Need a reason to come to the Napa Valley in January?

For those of you who want to come to Napa next month - here are a few reasons to! It's a great time of year to get great deals at hotels and at wineries, and Viviani, Inc. will work with you on touring costs as well.

Enjoy!

January 2 -- diRosa Art Alive

Considered the most significant collection of Bay Area art in the world, di Rosa provides opportunities for creative enrichment and enjoyment of art and the environment year-round. The di Rosa houses approximately 2,000 works of art by more than 800 artists. A gift to the public from passionate art collector Rene di Rosa, the di Rosa is located on 217 scenic acres in Napa Valley.
Tickets are $10.

January 3 -- New Shanghai Circus at Lincoln Theater

Family Fun: Astonishing athletes – acrobats, jugglers & contortionists – defy gravity & execute breathtaking feats as they stretch the limits of human ability in this spellbinding show. These performers are fearless. With boundless energy they present more than two thousand years of seemingly-impossible Chinese circus tradition.

January 9 -- Health and Wellness Fair

Fair: Calistoga kicks off January with a health and wellness fair. Spas, restaurants, biodynamic wineries and health care professionals will hold open houses on January 9th to allow visitors to explore a day of health screenings, seminars, healthy food demonstrations, sample massages and exercise classes!

Fee: Free

January 10 - 15 -- Women's Wellness Week

This week-long series of events will encompass mindful hikes, massages, yoga, Watsu and talks geared toward topics of interest to women. Lodging properties will be offering discounted rates during the week.

January 16 -- Blood Sweat & Tears at Lincoln Theater

Live Music: Blood Sweat & Tears has left an indelible mark on the American music scene since 1968. Known as one of the greatest horn bands in popular music history the group has risen to join the ranks of some of the greatest jazz & rock musicians of our time. The current group, including founder Steve Katz, makes a stop on their 2009/2010 World Tour.

Fee: Tickets: $49, $39, $29

January 17 -- "Goodnight Moon" at Lincoln Theater

Performing Arts, Family Fun: A musical adaptation of the beloved Margaret Wise Brown classic work "Goodnight Moon", a children's literature favorite for over half a century. A small bunny experiences the gentle, reassuring bedtime ritual. The wonderful illustrations by Clement Hurd come to life on stage with lively musical numbers and colorful characters.

Fee: Tickets: All Seats only $10

January 20 -- "Yesterday and Today" at Lincoln Theater

Yesterday And Today, a top Beatles cover band from the New York-metro area, recreates the sound of The Beatles’ music down to every detail. Using instruments like those used by The Beatles, they blend superb vocal harmonies to recreate the magical and historical songs. Not a Beatles look-a-like band, Yesterday And Today is a group of dedicated professional musicians.

Fee: tickets are $20 and $25

January 30 -- Mustard Magic - Opening Night at CIA
Celebration: Indulge in fantasy at Mustard Magic, Napa Valley’s most theatrical food, wine, and art event of the year.

The Season's opulent grand opening event graces every contour of the magnificent, historic three story stone building, home to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.

January 31 -- "The  Russians Are Coming"

Performing Arts: The Napa Valley Symphony's second classical concert continues with two major works from the Russian repertoire: Symphony #5 by Dmitri Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky's ever-popular Piano Concerto #1, Op. 47, with pianist Valentina Lisitsa as soloist.

Fee: $29 - $59

Experience the Great Wine Capitals Tour

Viviani, Inc. and the Napa Valley are proud members of the Great Wine Capitals network, including 8 other regions throughout the world. These regions are: Mainz, Germany; Bilbao/Rioja, Spain; Bordeaux, France; Cape Town, South Africa; Firenze, Italy; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal.

Preparing for her trip to Bordeaux a few months ago, Linda Viviani had the inspiration to include all 9 cities of the Great Wine Capitals in an 'around the world' tour. Each trip would individually be fantastic and luxurious, in order to see all the best that each place can offer. All of this would of course be melded with the education of each regions' wines and history.

For those who are interested in this, please know that you do not have to enjoy all regions at once. One may choose to only see Napa and Bordeaux one year, and see two more the next year. But, for those who are interested in seeing them in sequence, we recommend that as well.

Any questions, please email us.

A Day in Howell Mountain!

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day with the Concierge Alliance of Napa Valley (CANV) and explore the region of Howell Mountain in the Napa Valley.
From the Howell Mountain Association's website, here is a description of the area:
"When the fog rolls off the ocean and into the Napa Valley, the weather on Howell Mountain is generally sunny and cool. The appellation owes its distinctive climate to the fact that it is positioned well above the valley floor. Because of its altitude, generally, evening temperatures are warmer and daytime temperatures are much cooler—leveling out spikes in heat that tend to be more exaggerated at lower elevations. Although it gets nearly twice as much rainfall as the valley below, the soil tends to be dry, because rocky, porous soil conditions allow for adequate drainage and less accumulation. Seasonally, cooler spring temperatures cause buds to break later than average, and warm summer nights produce fruit that demonstrates a great balance between acidity and sugar. All of which, translates into a rich diversity of complexity and flavor in your glass."

Our first stop was Ladera Vineyards - "Ladera Vineyards is the home of estate grown and produced Cabernet Sauvignon focused primarily on our two designated wines, the Lone Canyon Vineyard Cabernet and the Howell Mountain Appellation Cabernet. Behind our fine wines is our historic 1886 restored and renovated stone winery and underground barrel caves." What a fantastic property - the owners gave us a tour, and showed us their facilities. Of all of their wines (we tasted 6 total), my favorite was their Malbec. Yum!

The next stop was O'Shaughnessy, which was an absolutely beautiful facility. The photo below (apologies for the reflection) shows the enclosed tasting table, for more private tasting sessions.

With a glass of their 2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Varietal Composition (which is phenomenal, by the way!), we headed into their caves to continue the tour.

Their caves are famous, and when you walk through them and experience them firsthand, you understand why! Our guide, Annette, brought us into the owners' private wine cellar, which is a spectacle. 

Moving back to the tasting room, we enjoyed a wonderful meal, and enjoyed the 2006 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, which was amazing as well. Walking around on the beautiful, yet crisp morning, I snapped some photos of the private spots on the property:

We headed out, to see another winery - Cimarossa. This spot was so secluded and wonderful - we felt like it was the only house for miles. From the deck, we looked through the mountains and could see St. Helena on the clear day. Unfortunately I did not have my camera to take a picture of the shot...

We tasted the property's one varietal- their 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a very rich, full-bodied red wine with notes of black current and blackberries, with a lingering taste of cinnamon.

We took off for the next stop - Arkenstone Winery. This property is still under construction, but has been a working custom crush facility for about 5 years. They are in the process of building a tasting room/winery at the time. But, to accommodate us (there were 15 of us!), we went into the fermentation tank room, and went onto a balcony overlooking the cave/barrel facility. It was a neat perspective - to see the people working away while we drank and enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

From here, we drove to see Spence Winery, which is the Spences' personal home. The home was absolutely beautiful - a classic american home with a wraparound porch and huge, open kitchen where we enjoyed the Spence 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a beautiful and very drinkable, yet complex Cabernet. Here is a photo of the view from the porch:

How beautiful!

Reluctantly - as the owner had cookies laid out to enjoy with the delectable wine - we headed over to Summit Lake Vineyards. Due to the cold weather setting in (when you're up that high, the sun sets much earlier!), we were greeted by the owners, the Brakesman Family, to head into their home where it was warm. As a great spot to end the day, we enjoyed the estate's wines while telling stories about our experience that day. All of the estate wines were fantastic, but their Zinfandel Port was so amazing, everyone bought a bottle!

We went outside, to see their goats and see the winery (but mostly for the goats!)

This was the perfect ending to a great day - I am so glad I got to learn about the Howell Mountain region, as it is such a hidden gem.

Thank you to all of the wineries, and to the CANV for organizing such a fun day.

Marin County Familiarization Trip!

The Marin CVB invited Kimberly and I out to their neck of the woods, to learn all about what is available! We were invited to enjoy a weekend learning about all that Marin County has to offer.

Beginning our trip, we checked into the Lodge at Tiburon, which was an absolutely magnificent property. We had a chance to settle in, and enjoy the hotel prior to our evening reception. Here is a photo of one of the big, bright rooms!

After a few hours of relaxation, we headed out for our reception at the Inn Marin. This hotel is a Marin County classic, and has recently been renovated to be a certified Green Hotel.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour, appetizers and the company!

The next day was a long and fun day - starting by picking up the rest of the group and heading out to the West Marin County. Some of the group was participating in kayaking, some horseback riding, and some of us were shopping in the quaint town of Pt. Reyes. Seeing as it was a particularly cold weekend, Kimberly and I decided shopping sounded warmest! As a surprise, we were taken to the Cowgirl Creamery, which is a favorite of both of ours! Their cheeses are among the best that are made locally and internationally!

We had a guide show us the cheese-making facility and we watched in amazement as the girls in the facility worked as fast as possible to form the famous Red Hawk Cheese.

Here's a photo of the Red Hawk Cheese formed and sitting, being pressed very lightly to make its circular shape.

 Next, we had a demonstration of how the coagulation in cheese occurs! A specific enzyme was poured into freshly delivered milk (from a local farm!) and before our eyes, cheese formed. Here's a picture of the cheese forming!

Something that is absolutely fascinating and admirable about the Cowgirl Creamery is that they are very sustainable and support local famers 100%. All milk is from local cows, and when the cheese forms, a bi-product that occurs is Whey. The whey is then taken to the local pigs and is put into their food. The whey helps the meat to be very healthy, and is made into the best proscuitto!

After our cheese lesson, we headed out on the town for lunch. Lunch was hosted at the Station House Cafe, where we had a fantastic meal. Appetizers were fresh, local oysters that everyone ate right away. The entree was perfect - Kimberly and I had the roasted chicken sandwich with the Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam cheese on top. Yum!

Stuffed and tired from a long day, we took the bus ride back to our hotels to get ready for a dinner!

Dinner was hosted at the Embassy Suites San Rafael...a beautiful property as well. We were so impressed by the hotel's grand nature, and still had very hospitable staff. Dinner was fabulous - served family style, the chef prepared 6 different entrees - all absoultely scrumptuous!

Morning came, and our stay came to an end :(. We enjoyed breakfast at the Lodge at Tiburon - great, again!

We enjoyed our trip to Marin County, and learned so much about what the area offers. Thank you to the Marin CVB!

Vineyards Above it All

Linda, Keith and Kelsey visited a winery that has been in this valley for a very long time. High above Oakville and Rutherford, a view clear out to San Francisco is seen from the vineyards of this winery - a real gem and great perk!
Starting the tour, we all hopped into the Suburban, and started driving through the roads through the vineyards. A naturally rocky terrain, this 'road' is very bumpy and fun in the Suburban. Amber, our tour guide, narrated the tour with history about the winery and vineyards and kept us intrigued. She climbed a steep hill and showed us what the Suburban was made of - a true 4-wheeling experience. It was a blast!
We hopped out of the car to enjoy the view of the City, and to appreciate how wonderful the weather was at 1400 feet.

Heading out into more of the 1200 acre property, we were amazed by Amber's ability to maneuver through the tight vineyard roads! We stopped periodically to enjoy the Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec grapes off the vine - all almost ready for harvest.

As we ended our tour, we stopped at the property's Pavilion - a great stone patio in the middle of the vineyards, with sweeping views of the valley below.
Enjoying lunch, we talked about the area, the wildlife at 1500 feet, and fun facts about the vineyards.
Amber drove us back to our cars after lunch, and we realized what a gem this vineyard is - we all can not wait to send clients here to experience a completely different and unique place in Napa.

New Winery in Coombsville region of Napa

Last week the gang went out to see a very exclusive new property in the Coombsville region of Napa. It is a family-owned winery, that is open only by appointment, and Viviani has developed a great friendship with the owners.

Driving up the long driveway, an enormous French-chateau style home stands at the end of it. The anticipation is huge! After meeting the owners, we have a brief tour of the home, and head outside to where it counts - the beautiful vineyards. Coombsville is known for its small hills and damp, dark temperatures compared to the rest of the valley. Today, however, was one of the hottest of the year, and it was about 95 degrees even in the damp, dark vineyards.
We chatted next to the creek, where they like to have their tastings (it's so calming!), but because of the heat we headed inside. On the way in, we peeked into the owners' guest home and learned that we could rent it to our clients.

On the backside of the home, is a large garage door that opens to a barrell room/personal wine collection. It was very charming - the owners had a vintage VW van off to the side (a great conversation piece!). We all sit to discuss business over this property's amazing wines and a great lunch platter to share. The space was warm and comfortable, but also had a very regal and industrial feel as well. The architect of the home worked very closely with the owners to establish this exact feeling.

As our tasting ended, we enjoyed every last drop of the estate's Cabernet Sauvignon and chatted about this amazing area that we live in.

Tour Director Reception at William Hill Winery

Last night, September 16th, Viviani hosted a tour director reception at William Hill Winery for a meeting/get-to-know-you/learn about a new winery time!
Dan Michael, the winery's Sales Manager, greeted us all with a wonderful glass of William Hill Chardonnay which we enjoyed in the hot sun. We all chatted and enjoyed the view from the patio (a few ground squirrels made an appearance). 
Next, Dan gave us a tour of their newly refurbished tasting room, as well as premiering William Hill's new label design. 

We headed back outside to the property's arbor area, where we had some salami, olives and of course, more wine! We then tasted the estate-grown Cabernet Franc, which was great. 
The group was then invited to enjoy some Cabernet Franc grapes off of the vine, which are almost ready for harvest (2-3 weeks) and learned about sugar content. 

We did come to the property for a meeting, so we began to talk business. The setting was perfect for an introduction of each tour director to our new staff at Viviani. 
While enjoying the property's Malbec varietal, we enjoyed talking about such business matters that much more. 
We ended the evening with a sunset over the vineyards and enjoyed a cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes in downtown along with a late-harvest Chardonnay to leave us on a sweet note. 


Thank you so much Dan and your team for hosting us at William Hill!

Gamble Family Vineyards

On Tuesday, September 1, a beautiful and warm morning, Kimberly, Kelsey and Mimi arrived at Gamble Family Vineyards. We were greeted by Susan Close, the winery's Director of Hospitality, and a few other trade friends.

To begin our visit, we were handed a glass of the winery's Gamble Family Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Proceeding through the property's original home, we saw the indoor areas where tastings will be held for our clients. But, the real magic started once we stepped outside into the property's amazing and lush garden.

Proceeding with the tour and learning portion of this visit, Tom Gamble sat and chatted with all of us about the history of the home, the property and his mother's passion for her garden. We then, of course, talked about the wine. That morning, the winery had begun their harvest of Sauvignon Blanc, so we talked about harvest, cloning vines and being/staying organic vineyards.

As we lounged, we tried their Paramount Red Wine, Old Vine Syrah (the group's favorite!) and their Cabernet Sauvignon.

As the morning got warmer, we decided it was time for a hay ride! We all hopped into the old Chevy pickup, and sat on benches of hay, as Tom drove the 3-gear truck through the vineyards. Susan then opened up the Heart Block Sauvignon Blanc for the group to enjoy as we went for a ride.

Tom stopped periodically to explain each block and talk about the history of the family company. He pointed out that we were along the border line of Yountville and Oakville..pretty cool!

We then headed up to the home that his family has lived in since Tom was a child, to see the view from the top of the hill, and enjoy the home that means so much to him. Here, we tried the Napa Heritage Sites Red Wine and looked over the Oakville and Yountville valley floor, as well as seeing some of the Stag's Leap district.

Want a tour at Gamble Family Vineyards? Call us at (707) 265-1940.

Great Organic Wineries in Napa

We, at Viviani, Inc. are very passionate about the wonderful and beautiful State of California, and we feel that the wineries that are preserving our organic nature need some recognition.


We want to feature a few wineries in particular that really started the 'green' feelings in the Napa Valley. By not using any pesticides, and by using solar panels to power their facilities, as well as making water reservoirs to water their crop, these wineries are making the effort to keep our environment healthy.


Merryvale Vineyards, Frog's Leap, Cakebread Cellars,  and Beaulieu Vineyard are among a total of 31 different vineyards making the honest effort to stay 'green'.


In Napa, the certification is difficult, but is worth our wonderful region's preservation.


A full list is on the Napa Valley Vintners website: http://www.napavintners.com/wineries/napa_green_wineries.asp

Why are unique varietals quickly becoming more popular?

After last month's meeting at Women for Winesense, we started to explore a unique observation made by a panelist. This observation is, that unique wine varietals are quickly becoming very popular.


Among these unique varietals are: Malbec, Carignan and Barbera. 


Why the sudden uprise in interest in unique varietals? We believe it is because the Millenials are beginning to turn 21, and are learning more about wine. While it is felt that 'wine is the new beer' to young people, this also brings their attitude of experimentation and the need to try something different. This is also because they tend to be 'geographically ignorant' when it comes to what region the wine comes from. This then adds Australia, South American and South Africa, among other unique countries that produce wonderful wines. 


Here's a great article we found illustrating this point -  http://www.winereviewonline.com/clarke_on_milennials.cfm

Keith Goes to the Lone Star State

Keith returned to us on March 4th, after a few days in Texas! He attended the 18th Annual Association of Destination Management Executives in San Antonio, and had a blast! 


He first stopped in Houston, and met with a few fabulous and very loyal clients, and also met some new, interesting people.


After his quick trip to Houston, he traveled to San Antonio to meet with 160 peers from the Northern Hemisphere.


After a busy weekend, we are sure he is glad to be back in sunny Napa, CA, but he also wants to mention that he had a very great time in Texas.