When we started thinking about how to celebrate two years in Napa, I didn't want a typical party. I wanted something different, something new, something just for Napa. Something where everyone ends up crowded around the same table, passing plates and talking to strangers.
So we're melting a giant wheel of cheese.
LOL. I'll explain more, if you read on.
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The Raclette Social: A Two-Year Anniversary Party
Saturday, October 10 · 4:30-7:30PM
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We're talking about hot, melty cheese scraped straight off a giant 10-pound wheel and onto potatoes, pickles, and all the good stuff. We'll be pouring Swiss wines from our friends at DDI, including Fendant, Gamay, Merlot, and more.
Okay, the nerdy part: Fendant is Chasselas, and Chasselas is a pretty chill grape. It's the simplicity of a snow-covered mountain in the Alps: quiet fruit, no oak, and a crystalline, mineral finish. It's not loud enough to out-talk the cheese, instead, each sip freshens your palate so you can go back for another scrape. (And another, and another...)
The Gamay is for my red drinkers. Swiss Gamay is light and juicy, hardly any tannin, and that's the whole trick. If you put a big tannic red next to melted cheese, things will get bitter and weird real fast (sorry, Napa).
There will also be more Swiss varieties and blends to try, all for sale to take home from the party, and you can pre-order the extra-special ones, too.
We'll be scraping cheese until we run out, and sampling wines til the bottles are empty. This will be a fun experience I promise you won't forget. Grab your spot!
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Cult Members get 15% off all ticketed events with their special Club Code!
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Loire Valley Tasting + Trip Information Night
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Friday, October 9 · 6pm · $32
(waived when you put down a deposit for the trip!)
I know, I know, I've been asking you to come on this trip to the Loire Valley with ENV Travel for months. (If you've somehow missed hearing about it, read below).
But on Friday, October 9, you'll get a chance to really learn about it.
We're pouring a flight of Loire Valley Wines and Karen Forster Rowley is coming by to talk through the whole trip. Karen started ENV right here in Napa. She's spent 24 years in luxury travel, traveled 68 countries (!!), and she's a distinguished member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and the Virtuoso network.
Karen knows a thing or two about travel, and this trip is her brainchild. So please, come by, taste some wine, and ask
her everything. She can tell you all the specifics on the hotels, the food, how much walking, how much wine drinking, etc. Nothing is a dumb question.
The tasting is $32, and if you put a deposit down on the 2027 trip, your tasting is on us! Space is tight. If you've been on the fence, come fence-sit here with a glass of Sancerre in your hand.
(My fiancé Adam traveled with her to Thailand on a culinary journey this past January, and he can't stop talking about it. He loved the experience so much, he's already booked for the Loire trip!)
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Save the date for the trip of a lifetime: May 8-17, 2027
Learn more about the trip and taste wines with us on Friday, 10/9, from 6-7:30 PM.
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The details: I'm partnering with ENV Travel on a 10-day journey through one of the most historically significant wine regions in the world. ENV are pros at this kind of immersive, luxury food and wine travel. This is not your typical bus tour.
This trip will take us from Orléans west to Angers, hitting Sancerre, Vouvray, Chinon, Saumur, and Anjou along the way. We'll be staying in 5-star château accommodations the whole time, with private producer access and Michelin-caliber dining. Plus, visits to the historic châteaux at Chambord, Chenonceau, and Villandry!
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Enjoying Raclette at Home
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If you can't make it on Saturday 10/10, or you just want to keep the party going, raclette is honestly the laziest fancy dinner party you can throw, since nobody gets stuck at the stove and everyone just scrapes their own cheese onto whatever they want.
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Get about half a pound of cheese per person. I know, it sounds like a lot. Who the hell can eat half a pound of cheese per person? Well, YOU can. Trust me.
Here are a few cheeses I love for this:
San Geronimo, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company (Nicasio, CA), a washed-rind cheese with a little funk, made by a Marin ranching family with Swiss roots. This is what we'll be featuring on 10/10!
Wagon Wheel, Cowgirl Creamery (Petaluma, CA), which melts beautifully and is exactly what you want here. This was originally crafted as a melting cheese for the one and only Zuni Café in San Francisco!
Melter
Skelter, Valley Shepherd Creamery (Long Valley, NJ), and with a name like that you know what it was made for. This isn't widely available in California, but I'm working on getting some!
Raclette du Valais AOP is what to look for on a label of cheese from Switzerland if you want to go straight to the source. Just like wine, cheese has its own protected origin certifications in France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Don't have a big melting machine or grill? You don't need one: just slab the cheese into a cast iron pan and stick it under the broiler until it's bubbling and a little browned at the edges, then pour it over, well, everything.
To keep it classic, scrape the cheese over some little boiled potatoes (skins on!), cornichons, pickled onions, and some cured meat. Don't forget to season! Black pepper, paprika, and salt are simple and pretty perfect.
To drink, Fendant (aka Chasselas) if you can find it, or a Gamay with a little chill on it, or wines from Savoie or Jura, France work too (located at the Swiss border!).
Or just come by Saturday 10/10 to taste and pre-order a few bottles with us!
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Recurring events every week and month, like clockwork: - Blind Flights — Mondays, 4:30–7:30 PM, $32.
Guess 'em right to win the flight. - Mana Monday — Mondays, 5:00–8:30 PM.
Magic: The Gathering & board games in the lounge. - Bâtonnage Office Hours — Sundays, 2:00-4:00 PM, by donation.
Drop-in networking/mentorship for women-identifying folks in the wine industry. - Tarot with Brianna Darcy — Third Wednesdays, $5/card.
Our favorite cocktail witch reads your cards. - Open Mic with Brandon Tagle — Third Saturdays, 6:30 PM
Music, poetry, spoken word and more!
See the full calendar →
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LET'S BE FRIENDS!
At DECANT, we’re all about real wine and real connection. Our shelves are stocked with sustainably made, small-production bottles from around the world—wines with a sense of place and a story to tell. We’re a bottle shop, a wine bar, and a space for learning and community.
That means curated flights and snacks, a monthly wine club we call The Bottle Cult, pop-ups, blind tastings, winemaker nights, and plenty of reasons to swing by with friends (or solo—we’ve got bar seats). We also carry some of our favorite pantry staples—tinned fish, cheeses, olive oils, and more—so you can grab a last-minute gift or pull together a great night in.
We'll see you soon! Cara, Gillian, Ana, & Sierra
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© DECANT Bottle Shop + Bar
2999 Solano Avenue, Napa, United States, 94558
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