Travel
VISIT NAPA VALLEY THIS SUMMER!
04.16.11
By Sheryll Alexander
The time to start planning a summer vacation to Napa Valley is now, so here’s some festivals, tours, classes, hotel packages and wine tasting news from this legendary California destination.
Home to world-renowned wines, Michelin-starred restaurants, world-class resorts, natural beauty and inspiring art collections, the Napa Valley also continually innovates to offer visitors new reasons to come and stay longer.
Festivals, Tours & Classes
Calistoga’s second annual Calistoga Tamale Festival, held May 1, is one of many ways the town will be honoring the milestone anniversary. Visit http://www.calistogavisitors.com.
This summer, Kayak Napa Valley will introduce sunset cruises to Downtown Napa for guests to enjoy the City of Napa’s “Summer Nights” concert series from the water. The special cruises will be available on select Friday evenings through July and August. Additionally, Saturday moonlight cruises, beginning at dusk, will be offered on July 16 and August 13. Visit http://www.kayaknv.com.
The only professional history and architecture tour in the Napa Valley, the Napa Walking Tour is led by George Webber, who is a historian, actor, wine and beer expert. The three-hour tour includes a walk along the Napa River, visits to magnificent Victorian mansions, an overview of the history of Napa from prehistoric past to the present day, and a micro-brewery tour and tasting. New for summer 2011 is the addition of a humorous wine lecture and tasting presented by “Professor Vine” at the Ceja Winery Tasting Room. Tours are $35 per person and include wine and beer tastings. Visit http://www.napawalkingtour.com.
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) provides visitors of Napa Valley with lots of opportunities to engage in a culinary learning experience from expert chefs. “Students” get a taste of the CIA experience while enjoying the company of fellow food and wine fans. Classes include topics like artisan breads at home, cake decorating, food and wine pairing, seasons in the wine country, tastes of the Napa Valley. Visit http://www.ciachef.edu.
New Napa Hotels, Renovations & Packages
Auberge du Soleil, the iconic Michelin-starred restaurant and premier luxury resort, is celebrating its 30th anniversary by presenting a year of special culinary offerings and experiences including a 30th anniversary getaway package, a special prix fixe two-course lunch menu for $30 and a new “30-Year Journey Through Wine” list featuring 30 consecutive vintages from around the world and the Napa Valley beginning with 1981. Visit http://www.aubergedusoleil.com.
Set on six acres amongst heritage oaks and vintage olive groves, the new Hotel Yountville features 80 rooms, The Hopper Creek Kitchen, 4,000 sq. ft. Spa AcQua, stunning outdoor pool area, Y bar, and more. In-room amenities include oversized spa tubs, steam showers for two, fireplaces and private decks. The Hopper Creek Kitchen boasts an open kitchen, swank seating, large hearth and terrace dining under a majestic oak. The hotel also provides complimentary bicycles for guests. Rates start at $395. Visit http://www.hotelyountville.com.
The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa has undergone a $7 million and includes upgrades to guest rooms, suites, meeting space, the spa, restaurant and bar and the introduction of a new indoor/outdoor lobby featuring fire pits and a 600-bottle, floor-to-ceiling wine wall. In addition, the hotel boasts a large new culinary garden that is used by the chef to create nightly specials. The hotel has also launched its new restaurant and bar, VinEleven. Visit http://www.napavalleymarriott.com.
Wine Experiences and Tasting Rooms
B Cellars introduces its new winery and tasting room. Located in Calistoga, the new tasting room features Napa Valley wines from esteemed winemaker Kirk Venge, who is a second-generation Napa Valley winemaker with an established and well-earned reputation for his artisan approach for crafting Napa Valley, Rhone and Italian grape varietals. Visit http://www.bcellars.com.
Bell Wine Cellars now offers a daily “grape-to-glass” wine tour. The in-depth experience includes a stroll through the Yountville vineyard to learn more about the terroir and climate, a tank and barrel discussion, barrel tasting, and a tasting and artisan cheese pairing. The tour is $30 per person and includes one bottle of wine (per couple) to take home. Visit http://www.bellwine.com.
Goosecross Cellars is remodeling and renaming its Downtown Napa tasting room. Scheduled to open in July, the new tasting room will be named Top Flight - Wine Tasting & Beer Bar and will offer wine tastings and wine flights along with craft beer on draft and flights of beer. Small plates of appetizers paired with wine and beer will also be available. Visit http://www.goosecross.com.
Hill Family Estate is now offering a garden tour and tasting that includes a premium tasting and tour of Hill Family Farm and Jacobsen Orchards (the exclusive purveyors of produce for some of Yountville’s Michelin-starred restaurants).Visit http://www.hillfamilyestate.com.
Schweiger Vineyards has renovated its tasting room. Set 2000 ft. above the Napa Valley floor, guests enjoy incredible views of the region, while savoring artisan style wines, balcony service and sit-down paired tastings. Guests also enjoy full estate tours including a descent into the barrel room. Four tasting options are available: a three-flight Salon Tasting, a six-flight “Dedication” Tasting, a full vineyard tour and tasting and a charcuterie-paired tasting. Visit http://www.schweigervineyards.com.
Sheryll Alexander runs a news media agency based in coastal Orange County, California.
GO GREEN AT OJAI’S BLUE IGUANA INN
04.16.11
By Joanne Tucker
One way to get back to nature this spring season is to take a relaxing vacation to the wondrous Ojai Valley with a “green meets blue” stay at the Blue Iguana Inn, which features the organic wines of Casa Barranca Winery.
Located an easy 90 minute drive north of LA on Highway 33, the Blue Iguana Inn is situated in the heart of the picturesque Ojai Valley and just a two-minute drive from the historic village of Ojai with its specialty shops, art galleries, restaurants and wine tasting rooms.
Surrounded by citrus groves, oak groves and the majestic snow-covered peaks of the Topa Topa Mountains, the Blue Iguana Inn is an ideal spot to begin your spring eco-celebration by breathing the valley’spristine air, walking its oak-shaded pathways, soaking in rejuvenating health spas and dining on locally-grown organic produce.
Green Meets Blue Package
The Blue Iguana Inn’s Green Meets Blue package includes a one- or two-night stay and a welcome bottle of organic Casa Barranca wine, souvenir wine glasses and signature Iguana Inn chocolates. The eco-package starts at $219 and is valid through December 31, 2011.
The weekend getaway also features a top-end wine flight tasting at the Casa Barranca wine tasting room in Ojai. This tasting includes a 20 percent discount on wine and merchandise and a wine opener to take home. Also included in the package is a $50 dining certificate for Ojai’s award-winning Azu Restaurant, whose wine menu boasts Casa Barranca and many other organic wines.
About Blue Iguana Inn
For a relaxing stay, the Blue Iguana Inn offers accommodations ranging from rooms and suites to bungalows and cottages. Many accommodations have spacious living rooms, full kitchens, wood-burning fireplaces and private patios or courtyards. Also, “The Blue” (as locals call this lovely inn) has spacious lawns and lush gardens, which surround a large pool area.
Guests of the Blue Iguana Inn can also visit the Taft Botanical Gardens, which boasts a remarkable South African and Australian native plant collection. Not open to the general public, the Blue Iguana Inn has special access to this “secret” garden that is located in the foothills of Ojai Valley.
Blue Iguana Inn, 11794 N. Ventura Ave. (Hwy 33), Ojai, 805-646-5277, www.blueiguanainn.com.
Joanne Tucker is a freelance dining and travel writer based in Costa Mesa, California.
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