Written by Mary Dan Eades on April 29, 2016
Upcoming in the LIVE AUCTION of our When in Rome… Spring Gala. Wine and Dine in Napa!
LOVE FOOD? LOVE WINE? LOVE COOKING? YOU GOT IT!
Escape to Napa for a food and wine adventure! 3 nights (for 2) at the Meritage Resort and Spa, Farmer’s Market Tour, Cooking Class, Napa Valley Wine Train with Gourmet Dinner, Olive Oil Tour & Tasting.
Suggested Retail Value: $3500+ Minimum starting bid: $2750
This Experience Includes:
- Napa Valley cooking class and farmers market tour with “Cooking with Chef Julie” Cooking School, including a 3-course lunch with wine pairings for 2
- 3-hour gourmet dinner for 2 on the Napa Valley Wine Train
- Private tour and tasting for 2 at Talcott Olive Oil Estate in Napa
- 3-night stay in a standard guest room at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa Valley
- Daily breakfast for 2.
- Winspire booking & concierge service
Cooking with Chef Julie Cooking School
You and your guest will join Julie Logue-Riordan, CCP, for an insider’s look at Napa Valley’s culinary scene, as she takes you on an intimate tour of local farmers markets, followed by a small group cooking class and 3-course lunch paired with Napa Valley wine.
From May through October, you will enjoy the morning at a farmers market with Julie meeting the farmers, browsing and sampling your way through the stalls. The Napa and St. Helena’s farmers markets offer the season’s finest and freshest local produce, fish, meat, cheese and other artisan products. From November through April, you will visit the Oxbow Public Market located in the “up and coming” Oxbow District of downtown Napa, perfectly situated along the Napa River and Napa River Trail. The mostly indoor 40,000-square-foot public market boasts a mix of gourmet purveyors and local eateries. You will also have time to buy some goodies to bring home or for a picnic during your stay in Napa.
Then on to the kitchen with Julie, where you’ll don aprons and turn your bounty into a wonderful wine country feast. Learn cooking theory, technique, tips and tricks to make you a better cook. You will enjoy a fun and relaxed experience filled with inspiration, great foods, and paired with fine wine.
Julie is a Certified Culinary Professional and has been teaching for more than 20 years. She was classically trained by some of the world’s most accomplished French Masters, is a graduate of L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, and has taken numerous classes at the CIA-Greystone as well as around the world.
NOTE: Farmers Market Tours are offered May through October on Tuesdays (Napa) and Fridays (St. Helena). From November through April, visits to Oxbow Public Market are scheduled on Tuesdays and Fridays. Hands-on participation cooking class (maximum of 9 students) and 3-course lunch are offered year-round.
Napa Valley Wine Train
Enjoy a leisurely 3-hour journey for two along the 36-mile round-trip between the historic town of Napa through one of the world’s most famous wine valleys to the quaint village of St. Helena and back. Enjoy a freshly prepared gourmet lunch or dinner as you view the vineyards and wineries from any of the vintage 1915-1917 Pullman Dining rail cars which have been lavishly restored. Award-winning Executive Chef, Kelly Macdonald uses only the freshest seasonal ingredients, earth friendly produce, humanely raised meats and line caught fish to prepare a meal that equals the best restaurants of Napa Valley. During spring and summer months, the long, warm, California twilight means that the vineyard views of the Napa Valley are bathed in beautiful golden sunlight for most of your journey. Or travel during the fall or winter months, when the train departs at sunset, and experience the romance and adventure of an antique train traveling through the darkness of night.
Talcott Olive Oil Estate, Napa
Enjoy a private tour and tasting for two with Dr. James and Patricia Talcott, as they welcome you to Talcott Carneros Olive Ranch. Begin with a flute of Proseco before you are guided on a comprehensive tour and discussion of olive trees and oil production. Upon returning from the grove, you will be welcomed into the Talcott’s private home to experience an exclusive award winning olive oil taste sensation. The finishing touch features artisan French Vanilla Bean ice cream dressed with Talcott Olive Oil, sea salt and ground black pepper.
Nestled in the rolling hills of Napa’s Carneros region, the 3,000 olive trees on the Talcott Carneros Estate are organically farmed and include only the richest, most delightful Tuscan varietals. With just the right amount of cool breezes, Napa Valley sunshine and California rain, this year’s harvest has been recognized as one of the finest olive oils available. In 2012, Talcott Extra Virgin Olive Oil earned a Gold Medal from the California Olive Oil Council. This olive oil will delight the palate and impress the most savvy of foodies.
The Meritage Resort and Spa (Napa)
Enjoy a 3-night stay in a standard guest room including daily continental breakfast for two. Lavish guestrooms include features such as plush beds, marble baths, and plasma TVs. Located at the southern tip of Napa Valley in the Carneros region near where Napa and Sonoma meet, the Meritage Resort and Spa is situated on an eleven-acre private vineyard and offers an experience like no other for wine enthusiasts. The resort opened an immense cave of 20,000 square feet in Spring 2007, carved in the hillside under Napa’s famous Grape Crusher statue. The Estate Wine Cave features wine country’s only underground full service Spa Terra, the Trinitas Tasting Room, and the Entertainment Cave available for private dinners and weddings; all built underground with artisan stone, tile, and woodwork. The Meritage Bar features regional wine selections and signature cocktails in a setting of rich, polished wood and romantic lighting.
Daily resort fee is included in this package. Resort fee currently includes one bottle of wine (per stay), bottled water, local calls, business center and fitness center, wireless internet, self-parking, shuttle to golf courses and evening shuttle to downtown Napa.
NOTE: Napa is approximately 1.5 hours north of San Francisco and Oakland.
Winspire Booking & Concierge Service
Winspire provides a team of seasoned travel professionals who will help you redeem your experience. All travel related details and reservations are handled for every part of your Winspire experience. Operating as a full-service travel agency, Winspire can assist with extra hotel nights, airfare upgrades, and additional guests. This service also provides you with an established network of onsite contacts who can help you book additional experiences, activities and tours.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Must be booked a minimum of 60 days in advance. Reservations are subject to availability. Certificates cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or destroyed. All purchases are non-refundable. Packages cannot be resold. Ground transportation is not included unless where specified.
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.