Event Schedule

We all strive for balance in our lives. Learn how to achieve the perfect balance of food and wine in our Perfect Harmony session, where we blend the exquisite wine knowledge of the sommelier with the creative flair of the master chef. Together they will create a state of Zen that blissful food and wine pairings can bring. The team will help you find your own nirvana by learning what happens with combinations of flavors and wines. Open your mind and palate and your journey will begin.

Speakers:
Shelley Lindgren, Co-owner and Sommelier, A16 and SPQR in San Francisco
Suzette Gresham-Tognetti, Co-owner and Executive Chef, Acquerello in San Francisco

Organic? Biodynamic? Sustainable practices? Just what does this have to do with your experience with wine and the way wine tastes to you? An exciting panel lead by Julie Johnson, owner of Tres Sabores Vineyard and co-founder of Frog’s Leap, will help you dig deep into the soil and learn just what an impact these popular practices can mean to you. From the grower to the winemaker, each of our speakers will give their unique perspective to help you nurture and grow your own philosophy on how to choose your own garden of wines, organic or not!

Speakers:
Julie Johnson, Owner, Tres Sabores
Mimi Gatens, Director of Sustainability, Benziger
Susan Sokol Blosser, Founder and President, Sokol Blosser Winery
Jillian Johnson, Winemaker, Boony Doon Vineyard
Ginny Lambrix, Viticulturalist

Until 1976, France was the undisputed producer of the world’s best wines…and then the Californians arrived! Join us as we recreate a Napa style 2008 version of the blind tasting, where the California wines outscored the French competition in both the red and the white categories. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about old world and new world wines, and use their palates to evaluate them in a blind tasting. The morning session will focus on California Chardonnays and the French White Burgundys. In the afternoon session California Cabernets and French Bordeaux will be put to the test. See what your taste buds reveal – California or French!

Speakers:
Julie Schreiber, Associate Winemaker, Sterling Vineyards
Caterina Miribelli, Director of Wine, District Wine Bar SF

A growing number of women are moving into key positions in the wine industry. These women are being recognized as both leaders and entrepreneurs in the industry, making a name for themselves by creating top-rated wines, providing consumers and the trade with expertise in wine and holding key positions in wineries of all sizes. Meet the wine industry’s rising stars in the media, winemaking, vineyard and beyond.

Speakers:
Leslie Sbracco, author and media personality, Check Please! on KQED
Elaine Honig, founder, Wine, Women and Shoes
Whitney Fisher, Winemaker, Fisher Vineyards

Back by popular demand, we will host an interactive sensory analysis tasting session with deep and mysterious red wines. Is it blackberry or plum, vanilla or pepper? Learn how to discern the hidden flavors and aromas in wines, so that you are able to clearly define and articulate what you enjoy and appreciate. In this session, you will take a journey and explore different aromas and bouquets of wines and learn how to connect the smells and tastes with definable characteristics of the wine. You will travel through the Aroma Wheel, a tool designed to facilitate communication by providing a standard terminology for wine drinkers. So the next time that someone says that they taste chocolate in their cabernet, you will know exactly what they mean.

Speakers:
Cristina de la Presa Owens, Consumer Insights Manager, Sensory, Foster's Wine Estates Americas
Gloria Mercado-Martin, Consulting Winemaker, Beringer Vieyards

Organic? Biodynamic? Sustainable practices? Just what does this have to do with your experience with wine and the way wine tastes to you? An exciting panel lead by Julie Johnson, owner of Tres Sabores Vineyard and co-founder of Frog’s Leap, will help you dig deep into the soil and learn just what an impact these popular practices can mean to you. From the grower to the winemaker, each of our speakers will give their unique perspective to help you nurture and grow your own philosophy on how to choose your own garden of wines, organic or not!

Speakers:
Julie Johnson, Owner, Tres Sabores
Mimi Gatens, Director of Sustainability, Benziger
Susan Sokol Blosser, Founder and President, Sokol Blosser Winery
Jillian Johnson, Winemaker, Boony Doon Vineyard
Ginny Lambrix, Viticulturalist

Until 1976, France was the undisputed producer of the world’s best wines... and then the Californians arrived! Join us as we recreate a Napa style 2008 version of the blind tasting, where the California wines outscored the French competition in both the red and the white categories. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about old world and new world wines, and use their palates to evaluate them in a blind tasting. The morning session will focus on California Chardonnays and the French White Burgundies. In the afternoon session California Cabernets and French Bordeaux will be put to the test. See what your taste buds reveal – California or French!

Speakers:
Julie Schreiber, Associate Winemaker, Sterling Vineyards
Caterina Miribelli, Director of Wine, District Wine Bar SF

This lecture is SOLD OUT!

Does music enhance your sensory evaluation of wine? Will jazz make that Pinot pop in your mouth, or can Mozart make the wine lose the subtle nuances that make us enjoy our wine drinking experience? New research is showing that the music we listen to while drinking wine may actually impact our sense of taste.

Join our speakers as they help you find what music will take your wine enjoyment to higher notes!

Speakers:
Bill Leigon, President & CEO, Wimbledon Wine Company
Asher Raboy, Conductor, Napa Valley Symphony

Tour Information

Let Marilyn Munk, St. Supery's Wine Educator, lead you through a tutored tasting of classic Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in the winery gallery. Learn about the virtues of classic Bordeaux grape varieties and what they contribute to a Meritage blend. Experiment and create your own blend to taste, then cork up a bottle to take home.

Attendees meet at 10:15 am in the St. Supery lobby. The tour will begin at 10:30 am.

This tour is SOLD OUT!

Tour Information

What do Schilling Spices, Falcon Crest and extraordinary red wine have in common?

Find out on Sunday May 4 at Spring Mountain Vineyard. Associate Winemaker Leigh Meyering will present an overview of the wines of the Spring Mountain District as well as the fascinating history of Spring Mountain Vineyard (and you will know the answer to the question above). Experience a tour of the beautiful estate and caves followed by a tasting of current releases with the Winemaker. Find out what makes mountain wines special.

Attendees ring at the gate of Spring Mountain at 10:15 am. The private tour will begin at 10:30 am.

This tour is SOLD OUT!

Tour Information

Quixote winery, is unlike any other winery... anywhere. Tucked into a magical corner of the Stag’s Leap District, this winery is a delight for all the senses. Quixote, like its namesake, the errant knight Don Quixote, is wild, whimsical, devoid of straight lines and rigid constructs. It’s an amazing work of art, happy and colorful, topped with a golden onion dome and a sod roof. What? You expected more Napa Cabernet? At Quixote the emphasis is on Petite Syrah and you will discover why. You will be treated to a personally guided tour at this not-to-be-believed architectural gem, and a tasting of Quixote’s alluring wines.

The tour will begin at 10:30.

Tour Information

Walk through the vineyard with Merrill Lindquist, owner of EMH Vineyards, and hear her story and adventure of "falling" into the wonderful world of Wine in the very heart of Wine Country with no prior experience in vineyard management, wine brand development, or wine business management.

Merrill will share the stories, challenges and rewards she has experienced during the last 9 years of cultivating the prized grapes that established her single-vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon as a sought after cult Cab. Merrill will also talk about the luxury wine market.

EMH’s vineyard on the valley floor in Calistoga is pocketed by the Palisades Mountains to the north and Diamond Mountain to the south. The tiny vineyard of just under an acre produces only 160 cases of outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.

EMH’s owner, Merrill Lindquist, purchased this very special property in 1999, fulfilling a dream to own a country house surrounded by vineyards. It was named “Black Cat” after Sparkles, the black cat who shares the property with the owner and her daughter Emily. The winemaker, Art Finkelstein, has crafted wines of great depth and distinction.

Taste two vintages of her prized wines that captured high marks in blind tastings (we're all about blind tastings in Napa Valley, after all!)

This is a unique opportunity to meet an upcoming vintner who can tell the story like no other and answer the question: "What would it be like if I had my own vineyard?"

The tour begins at 11:00 am. Please arrive at the Victorian house by 10:50 am.

Tour Information

Palmaz Vineyards' winemaking and aging takes place within the living rock of Mount George, in a flawlessly engineered maze of tunnels and lofty domes. The height of the wine cave is equivalent to an 18-storey building, providing the vertical range needed for true gravity-flow winemaking. This gentle treatment allows the finest nuances of flavor to develop naturally—the result is a complex, elegant wine. Tina Mitchell is the Wine Maker and Mia Kline work together to create the distinct wines with a “hand made” quality.

You will be guided through the cave and shown the intricacies of the gravity-flow wine making methods. You will then be invited to the dinning room to try 6 wines paired with hors d' oeuvres for each wine. Enjoy two "winery only" white wines, and a three year vertical of Palmaz vineyards Cabernet.

This very special tour and tasting experience begins at 10:00 am and lasts 2 hours.

Tour Information

A very small group of people will have the opportunity to come to Swanson Vineyards for a special tasting in their Salon.

The House of Swanson is decidedly Old World in tone yet deliciously postmodern in texture. Inspired by the great literary, political and culinary salons at the epicenter of 18th-century Paris, where zealous discourse fueled creativity and imagination, the Swanson Salon gathers together individuals from disparate backgrounds and a common passion for fine wine and its attendant lifestyle.

During your Harvey Tasting Experience in the Salon, you will explore a bird’s eye view of exquisite Swanson wines. You will visit a delightful assortment of current vintage wines--including the Alexis, along with small batch, unattainable wines known as the Salon Selections, all perfectly paired with individual plates of Swanson caviar, select artisan cheeses, and Swanson’s signature Alexis Bonbon.

Arrive at 1:15 pm. The tasting begins at 1:30 pm and will last 60-90 minutes.

Tour Information

Barbara Richards, owner and self-proclaimed “slave” to the family-run Paloma Vineyards invites you to join her for a walk on the property and a tasting while you learn about their history, soils and prized wines. See why Paloma was named Wine Spectator’s #1 of the Top Wineries of 2003 with consistent marks in the 90s for their Merlot and Syrahs. Paloma is located in the Spring Mountain District. Barbara and Jim bought the property in 1983. Their goal is to grow the best grapes possible make their wine reflect the unique terroir of their vineyard.

Barbara invites you to join her and learn about her odyssey and enjoy the outstanding Paloma wines.

The tour begins at 2:00 pm. Please meet at the house at 1:50 pm.

Tour Information

Join Sally Schweiger, owner of Schweiger Vineyards for a tour of the beautiful mountain top vineyard and winery. Take in the beautiful view of the Napa Valley from the Garden Terrace. Tour the vineyard and winery and experience a pairing of Schweiger’s different varietals with select charcuterie in the Barrel Room. Sally (“Queen Bee” as named by her distributors) will share the history of the winery, how the Schweigers work together as a family and how Sally integrates wine and food. Enjoy Sally’s warm hospitality, and delicious Schweiger wines in the beautiful Spring Mountain district.

The tour begins at 12:30 pm. Please meet at 12:15 pm.