"Straight Outta Compline" Wine Shop
Where to drink more wine in Napa
Photo Credit Chester Cooley Photography (IG @chester_cooley)
In fall of 2020, I was invited to participate in a Zoom tasting. The topic? Hungarian dry Furmint. I thought, “Where am I going to get a Hungarian wine in Napa, much less a dry Furmint?” Voilà, Compline to the rescue. At the time, off-premise wine was also sold from the restaurant. In 2022, I wrote about this wine and won my category in the Hungarian Wines Web Wine Writing Competition, which became the catalyst for my multiple trips to Hungary and my love affair with Hungarian wines – and ignited my respect and adoration for Compline as a staple of Napa’s food and wine scene.
Compline’s restaurant has been a popular spot since 2017 – and has garnered well-deserved media recognition throughout the years for dishes like their duck fat fries and burger. The name Compline – pronounced like Compton – whose play on words “Straight Outta Compline” used to adorn the restaurant’s T-shirts – comes from the Latin word completorium – the final hour of the monastic day when monks congregate before retiring. “We wanted to bridge our love of European and Californian wines at Compline, and I felt that paying homage felt right. Monks were essential in the development of wine throughout Europe, and they brought the first vines up the California coast,” shared co-owner Matt Stamp. “The Latin word compleo, from which completorium is derived, doesn't mean ‘to complete’ so much as ‘to fill’ – as in to fill one's cup! Made it even more fitting!”
When the world began reopening after the pandemic, I found myself drawn to Compline time and time again to attend wine masterclasses, including Santorini (Greece), Germany, and my beloved Hungary. It was during one of those classes that Stamp announced that he and his business partner Ryan Stetins were soon opening a separate wine shop a few steps away. “When we opened the restaurant in 2017, we had a small retail shop in our entryway. But we always wanted to do something bigger. During the pandemic, we started to play around with online sales and started to consider expansions – a second restaurant, a food truck or two, or... wine retail. Wine is always at the core of Compline's being, so when we opened Compline Wine Shop in October 2022, it felt like the most natural thing,” said Stamp.
Photo credit Kali Kirschman
Today Compline Wine Shop has grown to around 1000 different wines from around the world, the most popular regions being Bourgogne, Champagne, and Napa. At any given time, the shop has around 15 wines from Hungary (I check often!) – as well as some from other lesser-known Central and Eastern European countries, classic locales like Italy and Spain, Southern Hemisphere countries like Chile and New Zealand, and other U.S. regions like Sonoma and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. At the time of publication, Compline also has at least one Finger Lakes Riesling, an English traditional method sparkling wine, and a non-alcoholic wine. “We buy what we are excited about, what tastes great, what is otherwise difficult to come across, and what we feel like are generally great wines at many different price points. We taste as much as we can, vintage after vintage, before we buy,” added Stamp. “Most importantly we keep all the wines at 57° – cellar temperature. Modern wines, especially those produced with less sulfur, are bound to change quickly in any environment over 64°. And not in a good way.”
Compline offers both a locals’ club (two bottles monthly) and a quarterly club (six bottles shipped per quarter). The wines are tasted and selected by the team – all who have been at the shop since it opened – including Stamp, Stetins, tasting bar manager Dane Campbell, and shop manager Peter Wassam. “We're a shop that loves getting you the right wine for you, at whatever price point you want. Seriously, no one knows more about wine than Peter – just strike up a conversation,” shared Stamp.
Photo credit Kali Kirschman
What sets Compline apart from other shops is that it’s more than a store – the experience includes a tasting bar led by the always spirited and knowledgable Campbell – plus comfortable bar and table seating and an old-school turntable – with most of the vinyl collection curated by Campbell himself. One can choose from tasting flights (local and international) or wines by the glass or bottle. “If you're tired of drinking Napa Cabernet at 50+ tasting rooms in downtown Napa, come check our flights out. They are under $50 and feature all kinds of cool, exploratory wines from all over the world,” said Stamp.
Tasting events include winemaker-guided flights (examples include Alfio Cavallotto, Chris Carpenter, Chiara Pepe, and Jerome Galeyrand), importer-led flights (like Eric Danch of Danch and Granger Selections – the importer of THAT Hungarian wine – Kermit Lynch, Paul Wasserman, Martin Reyes, MW), and networking opportunities like Tish Wiggins' VINO & VINYL nights. “If I ever get the time, we'll host more Wine Jeopardy. When Dane writes the questions, we'll do a big Turntable Trivia pub quiz night too,” added Stamp.
Photo Credit Chester Cooley Photography (IG @chester_cooley)
Compline’s décor also includes a neon “Drink More Wine!” sign that hangs above the turntable. When the restaurant opened, it was the sole business in the dark alley of an abandoned shopping mall – the area that is today’s vibrant First Street Napa – so Stamp and Stetins put a neon sign in the window – “Open Right Now” – to help customers find the restaurant in the darkness. The landlords were not a fan. “So, we replaced it with this one – ‘Drink More Wine!’ That we could all get behind. It hung in the restaurant's front window for four years. Once the mall came to life, we decided to move it to the shop,” revealed Stamp.
The sign is iconic in its own right – it has become the shop’s most “Instagramable” shot – and a befitting tagline for one of downtown Napa’s – and the country’s – premier places to drink more wine.
Photo Credit Chester Cooley Photography (IG @chester_cooley)