California to California

While California, the expansive state along the Pacific Coast, was named by Spanish explorers over 400 years ago, there is another California at the northern tip of Bolgheri in Tuscany. This shared name offers a symbolic link between two iconic coastal wine regions.

During the Gold Rush, Italian immigrants brought grape varieties and winemaking traditions to California, laying the groundwork for its viticultural heritage. Today, Napa Valley and Bolgheri both excel with Bordeaux varieties, adapted to their unique climates—California’s Pacific influence and Tuscany’s Mediterranean embrace. This similarity extends beyond just Bolgheri and Napa and further along both the Mediterranean and Pacific Coasts in places like Suvereto and Maremma and Paso Robles and Mendocino.

The result: wines of elegance, finesse, and terroir-driven character that celebrate their origins (Bordeaux) while embodying a shared spirit of innovation along these unique coastal locations.

This Masterclass will explore these connections through a curated tasting of exceptional wines from Napa Valley and Bolgheri.