Photos by Jon Orlin On Saturday night stars were shining at Far Niente Winery for an evening of Bella Italia! A Tribute to Sophia Loren, the most coveted ticket at this year’s Festival del Sole. This just may be the most star-studded night in the nine seasons of the of festival. Napa Valley is used to its share of celebrities. But not many events can hold a candle to Whoopi Goldberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Redford, and the ultimate star, Sophia Loren, under one tent. I’ve been to my fair share of special nights in wine country, but this evening tops them all. I got to shake hands with Sophia Loren. The grande signora of the Italian silver screen was in Napa Valley for the world premiere of Sinfonietta per Sofia, a tribute in her honor. The work, composed by Daniel Brewbaker, was performed by the LA Virtuosi, a…
The Pied Piper of Napa Valley
For David Pack, legendary musician, Ambrosia lead singer and Grammy award winning record producer, his latest project, Napa Crossroads, is one he’s been dreaming of for 30 years. That’s when he first started visiting wine country. He calls Napa “my secret place, my magic spot, heaven on earth.” The wine bug bit David, and he says “I was one of those geeky guys who would boil off the wine label and put them in a book with tasting notes.” He learned as much as he could about grape growing and making wine, reading books and talking to everyone he knew. David still has those wine journals. A fortuitous meeting with Jeff Gargiulo, owner of Gargiulo Vineyards in Oakville started David’s journey to producing Crossroads. He was performing at the winery’s harvest party in 2005, where David Duncan, CEO of Silver Oak Cellars also happened to perform with some other local…
Wine Country Chic, Napa Valley Style
When the invitation says “wine country casual,” what does that mean? That’s what attendees of this year’s Auction Napa Valley, on the first weekend of June, had to think about when deciding what to wear. The four day long event includes dinners at wineries, a food and wine festival with a barrel auction, and the live wine auction. Thursday night dinners at wineries are perhaps the most casual of the events, a low key way to ease into the weekend. At St. Supéry Vineyards, Kara Butler wore a Tilly’s denim jacket, Express white dress and Ariat boots. “These are the same cowboy boots that I where when I go through the vines so I thought what’s better than that?” Pam Prahm chose an Anthropoligie top, thinking about dining in the vineyard. “Just something casual and fun.” At Friday’s barrel auction, held at Raymond Vineyards, stripes and long dresses trended for…