Cedar Gables Inn
486 Coombs Street
Napa CA
(707) 224-7969
(800) 309-7969
7 Nights Superior Ensuite Lodging
All Transfers
Exclusive Vintner Cellar Dinner
Tour of COPIA & Oxbow Market
Hand-on Cooking with Chef Laura
Elegant Gourmet Dinners with Stellar Wine Pairings
Celebrity Chef Night Lesson & Dinner
Castello di Amorosa Tour & Tasting
Lunch at award winning regional restaurant
Chauffeured Premier Wine Tours & Tastings
Daily Transport as per itinerary
Tour & Lunch at renowned olive oil producer
7 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 6 dinners
On every Vagabond Gourmet tour, one thing is certain---we have great taste! Our cooking school is more than just sitting in a class room. And each of our tours is carefully planned to immerse you in the experience of a place. What better way to appreciate the finest olive oils than by shaking the hands of those families who spend their falls hand harvesting their trees. We have gathered a team of local experts who we hope will educate and enlighten you, as well as cook for you and show you the best ingredients of the region. You will meet local family wine producers, tour the small and quaint towns and farmer's markets of the valley, and eat at some of the well-known restaurants and plenty of hands-on cooking in our state of the art kitchen.
Come along and explore the Napa Valley with us and discover the distinct personalities of this world famous food and wine region. Our itinerary is brimming with private vintner dinners, farmers markets and fantastic California cuisine, as well as private accommodations in a charming Bed & Breakfast reserved especially for Vagabond
Gourmet. Grab your apron, and let’s get cooking---California Style!
DAY 1- Wednesday- Welcome to Napa
Transfer from Oakland
(OAK) International Airport
and check in at The
Cedar Gables Inn.
The Cedar Gables Inn
has been reserved especially for Vagabond
Gourmet guests. Centrally located in wine country and
walking distance to Napa the Cedar Gables Inn is one the grandest
and most treasured of all inns. Winding staircases lead to beautifully
appointed rooms with antiques and fireplaces.
The large newly renovated professional kitchen has the finest equipment and plenty of space for chopping and rolling. In the beautiful terrace garden is an amazing new outdoor kitchen and grill area, perfect for alfresco meals and wine tasting.
Ken and Susie are the owners and your hosts for the weeks while you are here. They have a passion for making your stay relaxing and delightfully memorable in this historic Napa mansion. Prior to becoming innkeepers, Susie ran a culinary school too, so you are in good hands and your whisks will not go unused!
Enjoy a welcome wine and cheese reception in the Inn’s Tavern before dinner alfresco in the outdoor kitchen.
Welcome Dinner at Cedar Gables with Susie
DAY 2 - Thursday - California Dreaming
Napa Style
Wake up to the amazing smell of gourmet coffee and home baked breakfast goodies prepared in the Cedar Gables Inn kitchen by chef/owner Susie Pope. Every morning be delighted by a three course breakfast which includes fresh seasonal California fruit, a hearty entre and the most amazing home baked pastries you’ll ever taste. Susie likes to call her cuisine “California Breakfast Comfort Food.”
Next, off to an al fresco lunch at Round Pond Olive Oil Estate. These artisan oils have been recognized as some of the very best extra virgin olive oils in North America by such prestigious publications as Gourmet, Food & Wine and Wine Spectator. Your afternoon will begin with an intimate and informative estate olive mill tour and guided tasting of artisan olive oils and red wine vinegars before you sit down to a gracious and relaxing family-style lunch prepared by Round Pond. Savor local artisan cheeses, meats, breads and other delectable accoutrement, as well as the season’s freshest fruits and vegetables. Topped off by a fragrant olive oil dessert cake, this may just be the ideal Napa Valley picnic.
Cooking with Laura
Join our own Vagabond Gourmet chef Laura in the kitchen of the house to create some of the golden state's best dishes and learn how to bring a little California back to your own table. At the end of your stay, you’ll take home a full recipe book with instructions on how to California-size your next dinner party!
Lunch Round Pound
Dinner Cedar Gables with Laura
DAY 3 - Friday - Napa’s Hidden Gems
Another outstanding breakfast by Susie before our limo arrives for a magical day to the Spring Mountain region; home to several of Napa’s hidden gems including outstanding producers, Pride, Phelan and Reverie Winery.
Tour the Castello de Amorosa, a winery that is a replica of a 12th century castle featuring Italian style wines. This amazing structure took 14 years to build and it is definitely a tour with the “wow” factor! It is a full working winery but also has dungeons, torture chambers, and a huge dining hall with amazing frescos on the walls. It is everything a castle should be! Travel back home to Cedar Gables Inn and relax in the Tavern before another dinner in the Cedar Gables dining room.
Lunch at Winery
Dinner at Cedar Gables with Laura
DAY 4 - Saturday - Gourmet All Day
California Cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in "fusion"- integrating disparate cooking styles and ingredients- and is freshly prepared using local ingredients. The food is typically prepared with particularly strong attention to presentation. Northern California is the Mecca of haute cuisine and fine dining.
Catch the Napa Downtown Trolley (trolley stop located at the Cedar Gables Inn) to COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. Saturday morning is the Farmer’s Market and after we can continue to fill our baskets across the street at the Oxbow Public Market, a venue featuring specialty merchants of artisanal food and wine products, as well as an array of stands featuring fresh farm produce of seasonal, sustainable and organic products.
Return to Cedar Gables to don your apron and work side by side with local Celebrity Guest Chef, Chef Mike C (in the Cedar Gables Inn showcase kitchen) to prepare an authentic Wine Country dinner. Chef Mike C. owns his own Culinary School located in nearby Berkeley called Kitchen on Fire Dinner will be served in the elegant dining room, complete with crisp linens, fine china and Reidel glassware
Lunch on your own Napa
Dinner Cedar Gables with Celebrity Chef
DAY 5 – Sunday – More Tasting & Cooking
Enjoy another of Susie’s fantastic breakfast before we begin another day of fine wine and extraordinary food. The name Napa Valley is synonymous the world over with quality California wine. But did you know there is more viticulture diversity within the Napa Valley appellation than there is in the Medoc or Cote d'Or regions of France. One of our favorite producers you won’t meet elsewhere have invited us for a visit, Paloma
Lunch is at one of Napa’s leaders in California cuisine, Cindy’s Back Street Kitchen owned by Cindy Pawlcyn , James Beard award winning cookbook author, and enjoy her amazing northern Californian cuisine
More Napa Cooking Lessons with Laura
Your stay in Napa with us is devoted to the overall dining experience thus we will not just teach you how to cook but also share secrets for plate presentation, knockout buffet designs and how to be the perfect host or hostess. It’s the ‘art of the party’ and your own chic, wine country “soirees” will have guests asking “who’s the new caterer” in town?! Won’t you be proud to say, “Me?”
Lunch at Cindy Back Street Kitchen
Dinner at Cedar Gables with Laura with Special Wine Experts
DAY - 6 - Artisan Producers and Chef
Secrets
Long Meadow Ranch is nestled high atop the Mayacamas Mountains above the Napa Valley is the Long Meadow Ranch who sets the standard for California’s dedication to food, wine and organic farming. We love the magnificent valley views from the secluded mountain location high above Rutherford with gourmet picnic and a safari style trek though the vineyards and olive grove in an all terrain vehicle.
On the return to Cedar Gables Inn there are several more quaint shops and food boutiques to visit before happy hour in the Tavern.
After relaxing, dinner is on your own in one of Napa’s fine award winning restaurants. Best yet many are in walking distance.
Lunch Long Meadow Ranch
Dinner on your own in one of Napa’s
DAY 7 - The Napa Experience & Vintner
Dinner
After breakfast enjoy the Napa Stroll through historic downtown Napa, exploring its quaint shops, boutique wine tasting rooms, art galleries and the new Napa Riverfront project Downtown Napa has the biggest and most centralized collection of wine tasting shops anywhere on the planet.
Vintner Dinner
In the afternoon, our coach arrives for the Del Dotto wine “experience” in the estate’s opulent wine gallery. Dinner this evening is private vintner dinner in the estate’s enchanting caves. A dazzling special event is being created just for us and one you won’t soon forget.
Lunch on your own in Napa
Exclusive Vintner Dinner
Day 8 - Wednesday - Departure
Cancellation Information
Cancellations 61 days prior to departure will require no further payments. Cancellations 60 days or less before departure will receive a 50% refund. All deposits may be applicable to future Vagabond
Gourmet tours.
Arrival
Oakland International Airport (OAK). If you decide to visit San Francisco we suggest you add the desired time to your itinerary but you are required to transfer to the Oakland Airport for pick-up on arrival day.
Driving instructions are below if you prefer o rent your own car. If you have arranged for Vagabond
Gourmet to provide ground transportation see arrival below.
Weather at the time of year we will be visiting have conditions that are very ideal. The average temperature is in the low 60’s with low humidity and little rainfall. There are almost 90% of the days with full of sunshine. So depending on your place of origin this will feel either a bit cool or just perfect.
GPS navigational equipment is usually available from your car rental company. These are quite convenient and have extra features you may find helpful.
Travel Insurance is highly recommended. This is available from your travel agent or you can purchase insurance from www.travelguard.com
Cell Phones should work for most all carriers. If you are travelling from outside the U.S. you will have to verify availability. We have cell phones at all times and there are telephones at the Villa.
Emergencies can arise and at the Villa is full information on how to take care of most issues.
Allergies - You will be asked to provide us with any known food allergies or medical conditions. Please
note: Napa in spring many flowers and therefore bees, so if you are
allergic please bring your medicine.
Airline Flights
Please check in at least three hours prior to the scheduled departure time to allow for security steps. Passengers connecting from another point within the USA may check their luggage through to their final destination, and although problems with lost luggage have been minimal, it is a possibility. Certain carriers do not allow baggage interlining, and luggage must be checked separately for each flight. If you are connecting from a domestic flight which is delayed for any reason, causing you to miss your international flight, you must ask the airline for assistance in getting you to your destination.
Luggage
Most international airlines are consistent with regard to the number and weight of the pieces you may check and bring onboard. Domestic carriers however, typically on small aircraft, differ. Therefore, we suggest that you check in advance if you are concerned about size or weight restrictions.
E Tickets
Most airlines now require that we provide e-tickets in place of paper tickets. At check-in, you should be ready to provide your e-ticket itinerary and identification to the agent. In a few cases where e-tickets cannot be issued, you will receive your tickets in a paper form.
Arrival
If your program includes airport arrival transfers, please complete immigration formalities and claim your luggage. You will be met by our local representative after you pass through customs. Look for someone holding a Vagabond
Gourmet sign and/or a sign with your name on it. If you do not connect with the Vagabond
Gourmet transfer personnel, go to the Tourist Information Desk and ask them to page the Vagabond
Gourmet representative or phone the number on your voucher.
Arrival to property is usually between 2-4pm . Departure time is usually no later than 10 am.
What if Flight is Delayed
Airlines do not share flight manifest information. Therefore, the only way we may learn of a delay or schedule change while you are traveling is from you, the traveler. The sooner you are able to contact one of our offices, overseas or in the USA, the better we can respond. Vagabond
Gourmet is only able to guarantee pre-reserved arrival transfers for up to one hour from the scheduled time, no matter the cause. In case you are delayed for any reason, and are unable to follow the instructions on your voucher, please make independent transfer arrangements and retain your receipts. Unused tour services, including transfers and hotel nights are not refundable. Upon your return home you will need to contact your airline and/or insurance carrier to investigate the possibility of reimbursement for any unused tour services.
There will be no refunds for unused package tour services or features, including missed transfers due to airline changes and/or missed flights, unused meals, missed sightseeing tours, unused entrance fees, and accommodations.
Privacy Policy: Vagabond Gourmet respects and is committed to protecting your privacy. We do not share any customer’s personal information.
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