Food, drink, and wine in particular are important cultural media, spanning the globe as well as generations. For those reasons, Holly's Hill Vineyards, a family-run, multiple medal-winning brainchild of Tom and Holly Cooper, seems an apt subject for a recurring feature highlighting those who offer a taste with roots in Davis to the rest of the world. This story in particular is about a burgeoning wine country located in the El Dorado foothills, as well as about France's Rhone Valley, where the flavors offered at Holly's Hill originate. But the story of Holly's Hill begins here, in Davis.

In 1923, a doctor from Missouri named Tom Cooper stepped off the train in Davis, California. As his grandson (also named Tom) tells it, the doctor so loved this new town that he called his wife and said “sell the house and pack up the kids,” She obliged and, as a result, generations of Davisites were cared for by two generations of Doctors Tom Cooper. The Cooper House was built in 1928 and is still located on the corner of 4th and F Streets in downtown Davis. The building now serves as the offices of professionals specializing in the fields of social work and family therapy.

The current Tom Cooper, an attorney, spent his entire scholastic career, from elementary to law school, in Davis. His parents had met here, as did he and Holly.