Sonoma County Showcase Weekend Of Wine &
Food
Debuts Exciting New Offerings For 2007
Wine Country's
Most Popular Consumer Event Expands with
New Activities and National Partners
May 4, 2007 - Santa Rosa,
CA: Sonoma County Vintners has unveiled
the new look of the Sonoma County
Showcase Weekend of Wine & Food,
which for 2007 features innovative new events,
national lifestyle partners, and the ultimate
in luxury epicurean experiences. Taking
place July 12-15 at locations
throughout Sonoma County, Showcase is the
definitive Wine Country experience, offering
the best of wine, food, and upscale accommodations
to a national audience.
As
the Presenting Sponsor of the Sonoma County
Showcase of Wine & Food, Visa Signature
cardholders will enjoy access to an exclusive
ticket pre-sale (through May 7) and other
on-site benefits.
Additionally,
Wine Spectator and The Wall Street Journal
return as national media partners and are
joined for 2007 by Gourmet magazine, the
epicurean media sponsor of the Taste of
Sonoma portion of Showcase. Together, they
will provide unrivaled marketing and promotional
support for the event and Sonoma County's
wines and wineries.
Noteworthy
among the many enhancements to Showcase
is the removal of the live auction component.
Proceeds from the Showcase events will continue
to benefit local charities, but Sonoma County
Vintners' new partnership with the Imagine
Auction allows the live auction to move
from Showcase to the inaugural Sonoma Paradiso
auction held in October, 2007. With this
change, Showcase focuses exclusively on
creating the ultimate Wine Country epicurean
gala, which features several exciting new
events.
Sonoma
Weekend Experience makes its debut
with four extremely limited all-access luxury
packages for the upscale traveler. Guests
have a choice of the Mayacama Golf Experience
at the private Mayacama Golf Club and its
Jack Nicklaus-designed course, Kenwood Spa
Experience at the Kenwood Inn & Spa,
Wine Camp Safari Experience among the 400
wild African animals at Safari West Wildlife
Preserve, and the Winery Experience, offering
lodging among the vineyards and behind-the-scenes
access at private winery guest houses. Each
package is limited to between 6 and 30 couples
and includes VIP tickets to all Showcase
events.
Also
new for 2007 is the Sonoma Family
Style Benefit and Gala, which kicks
off the weekend onFriday evening at Kendall-Jackson
Wine Center. This grand celebration of Sonoma
County's heritage and traditions is the
party of the year, with dancing and live
entertainment along with a unique twist
on a gala winemaker dinner. Sponsored by
Wine Spectator, Sonoma Family Style features
the favorite recipes of six local wine families
interpreted by some of the County's best
chefs: Duskie Estes & John Stewart with
the McWilliams family of Arista Winery,
John Ash with the Schug family, Jonathan
Waxman with the Hanna family, Josh Silvers
with the Jackson family, Mark Stark with
the Bertran family of Gloria Ferrer, and
Jon Helquist with the Seghesio family. Within
each chef area, guests enjoy their meal
at intimate winemaker-hosted tables.
Saturday
and Sunday, Taste of Sonoma
will be hosted by the Gallo Family at beautiful
MacMurray Ranch. The event expands this
year to two full days to truly encompass
all that Wine Country has to offer. More
than 100 wineries and 50 chefs will sample
their wines and food, and for the first
time consumers will have the unique opportunity
to purchase the wines they've tasted on
site at the Taste of Sonoma Wine Shop. They'll
also enjoy a chef competition and seminars
at the Gourmet Demonstration Kitchen, wine
education classes presented by Wine Spectator
and sample sparkling wines in the Macy's
Bubble Lounge.
Other
popular events include In the Vineyard
Experience, a "hands-on, get
your boots dirty" interactive vineyard
tour and tasting held at Gallo's Barrelli
Creek Vineyard and Kunde Estate's Wildwood
Vineyard and presented in cooperation with
the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.
Winery Lunches and Dinners
are held on Thursday and Friday and offer
intimate winemaker-hosted meals on-site
overlooking the vineyards. More than 20
wineries open their doors and kitchens for
these memorable experiences. Additionally,
Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery celebrates
its 25 th anniversary with a Showcase winemaker
dinner extravaganza on Thursday evening.
Tickets
to all events are on sale now exclusively
to Visa Signature cardholders, and will
be available May 8 to the general public.
They can be purchased at www.sonomawine.com/showcase
or by calling the Showcase hotline at 800-939-7666.
Sonoma
County Showcase of Wine & Food is produced
by the Sonoma County Vintners, the nonprofit
organization dedicated to the promotion
of the county's world-class wines and wineries.
Throughout the event's 27-year history,
proceeds have benefited local charities.
Beneficiaries for the 2007 event are the
Redwood Empire Food Bank, the Santa Rosa
Junior College Foundation, and area Boys
& Girls Clubs.
The
2007 Sonoma County Showcase Weekend of Wine
& Food is presented by Visa Signature,
whose cardholders will receive exclusive
benefits throughout the event. Taste of
Sonoma is hosted by Gallo Family Vineyards
and MacMurray Ranch. Premier sponsors of
Showcase are the Sonoma County Winegrape
Commission and Southern Wine & Spirits
of California. Major sponsors are Acqua
Panna, San Pellegrino, Land Rover, Macy's,
and Caliber WinePak. National media partners
are Gourmet, Wine Spectator, and The Wall
Street Journal. Vintner sponsors are Gallo
Family Vineyards, MacMurray Ranch, Matanzas
Creek Winery, Rodney Strong Vineyards, and
Stonestreet Alexander Mountain Estate. Supporting
sponsors are American Ag Credit, Weber,
and the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.
For more information about Showcase, visit
www.sonomawine.com/showcase.
About
Sonoma County Vintners
Sonoma County Vintners is the leading voice
of Sonoma County wine, dedicated to increasing
awareness and improving the quality image
of its wines to consumers, media, and trade
locally and globally. With almost 65,000
vineyard acres planted among the county's
13 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), Sonoma
County is considered one of the world's
premier winegrowing regions, producing an
unparalleled range of varietals and wine
styles. SCV has promoted this diversity
and quality since 1944, and currently represents
more than 150 member wineries. For more
information on the wines and wineries of
Sonoma County, visit www.sonomawine.com.
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