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The Concierge Alliance of Napa Valley invited WHERE Magazine concierge friends up to Napa for an extraordinary Research Day in which to better educate San Francisco’s leading hospitality members about The Wine Country.

The day began with California Wine Tours picking up the concierges at the Ferry Building in a beautiful limo complete with all amenities. Bruce White, Driver/Chauffeur and Mimi Gatens, Director of Sales & Marketing, greeted the concierges with Bloody Mary’s, Mimosas, morning snacks and a plethora of information about the Napa Valley as they were driven in. www.californiawinetours.com

The first stop of the day took place at Meteor Vineyards. Founded in 1998 by proprietors Barry Martin Schuler and Tracy Strong Schuler along with wine making partners Dawnine Sample Dyer and Bill Dyer. Meteor Vineyard’s bright fruit flavor is underpinned by a compilation of three clones of cabernet sauvignon grafted on specific rootstocks.

Tasting took place at the back of the family’s estate amongst beautiful vineyards in Coombsville. The estate’s architecture was designed by Cutler Anderson Architects using rammed earth, glass and wood framing. Modern and striking! Delightful cheeses, fruits and breads were served and the concierges took a vineyard tour with Dawnine in which she explained the geological process of winemaking. www.meteorvineyard.com

From Meteor, the concierges were brought up Valley to St. Helena to Crocker & Starr Vineyard—a partnership between Pam Starr, winemaker and Charles Crocker. Guests toured the estate’s varied grounds with Pam and Mark Simon, sales and hospitality director and experienced tasting in the vineyard, the 1800’s stone Casalli and Picnic lunch in the Gardens catered by aka Bistro’s owner Robert Simon. Simon served delicious salmon paired with homemade mustard and bread, a main course of barley, avocado, chicken, and dried fruit and a mouth-watering custard with fruit for desert. Crocker & Starr paired their wines with each course while misters kept the concierges cool. www.crockerstarr.com

It was then on to Hotel Luca. Hotel Luca’s Director of Sales Bobbi DeMore and General Manager James de Luca hosted a “Pink Party” n their sun-filled Italian plaza featuring perfectly-chilled (and perfectly-delicious)

rosé wines by O’Brien Estate, Paradigm Winery, Von Strasser, Fortunati, Juice Box, Merryvale, Girard Winery, Rubicon Estate, and Cakebread–all deliciously paired with the cuisine of the hotel’s restaurant: Cantinetta Piero (which has begun offering pizza classes with the chef). We sampled their Arancini, Crab Cakes with zesty aioli, Pancetta-wrapped Scallops, a trio of handmade artisan pizzas, and rosemary-scented beef wrapped figs. The intimate plaza space, furnished with chunky, low-slung lounge furnishings gave the atmosphere of a chic lounge.

A tour of the 20 room property, lead by Bobbi, showcased the subterranean spa – featuring an exclusive spa product line, the restaurant–Cantinetta Piero, and two categories of luxurious rooms – all fitted out through Hotel Luca’s partnership with Restoration Hardware. Rooms, located on two floors, and all accessed from the central plaza, offered a residential feel, and bathrooms featured deep soaking tubs with separate showers – bath amenities by H2O. Speaking of bathrooms, the lobby bathrooms featured Toto toilets–something so wonderfully unique that must be experienced to believe! www.hotellucanapa.com

Concierge Notes: Located at the north end of Yountville just next to luxury wine tasting room and gallery Ma(i)sonry, Hotel Luca is perfectly located to stroll the few blocks to The French Laundry, or just blocks more to the restaurant core of Yountville including, Redd, Hurleys, Bottega, Bouchon, Ad Hoc, and Bistro Jeanty!

Lucky, Lucky, us! Just a short drive across the highway from the Hotel Luca, The Festival del Sole was in residence at the Lincoln Theater. As the parking lot could clearly attest (with row after row ultra-luxury vehicles), the venue was abuzz with the valley’s glitterati.

From our Dress Circle perch in the intimate Lincoln Theatre, we enjoyed a world class orchestral performance with some of the biggest stars in Classical Music. Famed Alondra de la Parra, appearing courtesy the Mexican government, conducted the Russian National Orchestra. The sold-out program started with the instantly recognizable Overture to the “Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart. The next piece by Mendelssohn, featured the Double Concerto with two amazing headliners: the famed violinist, Joshua Bell; and, the French virtuoso pianist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet. The program wrapped up with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 – called “Eroica”. The close of the program was rewarded by a thunderous standing ovation – certainly deserved for talent clearly on display over the course of the performances. Never let it be said Napa doesn’t have culture!

Without a doubt, this day’s theme was “world-class”. From the bespoke wines, to the access to two of the valley’s big names in wine, to the intimate, and exclusive “Pink Party” at the Hotel Luca, and to a performance by the brightest stars in the classical music field – we experienced a side of the Napa Valley that was far removed from the motor-coach, belly-up-to-the-bar wine touring experience. This was a peek behind the curtain on how the most discerning of wine-tourists experience The Wine Country.