NAPA VALLEY VINTNERS TAKE TO THE OPEN SEAS

(TheDrinksBusiness) - Fifty Napa Valley Vintners lined the top deck of a US WWII ship used in the Normandy invasion this past week in an event organised around the Louis Vuitton Cup finals of the 34th America’s Cup.

There was no race scheduled during the tasting event, so trade and media guests of the Napa Valley Vintners trade association had their full attention on the vintners and the almost 140 wines they were pouring.

Manning stations were Russ Weis, General Manager of Silverado Vineyards; Amelia Ceja of Ceja Vineyards; Sam Baxter, General Manager and winemaker of Terra Valentine, Herta Peju of PEJU Winery; Diana Schweiger of Schweiger Vineyards; and many other top vintners along with great wines such as those from Broman, Beaulieu, Blackbird, Ca’Momi, Clif Family, Flora Springs, Newton, Keenan, Porter, Round Pond, Signorello, and Storybook Mountain.

Called a Liberty Ship, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien is a National Historic Landmark. These ships were based on ones used by Britain to replace torpedoed versions during the war. There are only two fully functional ships like this one, of the 2,710 built and launched in WWII. The O’Brien, classified as a Cargo Ship, was first launched on June 19, 1943. The ship remains unaltered from its wartime service making a trip aboard a historical journey back almost seven decades ago. The ship still travels out onto the bay for visitors and special events.