Flavor! Napa Valley
What if you only had a few days and wanted to explore and have a taste of many of the outstanding food and wine experiences in the Napa Valley? So many fine restaurants, so many great wineries. What is a person to do?
Well, there is a great week of events just for you. It is titled “Flavor! Napa Valley.” This is a week-long exploration of what the valley has to offer in food and wine experiences. “Flavor! Napa Valley” is for you. It is an immersion in fabulous food and wine.
It is offered by Visit Napa Valley, which is the official tourism marketing organization for the Napa Valley. According to their description of the 5-day event, “Flavor! Napa Valley…celebrates local and celebrity chefs and winemakers and includes cooking demonstrations, intimate winemaker workshops, a Grand Tasting and exclusive experiences that bring out the best flavors of the legendary Napa Valley.”
We attended the Grand Tasting, which is a culmination of a week of food and wine experiences designed to showcase the wonderful offerings of the valley. It was an opportunity to taste through sweet and savory offerings from over 25 Napa Valley restaurants accompanied by wines poured by over 80 Napa Valley wineries. What a way to end a week! Where else can you taste and swirl your way through all this wonderfulness?
We waited in line with several rows of excited visitors for the doors to open. Some came from as close as San Francisco and others from far away to celebrate the joys of fine wine and food. This was really a “crash course” in the wonders of food and wine.
Once inside, there were two floors of food and wine. Restaurants showed off their skills with many exotic bites, and fabulous wineries shared their talent in tastings that included well-aged wines. I personally loved the opportunity to taste wines from 2005, as well as current releases. “It’s like Disneyland – yet for adults.” This is an expression that I overhead more than once as a description of the delightful bites and wine tastings. Some of my personal favorites for the night were Chappellet, O’Shaughnessy, CADE and Laird. Imagine though, you would have a night to discover yours!
Napa is one of the nine most prestigious wine locations in the world. The over 100 restaurants in the area have received more Michelin stars per capita than any other wine region in the world. I can’t think of a better way to get acquainted with this wonderful valley. Look for this opportunity next year.
Enjoy!
