From time to time we are going to try and venture off the usual path and give you information about things you can get involved with yourself.

Recently we embarked on an educational trip to the Culinary Institute of America located in St. Helena, California. We attended the Grand Event hosted by the organization: Women for Wine Sense.

It was an extraordinary three-day program. 

Friday evening began the weekend with a Champagne reception at Mumm Napa, which is located on the beautiful Silverado Trail. It was exciting to see other women from all over the country whose membership in Women for Wine Sense brought us all together for a common experience. The members of this organization consist of wine enthusiasts like ourselves, as well as women directly associated with the industry, winery owners and winemakers. The “who’s who” list was also impressive. Some of those in attendance were Margrit Mondavi, Margaret Duckhorn, Dawnine Dyer and Gabrielle Leonhard, among many other big names. 

The next day brought all of us to the Culinary Institute of America early in the morning for a day of seminars and classes. The two of us were fortunate enough to attend a class of wine pairing taught by none other than Andrea Immer-Robinson. It was truly a remarkable experience we shall always treasure. Learning from the best of the best is always a special undertaking.

If you are not one to venture on a long trip to visit a winery or two there are trips you can take right around our area.

If you live in the Shreveport-Bossier area and are just hankering to do a “mini” wine trip, you can travel as close as the On Cloud Winery (which has a wonderful wine related gift shop) located on Buncombe Road in Shreveport; the Kiepersol Winery just outside Tyler, Texas; Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards in Pittsburg, Texas; Cherokee Rose Family Vineyard in Gilmer, Texas and Red Road Vineyard and Winery in Naples, Texas. And this is just a partial list.

We are lucky to have some of these delightful places in our midst and most are close enough for a Sunday afternoon drive.

Please send questions and comments to sbwinepress@gmail.com

The full text of this article is available in the September issue of SB Magazine. Click here to subscribe.