Quick Hits: Wine Country Dinners For Your Summer Calendar

Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens is hosting a series of farm-to-table dinners on its lush property every second Saturday through the month of October. The outdoor feast is a immersive wine country experience that both locals and tourists will enjoy. Each event features a different type of ingredient and guests will share meal with Kendall-Jackson’s wine experts, culinary staff, and master gardener, farmer and Instagram star, Tucker Taylor. The first event is on Saturday, June 10, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and has a duck theme. Every course—except dessert—will include some sort of duck from the duck egg salad tartine appetizer to the dry-aged duck with rainbow chard entree. July 8, the theme is seafood, August 12 it’s fowl and heirloom pork, September 9 it’s heirloom tomatoes and Sonoma County angus beef, and October 14 the ingredient focus is on oysters and steak.

Photo Credit: Bob McClenahan Photography

At the CIA at Copia, food lovers can participate in a one-of-a-kind chef’s tour of Napa Valley. The luxe all-day event, which has two dates to choose from July 6 and August 24, is an eight-hour curated adventure that involves stops throughout the valley, each with different food and wine pairings. The tour concludes at the CIA’s historic campus, Greystone, in St. Helena with a private reception.

Viansa is one of the closest wineries to San Francisco and this summer, they are partnering with beloved Sonoma eatery, The Girl and the Fig, for a dinner series. Chef John Toulze will serve a three-course meal paired with Viansa wines on June 8, June 29, and July 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. each evening. The cuisine will be farm-to-table and Toulze will take advantage of the winery’s wood-fired oven. The meals take place on Viansa’s gorgeous terrace that overlooks the surrounding grape-growing landscape.

Seghesio Family Vineyards has a plethora of interesting summer events to choose from. There’s a chef’s dinner atop Rattlesnake Hill on Saturday, July 8 that will include a seasonal bounty of produce cooked into an elegant multi-course meal by chef Peter Janiak. On Saturday, July 22 is the winery’s 14th annual Zin and BBQ Festival at the Grove at Seghesio. Four Sonoma County restaurants will serve barbecued fare. Later in the year, on September 9 and October 7, wine lovers can hike the home ranch with family members Jim and Ned Neumiller, the 4th and 5th generation vineyard managers. The walk includes wine tastings and a lunch at a scenic perch overlooking the Alexander Valley.