Napa Valley Vintners Announces New “Napa Valley Experience” For Wine Enthusiasts

Harvest to offer backdrop for unique immersion into the wine, food and people of Napa Valley

The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) has launched Napa Valley Experience, a new immersion into the wine and food of Napa Valley to run September 7-10, 2014, during the wine grape harvest. Limited to just 24 guests, Napa Valley Experience will offer an insider’s perspective on the unique quality of life in one of America’s most intimately scenic spots.

Napa Valley Experience will bring guests behind the scenes of Napa Valley’s renowned vineyards, where they will connect with some of the valley’s most innovative vintners and will savor meals crafted especially for these singular occasions. The program includes three nights of accommodations at Meadowood Napa Valley, a Relais & Château property nestled on two hundred and fifty private acres of one of Napa Valley’s most beautiful natural settings.

A snapshot of Napa Valley Experience includes:

• First evening wine reception and dinner at the iconic Far Niente winery
• A unique conversation with three generations of the Mondavi family, who will share their stories of their roots in Napa Valley
• A garden to table exploration and meal at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega restaurant
• An unrivaled 1,000-point tasting of 10 Napa Valley wines that have each earned a perfect score from The Wine Advocate
• A small-party, vintner hosted dinner
• Vineyard harvest experience
• Private wine blending session at either Opus One, HALL or Silverado Vineyards, with tastings of rare Premiere Napa Valley wines
• Harvest party at Chappellet Vineyard
• “Napa Legends” wine tasting at the home of Margrit Mondavi, guided by Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson

The cost of Napa Valley Experience is $6,000 per person or $10,000 per couple (double occupancy) and the program is limited to 24 wine enthusiasts. More details can be found atnapavintners.com/experience/.

About the Napa Valley Vintners
The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence for 70 years by inspiring its 500 members to produce consistent quality wines, provide environmental leadership and care for the extraordinary place they call home. Learn more at napavintners.com.

10 Foodie Getaways In South Africa

There is an endless list of things to do in South Africa, but sometimes, when you’re after a laid back holiday, sightseeing is just something to do between meals. South Africa is fast becoming one of the world’s most sought after foodie destinations, offering fantastic quality, innovation, and diversity to travellers. Here are 10 of South Africa’s best foodie getaways.

1. Le Quartier Français

The historic village of Franschhoek, in the Cape Winelands, is South Africa’s undisputed culinary capital. While award-winning cuisine beckons around every bend, the Le Quartier Français hotel is home to The Tasting Room, one of South Africa’s Top 10 restaurants where you can enjoy an 8-course South African menu paired with exquisite wines. Sister restaurant, Bread&Wine, is a popular choice for lingering lunches. Experience a hands-on culinary safari with Le Quartier’s cooking classes, private wine tastings, wine-blending class, and more.

2. Royal Malewane and Africa House

What more could you wish for on a Kruger safari than Big 5 game viewing, luxury accommodation, spa treatments, and decadent cuisine? Royal Malewane, situated in a private reserve alongside the Kruger National Park, is the only African Safari Lodge of its kind to have been awarded the prestigious Chaine des Rotisseurs Blazon for outstanding cuisine, facilities, and hospitality. After a day in the bush, gather under the stars to feast on imaginative, yet simple food as African melodies play on your heart strings.

3. Hartford House

Listed as one of South Africa’s Top 5 Restaurants 2013, Hartford House reflects their obsession with food in every meal.  Set in Mooi River, a bountiful land of big skies and rolling green hills, Hartford holds claim to one of the planet’s greatest pantries where “in season” and “local” are key. Whether it’s in the grandeur of the dining room or by candlelight on the great veranda, dinner at Hartford is a timeless experience of African splendour.

4. Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is an eco-paradise with two 5-star lodges on the fynbos and forest clad hills of Walker Bay, one of the world’s top whale-watching destinations. A culinary destination in its own right, Grootbos offers several spectacular settings to enjoy the best of South African cuisine. The Garden Restaurant and Red Indigo Restaurant each offer sophisticated cuisine crafted from the finest local ingredients, including seafood specialties and excellent South African wines. Guests can also enjoy picnics on the beach and enchanted candlelit dinners under a canopy of Milkwood trees.

5. Timamoon Lodge

Timamoon Lodge is a seductive hideaway high in the forested mountains of Mpumalanga, close to the Kruger National Park and Blyde River Canyon. Your senses will be tempted with exotic food served by candlelight in a Bali-style restaurant built on stilts. Set alongside a small pond and overlooking a tropical garden and distant emerald hills, the restaurant is perfect for romantic dinners and scenic breakfasts.  All food is prepared in house, from breads and pasta, to ice-cream and speciality chocolates.

6. Andries Stockenström Guesthouse

If you share Chef Gordon Wright’s philosophy of knowing the origins of your food and sourcing it yourself if need be, make a trip to the small Karoo village of Graaff Reinet. Gordon’s Restaurant at Andries Stockenström Guesthouse is internationally renowned for its simple, elegant cuisine. Gordon also runs a 3-night “Veld to Fork” cooking school where you can learn African bush craft and ethical hunting skills, and prepare a 4-course dinner in his restaurant. Vegetarian-friendly options and tailor-made packages with day trips to working Karoo farms are available.

7. Mimosa Lodge

The award-winning restaurant at Mimosa Lodge has put the small hamlet of Montagu on the culinary map. Swiss Chef, Bernhard Hess, uses only the freshest ingredients and incorporates local specialities like lamb, springbok, and ostrich. Montagu lies along the Cape Wine Route 62 – the longest wine route in the world – and you’ll find dishes paired with local wines from the Robertson Wine Valley.

8. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve offers a Big 5 safari adventure in the malaria-free Eastern Cape. The Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge is a classic-contemporary African lodge enhanced by the untouched surrounds. The focus is on fresh seasonal produce and local Karoo cooking, with a contemporary flair and French influence. On clear nights, the brilliant display of stars will have you lingering long after your plates have been cleared.

9. Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse

Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse offers an intimate gourmet getaway in the Drakensberg Mountains.  Perched on the edge of a trout-filled dam, with mountains soaring from the gardens, the secluded retreat is an unbeatable romantic escape.  Owner and chef, Richard Poynton, is passionate about food and sources only the finest ingredients, whether they be herbs freshly plucked from his garden or salmon imported from Norway. Dinners are an extravagant 7-course affair while the 3-course breakfasts promise an unusual treat.

10. Babylonstoren Farm

Once an unused kraal, Babel restaurant is the flagship of Babylonstoren Farm in Franschhoek. Their approach to food is “pick, clean, serve”, opting not to tamper, but rather to serve simple dishes with an edge. Aside from the chic country-style guest rooms that echo old Cape Dutch farm buildings, a highlight at Babylonstoren is the legendary Babel breakfast with only the freshest farm-style produce.

Which foodie getaway sounds most appealing to you?

Contributed by Marcel Van de Ghinste, a Director at TravelGround. www.aluxurytravelblog.com

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The Best Countries For Food

Food and travel go together like planes and airports. No matter where you go you’ll have little trouble finding at least one culinary experience that will help you understand the local culture. In some countries the food is the highlight, drawing many a foodie to its borders, like a moth to a flame. Here are 11 countries (in no particular order) that your taste buds will thank you for visiting.

1. Thailand

Image by jaaron

Standing at the crossroads of India, China and Oceania, Thai cuisine is like a best-of of all three’s techniques and ingredients. Dishes generally go in hard with garlic and chillies (especially the phrik khii nuu variety, which literally translates as ‘mouseshit peppers’). Other signature ingredients include lime juice, coriander and lemon grass, which give the cuisine its characteristic tang. Legendary fish sauce or shrimp paste looks after the salt.

2. Greece

Image by Klearchos Kapoutsis

From olives to octopus, the true taste of Greece depends on fresh, unadulterated staples. Masking or complicating original flavours is not the done thing, especially when you’re dealing with oven-fresh bread, rosy tomatoes and fish fresh from the Mediterranean. The midday meal is the main event with a procession of goodies brought to the table as they’re ready. With Wednesday and Friday traditionally reserved as fast days (ie no-meat days), vegetarians are also looked after.

3. China

From back-alley dumpling shops to four-star banquet halls, China has one of the world’s finest palates. Cultural precepts of Yin and Yang (balance and harmony) are evident in the bowl: with food for the day including cooling foods such as vegetables and fruit to counter warming spices and meat. The Chinese revere rice but also choose noodles, with either almost always accompanying a meal. A range of regional specialities exist, variously influenced by geography and history.

4. France

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From cheese and champagne to snails and baguettes, the French are famous for their foodstuffs. French cuisine has long distinguished itself for dallying with a great variety of foods. Each region’s distinct climate and geography have influenced the array of regional specialities. Many in France consider lunch as the day’s main meal, though the two hour marathon meal is increasingly rare. The crowning meal is a fully fledged home-cooked dinner comprising six distinct plats (courses).

5. Spain

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Best in Barcelona, Catalan cooking is racking up the accolades from gourmands around the globe. Like other regional Spanish cuisines, Catalan cooking favours spices such as saffron and cumin, as well as honeyed sweets. A mixture of ingredients and traditions adds flair to Barcelona’s fare: using seafood and meats in a rich array of sauces. Dinner is the main event, but never before 9pm.

6. Mexico

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Would you like some magic-realism with that enchilada? The Mexican sensibility for enchanting influences is also brought to the table in its food, particularly during celebrations. Mexican cuisine has an overriding Spanish influence, with a twist of French and African thanks to its history. Corn and bean-based dishes are prominent – prepared in a multitude of world renowned ways including tacos, enchiladas andquesadillas. And who could forget the worm that waits at the bottom of a bottle ofMezcal?

7. Italy

Image by Allerina and Glen MacLarty

Its food is arguably Italy‘s most famous export, and it’s with good reason that the world wants it. Despite all the variations that exist between regions, some common staples bind the country’s culinary creations. Think thin-crust pizza and al dente pastasand risottos. And to drink? One word: coffee. The Italians do it best – from perfecting a distinguished roast to the gentle extraction of its essence into the cup. Perfecto!

8. India

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India’s protean gastronomy changes shape as you move between neighbourhoods, towns and states. The basis of all meals is rice in the south, and roti in the north. These are generally partnered with dhal, vegetables and chutney. Fish or meat may also be added. Whatever the ingredients: the dish usually contains a heady cast of exotic spices that make the taste buds stand up and take notice.

9. Japan

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If you can wrap your tongue around pronouncing the menu, Japan’s cuisine is a most rewarding mouthful. Most Japanese restaurants concentrate on a specialty cuisine, such as yakitori (skewers of grilled chicken or veg), sushi and sashimi (raw fish),tempura (lightly battered and fried ingredients) and ramen noodle bars. The pinnacle of Japanese cooking, kaiseki (derived as an adjunct to the tea ceremony), combines ingredients, preparation, setting and ceremony over several small courses to distinguish the gentle art of eating.

10. Indonesia & Malaysia

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Indonesian and Malaysian cuisines are one big food swap: Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, colonists and traders have all influenced their ingredients and culinary concepts. They are nations well represented by their food. The abundance of rice is characteristic of the region’s fertile terraced landscape, the spices are reminiscent of a time of trade and invasion (the Spice Islands), and fiery chilli echoes the people’s passion. Indonesian and Malaysian cooking is not complex, and tastes here stay separate, simple and substantial.