudly support.

Look for Natalie and her black pug Minky, on the bocce courts at Crane Park, St, Helena. Minky is the pug with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. Or send Natalie an email if you and your sisters are coming to the Valley. We’re sure she’ll have some ideas on how to make your visit both memorable and delicious.

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