Ode to the Olive 2010 a Success!

We'd like to thank all the Wine Country Inn guests who helped make our 2010 Ode to the Olive celebration a success. In particular, our dinner at the Inn on Friday night was very memorable (see pic).

We'd also like to thank the following who make Ode to the Olive so much fun:

Diane De Filipi of Let's Go Cook Italian

Charbay Vodka

Benessere Vineyards

Domenico Cardano of Grana et Vina

Ciao!

Ode to the Olive Dinner Menu Released!

We're excited to announce the following as our Olive Oil Dining Experience menu on Friday, Nov. 19, 2010. Again, this is part of the third annual Ode to the Olive celebration at Wine Country Inn. Cost for this dinner is only $120 per couple (plus tax and gratuity), and includes wine. Each course will incorporate, in some way, a Napa Valley olive oil, and each course also will be accompanied by a special wine from our friends at Benessere Vineyards.

Prepared by Chef Domenico Cardano, of Grana et Vina (Grain and Wine)
Antipasti Course
"Foccacia Tre"
Three different Italian foccacia breads: one with cherry tomatoes, olives, and oregano; another with potatoes and rosemary; and a third with onions and sage.

Prepared by Chef Diane De Filipi, of Let’s Go Cook Italian
Prima Piatti
"Lasagne Verde"
Tuscan “green” lasagna consisting of delicate layers of handmade pasta with a creamy bechamel, pesto and herbed mushroom sauce.

Secondi Piatti
"Chicken Cacciatore"
Traditional "Hunter's Chicken" browned in a savory style Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and simmered in a tomato and white wine reduction sauce. Includes coarsely chopped carrots, red onion, fresh porcini mushrooms and black olives.

Dolce
"Olive Oil Cake with Ricotta"
A delicate white cake, baked with a light and fruity style Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and filled with a cream of imported Ricotta Cheese, vanilla powdered sugar, and Sultana's (raisins) soaked in Vin Santo.

Come, eat, enjoy!

For reservations, please call 1-888-465-4608 or 707-963-7077.

2010 Ode Event Schedule

Our third annual Ode to the Olive celebration will be held at the Wine Country Inn November 18-20, 2010. Here is our events schedule. Please note: all events are for guests of the Wine Country Inn, and are complimentary, unless otherwise noted.

Thur, Nov 18: Olive Oil Tasting Party
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Wine Country Inn friend and olive oil expert Diana DeFilipi (of Let's Go Cook Italian) will lead us on a fun, informational olive oil tasting party. Best of all, three Wine Country Inn guests who participate will be selected to be our official "judges" during our Olive Oil Taste-Off Event on Saturday, Nov. 20!

Fri, Nov. 19: Olive Oil Dining Experience
7:30 p.m.
Join us for a wonderful four-course dinner at the Inn with Diane De Filipi, a chef, former innkeeper, and currently owner of "Let's Go Cook Italian" Italian cooking vacations. The meal will be served "family style" (long tables), and each course will include, in some form, olive oils that will be used in our Saturday olive oil taste-off. We'll also be enjoying Italian varietal wines from our neighbors at Benessere Vineyards. Cost is $120 per couple plus tax and gratuity, and includes the meal and all wine. Please note: we must limit this to 18 people (nine couples), so if you are interested, please contact the Inn as soon as possible.

Sat, Nov 20: Olive Oil Taste-Off
We'll begin at 4:30 p.m. with our Ode to the Dirty Martini featuring Charbay, a St. Helena-based produced of wine, spirits and, of course, vodka. In addition to great wine, you'll be treated to Vodka Martinis and a selection of great appetizers prepared with olive oil (breads, dips, etc.).

At 5:30 p.m., we'll do our third annual Olive Oil Taste-Off, in which will will blind-taste and then judge at least four Napa Valley olive oils. Our "celebrity judges" will be Wine Country Inn innkeeper Jim Smith and three Wine Country Inn guests.

Other Ode Fun
Each day, our Wine Country Inn Inn-cursion winery tour will have an "olive" theme, visiting as appropriate wineries that also make their own olive oil. (Our Inn-cursion wine tours fill up fast; we suggest that you make reservations before you arrive.)

For those seeking a customized tour, we invite to join Carol Ainsworth of Great Olive Tours for fun look at Napa Valley's olive trees and olive oil producers. Tour fees apply. For more information or to reserve your spot, please contact Carol at (707) 968-9978 or carol@greatolivetours.com

For Wine Country Inn room rates and reservations, please call our front desk staff toll-free at 1-888-465-4608.

We look forward to seeing you during our Ode to the Olive event!

Ode Dinner 2010

In November 2009, during our Ode to the Olive celebration, we held our first evening dinner in the Common Room at the Wine Country Inn. The dinner was a huge success among guests, so this year we will host our second annual Olive Oil Dining Experience. The dinner will take place at Wine Country Inn on Friday, Nov 19, 2010. We serve this dinner "family style," meaning guests sit together at long "community" tables, and dishes are served in large platters. Want more? Just ask, and one of your new friends will pass the dish! Add a fire and candles, and it makes for a truly magical dining experience.

The meal consists of four courses, each prepared in some way (including dessert!) with an olive oil used during our Saturday Olive Oil Taste-Off. Each course will be paired with an Italian varietal wine produced by our friends at TBD.

Cost of this special dinner is $120 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. This includes the meal and all wine. Please note: we must unfortunately limit this to just 18 people (nine couples), and it will fill up, so if you are interested, please contact Wine Country Inn ASAP at 1-888-465-4608.

Tentative Menu

Here is the tenative menu (subject to minor changes, as needed):

Starters
TBD

Antipasti Course
"Focaccia a Domencio"
Info to come....

Prima Piatti
"Risotto Ala Piemontese"
Imported Arborio rice blended with fresh porcini mushrooms, saffron, white wine, shallot, and Parmesan cheese. Finished with a well-rounded Extra Virgin Olive Oil drizzle.

Secondi Piatti
"Chicken Cacciatore"
Traditional "Hunter's Chicken" browned in a savory style Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and simmered in a tomato and white wine reduction sauce. Includes coarsely chopped carrots, red onion, fresh porcini mushrooms and black olives.

Dolce
"Olive Oil Cake with homemade Ricotta"
A delicate white cake, baked with a light and fruity style Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and filled with a cream of homemade Ricotta Cheese, vanilla powdered sugar, and Sultana's (raisins)soaked in Vin Santo.

Extras
We'll have several post-dinner "surprises," too!

Come, eat, enjoy!

Our Featured Winery

Editor's Note: Benessere wines will be served during our Ode to the Olive Dinner on Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 at the Wine Country Inn.

Why Benessere

We enjoy our friends at Benesssere Vineyards (they’re just up the road from Wine Country Inn) for three reasons: one, they make great wines; two, they’re fun people; and three, they produce something different—in this case, Italian varietals wines. Italian grapes they use include Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, Rosato, and Sagrantino, among others.

Benessere owner John Benish says the winery’s Italian-style wines are a perfect fit given the Napa Valley’s history of Italian winemakers and abundance of Italian restaurants. “We thought, Why reinvent the wheel with a winery making Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay when we could do something fun and different and cutting-edge,” Benish says.

Benessere uses virtually the same winemaking process for the Italian varietals as do other Napa Valley wineries. One key difference, though, he points out: Benessere uses huge open-top fermenters. “These add great mouth-feel, that texture at the mid-palate,” he says.

Benessere Wines
Benessere means “well being” or prosperity in Italian. Three wines we love from Benessere include:
~ Sorridente (Italian for ‘smile’), a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Aglianico
~ Sangiovese, the predominant grape from Tuscany
~ Phenomen, a “Super-Napan” blend of Cabernet, Sangiovese, Merlot, and Syrah
Benessere makes white wines as well. Most of its wines sell for between $25 and $60 per bottle. For more information, visit their web site at www.benesserevineyards.com.

Contact Information

Benessere Vineyards is just up the road from the Wine Country Inn. For directions, please ask our front desk staff. To arrange a tasting or tour, please contact Benessere directly at (707) 963-5853 or by email at eric@benesserevineyards.com.

2009 Ode Event Schedule

The second annual Ode to the Olive celebration will be held at the Wine Country Inn November 19-22, 2009. Here is our events schedule. Please note: all events are for guests of the Wine Country Inn, and are complimentary, unless otherwise noted.

Thur, Nov 19

Ode to the Dirty Martini with Charbay Distillery

and Cheese Tasting Party with Dean and DeLuca

Please come join us during our afternoon social hour (beginning at 4:30 p.m.) as we're joined by our friends at Charbay (makers of Charbay Vodka) for our Ode to the Olive kick-off celebration. In addition to great wine, you'll be treated to Vodka Martinis and a selection of great appetizers prepared with olive oil (breads, dips, etc.)

At 6:00 p.m., Shannon Thorne, a cheese monger (expert) from Dean and DeLuca, will lead us on a one-hour cheese tasting party, sharing some of her cheese insights (and delicious cheeses!).

Fri, Nov. 20

Olive Oil Dining Experience

Join us for a wonderful four-course dinner at the Inn with Diane De Filipi, a chef, former innkeeper, and currently owner of "Let's Go Cook Italian" Italian cooking vacations. Each course will include, in some form, olive oils that will be used in our Saturday olive oil taste-off. We'll also be enjoying Italian varietal wines from our neighbors at Benessere Vineyards. Cost is $120 per couple, including wine. Dinner begins at 7:30 p.m., and will be limited to 12 people (six couples).

Sat, Nov 21

Olive Oil Taste-Off

4 p.m. - Join us for an olive oil tasting party

5:30 p.m. - Join us for our second annual Olive Oil Taste-Off, with celebrity judges Jim Smith, Innkeeper at the Wine Country Inn, Diane De Filipi, and Lars Kronmark of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone.

Dinner - We suggest that you visit our friends at Silverado Brewing Company, who will prepare several olive-related dishes

Thurs Nov 21 - Sunday Nov 22

Olive Tours

Each day, our Wine Country Inn Inn-cursion winery tour will have an "olive" theme, visiting as appropriate wineries that also make their own olive oil. (Our Inn-cursion wine tours fill up fast; we suggest that you make reservations before you arrive.)

Also, for those seeking a customized tour, we invite to join Carol Ainsworth of Great Olive Tours for fun look at Napa Valley's olive trees and olive oil producers. Tour fees apply. For more information or to reserve your spot, please contact Carol at (707) 968-9978 or carol@greatolivetours.com

For Inn room rates and reservations, please call our front desk staff toll-free at 1-888-465-4608.

We look forward to seeing you during our Ode to the Olive event!

Ode to the Olive

In 2008, the Wine Country Inn & Gardens will host the first annual Ode to the Olive celebration for Inn guests and Napa Valley visitors and residents interested in celebrating all-things-olive.

Dates: November 12-16, 2008
Location: The Wine Country Inn, St. Helena, CA
Cost: Gratis to Inn Guests (some fees may apply)
Description: TBD

For reservations or information, please contact the Wine Country Inn toll-free at 1-888-465-4608, or send an email to romance@winecountryinn.com.