North American Innovators Receive Accolades for Excellence in Wine Tourism
Napa Valley, CA (October 27, 2015) – As one of eight recognized Great Wine Capitals, San Francisco | Napa Valley has awarded its hospitality leaders the 2016 Best Of Wine Tourism regional designations in seven categories.
The Best Of awards categories include accommodations; art and culture; architecture and landscape; innovative wine tourism experience; sustainable wine tourism practices; wine tourism restaurant; and wine tourism services.
The 2016 Best Of regional San Francisco | Napa Valley winners are:
- Accommodations – Harvest Inn by Charlie Palmer (Napa Valley)
- Art and Culture – Jamieson Ranch Vineyards (Napa Valley)
- Architecture and Landscape – Quixote Winery (Napa Valley)
- Innovative Wine Tourism Experience — Tamber Bey Vineyards (Napa Valley)
- Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices – Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery (Napa Valley)
- Wine Tourism Restaurant – Luce at the InterContinental San Francisco (San Francisco)
- Wine Tourism Service – CellarPass (Napa Valley)
An additional level of recognition – The Regional Wine Tourism Award of Merit – has been awarded to two businesses as an honorable mention recognizing a high level of commitment to wine tourism. The 2016 Regional Wine Tourism Award of Merit San Francisco | Napa Valley winners are:
- Architecture and Landscape – Artesa Vineyards and Winery (Napa Valley)
- Wine Tourism Restaurant – The Conservatory Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (Napa Valley)
An international Best Of award is presented to one wine tourism business within each region that is deemed best in class across all ten Great Wine Capitals by an international jury.
All regional Best Of award winners will move forward to compete for the global awards, which will be judged by an international panel of respected wine tourism professionals and presented at the annual general meeting of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, to be held in November 2015 in Bilbao and Rioja, Spain. The international judges will choose one overall winner for each region, selecting from the seven regional “Best of” title-holders.
About Visit Napa Valley
Visit Napa Valley is the official tourism marketing organization for the Napa Valley, with a mission to promote, protect and enhance the region’s position as one of the world’s premier wine, food, arts and wellness destinations. The area, known for its legendary hospitality, is also internationally recognized as one of only eight “Great Wine Capitals” and has more Michelin Stars per capita than any other wine region in the world.
The Napa Valley, conveniently located just an hour from the San Francisco Bay Area, consists of the following distinctive towns, including, from north to south, Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford/Oakville, Yountville, the city of Napa, American Canyon, and the outdoor recreation area of Lake Berryessa. For additional information on the Napa Valley, or to plan your Napa Valley experience, please explore www.VisitNapaValley.com, join “The Napa Valley” on Facebook, and follow @VisitNapaValley on Twitter. Media relations contact: Angela Jackson, angela@visitnapavalley.com
About San Francisco Travel
The San Francisco Travel Association is the official tourism marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco. For information on reservations, activities and more, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel or call 415-391-2000. The Visitor Information Center is located at 900 Market St. in Hallidie Plaza, lower level, near the Powell Street cable car turnaround. American Express® is the official Card partner of the San Francisco Travel Association. Media relations contact: Laurie Armstrong, larmstrong@sanfrancisco.travel
About Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of ten internationally renowned wine regions – Bordeaux, France; Cape Town, South Africa; Christchurch-South Island, New Zealand; Florence, Italy; Mainz-Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao-Rioja, Spain; San Francisco-Napa Valley, USA; and Valparaiso-Casablanca Valley, Chile. The international Best Of Wine Tourism awards serves as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognizes leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit www.greatwinecapitals.com.
