Monday, May 5, 2014

CEMA Wine Country Women in Leadership Event Wrap-Up

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
 - Albert Einstein

I had the absolute pleasure of getting to attend the CEMA Wine Country Women in Leadership event May 1, 2014, in Napa Valley. DMC Viviani Tours did a spectacular job of lining up a day full of education, networking, food, and of course wine! More than 35 event marketers joined us for property tours and winery tours, and inspiring stories from winemakers and winery owners.
Our first stop was the Bardessano Hotel, where CEO of Visit Napa, Clay Walker, welcomed us to the famed valley of the grape. Here’s some fun facts that Clay shared with us:
  • 4/10ths of 1% of the world’s wine comes from Napa Valley
  • Napa is home to 400+ wineries, and 95% of them are family-owned
  • Napa has the most Michelin stars per capita of any wine region in the world (including two 3-star restaurants)
  • There is more than 200,000 square feet of unique meeting space throughout the Napa Valley
Then our Bardessano hosts took us on a tour of their breathtaking property… from the high tech bathrooms to the Leed-certified environmentally-friendly surroundings, our eyes were opened this unique luxury property nestled in the heart of Yountville.
Next up was Chimney Rock Winery. Little did we know that our tastings would begin at 10:30am… but I didn’t hear too much complaining! We learned about following your passion from Winemaker and General Manager Elizabeth Vianna as shared the history of the winery and her personal story of switching from medical school in her senior year of college to winemaking school to chase her dreams. Clearly a successful outcome, we “see, swirl, smell, sip”ed our way across her creations. I took away some incredible sound bites from Elizabeth’s talk, including:
  • Winemaking is an eternal learning curve
  • You’re only as good as your team and what mother nature gives you
  • I truly believe in following your instincts. But with reason.
  • Only 4% of winemakers are women
  • Winemaking is like events – it’s a place where control is very important
Our next stop was the breathtaking scenery of Hall Winery where we met Kathryn Walt Hall, owner and winemaker, as well as world-renowned caterer Elaine Bell. Kathryn shared her family’s history as grape farmers in Mendocino, and her story of following her passion and getting into the art and science of making wines.  I took away some great sound bites from Kathryn, as well:
  • What differentiates one great wine from another great wine is: Did you have fun?
  • 90% of winemaking is farming
  • This business is very relationship driven
  • I never want to make a profit at the expense of our pride and our team
  • Its said that cabernets are more masculine and pinot noirs are more feminine because they’re so elegant
  • We are, at the end of the day, fancy farmers and the experience needs to be enjoyable
Kathryn also talked about the event space on their newly-renovated property, and some teambuilding ideas, including blending wines. “Blending is one of the few things in life that is actually better done by committee,” she said.
We then had the luxury of a lunch catered by Elaine Bell, pairing perfectly with Hall wines. Elaine shared stories of her humble beginnings as a student chef, the first time she met Julia Child and how they became close friends, how she revolutionized the catering industry by actually cooking the food onsite with the little Kenmore range from her very own kitchen (which she hooked up to a propane tank and took onsite with her!). She talked about how she grew her business to more than $1m in revenue in two years, and how she expanded into the powerhouse catering company that she owns today.
We then were taken on an exploration of Hall Winery, through the exquisite art collections, past the tank rooms, and through the indoor and outdoor event spaces. The designers at the winery made every effort to bring the outdoors in and provide an organic-feeling experience at every turn. After a tour of the serene, artistic surroundings of Hall Winery, we embarked on our final adventure: Raymond Winery.
I have no words for this experience. Well, that’s not true. I have a lot of words. Here they are.
The first thing we were attracted to was the giant open frame garden, where we obviously had to stop for photo moments! This was our introduction to the theatrics awaiting us beyond the rose bushes… After a refreshing glass of bubbly, we toured the organic gardens of the winery (appropriately named the Theatre of Nature) and learned about the ecodynamics of the winery and garden. Our tour guide helpfully let us know that if there is a zombie apocalypse, Raymond Winery is the place you want to be. We saw Frenchie’s Garden, a dog park and kennel for winery guests’ four-legged friends. (The owner’s dog, Frenchie, even has his own wine! Not to worry, it’s for people).
We moved the party indoors (and thankfully out of the 90+ degree heat!) and began to take in the real experiences that Raymond Winery offers. This was the opposite of the winery we’d just visited… it wasn’t exquisite art with reminders to respect the work and not touch it. This was a hands-on, get-in-there experience. Touch the textures! Smell the aromas! Feel the dirt on your fingertips! And then… we met him. Owner Juan-Carlos Boisset. Oh the sound bites! Here we go:
  • We’re all actors of nature
  • You taste with your senses: Your nose, your tongue, your emotions
  • Of course the wine is great. We’re in Napa Valley. We want people to come here and have you say this is the coolest think I’ve done and this is a luxury product I want to be a part of.
  • We believe the best events are the ones that create an experience way beyond what you would expect… and this is why we have mannequins.
  • We want to make all our guests vibrate. You should see our parties!
  • We’re an experiential winery where guests can live something different
We thoroughly enjoyed the company of JC as he took us on a tour of the fermentation tanks, the wine-making experience room (a special event facility where guests can blend their own wine), and through other intimate meeting and wine education spaces like The Library (where you can taste the same wine from different vintages through the years to understand how a wine changes with age), and the Terroir Room (where you learn how the different soil throughout California impacts the flavor of the grapes and the wines). And finally outside to the outdoor event space, the learning kitchen, and the guest house, and into the JC Lounge.
This CEMA event was part networking, part education, part inspirational storytelling, part fam trip, and all a luxurious break from reality. It was a very unique CEMA experience and I look forward to more memorable experiential moments in the future!