Napa Valley Events

Mario Andretti may be best known as a race car driver, but in 1996 he founded Andretti Winery to capture some of the flavor of his native Italy. You can sample some of his wines at the winery’s Labor Day Weekend Lobster & Seafood Fest. Guests will enjoy Maine lobster, prawns and a complete seasonal menu.

Tickets are $100 and must be purchased by September 2. More information here.

Andretti winery is located outside of near-by Napa, just 15 miles from our hotel. Get directions here.

Peju Province Winery is a boutique winery in near-by Rutherford that is famous for three things: its award-winning wines, its beautiful gardens, and a tasting room staffed by the Valley’s only ““Yodelmesiter” (that’s right, he yodels while he pours).

Labor Day Weekend you can be among the first to taste Peju Wineries 2006 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvingon at the winery’s pre-release party. This is Peju’s signature wine and sure the be a crowd pleaser. Small bites will be served, presumably with some fine yodeling.

The event will be held Sunday, September 6, from 12 - 3 PM. Get more information at the Peju Province Winery web site.

We’re not big fans of amateur “How To Host a Murder” dinner parties. They usually fall flat when your party guests can’t get into character. But the Napa Valley Wine Train has taken the idea one step further, mixing professional actors in period costume with their dinner guests. The actors mingle with guests while subtly dropping clues to the mystery, leaving the guest free to play detective.

It’s a clever idea, and all the better because the mystery takes place on a historic train rolling through the Napa Valley. And its based on an actual 1915 case from the Bay area (sorry, you can’t Google the solution).

The Napa Valley Wine Train hosts this intriguing event on Thursday, September 3 at 5:55 PM. Get details and tickets here.

The Napa Valley Wine Train departs from 1275 McKinstry Street, Napa, CA, near downtown Napa, CA. Click here for directions from our hotel.

Celebrate Labor Day with a couple of New Orleans music legends Dr. John, plus the Neville Brothers. Both acts will perform at the Napa Valley Opera House on Saturday, September 7 starting at 7 PM. It’s a chance to end the summer with some good music and that great Mardi Gras vibe. Tickets are $95 - $110.

The Opera House will also be hosting a Labor Day BBQ at the Oxbow Public Market just before the show. Tickets for the BBQ are sold separately.

Visit the Napa Valley Opera House for more info.

Harvest season starts off with a bang on Saturday, August 22 at the Napa Valley Grapegrower’s Harvest STOMP. It’s one of the biggest parties of the year in Napa Valley. The event features food from local chefs and great music by Belle Monroe & Her Brewgrass Boys plus country band Red Meat.

The event takes place at the Gamble Ranch in near-by Oakville. Click here for directions. Tickets are $100 per person. Visit the Napa Valley Grapegrowers site for more info.

Napa Valley Holiday Inn & Suites is proud to be a sponsor of this great event.

Walter Scheib was the White House Executive Chef during the Clinton and Bush administrations. On Saturday, August 22 you have a chance to eat a meal fit for a president when Chef Scheib comes to Duckhorn Vineyards in St. Helena.

It’s your chance to have a 5-star meal while hearing some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about the White House (We’ve read Scheib’s book White House Chef and it’s quite a good tale).

The event costs $175 per person and seating is limited. Visit the Duckhorn web site for tickets and more info.

Sterling Vineyards will be celebrating its 40th anniversary with a one-night only “Summer of ‘69″ party on Saturday, August 22. The 60’s-themed party will feature food & wine stations from local businesses, mod 60s memorabilia and live 60s music.

The event runs from 6:30 to 10 PM. Tickets cost $69 and advanced reservations are required. For more info, visit the Sterling Vineyards web site.

Wine and classical music just seem to go together. Each August, the 3-week Music In The Vineyards festival takes that thought literally, staging a series of chamber music events at local wineries.

This weekend you can see three separate chamber music concerts at Silverado Vineyards Tasting Room in nearby Napa, just 20 miles from our hotel (get directions here).

The weekend’s concerts feature works by Mozart, Ravel and Brahms. Tickets are $50 per person for each concert.

See the Music In The Vineyards web site for a full schedule and concert times.

How about this for a wine event: St. Supéry Vineyards is inviting visitors behind the scenes of their Fall harvest. The day includes a continental breakfast, vineyard tour & instruction on grape harvesting, an old-fashioned grape stomp and a behind-the-scenes tour of the winery cellar by St. Supéry’s winemaking team, all followed by a gourmet lunch prepared by our winery chef.

The events sounds like an all-access pass to the wine harvest. At $295 per guest it’s not cheap, either. But it’s a rare opportunity to see the wine harvest up close.

The event runs on three consecutive Saturdays: Aug 29, Sep 5 and Sep 12.

You won’t see this event listed on the St. Supéry web site. For more info, contact Marilyn Munk at (800) 942-0809 ext. 44 or email marilyn@stsupery.com.