As one of nine recognised 'Great Wine Capitals', San Francisco/Napa Valley awarded hospitality leaders throughout the region 2013 Best Of Wine Tourism designations in seven categories at a ceremony held on October 11 at the Napa Valley Welcome Centre.
Pic: from left to right: Philip Kendall (The Carneros Inn), Sarah Wallin (The
Napa Valley Welcome Center), Marcelo Freitas (Quintessa), Victoria
Amato (Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley), Will Jarvis (Jarvis), Chris Hall (Long
Meadow Ranch Winery). Not able to attend: Press Club. Photo credit: Megan Reeves Photography
Each year, a panel of esteemed peers from within the industry convenes to recognize the wine-related businesses they feel are most innovative and successful at showcasing their region’s wine tourism strengths and best practices.
The seven categories in which Best Of Awards are presented include, Accommodation, Restaurants, Architecture & Landscape, Art & Culture, Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences, Wine Tourism Services, and Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices.
Visit Napa Valley (VNV) and San Francisco Travel organise North America’s regional submissions for the Best Of Awards. Clay Gregory, VNV CEO says; “In addition to raising awareness of our region’s achievements among our most esteemed international wine industry peers, it is so meaningful for our area’s business innovators to receive the award recognition from our local industry experts.”
The 2013 Best Of Wine Tourism Awards regional judges included Michael Dellar of Lark Creek Restaurant Group, Courtney Cochran, San Francisco sommelier and author of Hip Tastes: A Fresh Guide to Wine, Virginia Miller of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and Courtney Humiston of TabletoGrave.com and viticultural consultant.
The 2013 Best Of regional San Francisco / Napa Valley winners are:
Accommodation – The Carneros Inn, A Plumpjack Resort (Napa Valley)
Recognized for its elegant design, luxury amenities and commitment to hospitality, The Carneros Inn’s countryside locale and modern interiors capture the region’s distinct charm. thecarnerosinn.com
Wine Tourism Restaurants – Press Club (San Francisco)
Offering California’s finest wines and beers in a sophisticated, social atmosphere, Press Club’s wine bar and lounge serves a menu of seasonal small plates and thoughtful pairings creating the ultimate wine experience.
hwww.pressclubsf.com
Architecture & Landscape – Quintessa (Napa Valley)
Agustin and Valeria Huneeus developed the state-of-the art and biodynamic Quintessa in 1990 with an eco-sensitive design, integrating nature and winemaking with a gravity flow process and naturally cooled winery and caves.
quintessa.com
Art and Culture – Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley (Napa Valley)
Ma(i)sonry’s art, design and collective wine-tasting gallery is located inside a 1904 stone building looking out over the collective’s sculpture garden, offering guests a differentiated lifestyle experience in wine country. maisonry.com
Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences – Long Meadow Ranch Winery (Napa Valley)
Long Meadow Ranch’s 650 acres of historic ranch nested atop the Mayacamas Mountains produce award-winning wines, extra virgin olive oils, grass-fed beef, eggs and heirloom fruits and vegetables. Guests are welcome to explore the ranch, winery and a traditional olive oil mill. longmeadowranch.com
Wine Tourism Services – The Napa Valley Welcome Center (Napa Valley)
Opened in April, 2011, the 2,400 square-foot center offers a mix of high-tech and traditional services to provide visitors the best and most informative welcome to the Napa Valley.
Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices – Jarvis (Napa Valley)
Operated entirely by solar power, Jarvis’ vineyards are green-certified by the California Land Stewardship Institute and its 45,000 square feet of wine caves remain 61 degrees year round requiring no heat or cooling. jarviswines.com
About the Napa Valley:
Napa Valley is home to the founders of America’s fine wine industry – legendary entrepreneurs who showed the world that the art of winemaking had crossed continents – and is prized for its natural beauty, phenomenal culinary scene, world-class hotel accommodations, robust arts community, and one-of-a-kind wellness experiences including the region’s famed spas, mud baths and healing geo-thermal springs. In partnership with San Francisco, the Napa Valley is internationally recognized as one of only nine “Great Wine Capitals” and is the Official Wine Region of the 34th annual America’s Cup. More details are available at visitnapavalley.com.
About San Francisco:
The California city of San Francisco sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, on North America’s stunning west coast. With its close proximity to the Napa Valley, the rare opportunity to explore and experience one of the best wine regions in the world is within easy reach. San Francisco is repeatedly named one of the top food and wine destinations in the world, and many of the gateway city’s restaurants showcase Napa Valley’s fine red, white and sparkling wines on their wine lists. Additionally, the City is home to several of its own wineries and tasting rooms that feature wine made from Napa Valley varietal grapes. Learn more at sanfrancisco.travel.
About the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of nine internationally renowned wine regions – Bordeaux, France; Cape Town, South Africa; Christchurch-South Island, New Zealand; Florence, Italy; Mainz-Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao-Rioja, Spain and San Francisco-Napa Valley, USA. The Best Of Wine Tourism awards serve as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognize leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices.
For more information visit greatwinecapitals.com.
Written by Decanter
