Kimpton Hotels Announces New Wine Education Vacation in San Francisco

Kimpton Hotels today announced the launch of a "Wine Education Vacation" with internationally acclaimed wine educator Bruce Cass.

San Francisco, California (PRWEB) November 21, 2008 -- Kimpton Hotels (http://www.kimptonhotels.com) announced today the launch of Wine Education Vacation (http://www.wineeducationvacation.com) with the Bruce Cass Wine Lab (http://www.brucecasswinelab.com). The program houses participants at the Harbor Court Hotel along the San Francisco waterfront where they attend sophisticated wine appreciation classes taught by internationally acclaimed wine educator Bruce Cass.

The first round of classes run between January 16-18, 2009. Each daily two-and-a-half hour class will feature 15 wines in side-by-side comparisons to teach participants the fundamentals of wine tasting and appreciation. Participants will progress from a first session identifying wine basics like residual sugar, acidity, and tannins to a third session that pairs wines from around the world with specially prepared meats, cheeses, and soups.

"We are constantly looking for unique ways for guests to rediscover San Francisco," said Kimpton Area Director of Sales and Marketing, Mark S. Tuten. "What better way to enjoy the most romantic city in America than to learn wine appreciation from Bruce."

The schedule is developed to provide participants plenty of opportunity to enjoy their time in San Francisco outside the hotel. The Bruce Cass Wine Lab has prepared a hand-picked list of 50 recommended restaurants in the city, as a well as a guide to the museums, nature walks, and shopping that make San Francisco such a popular vacation destination. Cass has also put together maps outlining several walking tours of wine bars throughout the city with colorful commentary on the venues. The maps are hosted at www.brucecasswinelab.com.

"I happen to believe I'm a brilliant public speaker," boasts Cass about the class, "but in the end that doesn't matter. The wines do the teaching. People have a lot of fun learning, and they instruct each other. It's a social interaction. You can't teach wine over the Internet because conversation with other people is such an essential component."

Cost, including all class fees and two nights lodging is normally $850 per couple. For this inaugural event, however, the package price has been reduced to $695 per couple for the first 22 couples to register. Space is limited, and participants can register at www.wineeducationvacation.com.

About Bruce Cass Wine Lab

Bruce Cass began teaching wine in the Bay Area in 1972. Now 33 years and 9,000 happy students later, he has founded the Bruce Cass Wine Lab (http://www.brucecasswinelab.com) to make exploring wine come alive for his students in a fun, informative, unpretentious environment. Internationally recognized for his expertise on small-volume California wine producers, Bruce has earned accolades for his work as a wine educator, editor, freelance wine writer, and wine judge. He has traveled extensively doing winery research in Europe, the Pacific Northwest, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina.

Contact: Bruce Cass, bruce at brucecasswinelab dot com, (530) 350-3626

About Kimpton Hotels

San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (http://www.kimptonhotels.com) is the first and leading collection of boutique hotels, throughout the United States and Canada. Founded in 1981 by Bill Kimpton, every Kimpton hotel features personalized guest services, comforting in-room amenities, specialty rooms and suites, and provides a range of exciting culinary experiences through affiliated top-rated destination chef-driven restaurants. Kimpton takes pride in its commitment to social responsibility and leads the hospitality industry in ecological practices through its innovative EarthCare programs. Privately held, Kimpton received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction scores by the Market Metrix Hospitality Index for the entire year of 2007, exceeding all other hotel companies, including those in both the luxury and upscale segment. Among the company's newest properties are the Hotel Monaco Alexandria and Jackson 20 restaurant in Virginia, which opened in January 2008, and the Hotel Palomar Los Angeles in Westwood and the adjacent BLVD 16 restaurant, which opened in May 2008. Additional projects are underway in Florida, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and Virginia. For more

information, please visit www.KimptonHotels.com or call 1-800-KIMPTON.

At the Harbor Court Hotel contact: Mark Tuten, (415) 345-5515, Mark.Tuten at KimptonHotels dot com.

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