Flavor! Napa Valley... A Celebration of Food, Wine
and Fun.
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
We
were pleased to attend the second annual Flavor!
Napa Valley Appellation Trail Tasting at the historic
Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. The Sold Out event
was attended by 1500 wine and food lovers. It showcased more than
100 Napa Valley wineries and 25 Napa Valley restaurants, many
with Michelin Stars. This year there were also other celebrity
chef dinners, wine competitions and cooking demonstrations during
the four day Flavor! Napa Valley weekend.
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It
was a rainy Friday night but we found that parking offsite and
taking the Shuttle to the event was actually quick and fun. We
checked in and received our tasting glass which was a One Stemware
by Andrea Robinson. It was perfect for a tasting event and the
lanyard which was provided allowed us to carry the glass around
our necks. There were two floors for tasting Food and Wine including
the training kitchen, which kept it from feeling crowded and allowed
attendees to be able to chat with chefs and winemakers. There
was even an opportunity to have books signed by celebrity chefs
like Bottega's Michael Chiarello.
We've
made a habit at these events to always taste the Food before the
Wine. We enjoyed chatting with and tasting excellent cuisine made
by Angele Executive Chef Scott Ekstrom , Brix
Executive Chef Chris Jones , Jole Chef Matt
Spector, Norman Rose Tavern Chefs Michael
and Christina Gyetvan , Meritage Resort Executive
Chef Mike Collins, Greystone Executive Chef Almir
da Fonseca and last but not least Executive Chef Masaharu
Morimoto.
Some
of our favorite tastes were the Salmon made by Executive Chef
Bob Hurley of Hurley's, the Soup from Executive
Chef Phillip Wang of French Blue, the Pumpkin
Angel Food Cake from Executive Pastry Chef Paul Lemieux
of Auberge du Soleil, and the Sliders from Executive Chef Rick
Robinson of Gott's Roadside.
Our
second trip around was all about the fabulous Napa Valley Wines.
The
Napa Valley is known for growing some of the World's Finest Grapes
which allows growers and winemakers to craft a wide range of varietals.
We
enjoyed tasting the Silver Oak Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon,
the PATEL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the St.
Supery Sauvignon Blanc, the Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon,
the Mumm Napa Sparkling Wine, the Cakebread Cellars
Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Grgich Hills Estate Fume
Blanc.
We
also enjoyed being "spotted" by the San Francisco Chronicle's
Inside Scoop crew who posted our picture in real time on Facebook
and Twitter. We chatted with other attendees who all said that
they enjoyed the world class cuisine and wines at the Flavor!
Napa Valley Appellation Trail Tasting and felt they got
their money's worth. We had a great time as well and look forward
to attending again next year.
Flavor!
Napa Valley... A Celebration of Food, Wine and Fun.
www.FlavorNapaValley.com