Fitness boot camps seem to be all the rage with our friends who care about physical fitness, but what about us poor folks who just like to drink wine every once in a while? Why are we being discriminated against?
Wine drinkers of America, we are pleased to announce that you can now join a boot camp of your own: the Extreme Sonoma Coast Wine Boot Camp. It took place in California yesterday, and from the sound of it, we need to save our pennies and vacation days for a trip there next year.
The Extreme Sonoma Coast Wine Boot Camp is touted as “the ultimate fantasy experience for wine lovers in an intensive, highly enjoyable one-day training program, hands on the vineyard, hands on the cellar.” The first half of the day includes vineyard exercises at Churchill Cellars, while the afternoon “mission” includes winery and blending exercises at Halleck Vineyard. It’s not cheap at $650 per person, but it does include a lot: all workshops, educational materials, lunch at Churchill Cellars paired with wonderful wines, a gourmet dinner paired with wines at Halleck Vineyard, extensive wine tasting, a bottle of wine created by you from the wines in barrel, transportation to all events, a Wine Boot Camp hat, and an “I Survived Wine Boot Camp” t-shirt.
Wine Boot Camp is for everyone, from beginners to the most advanced vino lovers. Some of the “missions” include:
- Aromatic workshop
- Winery and vineyard tours
- The opportunity to work in a vineyard
- Varietal wine tastings and workshops
- Food and wine pairing workshop
- Crack the secret code of wine lists
- Wine cellar experience
- Wine blending experience – become a winemaker and blend your own wine
- Appellation tasting and workshop
There are two versions of this camp in Napa Valley in addition to the Sonoma Coast boot camp that happened yesterday, so visit the Wine Boot Camp website for more information and to plan your trip for next year. We definitely will be.