‘ULTIMATE COCKTAIL DESTINATION’
Vintner to open The Fink in historic spot
Get ready to share a drink with The Fink.
That would be Judd Finkelstein, the namesake of Judd’s Hill, the Napa winery his trailblazing parents, Art and Bunny, built in 1989 after spending more than a decade as garage winemakers.
While Judd grew up in the business — his first steps were stomping on grapes — and has been a fixture at Judd’s Hill for decades, his true calling is in cocktails. And he is on the path to opening what he says will be wine country’s ultimate cocktail destination, The Fink.
“Cocktail hospitality,” he announced. “I was born to do this. And it’s happening!”
Located in downtown Napa’s historic Mill District in the former Silo’s jazz club space at the Napa River Inn, The Fink will feature craft cocktails culled from Finkelstein’s 17 years as a founding member of Napa Valley’s cocktail appreciation guild, Friends of Ardent Mixology. He also hosts a weekly KVON radio show, “Judd’s Napa Valley Show,” about eating and drinking in Napa Valley.
“Tradition, history, etiquette, culture, it all continues to fascinate me with every cork I pop, drink I mix, and glass I garnish,” said Finkelstein, who is known as The Fink to his cocktail buddies.
Considering Finkelstein’s passion for all things oldtime Hawaiian — he plays ukelele with his band, the Maikai Gents Featuring the Mysterious Miss Mauna Loa, and started a ukelele club in the Napa Valley — you would think The Fink would be a tiki bar. But that’s not the case.
“I wanted something a little more Napa-centric, something that honors the history of the location,” Finkelstein said, adding that the Mill District was the epicenter of the 19th-century river commerce that connected Napa to the rest of the world and allowed it to grow into a bustling city.
Expect a cocktail program, small bites and decor that match the global influences Napa would have seen back then.
Famed bar designer and longtime friend Danny Gallardo will lead the design of the space. Local barman Andrew Salazar (Tra Vigne, Miminashi), another friend, will serve as The Fink’s bar manager. He’s working on a mix of classic and specialty craft cocktails with ingredients and spices from around the world.
Over the years, various business groups have approached Finkelstein about going into the bar business with them, but he always declined.
“I knew that the time would come when I could open my own place, on my own terms, conveying my own cocktail hospitality,” he says.
He’s been honing that skill since he was 5. As Finkelstein tells it, he was just a tyke when his parents told him to pour drinks for guests who had come over for a celebration. When someone asked for a beer, little Judd grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and poured in the Schlitz.
Good thing his dad stepped in, showing him “how to lean the glass, gently pour the beer down the side to minimize the head and … lose the ice.”
“From that moment, I’ve been intrigued and maybe even obsessed with beverage service,” he said.
The Fink raised $50,000 via Indiegogo in three weeks “to get over the finish line” of construction. Expect a summer 2022 opening.
“Tradition, history, etiquette, culture, it all continues to fascinate me with every cork I pop, drink I mix, and glass I garnish.”
— Judd Finkelstein