Auction Napa Valley celebrates its 30th anniversary June 3-6. Hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners, a non-profit trade organization representing nearly 400 Napa Valley wineries, this four-day gala is not only the world’s most successful charity wine auction, it is also the most fun. Beginning with casual, intimate dinners with host vintners in their homes and wineries Thursday night, it ends Sunday with a “Farewell Fête.”

Friday is a day to meander through a food and wine festival at the Rubicon Estate where more than 100 wineries will be pouring wines. Local restaurateurs and artisan food producers will showcase their specialties. You will also l have a chance to taste and bid on wines from the barrel in the rousing Barrel Auction inside the winery’s caves.

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Walk through the door at Ma(i)sonry and you won’t find the usual faux-Italian or French décor that typifies tasting rooms in Yountville, Calif. Instead, you’ll discover a space haunted by gold-plated skulls, abstract sculpture and giant chrome contraptions that look like the ancestors of the modern spotlight.

A steam-punk aesthetic pervades the century-old stone house, converted in 2007 to a tasting room that doubles as an exhibition space. Various mammalian vertebrae and reclaimed metal sculptures hang from exposed beams and dot the wooden shelves, an ambiance that could be the brainchild of Georgia O’Keefe and Damien Hirst, had they lived together on a 19th Century farm.

All of this makes for a fascinating place to taste wines from the 14 small local producers whom Ma(i)sonry represents. Check in at the front desk and head upstairs to one of the quirky rooms in the back. Pass a stack of disembodied men’s shirt collars under a specimen glass and ease yourself into a worn leather armchair. Before ordering your first glass of wine, drink up the trinkets: a wooden humidor with a Cuban flag carved in to the cover, a paper bird sculpture made from shavings of Dostoevsky’s House of the Dead.

Ma(i)sonry’s menu includes an array of both pre-selected and customizable flights from nearby wineries. On a rainy Wednesday, the Collector’s Flight ($40) is a sampling of four wines highlighted by the 2004 Husic Vineyards Cabernet, chocolaty with hints of nutmeg and raspberry jam, and the 2006 Rivera Cabernet, tannic and tinted with a taste of blackberries and green tea. All are part of a run of 1,000 cases or less.

Have as many glasses as you like – Ma(i)sonry is a mere five-minute walk from a firmament of Michelin-spangled restaurants (Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon, Redd, and the French Laundry) as well as the posh eco-lodge Bardessono.

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The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago is offering a true delight for a true oenophile: a Carmenere Wine Bath.

You may be accustomed to phoning the front desk to request your bath drawn, but until now, asking them to pour booze in it was something of a faux pas. Wine baths have slowly been gaining acclaim for their antioxidant benefits in various parts of the world, like in Japan where they celebrate the yearly uncorking of their Beaujolais Nouveau by pouring it into natural springs and soaking in it.

The Carmenere grape is a relatively new discovery; the grape was mistaken for Merlot until 1994 and has only been found in Chile. How fitting then, that when visiting Santiago, you can bathe in Carmenere.

No advance reservations are required; simply dial the front desk and ask that the Bath Butler draw you a Carmenere Wine Bath, and you will find your bathroom decked with candles and, of course, a wine-filled tub of pink bubbles full of antioxidants and a literally intoxicating fragrance. As an added indulgence, a glass of the Carmenere will sit bathside for you to drink as you soak.

The Carmenere Wine Bath at the Ritz-Carlton, Santiago costs $50.00.

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Sunsets are like kittens and cherry blossoms — you have to be a real curmudgeon to dislike them, and even when they’re just ordinary, they’re still pretty terrific. This is why a great many destinations tout their spectacular sunsets, to the point where I roll my eyes when I see it listed among an area’s charms.

But I will say that the sun fading to night on the red rocks in Sedona, Arizona is unusually magnificent. So if you need a new reason to get out there and see it, here’s one: there’s a new Verde Valley Wine Trail, linking together wineries in Cottonwood, Jerome and other places in this part of the state.

The trail is an outgrowth of a documentary about the called Blood into Wine — which has been screened in theaters around the United States since February, with many more planned into the spring and summer. It’s been billed as the Sideways of Arizona — just add musicians, model Milla Jovovich, and, judging from the trailer, a smidge of Deadliest Catch-esque edginess, and bottle.

The real question for me is whether the wine is any good — I’ve actually not had any Arizona wine, to my knowledge. But I’d be willing to give it a go the next time I’m in Sedona. Worst case, I’ll always have the sunset as a consolation prize.

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Henry VIII was a royal who did things a bit differently than everyone else and when it came to luxury the man knew how to live. The Hampton Court Palace has revived one of his royal pleasures, creating a Tudor wine fountain on the spot where his octagonal fountain stood in Base Court. The palace caretakers discovered the remains of a Tudor conduit or fountain during a major archaeological dig in 2008 and created the fountain based on the wine fountain shown in the Field of the Cloth of Gold painting which hangs in the Young Henry exhibition at Hampton Court Palace. The fountain flows with water every day but has been engineered, like Henry’s own wine fountains, to serve real wine on the weekends.

The fountain features 40 gilded lions’ heads based on those in the terracotta roundels that decorate the walls of the palace. The eight brass taps were designed based on a surviving Tudor tap found at the palace. The fountain bears a motto “faicte bonne chere quy vouldra” or “let he who wyshes make good cheere” in gilded lead letters based on those in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.Each glass costs £3.50 in addition to the palace admission price.

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The Miami Wine and Food Festival is all set to offer a wide variety of gourmet delicacies, rare vintages, and fun experiences for food and wine lovers in South Florida. Celebrating its 15th year and scheduled to take place on the 22nd – 24th of this month, one of the highlights is the return of chef Todd English to the festival for the “Food, Friends & Fun Interactive Dinner” where tables will team up to cook their own 3 course meals under the direction of Chef English.

Other events include live music, the “Taste and Toast” extravaganza (with VIP tasting), and The Champagne GH Mumm reception with silent auction.

The Miami Wine and Food Festival benefits Camillus House and United Way of Miami-Dade, and more info and event tickets are available here.

Source :: www.luxist.com

Wine tasting isn’t usually an activity you can enjoy with your dog but the Kunde Family Estate in Kentwood, California changes that. The family winery offers a series of hikes meant to be experienced with your friendly canine at your side. Tours are conducted by Jeff Kunde, a fourth generation winegrower, and include a moderately strenuous hike from the Sonoma Valley floor up to 1,400 feet into the Mayacamas Mountain range.

You and your dog will enjoy beautiful wine country views and learn about the Kunde Family Estate’s sustainable winegrowing practices. After all the hard work you are rewarded with a wine tasting and a box lunch with a view. Hikes are scheduled for May 15, July 3 and Oct 9 and cost $45. A portion of the fee is donated to Canine Companions and Sonoma County Humane Society.

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Let’s not pretend the recession hasn’t been hard on Fifi, too – a solid year-and-a-half of listening to you and the rest of the gang go on and on about the economy. And don’t even get her started on this whole staycation thing. If you want to show her some love and get a whole bunch of it yourself, The Resort at Paws Up in Montana, just outside of Missoula, will be putting on its second Wine & Bitch Weekend next month.

Three days and two nights in a land that only Ken Burns could do justice will be spent in a vacation home on a 37,000-acre property. Everything is included: three gourmet meals for two, every day, training and wellness seminars, doggie massages and hikes, and wine tastings from the thematically appropriate Mutt Lynch Winery. A canine fashion show is also on the cards, and you’d be surprised how well the dogs dress in the state of gold and silver.

Your calendar will be looking for room from April 23-25 for the event, and your Luxembourg account will be looking for $1,825 to transfer, which takes care of two adults and one pooch.

By Jonathon Ramsey | Source :: www.luxist.com

If David Kiley’s comprehensive look at pig dinners got your mouth watering, you need to book tickets for the 28th annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen on June 18-20, 2010. The event will feature demonstrations and seminars with chefs such as Jacques Pepin, David Chang, Giada DeLaurentiis, Michael Symon, and Thomas Keller. Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will cook delicious meals, as well as hosting a Classic Quickfire with Top Chef season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio competing against Top Chef Masters season 1 winner Rick Bayless.

New to the festival are chefs Tim Love and Art Smith and wine expert Paul Greico. The American Express Trade program will host trade-only power lunches with David Chang, Morimoto, among other greats. And for pig lovers there is The Grand Cochon event, featuring ten chefs who will create their best pork dishes at the Hotel Jerome. Tickets for the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen are $1,185. FOOD & WINE will donate 2% of the proceeds from every Classic ticket to Grow for Good ,FOOD & WINE’s national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture.

To do even more for Grow for Good you can opt for a Grow for Good pass at $3,100 per pass. Along with all the regular pass benefits, each Grow for Good Pass will include a $1,000 donation to the Grow for Good Campaign out of each pass price, an invitation to the Classic Welcome Reception held Thursday, June 17th, a ticket to FOOD & WINE’s Best New Chefs dinner held Saturday, June 19th, a one-time pass to the Classic Green Room, the VIP Gifting Suite, having your name listed on the Green donors page in Tasting Notes, the Classic event program and VIP access to seminars and Grand Tastings.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

What better way to indulge your love of great wine than by scheduling a vacation around it?

At Grape Camp in Sonoma County you’ll learn all about how wine is made through the hands on experience of picking grapes and blending your own wine, plus learning about wine, food, and cheese pairings during gourmet meals provided by master chefs.

This year the camp runs from September 27 – 29 and costs $1750 per person per couple (or $1900 for a single) and includes two nights accommodations at the Vintners Inn plus all meals, tastings, and transportation.

By Rigel Celeste | Source :: www.luxist.com