Sinatra Family Estates in Napa Valley is poised to release its first vintage cabernet sauvignon, named after the song Come Fly With Me, which Frank Sinatra sang to perfection back in the day.
It’s an apt sentiment for a bottle of wine as well as the region in which it’s produced, as Napa and Sonoma counties comprise a seemingly off-the-map locale for group gatherings. At once invigorating and relaxing, Northern California’s Wine Country sees to it that attendees take care of business in a beautiful setting, and afterward pamper and reward themselves with wine tasting, spa treatments, fine dining, lovely hikes, invigorating bike rides and even hot-air ballooning.
For memorable meetings where attendees can focus because they’ve truly gotten away from it all, planners should consider booking their next event in Napa or Sonoma counties, whose group-friendly facilities provide a fabulous backdrop for board retreats, corporate sessions and incentive and team-building events for groups of 10 to 300 people.
Napa County
With more than 200 wineries, an array of shopping opportunities, world-class spas, hiking trails, theaters such as the Napa Valley Opera House, and the popular Napa Valley Wine Train, Napa County, encompassing several towns (including Napa, St. Helena and Yountville), has "a little something for everyone," according to Terra J. Calegari, director of group and meeting services at The Napa Valley Destination Council.
"We’re a premier wine destination," she says, adding that the region also has restaurants galore, many of which are run by famous chefs, including Thomas Keller at The French Laundry.
When meeting in Napa, planners often book off-site winery tours and tastings, and many wineries also arrange cooking classes and team-building events for groups. Peju Province Winery and Cakebread Cellars offer cooking classes and wine-blending events, and Black Stallion Winery does cheese pairing with wine. Additionally, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena offers cooking classes and demonstrations.
Other activities for attendees include spa treatments at Silverado Resort, Marriott Napa Valley Hotel & Spa and Meritage Resort & Spa, all located in Napa. The Silverado also has two golf courses for attendees interested in hitting the links, and, Calegari adds, area hotels often work with Napa’s Chardonnay Golf Club and Eagle Vines Golf Club for group tournaments.
Completing the area’s portfolio of meetings-equipped properties are Villagio Inn & Spa and the newly opened Bardessono, both in Yountville, and Westin Verasa Napa, Embassy Suites Hotel Napa Valley and the new Avia Napa, all located in Napa.
Even more group-friendly properties are found in Calistoga, a place that’s synonymous with spa treatments and mud baths. Among them are Calistoga Spa Hot Springs Resort, Solage Calistoga Resort, Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resort, Calistoga Ranch, Indian Springs Resort & Spa, Mayacamas Ranch and Mountain Home Ranch.
According to Rex Albright, executive director at the Calistoga COC, the area is open and free, with views of the Palisades Range that give visitors a feeling of connectivity—to the environment and one another.
"If we can relax your mind and body, you’ll be more accepting during the meeting," he says. "This is a nice place to get away, and the value here is the camaraderie attendees feel with other group members."
Outdoor pursuits are encouraged in Calistoga, Albright adds, citing beautiful walking trails up Mount St. Helena, strolling around the four-block-long downtown and taking the 2.5-mile Calistoga Cool Wine Tour from the Calistoga Bikeshop, where groups can rent bikes and learn about the self-guided tour.
"It’s an active yet relaxing activity," Albright says, citing the six wineries along the trail: Bennett Lane, Vincent Arroyo, August Briggs, Envy, Dutch Henry and Twomey.
Most area wineries will host group gatherings, including Castello di Amorosa and Sterling Vineyards, which both accommodate five- to 75-person events.
Sonoma County
Sonoma County is another Northern California gem that serves as an alternative to big-city meetings in the Northwest.
"The meeting is the most important aspect, but what the group does to take the whole experience back with them is also important," says Mark J. Crabb, director of sales at the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau. "Business can get tense, so groups need to be able to recharge, and we offer those outlets to relax."
Golfing at Windsor Golf Club or Bodega Harbour Golf Links (known as the poor man’s Pebble Beach), kayaking, biking and hot-air ballooning are among the activities that will brighten a group’s agenda.
"Groups reconnect here, it’s laid-back and they walk away energized," Crabb says, adding that visitors appreciate the area’s natural beauty, including coastline and forested areas.
And, of course, area wineries are available for off-site gatherings and various activities, including cave dinners at Deerfield Ranch Winery and Kunde Estate Winery, both in Sonoma Valley, and the Winemaker for a Day program at Santa Rosa-based Paradise Ridge Winery.
During this increasingly popular event for groups of 25 people or less, participants taste wine and learn about wine production, have a lunch break and then pair into teams to blend the wines they tasted earlier.
"They name the wine and design what they’d want the label to look like," Crabb says. "A staff winemaker will help with the blends and judge, and then everyone in the group will get a bottle of the best wine."
Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma facilitates a similar type of event.
A cash incentive for group business that was rolled out two years ago will be good through 2011, according to Crabb. If 50 to 100 total room nights are booked, $1,000 will go directly to the group’s master account; 101 to 200 total room nights will earn $2,000; 201 to 300 total room nights will earn $3,000; and 301-plus total room nights will earn $4,000. Crabb adds that it can’t be repeat business, the group can only use it once and the lead has to be generated through the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.
Among the meetings-ready properties in the county are a Hampton Inn and Suites that opened in Windsor last year; Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country and Hampton Inn & Suites, both in Rohnert Park; Sheraton Sonoma County-Petaluma; Sea Ranch Lodge and Bodega Bay Lodge & Spa along the coast; the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa; The Lodge at Sonoma-A Renaissance Resort and Spa; MacArthur Place; Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn; Westerbeke Ranch Conference Center; and Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville.
Speaking of dining establishments, Food Network celebrity chef Guy Fieri calls Sonoma County "the epicenter of food and wine." Fieri owns three area restaurants, Johnny Garlic’s in Windsor and Santa Rosa, and Tex Wasabi’s in Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa’s main meetings players are FountainGrove Inn; Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa; Hilton Sonoma Wine Country; Courtyard by Marriott Santa Rosa Hotel; and Vintners Inn, all located in Santa Rosa; and Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa, east of Santa Rosa.
According to Mo McElroy, executive director of the Santa Rosa CVB, group attendees get into a different mental space when meeting in the area.
"It’s nurturing and they’re very productive since they’re unplugged from the rat race," she says.
Santa Rosa is brimming with memorable group activities, including outings to Safari West, a unique wildlife preserve where animal tours are arranged as well as cookouts near the giraffes, and to the Charles M. Schultz Museum, which often hosts receptions.
"I’m always surprised by how many Peanuts fans there are in all walks of life in every group setting," McElroy says.
Many local wineries also host group gatherings, including St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, Paradise Ridge Winery and Matanzas Creek Winery.
"And Cellars of Sonoma has a great big tasting room in historic Santa Rosa," McElroy says, explaining that it represents nine different wineries that don’t have tasting rooms of their own, and hosts events including blending seminars and aroma classes.
Finally, Up & Away Ballooning allows groups to literally Come Fly with Me.
"It takes off and lands at Kendall Jackson for a picnic," McElroy says. "Groups just love it."
