10/05/2015 - A Yountville Retrospective

This week, Steve delves back 50 years to the incorporation of Yountville, now a mecca of fine dining, shopping and wine tasting.  Our guests, John Dunbar, Mayor of Yountville and Steve Bardessono, owner of the land where Bardessono Inn & Spa now sits, reflect on the changes over that time, and how it has grown into an international visitor and dining destination.

Yountville, Napa Valley, offers the quintessential Wine Country experience in an idyllic and tranquil setting. This inviting and charming town is sure to inspire, providing visitors what they’ve come to expect in a world-renowned destination, with the unmistakable flavor of surprise, too. Yountville is simply an experience for every taste.

Coupled with the spectacular wineries that come with the territory, Yountville offers so much more. Whether it’s the unmatched dining, world-class art community, thriving and eclectic shopping options, luxurious hotels, quaint inns and spectacular spas, or simply the breathtaking scenery and friendly locals, the Yountville experience awakens all the senses.

Yountville is proud to be the home of fantastic Michelin-rated restaurants. National and international media frequently come calling for its incomparable chefs, and every visitor finds something—usually several somethings—to please their palette.

Between Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theatre, the Art Walk and Napa Valley Museum, Yountville rewards new and returning visitors with stunning and ever-changing creative displays. Yountville delights in its wide-ranging cultural experiences with new exhibits and performances, as well as a full events schedule and seasonal extravaganzas. There is always something exciting happening to keep visitors coming back for more.


John Dunbar
Yountville Mayor

John F. Dunbar was re-elected to a second term as Mayor November 4, 2014.  Mayor Dunbar was first elected Mayor November 2, 2010. Prior to being elected Mayor, he was elected as a Council Member November 7, 2006 and was appointed by Council as Vice Mayor for two consecutive terms. Dunbar was first appointed as a Council Member by the Town Council on October 19, 2004 to fill an unexpired term of office due to a resignation of a former elected Council Member. Dunbar also served on the Town’s Zoning & Design Review Board prior to being appointed to the Town Council.

In addition to serving on the Town Council, Dunbar represents the Town of Yountville on the following regional and county wide boards and commissions: 

• Yountville Tourism Improvement District – Local Governing  Committee
• Napa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District (Member)
• Napa County Transportation & Planning Agency (NCTPA) (Member)
• City Selection Committee (Mayor) 
• Napa County League of Governments (NCLOG) 
• League of California Cities (North Bay Division)
• 25th District Agricultural Association, Napa Town and Country Fair Board (Governor Brown Makes Appointment)
• Napa County Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee

Steve Bardessono


A third-generation Yountville resident, Steve Bardessono's family settled in the little town of Yountville in 1926. When Steve and wife Pat Bardessono built their home on the property in the early 1970’s, they incorporated into it an existing stone building meant for wine storage. (An underground wine cellar was not possible due to the high water table, so in the late 19th century their family built the aboveground stone “cellar”). In later years, the building was taken apart stone by stone and saved for reuse on the Bardessono (inn and spa) exterior walls. The stone is a local limestone called Tufa. The large blocks of the Tufa stone have been sliced into tiles and used on both the exterior and interior of public spaces of the namesake LEED Platinum certified 62-room Bardessono Inn & Spa.

Steve Bardessono with older brother Peter in the early days of Yountville, and now.