If you like to score well on the golf course and at the wineries, the available group options can be especially enticing. And minutes after sinking the last putt for the day, groups can enjoy their wine in style.
Spread out over 1,200 acres in Napa Valley, the Silverado Resort & Spa is ideal for golf and wine lovers. Meeting attendees can play a morning round of golf on the resort’s two 18-hole Johnny Miller-designed golf courses and spend the afternoon at one of the 400 wineries within a 45-minute drive.
For those who don’t want to venture far from Silverado, the William Hill Estate Winery is located right across the street from the resort.
“More than 80 percent of our golf rounds are played before 1 p.m. because everyone wants to get to the wineries,” says Tim Geesey, Silverado Resort’s golf director.
Silverado Resort partners with several wineries in the area and can coordinate wine tours, tastings, lunches and dinners. The events typically last two to five hours and transportation is provided.
For adventurous groups, Silverado Resort can arrange activities such as hot air ballooning over the vineyards, grape stomps and sip and bicycle wine tours.
Recently, the golf staff executed a wine and cheese tasting with a 12-hole putting course set up where participants putted into wine boxes to win prizes.
At Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., 50 miles east of San Francisco, guests can play on the on-site Greg Norman-designed golf course and enjoy wine experiences at the unique Winemakers Studio.
“It’s a great way to socialize and is a fun and interactive winemaking experience,” says Heather Jones, catering sales director at Wente Vineyards.
Highlights of the Winemakers Studio’s offerings include a Winemakers Blending Experience, Wine Aroma Seminar and Wine & Cheese Pairing.
Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a 30-minute drive south of San Jose, Calif., Rosewood CordeValle has an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course, vineyards and winery. If you play golf on the course, you’ll notice the 85-acre Clos LaChance Winery adjacent to the sixth hole.
Guests at CordeValle can sample the wine in the tasting room or enjoy it with a picnic lunch, followed by a tour of the winery or a game of bocce ball. There are several other estate wineries within a 20-mile radius of CordeValle as well.
