Napa Valley Events

Oh yeah? Sez who? It’s fight time again at Rutherford Grange Hall as Napa Valley takes on Sonoma Valley, this time in a battle for the best Cabernet Sauvignon. Twenty select wines from each region will be presented in a blind tasting, and you can join in.

Watch the judges go through their paces too as they guess the county, year, barrel program, blend, price point and AVA of each wine.

Last month in the test of Zinfandels, Napa won by one point, although the public score favored Sonoma. Maybe this time the judges will agree with you.

The event is on Sunday, February 21st from 4-8 PM, in Rutherford’s historic social hall. Cost is $10 per person. Cheese plates are available for $5. Also dinner for $8 (must be pre-ordered by email here).

Call 707-254-9773 or see the Sibling Rivalry website for more information and click here for directions from our hotel.

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.

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.

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.

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.

St. Supéry Winery in Rutherford will hold a seminar on wine and cheese pairing on Saturday, August 2 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM. You’ll taste four wines accompanied by four artisan cheeses. The seminar will also discuss cheese selection, storage, uses and history.

The event costs $35 per person. Contact the winery at (800) 942-0809 for more information.

Peju Winery in Rutherford is known for its beautifully-designed, European-style gardens. On Sunday, August 2 you can tour the gardens and its sculptures with winery owner Herta Peju and eat a nice brunch as well.

The event runs from 11 AM - 2 PM. You can make reservations through the Peju Winery web site.

Peju Winery is about a 30 minute drive from our hotel. click here for directions.

St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery in Rutherford will be holding a special Cabernet tasting on Saturday, June 27 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM. The winery says you’ll have a chance to “enjoy four distinctly different wines that truly demonstrate the meaning of ‘terroir.’” Which means we’ll have to show up, just to see what that means.

The tasting will feature hors d’oeuvres prepared by the winery’s chef. The event costs $35 per guest.

St. Supéry has hosted a number of excellent events this summer, and this is one you won’t want to miss.

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at a world class winery? Here is your opportunity to see first hand.  The highly regarded St. Supéry Winery in Rutherford is giving tours on select weekend dates during May and June.  Learn about the entire winemaking process from crushing to bottling. The tour concludes with a barrel tasting of one of their estate grown reds.

The 1-hour event costs $30 per guest.  Tours are available on May 10, May 16 & 17, May 24,  May 31,  June 6, June 7,  June 14,  June 21 and June 28.  The tours start at 1 PM Saturdays and 11 AM Sundays.

Click here for directions from our hotel.