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Napa Valley Brings Classical Music to Classy Vineyards This Month

If you’re looking to add a little culture to your next wine tasting adventure look no further than Napa Valley—of course—to class things up. The Music in the Vineyards series begins its 17th season this August where chamber music and other classical tunes arrive in the middle of the vineyards for all the tipsy tourists—and refined locals—to enjoy.

Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are usually when the musicians mingle with the grapes, but be sure to hurry up and book your spot as things are quickly selling out. If you’re a last minute kind of person there’s still some room to check things out this Sunday, August 7, at the Rubicon Estate where Dvorak, Britten, and Brahms will be performed in the barrel room. If that’s too soon there’s still some room the following Sunday—August 14—at Clos Pegase in Calistoga where Beethoven, Bruckner, and Crum are on the menu with your Merlot.

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Organic Ice Cream Invades Napa Wine Country

Napa is synonymous with wine, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for other deliciousness. Three Twins Ice Cream is one way to beat the summer heat but keep to organic eating. It might not be low in calories or fat, but when you know it’s produced in a sustainable manner with local ingredients...that means it’s fine to have a triple-scoop, right?

The company’s ice cream can be found by the pint at locations across California, but their scoop shop in Napa’s Oxbow Public Market is where we got our fix. Each traditional flavor gets a new twist here with flavors like Madagascar Vanilla, Bittersweet Chocolate, and Milk & Cookies. We skipped over the traditional and went for The Chocolate Project. It was chocolate ice cream with flecks of dark chocolate, cacao nibs, chocolate cookies, and chocolate chips. We promise that we then had a salad for lunch.

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What Napa's All About: Bed and Breakfasts and Wine Tastings

Gift giving, twinkling lights, and plenty of booze often make for a festive holiday season, but going overboard with the latter wouldn't garner a stamp of approval from Kris Kringle. Leave it to Napa's wine producers and humble Bed and Breakfast proprietors to class up those awkward, alcohol-tinged family gatherings and raise some money for charity in the process.

Plenty of Napa Valley wineries are having holiday Open House events on weekends, but to experience a smorgasbord of varietals, vintner offerings, and enjoy the quaint charm of Downtown Napa, buy a ticket to the annual B&B Tour & Taste Event. The four-hour affair will take place on December 5th from 2:00-6:00 PM, when ticket-holders will go from one B&B to the next to "ooh" and "aah" over wreaths, ornaments, and tinsel decor.

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Gourmet On A Train: Ditch Cooking For A Napa Wine Dinner

There is a certain romantic allure to train travel—just ask fictional sweethearts Jesse and Céline of Before Sunrise. But Stateside, unfortunately, the mode of transport isn't as common as it is in other parts of the world. While you continue to dream about hopping aboard a Darjeeling Railway car, we're happy to report that a smaller-scale train trek can be had in California, even if it is less grand than journeying across exotic international ground.

The Napa Valley Wine Train is a refined alternative to unofficial "drunk buses" tourists often book to stay safe while sipping wine flights throughout the day. Equally drinker-friendly, and much more respectable, the train is holding a special Thanksgiving dinner aboard its Gourmet and Vista Dome cars for $104 and $139, respectively. Sadly, lunch tickets have already sold out.

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The Napa Ice Cream Truck War

Life in bucolic Napa Valley is in uproar over ice cream trucks. (Hey, when you have nothing to worry about sometimes you just have to come up with something.) Residents are pissed that the jingling melodies from local ice cream trucks are too loud. The city council has decided the noise needs regulating.

New rules are being drafted that will set a decibel limit, possibly prohibit music when the trucks are stopped and limit how frequently they can travel through the towns.

One local thinks the whole thing's ridiculous:

Hap Jackson of Sierra Avenue,...said "the people who complain must have no life. If they don't, they should go out and get one."

Yea Hap! The ultimate put-down. We think we agree....

Related Stories:
·   City to create decibel limit for truck vendors peddling popsicles [Napa News]