COPIA Wine Country Pavilion Featured at Race Weekend
COPIA Wine Country Pavilion Offers Best of Wine Country Living at Vintage Car Races in Sonoma Valley SONOMA, Calif.- Race fans are certainly in for a treat at Infineon Raceway's 20th annual Jaguar Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races, June 3-4, with the debut of the COPIA Wine Country Pavilion. As the American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts and premier wine country destination, COPIA's pavilion will present the "best of wine country" to vintage car racing fans, featuring 35 of Napa and Sonoma Valley's finest restaurants and wineries, and offering extraordinary wine and food tastings, cooking demonstrations and lifestyle accoutrements. "Visitors come to wine country to enjoy great wine and food pairings," said Kurt Nystrom, COPIA's Chief Operating Officer. "And what better pairing can we offer the Infineon guest than vintage car races with delicious wine and food experiences." One of the highlights of the COPIA Wine Country Pavilion will be cooking demonstrations by Julia's Kitchen's celebrated Executive Chef Victor Scargle, whose culinary talents have graced such Bay Area dining landmarks as Jardiniere, the Grand Café, Pisces and Aqua, along with the Tribeca Grill and Patria in New York. Julia's Kitchen at COPIA, named for Julia Child, has received acclaim from such notable publications as the Wine Spectator and New York Times, and has been ranked among the "Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area" since 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle. For a complete schedule of the pavilion, including all restaurants and wineries featured, visit www.infineonraceway.com <http://www.infineonraceway.com/> . The COPIA Wine Country Pavilion is one of the many highlights of the Jaguar Wine Country Classic, presented by Comcast, featuring more than 250 vintage racecars traversing the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course. The featured car of the weekend is Trans-Am as a collection of 40 muscle cars will compete in the Sonoma Valley - it will arguably be the largest field of Trans-Am cars in recent memory on the West Coast. In addition, you will also see classics like Jaguar, Ferrari, Alfa-Romeo, Bugatti and more, including a 1915 Ford Model T. There will be racing in nine divisions over the weekend. Admission price into the Jaguar Wine Country Classic includes free admission into the COPIA Wine Country Pavilion. Guests will also receive a free souvenir event program, highlighted by the 20th anniversary cover by renowned Sonoma Valley artist Dennis Ziemenski. All proceeds generated from the pavilion, which will be situated in the main paddock, will go to qualified youth organizations through Speedway Children's Charities, the charitable arm of Infineon Raceway. COPIA is a non-profit discovery center whose mission is to explore and celebrate the cultural significance of wine, food and the arts through interactive tasting-programs, art exhibitions, organic edible gardens, films, concerts, shopping, and fine and casual dining. For more information about COPIA, please visit their website at www.copia.org <http://www.copia.org/> . WHAT: Big O Tires Racing Season Presents: Jaguar Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races, presented by Comcast. WHEN: June 3-4 CIRCUIT: 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course NOTABLE: The featured model for the weekend is Trans-Am, as more than 40 muscle machines are expected to tackle the twisting road course RACING: There will be competition in nine different racing groups, some cars dating as far back as 1915. SCHEDULE: Saturday - Practice and qualifying, 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.; Sunday: Warm-ups 8:30 a.m.- 11:35 a.m., Main events 12:40 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. TICKETS: 800-870-RACE, www.infineonraceway.com <http://www.infineonraceway.com/> , www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>
