Many Americans will be spending Halloween dressing up their kids in orange, black and ghostlike cotton wool and then doing their best to ensure they are not sick all over those costumes having gorged themselves on the treats that ward off the tricks.
But this year there is an alternative – or rather two – for those who can make it to the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA) in St Helena, Napa Valley. Both events are to raise funds for the Rudd Center there dedicated to teaching the gospel of wine.
The first event is a seminar and tasting called Great Discoveries from the Expanding World of Wine in the EcoLab Theater of the CIA at Greystone, 2555 Main Street, St Helena at 3.30 on Oct 31. I'll be presenting a truly eclectic, mind-expanding selection of wines from around the world chosen to represent some of the revisions necessary in the forthcoming sixth edition of The World Atlas of Wine. Tickets are – eek! - $325 each although this includes a signed copy of the brand new Atlas and a $300 tax-deductible contribution to the scholarship program of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies.
This is smartly followed at 6.30pm in the CIA's Wine Spectator Restaurant by an exclusive dinner for 25 priced at $450 a seat, again to include a signed copy of the brand new Atlas and a $250 tax-deductible contribution to the scholarship program of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies. Here I hope to be lucid enough to engage participants in lively conversation as well as talking about the delicious wines that will be served.
To make a reservation or find out more, contact Reuben Katz at the CIA on 707-967-2305 or r_katz@culinary.edu
