A la carte: Get ready for the holidays with wine, food and gifts

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Boudin Bakery offers monthly bread clubs

If you have a bread lover in the family, consider giving them a membership to a 12-month bread club offered by Boudin Bakery for the holidays.

The Seasonal Bread Club provides two 1.5-pound sourdough loaves each month in the shape of the season, such as a heart for Valentine’s Day, a Dungeness crab for crab season and a grape cluster in the fall. Cost is $25.95 per month, plus shipping and handling.

There is also a 12-month specialty bread club that offers the best of both worlds: a round of sourdough as well as a specialty bread each month, such as cinnamon raisin, challah and Irish soda bread. Cost is $23.95 per month, plus shipping and handling.

To order, go to store.boudinbakery.com

CALIFORNIA

Virtual events hosted by the Wine Institute

The California Wine Institute will present a series of seasonal and holiday-themed virtual events this fall, from cooking classes to wine and food pairings.

A series of livestreams with sommelier Amanda McCrossin of SommVivant will air on Facebook Live at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Upcoming events include appetizer recipes with wine pairings provided by Aida Mollenkamp of Salt & Wind Travel on Thursday, Nov. 5; wine and cheese pairings with Sara Gim of “The Delicious Life” blog on Nov. 12 and holiday wine pairings with Kate Ramos on Nov. 19. To watch, go to the California Wines Facebook page.

In partnership with California Grown, a series on “What Grows Together Goes Together” will air at 3 p.m. Fridays on Instagram Live. McCrossin will revisit the theme of pairing appetizers with wines on Friday, Nov. 6; learn about pairing cheese with cabernet franc on Nov. 13; pair sweet wines with desserts on Nov. 20 and enjoy a little self-care indulgence in oysters, dessert and California sparkling wine on Nov. 27. @california.wines

There will be two digital cooking classes with Ramos and Mollenkamp on Zoom that cost $35 each. Learn how to make tamales from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 12, and get recipes for making edible holiday gifts from 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 10. To register for the classes: travel.saltandwind.com; click on Join a Class.

NAPA

Carneros Resort’s Diversity in Wine Flight

Carneros Resort and Spa has launched a Diversity in Wine Flight featuring four wines by vintners and winemakers of color.

The flight is available through the end of the year at FARM and Pavilion, with 10% of the proceeds donated to a new scholarship program created by Napa Valley Vintners in partnership with the United Negro College Fund.

The goal of the scholarships is to help people of color to pursue college degrees in various wine industry subjects.

“As someone in the industry for the past 20 years and a minority myself, it’s been meaningful to see the industry focus more on diversity and multicultural backgrounds,” said Beverage Director Zion Curiel, who is curating the flight. “It opens up the world to more talent.”

The Diversity in Wine flight costs $38 and includes 2.5-ounce pours of the Bodkin Blanc de Sauvignon Blanc — Cuvée Agincourt, North Coast, NV; Maison Noir “Oregogne” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, 2014; Ceja Pinot Noir, Carneros, 2018 and Brown Zinfandel, Napa Valley, 2018.

Carneros Resort and Spa is located at 4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa. carnerosresort.com

Staff Writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56