Plan to join Jet Linx at Silver Oak for the 2011 Alexander Valley Release Day on Saturday, August 1, 2015, but first – read on for a sneak peek at the event born of customer loyalty and delicious wine.

Held once per year for each of Silver Oak Cellars’ two appellations of Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley and Alexander Valley), Release Day began without any of the fanfare that accompanies its current incarnation. “We’ve always had a day when the wine was first made available,” recalled David Duncan, Silver Oak President and CEO. Since 2002, Duncan has held the reins of the company his father founded with Justin Meyer.

“A lot of it was people wanting to buy the large format bottles, the six or 12 liters. We made so few that for many years, the only day that you could get a large format bottle was on Release Day. As we became more popular, more people started showing up that day. One year, 40 or 50 people showed up and the next year 150 people showed up and the next year 300 showed up. We started to think we’d better get prepared for this.” Duncan laughed as he added, “Nobody’s really sure when the first official Release Day happened. It wasn’t like anybody sat around in a marketing meeting and said, ‘Let’s come up with this Release Day idea,’ but now we celebrate it as a special day and feel very fortunate that people keep coming.”

Duncan uses the word ‘celebrate’ to describe Release Day, and for good reason: the event is a beautiful sort of family reunion that draws adoring Silver Oak fans from across the nation. “I tell people it’s a kind of celebration. We have many, many people who have been coming for years, so there are friendships and people being together,” he said. “It’s really a camaraderie thing around enjoying the wine and the company of the people. And this year we had all these incredible chefs, so we had this great food mixed in with it. I think it’s just become something that either people want to attend or have to attend.”

Food serves a perfect complement to the Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon at Release Day. “Part of our philosophy and deep belief about wine is that wine is meant to be enjoyed with food,” Duncan explained. “We’re really making wine for you to enjoy with a meal and with friends and family. So because of that, food is a critical element at Release Day.”

Silver Oak’s Chef Dominic Orsini takes charge of the cuisine at Release Day, with a host of world-class chefs sharing the stage. Charlie Palmer, Ken Frank of La Toque, Cindy Pawlcyn and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto have all graced Silver Oak’s Release Day festivities with their talents.

“The guests just love it, to have a little bite of food that pairs perfectly with the wine we’re releasing that day. It’s just great fun,” Duncan said. “We have some wonderful chef friends who are willing to come out and spend their day. Charlie Palmer was here with his wife and kids and they were all working the station. We’re fortunate to get to work them.”

Live music and beautiful art of Silver Oak wines round out the day’s festivities. Thomas Arvid, called America’s preeminent painter of wine, creates photorealistic paintings of Silver Oak wines. “He’s the only artist we have here on Release Day,” Duncan said. “We just have a great friendship with him; he’s a fantastic guy.” The music helps set the mood of the event, although Duncan was hesitant to include bands at first. “For years, our event planners wanted to bring in music and I said, ‘No music, it’s not a concert, it’s a celebration of the wine,’ and of course now we have bands and I love it,” he laughed.

Duncan gives kudos to the entire Silver Oak team for managing this amazing event. “We’ve become good at Release Day,” he said. “We have our entire staff here for Release Day, and we can all answer any questions and that does keep it intimate even though there are quite a few people here.”

Plan your visit to Silver Oak for Release Day now – contact Jet Linx Client Services for information on special VIP tickets available only to Jet Linx clients.