Wine Immersion Day 1 - Orientation

My class consists of 23 people that come from many walks of life and have various things they are looking to get out of this program. There are some retirees, some kids fresh from college, a couple people who like me are looking for a new career, a McDonald's franchise owner and the son of one of the CIA instructors.

The Orientation was lead by Paul Dray, Associate Director, Professional Wine Studies a mild mannered charismatic gentleman with assists by Kate Thorsen, Coordinator, Professional Wine Studies who completed the program last summer and landed a job at the CIA shortly thereafter. Providing a general overview of the facility and CIA policies was the direction of this session but it was derailed by a very interesting and informative guest speaker from the Napa Valley Vintners Association(NVVA).

Terry Hall is the communications director for the NVVA and he spoke of what makes Napa Valley a special place. How Napa became an agricultural reserve in 1969 with the goal of producing the best crops possible despite the traffic through St Helena as a result of the two lane highway clogged by trucks full of grapes. In 1890 there were 140 wineries in Napa Valley, due to disease, prohibition, economics and other factors the number dwindled to 25 by 1969. Following the commitment to agriculture and the goal of branding the region of Napa as the place that produces the best wines the area today is home to 350 wineries.

A collegiate atmosphere where oft times you will see representatives of different wineries pouring samples of each others wines at vintner functions all with the same primary goal of making Napa the premier source for wine. Though Napa is responsible for only 4% of the wine produced in California it is responsible for 34% of the economic impact of wines produced. This is because the region is so well respected. It is in the branding (pioneered by the late Robert Mondavi) of the region that made Napa such a strong economic powerhouse.

Ever thought that it was rude when a winery requires an appointment to come taste their wines? This is actually mandated by law which requires that a certain percentage of wineries handle tastings in the this manner. There is currently only one Napa winery that is not a member of the NVVA and that is Charles Krug.

I enjoyed Terry's lecture and wished there were time for questions but we had to move on with the orientation. We toured the CIA which took us to the various classrooms we will be using, to the test kitchen where we will eat lunch, and the barrel room that charts the history of the region. All in prepartion for the big day tomorrow when CLASS BEGINS!