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Food & Wine Magazine Festival at CIA Copia Feb. 16-18, 2018

If you love fine food and wine (and who doesn’t), you’ll want to grab tickets to the first-ever Food & Wine Weekend with the CIA running Feb. 16-18, 2018. Over three days, the debut festival features hands-on cooking classes, wine seminars with a tasting showcase, and a high-action “CIA Chef Best Brunch Battle.”

Food & Wine is famous for its popular magazine, of course. And the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is famous for its cooking academy that has trained thousands of top chefs. For this event, the two iconic organizations come together in a rare opportunity for the general public to enjoy behind-the-scenes peeks, and live the life of a chef for a while.

Taking place at the new CIA campus at Copia in Napa, the immersive food and wine experience promises you’ll gather new culinary skills, savor exciting flavors in inventive food and drink, and of course have lots of fun.

Things kick off Friday night with a look at local wine history. “The History of Napa Valley in Eight Glasses,” led by CIA Sommelier Jeff Prather, offers detailed information on what has made the area one of the world’s most celebrated wine regions.

Then, it’s time to dine, with the “Eat Like a Local” walk-around tour of Northern California food and wine that features The Restaurant at CIA Copia.

You can customize your immersion, too, selecting between three options for each morning and afternoon session on Saturday and Sunday. For just a few of the choices, you might want to learn about pasta making, or preparing street food from around the world, or making Malaysian, Chinese and Thai signature dishes.

Certainly one of the fun Saturday classes comes in the “Potato Chip Paradox: A New Way to Think About Perfect Pairings.” Here, you’ll discover why Pinot Noir pairs perfectly with barbeque chips, Champagne enhances plain chips, and California Chardonnay makes sour cream and onion chips irresistible.

The Saturday night “Chef’s Table: California Bounty Dinner” will sell out, as well, when CIA chefs will create a three course supper in the center’s brand new teaching kitchens.

Sunday, finally, wraps things up with “The CIA Chef Best Brunch Battle.” Guests act as judges to choose the winner of among numerous CIA chefs create individual dishes for an elaborate feast.

For the full schedule, and to purchase tickets, please visit enthusiasts.ciachef.edu.

The CIA at Copia, 500 1st Street, Napa, 1-800-888-7850, ciachef.edu.

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Carey Sweet

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