Last Saturday, Niebaum Coppola hosted an event to showcase James and Kerry Forbes’s wonderful DVD on Napa Valley. The DVD was three years in the making. It features interviews with 88 Napa Valley personalities, most of them vintners or growers, and stunning shots (mostly by Kerry) of 44 wineries and scenic views of the valley. The DVD would make a great gift for friends who plan to visit the valley. Copies can be obtained from Bear’s Head Productions, 963-9323.

Speaking of photography, Charles O’Rear reports that his 224-page book of 300 photographs of wineries in every state (all of the U.S. states now have a winery) has been sent to the printer. I’ll keep you informed of its publication date.

Also last week, Duckhorn Vineyards held an event for restaurateurs, wine merchants and hospitality persons in the Bay Area to taste the Duckhorn Company wines (sauvignon blancs, merlots, and cabernets), Paraduxx wines (a blend of cabernet sauvignon and Zinfandel) and Golden Eye pinot noirs from the Anderson Valley. All these were accompanied by delicious digit delights.

And, speaking of events, the CIA and the Harvard University Medical School held a three-day event on preparing and eating healthy foods. Over 200 participants from all over the country attended. The largest contingent was physicians, followed by chefs and nutritionists. The presenters were mostly health scientists. The participants were presented with a thick package of all the recipes of the foods prepared over the days of the conference.

The bottom line was: stay away from saturated fats — trans fats, refined sugars and, instead, eat dishes of whole grains, nuts, berries, and fruits, and, of course, a glass of wine. One participant announced that he never realized that healthy foods could taste so good, which flies in the face of the belief that anything that tastes good is bad for you. But then, the CIA’s creative chefs could prepare a delicious dish from an old tennis shoe.

MKF Research has announced that the theme of its 2007 Executive Wine Summit, scheduled for May 3-4 at the Villagio Inn and Spa in Yountville, will be “What Will the Wine Industry Look Like in Ten Years?” To explore this theme, MKF has recruited wine business leaders with deep knowledge of the industry. For more info visit www.mkfresearch.com.

Rubicon Estate winery (formerly Niebaum Coppola) has announced a new program, named Janus, which offers a wine and food experience from 1 to 3 p.m. on each Friday, Saturday and Sunday in an elegant setting in a private room in the winery’s cellar. Call 968-1161 for info.

Some interesting events you should have on your calendars: Saturday, June 16 the wineries of the St. Helena Appellation will hold a “wine tasting with a difference” at the Flora Springs Winery. In addition to a traditional wine tasting, it will offer a blind tasting of some 30-bagged wines from the St. Helena appellation. The first prize for the person who has the highest identification score will be an instant wine cellar valued well over $1,700. In the spirit of the blind tasting, the background music will be the music of blind musicians, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. Kinda cool, eh?

On May 11 at the Christian Brothers Retreat Center, the Sierra Club’s annual Earl Thollander Environmental Awards dinner will honor Volker Eisele for his untiring efforts on environmental issues. Visit Sierraclub@yahoo.com for info.

Grgich Hills will celebrate its first 30 years with a party on 7/07/07 starting at 7 o’clock. The decibels of the party will probably outdo the wine train’s whistle. Although Mike Grgich is known as Mr. Chardonnay in the Napa Valley, the other wines he crafts are lip-smackers, and participants will have opportunities to sip all of the recent releases. Tents will be set up in the parking lots for dancing. Should be a great affair. Call 963-2784 for info, etc.

Don’t miss the Mustard Festival’s “Photo Finish” at Mumm Napa Valley. The exhibition features works of “photography artists” in the Bay Area. Aside from the beautiful images, the exhibition presents an opportunity to view digital versus traditional photography. On the west wall of the gallery are photos made using digital cameras, and on the east wall are photos made with film cameras. It is a rare opportunity to compare the two processes. The images are framed and are for sale.

Kitchens in the Vineyards will hold two events this weekend to benefit Music in the Vineyards (which will run from Aug. 6-26). On Friday, a preview party from 4 to 6 p.m. will include visits to five stunning homes, their kitchens, dining and entertaining rooms and gardens, and will finish with a gourmet dinner at an exclusive sixth location, from 4 to 10 p.m. At this writing there are only six tickets left. You could get lucky. Call 258-5559. The next day will be the same tour sans the gourmet dinner. Tickets for this event will be available at the will-call table in the court yard at Vintage 1870.

The Calistoga Educational Foundation will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a silent and live auction on April 28 in the Tubbs Building at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. The CEF parties are always real fun events. This year, the live auction will be hammered by Ursula Hermacinski, who always makes the auctions fun as she reaches into the bidder’s pockets and purses.

Sad news from Yountville: Los Compadres, a favorite of Mexican cuisine lovers in the upper valley, and some in the lower valley, too, will close in early November. The property owner has decided to use the site for an upscale restaurant … just what Yountville needs, another upscale restaurant. The current ownership of Los Compadres is looking for another site to relocate … preferably in Yountville where they have a cadre of loyal followers.

Copia has a couple of exciting events coming up: on Saturday, May 12, it will host Sonoma County winemakers who will pour “Hundreds of Sonoma’s finest wines” in a walk-around tasting, with a background of bluegrass music. Info is available at www.copia.org/sonoma. Then, on May 20, Copia will hold its free Community Day with activities for the whole family. For the kids, there will be hands-on activities and, for the adults, wine sipping and viewing of a Strada del Arte, a tradition dating from the 16th century in Italy of creating chalk masterpieces on the streets. At Copia, artists will create their chalk masterpieces on Copia’s asphalt.

CABOOSE ITEM: After the announcement that Daryl Sattui’s Castello di Amorosa was officially open for guests, more than 2,000 inquiries and requests for reservations have jammed its phone and e-mail lines. Your best bet to tour the castle is probably to book an early morning (9 a.m.) tour.

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