PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet which we'll review during the orientation session after dinner.

Wine reception before dinner

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel

Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants. In addition to the regular Road Scholar meal plan, this hotel offers a vegetarian meal option. Unfortunately, there are no other special meal options. Participants with special dietary needs should be prepared to avoid certain foods or supplement the regular meal plan as needed.

Evening: ORIENTATION: Overview of the program and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting the program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible.

Below is a TENTATIVE schedule of activities and field trip destinations. The final schedule will be in your registration packet and be determined by the availability of our speakers and field trip destinations. We appreciate your understanding.

CROSSING POINTS: Participants introduce themselves to the rest of the group.

Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn Napa

Meals Included: Dinner

CLASS: Agriculture History of the Napa Valley

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Board the motor coach for our afternoon field trip. We visit the Napa Valley Museum which is dedicated to promoting the cultural and environmental heritage of the Napa Valley. The changing exhibits represent a diverse range of subjects from fine arts to history to natural sciences. A docent guides our exploration of the Museum.

We continue our field trip to Mumm Champagne Cellars where we enjoy a guided visit and tasting.

Established in 1979, Mumm Napa is a partnership between France's Mumm champagne family and American bourbon moguls Seagram & Sons.

Visit the spacious tasting room, which features a glass wall overlooking acres of vineyards and an outdoor terrace. In addition to rotating exhibitions by some of America's most famous photographers, the place houses a permanent photo gallery.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel

Evening: CLASS: Viticulture

Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn Napa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Continue to the Hess Collections Winery which was founded by Swiss entrepreneur Donald Hess, who first purchased vineyards on Mount Veeder in 1978.

The winery is best known for its flagship Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines, and single vineyard designates from its estate vineyards in Napa Valley. A leader in sustainable and organic practices, The Hess Collection adheres to founder Donald Hess's philosophy: "Nurture the land; return what you take." Located in the historic stone winery originally constructed in 1903 by Colonel Theodore Gier, the winery first opened to the public in 1989. It has since earned international recognition for its wine, culinary and visitor programs, and provides free public access to Donald Hess's extensive private contemporary Art Museum. We have a guided tour and tasting during our visit.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel

Evening: Evening entertainment at hotel

Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn Napa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Located in California’s lush Napa Valley, the CIA at Greystone features a wide variety of innovative programs and facilities for culinarians. Collectively, they emphasize the cooking and baking traditions of many cultures; fresh, seasonal ingredients; health and nutrition; and sustainable agriculture. The CIA at Greystone currently enrolls approximately 200 students in its three credit programs, along with approximately 2,200 students in its professional development courses. We enjoy a guided visit of the CIA.

Lunch: Lunch is served at the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant. Watch chefs at work in the open kitchens, ask questions of the students, and interact with the knowledgeable wait-staff. Browse the menu, which features lots of interesting "Did You Know?" notes about food and wine and a recipe on the back. Check out the current "Flash Card," filled with cooking techniques, ingredients, and issues of sustainability on the front and a recipe on the back.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Castello di Amorosa, located in Calistoga, first opened its doors to the public in April 2007. It is the pet project of 4th generation vintner, Dario Sattui who also owns and operates the V. Sattui Winery named after his great-grandfather who originally established a winery in San Francisco in 1885.

Sattui claims to have spent nearly all his resources during the 14 year process of building this medieval replica castle on the vineyard grounds. The castle interiors, which include 107 rooms on 8 levels above and below ground, cover approximately 121,000 square feet. Among many other features it has: a moat; a drawbridge; defensive towers; an interior courtyard; a torture chamber; a chapel/church; a knights' chamber; and a 72 by 30 feet great hall with a 22-foot-high coffered ceiling.

The torture chamber has an authentic 300-year-old iron maiden which Sattui states he bought for $13,000 in Pienza, Italy; a replica rack; prison chambers and other torture devices. The great hall features frescoes painted by two Italian artists which took about a year and a half to complete and showcases a 500 year old fireplace. The masonry, ironwork and woodwork was fashioned by hand, using old world crafting techniques. Building materials included 8,000 tons of locally quarried stone, in addition to paving stones, terra cotta roofing tiles and some 850,000 bricks imported from Europe.

Extending into the hillside adjacent to the castle lies a labyrinth of caves some 900 feet in length. Beneath the castle are a 2-acre barrel cellar and tasting rooms where visitors can sample the wines - all sold only at the Castle. We have a guided visit and wine tasting.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel

Evening: CLASS: Viticulture

Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn Napa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Field trip continues to V. Sattui Winery.Founded in 1885 in San Francisco by Vittorio Sattui, an Italian immigrant, V. Sattui was re–established in St. Helena in 1975 by his great-grandson Dario Sattui. V. Sattui Winery offers a unique Napa Valley experience with beautiful picnic grounds, tasting rooms, Marketplace, European style deli and boutique gift store. Guided tour and tasting included in our visit.

Lunch: The European style deli at V. Sattui Winery prepares our box lunch.

Afternoon: After lunch we continue to Flora Springs Winery. Located at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains in the far Northwest corner of the Rutherford appellation, the Flora Springs estate is in the heart of the Napa Valley. Founded in 1978, Flora Springs has been a family affair for over three decades. As both artisan winemakers and growers, the family is committed to the traditions of fine winemaking and responsible stewardship of its 650 acres of vineyard land for future generations to savor and uphold. Today, ninety percent of Flora Springs' red wines are sourced from its organically-farmed estate vineyards, and all of these wines are crafted in the solar-powered 19th-century stone winery and caves. Tour and tasting included in our visit.

Dinner: Final dinner at a Napa Valley restaurant.

Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn Napa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner