The beautiful Napa Valley was the location of a new automotive luxury-lifestyle event that took place October 25th-27th, 2024 that was simply called The Napa Event. The event is the brainchild of Scott Shrader, who has been doing The Palm Event in Palm Beach, Florida for the last decade. Shrader correctly identified a need for such an event in Napa, judging from the enthusiastic response of both the participants and the public.
The weekend’s festivities kicked off on Friday evening with a VIP welcome party at the Caymus Winery. Guest sipped fine wine and nibbled on gourmet appetizers as they strolled amongst a sampling of vintage and exotic cars that included a 1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta, a 1960 250 GT SWB Belinetta Competizione, a 1967 Shelby King Cobra Can Am car and a Lamborghini Countach S. Beautiful golden clad violinists and the sounds of Italian Opera permeated throughout elegant setting.
The next day cars were staged at One Hope Winery before starting a rallye through Napa Valley and the hills beyond. The casual, non-timed event included gourmet food and drinks, a visit to a private car collection and a champagne toast at the finish line. Vintage cars included a Ferrari 330 GT and 166MM, a Mercedes 560SL, a trio of Alfa Romeo Spiders and a GTV which were joined by late-model Porsches, Lamborghinis, an Aston Martian, a Bentley convertible and more. About 25 cars participated in all.
Sunday’s main event was at the Historic Display at Inglenook, the historic winery owned by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola has a collection of cars that include vehicles used in some of the movies he has directed and produced over the years. On display was his yellow 1937 Cord 812 Sportsman, and if you wandered inside the historic chateau, a 1948 Tucker was exhibited on the second floor that was used in the movie Tucker.
An interesting and eclectic group of cars were displayed on the grounds in front of the chateau with a reflecting pool decorated with pumpkins and even a live mermaid. Guests enjoyed gourmet food, music, a fashion show and of course, fine wine. Some of the notable cars on display were a 1959 Turner 950 Sport, Ferrari 275 GTB4, Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, a Lamborghini Countach S, two Pagani cars, a Porsche 356 Pre-A bent window, 356A and a 1954 356 one-off Special racer. Other cars included a Ford GT, a Ford GT race car, a Porsche 911 race car, a 1966 Corvette 427 roadster, a 1929 Packard 640 Phaeton, a Volvo PV544 and many other rare and unique cars.
The Napa Event was a huge success, especially for a first-time event. Event organizer Scott Shrader said they will build on the success of this year’s event, and is looking forward to establishing it as an annual gathering of cars, fashion, music, food and wine for years to come.
Photo Gallery
