Slice up the pizza, strike up the accordion music and rev up the Lamborghinis — St. Helena’s Festa Italiana is back. After taking one year off due to the coronavirus, the celebration of Italian Heritage Month returns to Lyman Park from 10 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2. “This is a party for locals, not tourists,” said organizer Anthony Micheli, who’s p...

Whether or not Italian food conquered the world, as claimed by the grandiose title of a book published 10 years ago, a case can be made for the diaspora of Italy’s native grapes. Familiar varieties such as Sangiovese, Barbera, Montepulciano and Nebbiolo have taken root in unexpected places as widespread as Uruguay, South Africa and Israel. Winemake...

The Festival Napa Valley reopened its door in the beautiful wine country after the interruption caused by the pandemic last year. Together with local artists, the programming brought one of the most representative Italian ballet dancers, Roberto Bolle, to California. A principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre from 2009-2019, a principal dancer é...

Ballet superstar Roberto Bolle brings his celebrated show, Roberto Bolle and Friends, to Napa for the annual Festival Napa Valley Dance Gala, an event that invariably ranks among the year’s Festival highlights. A principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre from 2009-2019, a principal dancer étoile at La Scala Theatre Ballet, and a guest artist with...

The cities of Napa, California, and Montalcino, Italy are proud to formally announce a long-term sister city partnership between the two communities. The sistership will strengthen the dialogue between the citizens of Napa and Montalcino to promote cooperation and exchange. Through the sister city partnership, Napa and Montalcino will look to foste...

Dave Cavagnaro was far more than a successful businessman. Known as the unofficial “Mayor of East Napa,” Cavagnaro made it his life’s work to enhance local life in a variety of ways. He is credited with bringing the circus to town, orchestrating the annual fair-time parades, organizing a volunteer fire-fighting unit and establishing immigrant assis...

A sweet, yet nutty, “hotel” popped up in Napa Valley this past weekend, offering a fantastic spread made to order for 16 lucky overnight guests. Named Hotella Nutella, the chocolate-themed accommodation was the grand prize of a contest hosted by – you guessed it — Nutella. After submitting videos touting their love and devotion to the hazelnut c...

Napa composer Louise Canepa absorbed her love of music by listening to family and friends sing along with her father, a gifted singer and guitar player. Growing up in a large, loving Italian family in Monterey, her childhood home was always filled with friendly people coming and going. Healthy Italian food, music after dinner, exposure to opera and...

California’s Napa Valley is world-renowned for hillside winery estates, luxurious boutique hotels, classy bistros and vast expanses of orderly grapevines. The fertile California soil has long supplied the world with celebrated red wine, so it's by no surprise that you can experience some incredible wine-tastings in the region. Beyond the typical, t...

Roger Trinchero has one foot in retirement. It’s time for the next generation to take the reins and he’s understandably a little tired of rehashing his family’s story, if not utterly exhausted from talking about white Zinfandel. The pink craze that predated rosé launched his family’s legacy of Sutter Home into fame, fortune and the wine history...