Somerston Estate unveils a new flagship collection and culinary program

About this episode

Cole and Claire cover Somerston Estate unveils a new flagship collection and culinary program, Kenzo Napa's fall kaiseki menu debuts October 22, Zoppe Italian Family Circus (October 2 to 11 (dark Tuesday and Wednesday)), Creed Bratton: An Evening of Music and Comedy (Thursday, October 8), Musical Happy Hour (Thu, Oct 8), Air Supply (Fri, Oct 9).

Chapters

• 0:00 · Welcome to the Briefing
• 0:54 · Somerston Estate's New Chapter
• 1:44 · Kenzo Napa's Fall Kaiseki Menu
• 2:35 · Zinfandel Takes Its Time
• 3:25 · Tonight and the Circus
• 4:16 · Friday: Air Supply and Brian Regan
• 5:06 · Saturday: Raclette, Harvest Dinners, and the Grape Stomp
• 5:56 · Worth Your Week

Full transcript

Cole: Alright, welcome to the Napa FYI briefing, your weekly rundown on everything happening in the valley. I'm Cole, she's Claire, and we've got a full one today.

Claire: Happy Thursday, everybody. October eighth, and the October calendar is stacked. Let's get into it.

Cole: Let's start with the news. Four stories worth your attention this week.

Cole: First up: Somerston Estate unveils a new flagship collection and culinary program.

Claire: Somerston Estate announced a new flagship luxury wine collection with refreshed packaging on October sixth, twenty twenty-six.

Cole: Wow, okay. Not a small story for the valley.

Claire: Director of Winemaking Cody Hurd, who has been with the estate for more than fifteen years, says the wines select the fruit that most clearly expresses the property's individual vineyard blocks. The estate is launching a new culinary program led by Estate Chef Cameron Bouldin, pairing seasonal Napa Valley ingredients with the wines.

Cole: Next: Kenzo Napa's fall kaiseki menu debuts October twenty-second.

Claire: Kenzo Napa, the Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant in downtown Napa, announced its fall menu will debut on Wednesday, October twenty-second.

Cole: Noted. These are the weeks that reshape the map a little.

Claire: Head Chef Kenji Miyaishi built the menu around Kenzo Farm harvest favorites, including bluefin tuna imported daily and A5 Wagyu Tenderloin Jibuni. The downtown Napa restaurant holds eight consecutive Michelin stars under owner Kenzo Tsujimoto.

Cole: And one more: Zinfandel takes its time at Brown Estate.

Claire: Brown Estate Vineyards reported that its twenty twenty-six Zinfandel benefited from a long, slow growing season in the Chiles Valley A V A.

Cole: The valley keeps moving. Good to have the details.

Claire: The fruit got more time on the vine, allowing it to ripen slowly and evenly while developing the character Brown Estate looks for in its signature variety. Yields may be lighter this year, but the fruit coming into the winery is showing plenty of promise.

Claire: Okay, from news to the calendar.

Cole: Alright, the calendar. Here's what's actually worth your time, from this Thursday through next weekend.

Cole: October second through October eleventh at Napa Valley Expo, Zoppe Italian Family Circus. A one hundred seventy-five-year-old Italian family circus under a five hundred-seat tent at the Napa Valley Expo: acrobats, equestrian showmanship, canine capers, and Nino the clown, all woven into one central story instead of separate acts.

Claire: See zoppe.net for showtimes. Ticketed. Put it on the list.

Cole: Sixth-generation director Giovanni Zoppe leads ten days of performances.

Claire: Today, Thursday at Uptown Theatre, Creed Bratton: An Evening of Music and Comedy. The Office star Creed Bratton mixes stand up storytelling with his folk rock set.

Cole: Eight P M. Tickets through A X S. Classic valley weekend material.

Claire: Comedy and music in one ticket.

Cole: Today, Thursday at Tonewood and Courage, Musical Happy Hour. Free live music happy hour at Tonewood and Courage in Oxbow Public Market.

Claire: Evening. Free. Say less, I'm in.

Claire: Tomorrow, Friday at Blue Note Napa, Air Supply. Soft-rock legends Air Supply at Blue Note Napa, seated jazz-club setting at the Meritage Resort.

Cole: Evening. Check the ticket page for prices. Classic valley weekend material.

Cole: Heads up: Tickets via the venue's official ticketer.

Cole: Tomorrow, Friday at Uptown Theatre, Brian Regan. Clean standup legend Brian Regan's tour stop in Napa.

Claire: Eight P M. Tickets through A X S. Say less, I'm in.

Cole: One of the biggest comedy names to play the valley this fall.

Claire: Saturday, October tenth at DECANT Napa, Anniversary and Raclette Party at DECANT Napa. DECANT Napa celebrates its second anniversary with Swiss wines, hot raclette, live music, and special guests.

Cole: Four thirty P M to seven thirty P M. That's a good-looking one.

Cole: Saturday, October tenth at Blue Note Summer Sessions, The Meritage Resort and Spa, B E A T: Belew, Vai, Levin, Bozzio play King Crimson. Prog rock supergroup performing the music of King Crimson outdoors at the Meritage.

Claire: Doors six thirty P M, show eight P M. Outdoor, rain or shine.. Tickets through T I C K E T M A S T E R. Say less, I'm in.

Cole: The standout music nerd night of the fall calendar.

Claire: Saturday, October tenth at Frank Family Vineyards, Harvest Dinner at Frank Family Vineyards. Seasonal multi-course dinner with a sparkling reception and estate and library wines.

Cole: Six P M to nine P M. Three hundred fifty dollars. That's a good-looking one.

Claire: Open to the public, not members-only.

Cole: Saturday, October tenth at Grgich Hills Estate, Harvest Grape Stomp at Grgich Hills. Ninety-minute adults-only grape stomp with wine and a commemorative T-shirt.

Claire: Ten thirty A M to twelve P M. One hundred fifty dollars. Worth planning around.

Claire: Heads up: Per person.

Claire: Saturday, October tenth at Yountville Town Hall Council Chambers, Meet the Town Manager Open House. An open house with Yountville's Town Manager in the Council Chambers.

Cole: Ten A M. Free. I love that.

Claire: Coffee and informal Q and A, everyone welcome.

Cole: Before we go, the one thing worth your week.

Cole: Mine is Zoppe Italian Family Circus, October second through October eleventh.

Claire: Strong pick.

Claire: Mine is Anniversary and Raclette Party at DECANT Napa, Saturday, October tenth.

Cole: I can get behind that.

Cole: That's the briefing for this week. Details for everything we mentioned are on napa.fyi.

Claire: We'll be back next Thursday. See you out there.

Mentioned in this episode