Napa Valley Events

Napa Valley glitters with art galleries and talented artists, and the Mustard Festival is a great occasion for them to show off.

Over a dozen galleries team up with St. Supéry Winery and Hall Winery to present A Weekend of Fine Art. All through the weekend of February 6th-7th, the galleries will feature special exhibits and presentations.

On Saturday evening at St. Supéry the event’s featured artists will appear at a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception, at 5-7 PM. Hall Winery will host an artist’s reception on Sunday at 1-3 PM.

This year’s official Mustard Festival work of art, Reverie by Thomas Monaghan, has already opened bidding at silent auction, and will be on display at Hall Winery through the season.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information click here, or call (707) 938-1133 ext 106.

St. Supéry is at 8440 St. Helena Hwy, Rutherford, 23 miles from our hotel. Click here for directions.

Sorry, France. We know Cabernet Sauvignon came from Bordeaux, but the grape really does give its best as it ripens fully, here in the longer sunshine days of Napa Valley.

Winemakers tell us Cabernet Sauvignon has a complex flavor that dramatically reflects the space it was grown in. It can change even in different sections of the same vineyard.

You can taste this for yourself at Girard Winery’s sneak preview of three 2007 Cabernet Sauvignons from different growing areas.

Watch a short video clip of winemaker Zach Long discussing the characteristics of each here:
• 2007 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2007 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2007 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2007 Mountain Series Cabernet Sauvignon Sneak Release Party happens on Saturday, February 6th, at Noon-5 PM. Tickets including gourmet snacks are $25 (complimentary to Wine Club members).

The Girard Winery Tasting Room, 6795 Washington Street in Yountville, is about 18 miles from our hotel. Click here for directions.

Who was the lucky soul who first realized that a rich, flavorful wine goes perfectly with dark chocolate? We don’t know, but centuries later doctors tell us that chocolate has anti-oxidant properties.

ZD Wines figures it’s good health all the way by combining chocolate with red wine, well known as a fighter of heart disease. The winery releases its 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon this month, in a “Chocolate and Cabernet” special event.

ZD Wines is also a pioneer in organic growing practices in the Valley - all of its bottlings are certified organic. The release event features its fruity, aromatic Cabernet, and chocolate EVERYWHERE - chocolate bars, chocolate fountains, even chocolate-dipped bottles of wine.

The event is on Saturday, January 30th, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Tickets are $25 per person ($20 for First-Taste members). Get tickets here, more information at the ZD Wines web site.

ZD Wines is located in Rutherford on the beautiful Silverado Trail, about 25 miles from our hotel. Click here for directions.

When you’re 130 years old you get to celebrate in any way you want. If you’re the Napa Valley Opera House you offer a performance by internationally acclaimed soprano Ruth Ann Swenson. And of course you follow it with a party.

Accompanied by Whitney Crist on piano, Ms. Swenson will honor the tradition of Luisa Tatrazzini, the world-famous Italian soprano who graced the Opera House stage in the early 1900’s.

The party in the Café Theatre will offer festivities, dessert, sparkling wine and a display of rarely seen historic photos and memorabilia.

The celebration is January 30 at 7 PM. It’s $75 for the performance only, $130 to include the party. Remember the Opera House has been selling-out crowds since January, 1880, and click here to book your tickets and for more information.

The Napa Valley Opera House is at 1030 Main Street in Napa. It’s just 9 miles from our hotel, click here for directions.

People who don’t live in the Napa Valley think it’s the middle of winter. We know differently, because while the grapevines are resting, the vineyards come alive with wild mustard in bloom.

The scenery is spectacular and the season begins - it’s Mustard Festival time!

It’s talked about all over the world, and a magnet for winter refugees from around the globe seeking to banish the winter blahs. The Napa Valley Mustard Festival signifies three months of bustle, cheerfulness and festivity.

And who better than the world-class chefs of the Culinary Institute of America to stage the Grand Opening Gala of the season? It’s Mustard Magic, when theater, food, wine and art all mingle with music and the everyday magic of the Valley.

It’s a sumptuous event filling all three stories of CIA’s magic castle at Greystone, one of Napa Valley’s most historic and majestic properties.

Mustard Magic happens on January 30th at 7 PM. Tickets are $125 for advance booking here, $150 at the door. More information is available at the official Mustard Festival web site.

CIA at Greystone is at 2555 Main Street in St. Helena, less than 30 miles from our hotel. Click here for directions from our hotel.

You say you want to dress up and see in the new year with a sparkle? You want champagne to celebrate? Well, how about a party with the masters of sparkling wines, Domaine Chandon? Bubbly at Chandon is a Napa tradition, and New Year’s Eve is the perfect occasion.

Head for the Glitter Ball at Domaine Chandon. Dinner looks sold out already, but join the Lounge Party for the live band, DJ and dancing. Chandon is an upscale and lively place with a great atmosphere. It’ll be a happening party, and you’re invited to dress “glittery” - black tie is optional, and formal portraits are available.

Lounge Party is 9 PM - 1AM (December 31st of course), complementary sparkling wine toast at midnight. Must be 21 or over. Tickets are $75, click here for info and to purchase.

Domaine Chandon is at 1 California Drive in Yountville, less than 19 miles from our hotel - click here for directions. Chandon’s phone is 707-944-8844.

Marvin Hamlisch must be the world’s most awarded composer. He’s had us humming tunes for generations, with his spellbinding movie scores and show songs. He’s written over 600 compositions, a list of classic numbers ranging from Barbra Streisand shows to Matt Damon films.

Celebrate this New Year’s Eve with a Broadway flourish as Marvin Hamlisch entertains at the Napa Valley Opera House. Playing piano and accompanied by two renowned Broadway singers, Hamlisch serves up the perfect musical mix for this special evening.

There’s a festive party in the Café Theatre after the performance, with dancing, dessert and champagne to see in the new year. The Opera House also has deals arranged for dinner before the show at restaurants within strolling distance. Click here for full details on the event.

The Opera House is at 1030 Main Street in Napa. It’s just 9 miles up the road from our hotel, click here for directions.

The Wine Country harbors many caves, perfect as cellars but also with incredible acoustics for voice and music. Every Christmas season multi-instrumentalist Dave Auerbach brings a variety of rare instruments into selected caves for his annual Carols in the Caves event.

This year “The Improvisator” brings his show to the gorgeous Hans Fahden vineyard, regaling us in a candle-lit mountaintop cave with dulcimers, drums, harps, flutes, accordion and more. The audience is invited to join in, and the cave lends every voice resonance. At the end every guest leaves reverberating with the Christmas spirit.

With a wine-sipping break during the performance, the event is both festive and moving. Check some video clips here, here and here.

The 24th offering of this annual tradition occurs at 2 PM on Saturday, December 19th. This event is not for children under the age of 10 please. Tickets are $50, available here or by calling 707-224-4222.

The vineyard is located at 4855 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga. It’s an hour’s drive from our hotel, directions are here.

Imagine you’re a world-class expert at having fun with champagne. Can you see the possibilities? We thought you could. Most people are amateurs around champagne but we all love the elevated touch of celebration it brings to any situation.

You can learn this unique life-skill in a one-day class offered by the Culinary Institute of America (”CIA” for short) on their Greystone campus in St. Helena. The CIA has brought career-level, professional wine study to Napa Valley, and their quality of teaching about wine is considered by many the best in the country.

The Champagne in Depth workshop is on Friday, December 11, and it costs $450 (reasonable considering CIA’s class materials include $1,000 worth of champagne). Click here for full information.

CIA is at 2555 Main Street in St. Helena. Click here for directions from our hotel.

Is Francis Ford Coppola becoming the Godfather of wine? Long a Napa winemaker, he creates one of the Valley’s greatest wines, and his overseer Scott McLeod was just named 2009 Winemaker of the Year.

But his real marvel is Rubicon Estate itself, a century-old vineyard given a loving Hollywood polish by Coppola. The lush and elegant estate features movie-scene landscaping, rooms of dark wood and stained glass, filmmaking antiques and countless wonders.

See for yourself this Saturday, December 6, at 5 PM - 7 PM, when Rubicon Estate hosts a Holiday Open House. It’s a great chance to taste, munch and shop. And there’s music from the St. Helena Community Band, a classy ensemble founded by Coppola (he sometimes plays in the band).

Rubicon accepts visitors in small groups only, so be sure to RSVP first by calling 707-968-1174.

Rubicon Estate is at 1991 St. Helena Hwy, in Rutherford, south of St. Helena on Hwy 29. It’s 23 miles from our hotel, click here for directions.