The 2014 Auction Napa Valley, the American Wine Classic hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), will showcase “Sweet Home Napa Valley” with its extraordinary wines and a complement of culinary talent that will bring ingredients from Napa Valley’s vineyards, farms and forests to a three-day feast for the senses June 5-7, 2014. In what otherwise might take years of long-awaited reservations to experience, Auction Napa Valley attendees will savor in just in one weekend culinary creations from a wide range of Napa Valley’s finest and most sought-after chefs. Saturday’s Live Auction on the fairway at Meadowood Napa Valley will be a culinary convergence of Napa Valley chefs transforming ingredients born of the same sun and soil as the appellation’s famous wine grapes into meals that express a sense of place. Lunch is a casual al fresco affair created by Napa Valley “Masters of the Savory” and “Masters of the Sweet” (for more information on the master chefs see next page). Once the Auction bidding has come to a close, an elegant dinner by Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood’s three-Michelin-star chef, will celebrate the dynamic community of Napa Valley’s winemakers, growers, foragers, hunters, millers and purveyors in a serene setting under the stars. “The flavorful synergy between Napa Valley’s wines, its abundance of world-renowned chefs and the rich bounty of ingredients grown and raised here is a perfect expression of this special place,” notes David R. Duncan, honorary cochair of this year’s auction and president and CEO of Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars. New this year, Thursday’s Vintner Welcome Parties will show Auction attendees Napa Valley’s relaxed, down-to-earth side and the casual camaraderie and deep agricultural roots for which the region’s vintners are known. Slow-cooked, spitroasted pig, wood-fired pizzas and garden inspired-creations are just a sampling of foods that will grace tables set by groups of vintners, who will host these events at six different locations spanning the valley, from Carneros to Calistoga. During the Napa Valley Barrel Auction and Marketplace on June 6 at the grounds of the historic and recently renovated Charles Krug winery, dozens of Napa Valley wineries will pour current releases alongside more than 40 of the region’s most acclaimed restaurants and food purveyors. Vintners will open their homes and wineries for Friday’s Vintner-Hosted Dinners: intimate, artfully arranged and one-of-a-kind meals with such renowned culinary talent as Thomas Keller (The French Laundry and Bouchon in Napa Valley), Daniel Boulud (Daniel in New York City) and from nearby San Francisco, Corey Lee of Benu and Joshua Skenses of Saison, to name just a few. A limited number of three and single-day packages to Auction Napa Valley are still available. To purchase tickets, visit auctionnapavalley.org. culinary stars TO TRANSFORM NAPA VALLEY’S b o u n t y The Raymond Vineyards 2011 vintner dinner was held in the winery’s Crystal Cellar Room and featured tables decorated with Baccarat crystal. (Photo by Jason Tinacci) Christopher Kostow 18 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine. c om Photos by JASON TINACCI
NVLife_MayJune_2014
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