I suppose it's true of most small towns or closely knit neighborhoods; an area develops its own language made up of ordinary words that have special meaning to the folks who call that place home. The Napa Valley is no exception, and while some of the slang comes from the grape growing and wine industry that is so prevalent here, a lot of it is just stuff that locals say.
If you are from the Napa Valley, you'll know most of these and will probably have a chuckle remembering what it was like to grow up around Oreo Cookie Cows and Cruisin' the J. If you are planning on visiting the Napa Valley, maybe this list will help you seem less like a tourist when you're driving down the Trail.
Oreo Cookie Cows
This well known Napa Valley phrase refers to a herd of Dutch Belted Cattle that, as you can see from the picture, look an awful lot like a certain double-stuffed cookie. The importance of this herd, however, has nothing to do with their black and white coloration but everything to do with the location of the herd at the corner of an important intersection. This intersection is a confusing merge of Highway 29 (called locally just "the highway") and Hwy 12, or is it Hwy 121 or the Sonoma Highway? The problem is that this single stretch of country highway is all three, depending on which map you use and if you told someone to turn right at Hwy 12, there are several other locations you might be referring to. Confused yet? Thankfully, for at least a couple of generations now, the Napa Valley Oreo Cookie Cows have stood out as an easy to notice landmark. So the next time you're heading out to Sear's Point, turn right at the Oreo Cookie Cows and you'll be heading in the right direction!
Sears Point
Just as confusing as the Highway that takes you from Napa Valley, is the Raceway of Many Names. Known as Sears Point after the Sears ranch where it was built, the 2.52 mile long race course was renamed Infinion in 2002 and then renamed again in 2012 to be called
Sonoma Raceway. Most Napkins still call it Sears Point as no one can keep track. (pun intended)
Napkins
The cutesie name local Napa folks call themselves. No one else seems to call us that, but we think it's quite clever.
Crush
That crazy, exciting time of year when the harvest is in and the grapes get crushed to relieve them of their divine nectar. At heart, the Napa Valley is a farming community and, as such, much of the culture revolves around the seasons.
Harvest season (or just "Harvest" to us locals) starts as early as late August and can go as late as the end of October, depending on the weather. As the grapes come in to the wineries they are crushed and the whole Napa Valley smells of fermenting grapes. While many await this time of year as a culmination of many months of hard work, others dread it as the combination of grape bins being hauled by slow tractors, an influx of tourists to the valley, and back-to-school madness means but one thing - TRAFFIC. The quick trip to the store that usually takes you just a few minutes the rest of the year, can end up taking what feels like forever during crush. But hey, at least you can bask in the scent of crushed grapes as you sit parked on The Trail.
The Trail
The Napa Valley has two parallel arteries that travel South to North, Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. "The Trail," as we call it, used to be a secret passageway that only locals knew could get you from one end of the valley to the other while avoiding the congestion of Highway 29, but now, everyone seems to know about this beautiful stretch of road. Now you have to get up pretty early to avoid tourists driving 30 miles under the speed limit in search of one of the many wineries along this road, the cyclists who seem to take their lives into their own hands and the locals who just want to get to work on time.
Up Valley/Down Valley
The small towns of
St. Helena and Calistoga are part of the Up Valley area and locals will proudly proclaim "I live upvalley" if anyone asks. Napa and American Canyon are Down Valley but only Up Valley folks call it that. At the center of Napa Valley is the darling hamlet of Yountville but no one says "Central Valley" unless they are referring to the hardware store.
The Lake
While there are several bodies of water in the Napa Valley, if you hear someone say they are heading up to The Lake for the weekend, you can be sure they are planning on dropping a line in nearby Lake Berryessa. There is a small island in the middle of the lake that some locals call Buffalo Lake because several decades ago, some farmer got the bright idea to put a herd of buffalo out there without building a fence to keep them in. I guess he thought they couldn't swim away so why bother building a fence? He was wrong.
The City
One of the nice things about living in the Napa Valley is the opportunity to live a small town life while being within a short drive to one of the cultural meccas of the world,
San Francisco. The City by the Bay is just 50 miles away and is simply called "The City" by most Napa folk.
Taylors
For decades this walk-up hamburger joint has been a favorite of locals and visitors alike; unfortunately, you won't find it on any map. In 2010, the historic resteraunt was renamed
"Gott's Roadside" after a family dispute. Most long-time residents still insist on calling it Taylor's and it's still got the best (gourmet) burgers and shakes in town and a great place to grab a bite before cruisin' the J.
Cruisin the J
Most teenagers will tell you there is little
to do in the Napa Valley and since the 1950s, driving up and down Jefferson Street in downtown Napa has been one of the few ways for bored teens to get their kicks. If you didn't grow up in a small town, you will never be able to understand the simple joys of cruising with the windows down, music blasting, checkin' out the other kids. Unfortunately, in the late 80's "cruising" was actually outlawed (no, this isn't a remake of Footloose). Cruisin' the J has been relegated to just one night a year, traditionally the last weekend before school starts, when locals cruise their hot rods and classic cars for everyone to enjoy.
Napa State
If someone accuses you of having just left Napa State, don't take it as a compliment.
Napa State Hospital has been home to those deemed "criminally insane" since it opened it's doors in 1875.
Go Green!
Kayak Napa Valley has donated the use of their kayaks to anyone who wants to clean up the river from the water! 
