Saturday, October 27, 7:00 P.M.
Members $95, guests $120

SCHRAMSBERG VINEYARDS IS MUCH more than a winery famous for exceptional wines: it represents a piece of American pioneering history. Jacob Schram arrived in the Napa Valley in 1857 to find Schramsberg little more than an unkempt foothill covered with a tangle of trees. By 1880, when Robert Louis Stevenson immortalized the place in Silverado Squatters, Schram had trans-formed the property and established his thriving hillside vineyard and estate. Sadly, Prohibition effectively destroyed the vineyard, and it wasn’t until 1965 that newlyweds Jack and Jamie Davies, flush with enthusiasm from a trip through Champagne, took over the neglected vineyard and endeavored to create American sparkling wines from the Chardonnay grape in the French tradition. The story goes that when the grape press broke down at a crucial moment, Jamie Davies removed her shoes and crushed the grapes for Schramsberg’s first vintage with her bare feet.

While Schramsberg has enjoyed an extremely successful run as one of California’s top winemaking properties, Davies has never been content to rest on her many laurels. Six years ago she established a scholarship fund in conjunction with the Beard Foundation, with the goal of educating chefs about sparkling wine and Champagne, by sending them to the intensive three-day Schramsberg Sparkling Wine Symposium at the CIA at Greystone. Originally funds were raised through a series of dinners around the country, but now the Beard House dinner is the sole fundraiser. This year, we welcome Doug Weldon, a graduate of last year’s Schramsberg program at Greystone, to do the honors.

Since the start of his pro career, Weldon, the chef de cuisine under Philippe Jeanty at the soulful Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, California, has displayed skill and enthusiasm for tailoring his fare to his adopted state’s magnificent wines. Weldon has worked his way around California’s wine country, with stops at the famed Domaine Chandon, Auberge du Soleil, and Beringer Wine Estates. At the last, he was responsible for preparing multicourse meals that showcased his food-and-wine- pairing talents. At Bistro Jeanty, located in the heart of wine country, Weldon, like many a fine wine, just keeps getting better.