The Green and Beautiful Napa Valley!

There are so many businesses in the Napa Valley that are taking the initiative to be environmentally friendly, so as to preserve the amazing region we call home.

One business that we recognize as a great partner of ours, is the Napa Valley Wine Train. The Wine Train runs on 100% compressed natural gas. Here is a description, from the Train's website: "CNG is natural gas that is compressed – literally compacted – to pressures above 3,100 pounds per square inch. It remains clear, essentially odorless and smokeless, is non-corrosive and is an efficient fuel source. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

By and large, it is. Natural gas can be produced at a cost lower than gasoline or diesel. And, here is the biggie: according to the California Energy Commission, natural gas vehicles show an average reduction in ozone-forming emissions of 80 percent compared to gasoline vehicles.
“It’s a major breakthrough, because we are the really the only ones doing this. It is kind of the wave of the future – saving diesel, reducing smoke emissions,” says Napa Valley Railroad’s COO Gregg Evensen.
“This is a modern new technology; this is a brand new engine – still running our old equipment. This thing is really a clean air vehicle.”

Along with the Wine Train, hundreds of wineries are doing what they can do become certified organic, or "Napa Green". While most wineries are now practicing organic farming, it is a daunting task to become certified, and here is a link that describes all that the wineries must do: Click Here.

If you can imagine how difficult it is for a winery to become a certified 'Green' facility, it is a feat all it's own to become a 'Green Hotel'. One of our many hotel partners, Bardessono, is located in Yountville, and is one of the Napa Valley's newest hotels. It is a beautiful property with so much to offer, but they have also done their part in minimizing their carbon footprint. To find out how they did this, Click Here.

A lot of transportation companies are using hybrid vehicles to help keep their emissions as low as possible, which really helps keep our air clean!

Let us put together a Napa Valley trip for you or your clients that will highlight all of the 'Green' companies in the area. Imagine checking into Bardessono, driving in hybrid vehicles for your wine tour, visiting all certified organic wineries, and having dinner or lunch in the Wine Train!

Thank you to all of our local environmentalists!!

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

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.