Free Copia admission in January / February - what is good about it?
I'm not interested in hearing about what Copia's weaknesses are. I was there last weekend.
Besides reading a lot of online reports, I had very mixed feelings from my own experience.
What are good events held there?
Looking at Yelp, someone really liked the chocolate / wine tasting the last week of February. Tips are to go early and bring a ziploc bag or tupperware container because there's only so much chocolate you can eat.
There are a lot of positive web reports about holding a wedding there.
I had considered "Wine, Cuisine and Art" of Mexico this Saturday, but somoene who went last year wasn't so enthusiastic.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/481689#3318898
Have they just been looping the same events and classes over the years?
What events and classes have you attended that impressed you?
Anything in the gift shop that might not be found elsewhere?
I thought the best thing about the museum was the Melting Pot exhibit upstairs.
They have a pink lemon tree in the garden.
http://www.chow.com/digest/4495
I was talking to some people at a winery I visited later and one guy had friends who worked there and said it was a good place to work and they were good to their employees.
This long ago post when they opened is what makes me ask about what the good stuff might be.
"One of the exciting things about Copia is that it focused on consumer education. Much has been made of CIA up valley, however, it's charter is professional education and is limited to that by its use permit … I know that they are deeply committed to the idea of public education."
rworange
Jan 21, 2008 10:32PM
The Chocolate Celebration at the end of February, with a walk-around chocolate and wine tasting is amazing. I went last year, and it was an incredible opportunity to taste all different kinds of chocolates, and I felt like it was reasonably priced. I'd go this year - and bring a to-go container - if I didn't have a work conflict. And I'm not even the chocolate lover in my household.
The Friday Night Flicks are a very eclectic assortment of films, with wine tasting beforehand usually, and hosted by Richard Miami, who is a wealth of information about the Napa Valley and a film nut.
My husband & I attended a Taste of Copia lunch, which is a hosted lunch of 3 courses plus wine, with demos and education. It was a delicious lunch, and while some of the information seemed a bit basic, I did walk away with some new ideas.
The annual garden sale in the spring, offering a crazy assortment of heirloom tomato plants is just mind boggling. Members get first crack. Oh, and the Garden Festival was fun too. But I do enjoy just wandering around the garden.
I am a Copia member, and the main reason I joined was for the daily wine tastings they offer. As a local and wine industry professional, I've appreciated the opportunity to stop by on a Saturday for half an hour and taste wines I normally can't find around here, like wines from Long Island, Virginia or Texas.
I feel that much of the education they offer is at the beginner level, with some opportunities for intermediate or advanced education. Some events do make a reappearance annually.
I have been to a couple of business events there, and felt like they did a great job running the event, and offered very nice catered food.
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Thanks.That is exactly what I was interested in hearing about. I suspected there was some good stuff I was missing. That garden sale sounds great and I haven't come across it on the site.
The dinner / movie seems nicely priced at $29 for three courses.
A few other restaurant things that seemed interesting
- The Lounge at COPIA - small plates Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 am - 3:00 pm and 5:00 - 9:30 pm and Monday 11:30 am - 3:00 pm
- Happy Hour in the Lounge - Wednesday - Friday, 5:00 - 7:00 pm - half-price drinks and oysters on the half-shell; plus special small plates—Black Tempura Calamari with Tapenade and Lemon Aioli, Ahi Tuna Tartare with Avocado Mouse, Artisanal Cheeses with Seasonal Fruit and more.
- Live Jazz at Julia's - Thursday Nights, 5:30 - 8:30 pm ... combined with happy hour this could be something.
- the Sunday Brunch looked interesting with a basket of baked goods, but it seems with Copia, for most things you want to be there in the morning.
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I have not been to restaurant since the departure of Chef Victor Scargle (now at Go Fish) or Pastry Chef Nicole Plue (now at Redd). This has been largely due to my frustration at the change in dining benefits for members. I guess I should just get over myself and drag the husband out on a Thursday night.
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Stopped by last night during happy hour for the Thursday night live jazz. All well drinks and wines by the glass are half off from 5-7, with a list of small plates that included calamari, sweetbreads and a few other items, some from the restaurant menu. We split a cheese plate ($8) and a bowl of spiced nuts ($4). The cheese plate was good, but the bartender set it on the table and then proceeded to mumble the names of the cheeses, without offering the country or animal of origin, and then hurried away. It was one cheddary/aged gouda type cheese, one firmer blue, and medium soft cheese with what looked like a dusting of cocoa on the rind. The dish of nuts was really generous and offered a good diversity of nuts. I had a glass of GH Mumm bubbly ($7.50, regularly $15/glass), my husband had a glass of cranberry juice ($3). They have a decent selection of liquor, but I thought the wines by the glass selections could have been a bit more creative, but they did manage to avoid most of the usual suspects. I enjoyed having a glass of something more expensive than I usually select.
The lounge area is kind of an odd space, a little stark and adjacent to the cafe that's darkened when Copia closes at 5PM. It was an interesting, but sparse crowd (maybe due to the weather?). It's definitely a mellower feel than the live jazz at Uva, with two local retired gents (piano and stand up base) who have played for years together. As it turns out, the piano player was my stepdaughter's middle school english teacher.
We'll go back again, but probably invite friends to make it feel a bit less stark.
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Husband and I used to be members there. The first time we went to the death by chocolate, it was amazing. They had several vendors and various chocolates. The second time we went there, a lot of the specialty chocolate places had disappeared and it was now more "cheap" chocolate usually paired with something. The third time did not boast anything better than the second so we decided to skip it. You aren't supposed to take the products out of the area as far as I was told.
We also attended a couple wine tastings and talks. I sometimes found their education to be biased or misleading. Since we don't really drink many wines other than dessert wines, we don't get as much value out of it as a more broad wine drinker might.
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