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Napa GiftsSeems a great deal of thought is going into gift selection for the couple, bridesmaid, groomsman, wedding attendant and guest who trek to a destination weddings. Gifts are getting personal. Items are being chosen as memorabilia to commemorate the union and to call up feelings and thoughts from the wedding location. A Day Without Wine is Like A Day Without Sunshine. The Obvious Gift. For serving at grand nuptial celebrations, consider a bottle of their finest -- Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Generations Cabernet Sauvignon. Specially selected and fermented in vineyard specific lots, the wine receives 25 months of aging in 60 gallon oak barrels. The result is deep intense and complex start to finish. Each Cabernet promises a slightly different undertone depending upon the vintage year. The 2002 Cabernet opens with aromas of plum, violet and spice. On the palate this full-bodied wine brings forward concentrated black fruits of plum, blueberry and black cherry, followed by cassis, chocolate, star anise, a hint of spice and a long velvety finish touched by vanilla. The 2003 Cabernet offers rich scents of dark plum, black cherry, chocolate, violets, dried sage, star anise, currant and vanilla caramel followed by balanced, luscious plum, blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, black pepper and cassis.
Winemaker Walter Raymond also suggests:
For travel or presentation, the winery can pack wines in custom wooden boxes featuring one to three bottles. Popular among guests is a pairing of a 2003/4 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Chardonnay in a signature box for $65.00. Raymond Vineyard welcomes guests to its tasting and retail rooms on Zinfandel Lane and is delighted to help couples plan their wine selection for service or gift giving. But what if you looking for something a little less serious or a bit more trendy? Want to run with the ‘in' crowd? Wines and spirits offered à la ‘service for one' make great gift items. Or place them on ice and let guests grab at will. When Francis Ford Coppola's daughter Sofia is not tooling about in her convertible up the Silverado Trail (now that's how rumors get started!), perhaps she is helping her father dream up new packaging for his Sofia Wines – Blanc de Blanc sparkling, rosé and the Sofia mini with straw. Each of these beverages has been in many a Wine Country wedding guests' hands in recent seasons. It's also rumored that many a Wall Street wine aficionado brags about the amazing cabs and rich merlots he served at his wedding, along with the divine Cubans and 100-year old scotch. Not every wedding guest though wants to experience such a heady headache reds can sometimes bring the next morning! Offer guests a few lighter touches. No, dare we not talk about spritzers or coolers, but the wonderful white and rosé wines cropping up. Chardonnay has long been at the dinner table, but if you are having a summer wedding (*like 73 percent of all couples coming to Wine Country to be married) Sauvignon Blanc is wonderfully crisp and light; and we think its clean color better reflects light in a glass. Sterling Vineyards up the hill towards Calistoga produces a super Sauvignon and you cannot beat Honig or highly affordable Hess Cellars Chardonnay. And don't discount another rose in the garden – rosés are all the rage and shouldn't be confused with that infamous wine in a box creation. New on the scene is from Beringer is their California Sparkling White Zinfandel, offering a refreshing citrus and strawberry taste.
The ‘Hidden' Napa and Sonoma Valleys
The Hidden books are published by Welcome Enterprises and each hardcover edition is less than $20.00. Both books can be found online at Welcome Books and Amazon, plus many stores in Napa and Sonoma . Walker has also produced several calendars featuring images from the two valleys through Welcome Enterprises.
You'll also enjoy discovering wonderful antique shops in the valley. When strolling about Yountville, be sure to pop into XXX Antiques. Whether you're shopping for a last minute hope chest for the bride or a fanciful humidor for the groom, this little shop will entertain. Say, they even offer guests wine tasting! While in Yountville you'll need to cross the street to visit Vintage 1870, in the old days home to the Groezinger Winery. From clothing to art to ice cream, this shopping spot offers a little diversion from wine, wine and wine. Pennyweight: Divine Writing Implements And More Owner Wayne Armstrong (who also operates nearby shops Palladium and Patina) suggests a unique wedding writing trousseau for the bride featuring a pink Aurora pen from Italy along with Snow and Graham letterpress personal stationery and thank you cards imprinted with wedding cake motif. The bride can keep track of her correspondence with a Graphic Image pink leather journal with replacement pages. European Correspondence Art Not to be upstaged -- the Italians have long been master craftsmen in the manufacture of fine papers. Pennyweight also offers goods from Pineider, a revered stationery house dating back to 1774. Pineider uses traditional methods of relief-engraved printing, coloration using natural pigments and water cutting of each sheet to ensure a clear watermark on even the thickest cards. Devotees Stendhal, Byron and Marlene Dietrich have sought out this exquisite line. Price range: $ 48.00 - 80.00. The proper Englishman knows how to compose prose and he reaches for English Wren stationery. Noted for its line of correspondence cards featuring gold embossed motifs (sunflower, heart, eagle) printed on the highest quality paper, each is offered with lined envelopes to match. And from West Hollywood is a new classic by Jonathan Wright. This handcrafted letterpress line produced on heavy cream colored stock features vintage images. A most popular motif is an image of a frog raising a wine glass in a toast. Each paper is individually printed using an antique letterpress machines that is more than 100 years old. Pennyweight shops international markets to also bring novel and wonderful greeting cards to America . The store stocks a tremendous collection of individual letterpress and handmade cards. Specialties from Patience Brewster and Squibnocket are a treat! Patience Brewster features wonderfully imaginative drawings and humorously tasteful greetings, and is Pennyweight's most popular card line. Price: $3.25. Squibnocket offers unusual cards void of illustration, yet adorned with long and elaborate text greetings on the front. It's rumored clients buy them by the handful. Price: $4.00. And to wrap it up, Pennyweight can help you hide what's inside. From Midori, consider gorgeous handmade papers with hand-printed designs such as a gold crown on white paper, golden bee on orange, a silver pineapple on a black ground. Price: $9.50 roll of 2 sheets. There are also superb papers printed in Italy with floral motifs and classic Florentine patterns at Pennyweight. Price: $10.50 roll of 3 sheets. This divine little shop's customer service is superb, with staff at the ready to help customers in-store, through the mail and email. A new Web site boasting an online catalogue of popular and unusual items will be ready summer 2007. Chef's Choice And don't forget the Mecca of gourmet shopping – Dean & Deluca right along Highway 29 before St. Helena . Fill up your guests' goodie baskets with sauces and sausages, cheese and bread, spices and herb rubs. For a bit more hometown grocery shopping, hit Oakville Grocery – the original! Visit this landmark just past Yountville for treats and table setting novelties. You'll love the worn wooden floors, old country shelving and vast selection of gourmet and picnic goodies. Still hungry? Alongside your Cabernet you'll no doubt wish to offer guests a bit of fancy chocolate from Annette's Chocolate Factory in downtown Napa or Woodhouse Chocolates in St. Helena . Annette and her brother Brent create a marvelous assortment of truffles, fudges, creams, brittles and many other confectionery wonders, while Woodhouse crafts focuses on handmade inventive European-style chocolates and truffles offered at the premium price point. How about a little wine and chocolate pairing before the cake cutting or at your Afterglow party? Speaking of the wedding reception, why not package some tunes to share? Many of the bands booked for guests to boogie offer their own CDs. See if they'll work with you to create a custom cover or decal to add to CDs that you can give guests as wedding favors. Some musicians will also create a custom CD of the music from your ceremony. The bride and groom pay for the recording, but it's not all that expensive. A custom recording usually costs between $500-1000, depending on the number of CDs cut, amount of design work and what type of printing goes into making the label. LIST VENDOR OR BAND Specialties For the Ladies
Another scentsational gift for the ladies would be something floral from Napa Valley Lavender Company. Maybe a pillow, sachet, candle or bath product solo or tucked into a welcome basket? The company grows its lavender on a knoll on the family property in Yountville. Currently more than 9,000 plants in varieties such as Grosso (French), Augustofolia (English), Provence and Stoichas (Spanish) are raised and harvested. And then too find exquisite Cielo soap, parfum and candles from flora Napa Valley . The Late Minute Shopper Raymond Vineyards Sofia Mini Honig Vineyard & Winery The Hess Collection Beringer Vineyards Hidden Napa Valley and Hidden Sonoma XXX antiques Vintage 1870 Pennyweight Soda Creek Ranch Olive Oil Dean & Deluca Annette's Chocolate Factory Napa Valley Soap Company Woodhouse Chocolate CD/Band Napa Valley Soap Company Napa Valley Lavender Company flora Napa Valley Auberge du Soleil Silverado Country Club & Resort Balloons Above the Valley Napa Valley Wine Train Christie's Basket Express Calistoga Spas |
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