Grafting is an important technique in viticulture that allows the grower to retain the deep roots of an older vine and combine it with another varietal that might be a hardier or more popular type of grape. It’s a way to focus on growth with both the best of the old and the new.
Napa and Sonoma counties are renowned as the nation’s premier Wine Country, and the region’s reputation for producing some of the world’s best wine and food is what puts it on most planners’ radar. However, Sonoma and Napa continue to find ways improve what they do best while branching out into hands-on food and wine experiences and into the arts. In recent years, the area has grafted on exciting new festivals, hotel and winery upgrades, restaurants and group activities that make now the perfect time to taste what Wine Country has to offer.
Napa County
Home to more than 400 wine brands, Napa County is one of the world’s most concentrated wine regions. Also in abundance here are Michelin stars. The county’s restaurants and wineries garnered 14 of them—more than another other wine region—for 2012. With more than 5,000 guest rooms and 200,000 square feet of meeting space spread throughout the county and growing, Napa has the numbers to impress.
Even better, Napa County continues to add new sights, sounds and flavors for groups to sample.
“The Napa Valley is constantly evolving as a destination though always tethered to its commitment to fine wine and food, as well as agricultural protection,” says Clay Gregory, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley. “The downtown Napa area has seen the arrival of a number of new restaurants such as Oenotri, The Thomas and Tarla, as well as new tasting rooms and hotels. In the last couple of years we’ve also added more reasons to visit post-harvest season with the food and wine festival Flavor! Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Film Festival and arts focused programming in the spring.”
Both Flavor! Napa Valley and the Napa Valley Film Festival are held in November. January 2013 will bring the third annual Napa Truffle Festival, and later in the spring, the region will host Napa Valley Arts in April to name just a few events.
Meanwhile, the county’s impressive portfolio of meeting-ready hotels and wineries has been upgrading and expanding. PageBreak
In May, The Meritage Resort and Spa opened a $40 million expansion, including 165 new guest rooms, 50,000 square feet of event space and Crush Ultra Lounge, a luxury sports bar and six-lane bowling alley. One of the largest properties in Napa County, Meritage is home to the 10,000-square-foot Meritage Ballroom.
Odette Estate, one of the county’s newest wineries, opened its tasting room in August. Located in the Stag’s Leap District, the winery is a member of the PlumpJack group, which includes PlumpJack Winery and CADE Winery. Odette can welcome small groups of 20 to 30.
Foley Family Wines’ Merus Wines in St. Helena, a “ghost winery” dating from 1872, now offers high-end, exclusive event space for as many as 100 in its tunnel and caves or 50 on its tasting room terrace.
Napa’s Oxbow District has exploded as a hot spot in recent years. Located along the Napa River and the planned Napa River Trail, the district became home to Oxbow Public Market in 2008. It quickly became the epicenter of local artisan culinary trends, the place to go for the best ingredients around. Surrounded by specialty shops devoted to cupcakes, ice cream, coffee and olives, it’s a great place to stop for treats.
Hotels in the Oxbow District have also been making changes. Avia Napa rebranded as Andaz Napa in September. The first Andaz property in Northern California, the hotel offers 141 guest rooms and 2,600 square feet of meeting space, as well as its “agri-chic” signature restaurant, Andaz Farmers Table, and bar, Mercantile Social.
The 180-room Westin Verasa Napa, only open for four years, has already completed a renovation of its 7,000 square feet of meeting space. The Oxbow District property is working toward LEED certification and encourages fitness by renting shoes and gear to guests and offering the services of a running concierge to keep joggers motivated.
Also located in Napa, the 275-room Napa Valley Marriot Hotel and Spa cooked up another type of excitement this summer. The property was home base for the Oakland Raiders 2012 training camp, and Executive Chef Brian Whitmer served up 800 large, extra-healthy meals each day during the team’s stay. The kitchen needed to hire 10 temporary cooks to help prepare 150 pounds of chicken, 100 pounds of beef and 20 pounds of pasta per day. The Marriott offers 20,000 square feet of event space.
The popular Napa Valley Wine Train departs from a station located in the district. This restored antique train travels 36 miles to St. Helena and back, offering winery tour packages and murder mystery dinners that include fine Wine Country cuisine. Its eight passenger cars seat between 43 and 72 people.
According to Visit Napa Valley, hands-on culinary and wine education classes are a big hit with groups eager to explore beyond banquets and tastings.
“Experiential activities have become quite popular with groups looking for a meaningful connection to wine and food,” Gregory says. “Cooking classes and bottle blending camps are both fantastic and unexpected new group activities. Cakebread Cellars as well Silverado Resort and Spa and many other hotels offer hands-on cooking classes for groups. Cakebread Cellars and Bin to Bottle also offer a wine blending experience, as does Judd’s Hill, whose bottle blending camp shows groups how to blend and bottle their efforts to take home.” PageBreak
Sonoma County
One county in California can boast 50 miles of rugged coastline dotted with charming seaside villages, an ancient redwood grove, more than 40 spas and 350 wineries.
“Sonoma County has such a diverse landscape and experiential options for the planner,” says Mark Crabb, director of sales at Sonoma County Tourism. “Yes, we are Wine Country, but we have so much more to offer. Between the wineries, redwoods and coast, we can offer the planner a unique experience to set their meeting apart from other destinations. I like to say, ‘Some promote the rich and famous of their destination. We promote the riches of our famous destination.’”
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve is home to trees dating back 1,400 years and can welcome picnic groups as large as 150. The county offers a wide array of outdoor activities ranging from sport fishing, sailing and kayaking to bike tours, hot air balloon rides and bird watching.
Several wineries brought new event spaces online in 2012. Healdsburg’s Thomas George Estates recently opened a new event pavilion at Baker Ridge Vineyard, located adjacent to the winery. The new space offers splendid views of the Russian River Valley and is in addition to four guest houses, several picnic areas and wine caves capable of hosting 70 for banquets.
This year, Foley Family Wines purchased Sawyer Cellars and rebranded the winery as Foley Johnson. A redesign of the tasting room is planned. The company’s Chalk Hill Estate, which comprises more than 1,300 acres in the Mayacamas Mountains, can host events as large as 400 outdoors. Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, another popular Foley brand, has 10,000 square feet of indoor event space.
In 2012, Hook & Ladder Winery opened a second tasting room in the lobby of the Main Stage West Theatre in downtown Sebastopol. The original tasting room is located at the family-owned winery in Santa Rosa. Group tastings are available at both locations.
Some larger meetings-friendly Sonoma wineries include DeLoach Vineyards, VJB Vineyards & Cellars and Buena Vista Winery. PageBreak
The county’s diverse complement of restaurants is more than 500 strong and varies from Michelin and Zagat darlings to casual eateries. A few of the newest and most exciting include Park 121 at Cornerstone Sonoma, Campo Fino in Healdsburg and Rustic at Francis Ford Coppola Winery.
The Sheraton brand, including Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma, recently launched the Sheraton Social Hour. The property is working with Wine Spectator to feature samples of 90-plus rated wine in its Tolay Restaurant and Lounge each weekday evening. The property offers 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other meetings hotels in Sonoma include Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa, with 15,000 square feet of meeting space; Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, with more than 13,000 square feet of meeting space; The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort and Spa, with a 3,080-square-foot ballroom; and Sonoma Valley Inn, which offers the 2,500-square-foot Krug Event Center.
In Sonoma as well as Napa, groups are increasingly enthusiastic about more immersive food and wine activities.
“Though we still get requests for grape stomps, we are seeing more requests for culinary and wine experiences, cheese-making classes and, for the more adventurous, zip lining through the redwoods,” Crabb says. “Our groups want to have more hands-on experiences and go away with something they learned and can share with their friends.”
Sonoma Canopy Tours opened in 2011 near Santa Rosa to offer zip-lining tours through redwood forests. Relish Culinary Center presents hands-on cooking classes, wine education events and demonstrations in Healdsburg.
Kelly Crumrin is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who prefers her chardonnays buttery and her cabernet sauvignons rich and jammy.
