- COPIA
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts is a cultural
museum and education center dedicated to the discovery, understanding, and celebration ofwine ,food and theart s in American culture. COPIA is located in the Napa Valley in the town of Napa,California ,United States .ummary
COPIA is a non-profit discovery center whose mission is to explore, celebrate and share the many pleasures and benefits of wine, its relationship to food and its significance to our culture. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, COPIA is the premier wine country destination – offering visitors exceptional wine- and food-tasting programs, exhibitions, organic edible gardens, films, concerts, fine and casual dining, shopping and more! Proceeds from ticket sales, membership and donations support COPIA’s educational programs and exhibitions.
History
In 1988, vintner Robert Mondavi, his wife Margrit Biever Mondavi and other leaders in the wine community began to explore the idea of establishing a small institution to educate, promote and celebrate American excellence and achievements in the culinary, winemaking and visual arts arenas.
Partner organizations–the University of California at Davis, the Cornell University School of Restaurant and Hotel Administration, and the American Institute of Wine & Food–joined forces to develop the idea into a major not-for-profit cultural institution. In 1996, Robert Mondavi acquired the land for COPIA, followed by a lead gift of $20-million. Subsequently, the “Founding Seventy,” key supporters from Napa Valley and the surrounding Bay Area made substantial donations. COPIA has since received national and international support. The facility opened its doors to the public in 2001.
In September 2008 Copia CEO Garry McGuire announced that 24 of 85 employees were being laid off and the days of operation would be reduced from 7 to 3 per week. [cite web | title=Copia Lays Off Staff, Cutting Days Open | publisher=
Napa Valley Register | url=http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/09/27/news/local/doc48dd590c335f5954759041.txt | accessdate=2008-09-27 | date=2008-09-27 | last=Huffman | first=Jennifer] Attendance figures have never reached original or updated projections causing the facility to operate annualy in the red since opening.Facilities
COPIA includes convert|13000|sqft|m2 of gallery space for long-term and changing exhibitions of art, culinary history and science; a 260 raked-seat theater for films and lectures; a rare-books library; classrooms with audio-visual capabilities; a 74-seat demonstration kitchen forum; a gourmet dining room named for honorary trustee Julia Child, which features a dramatic open finishing kitchen; a tasting table with an expansive selection of wines from across the United States; a 700-seat outdoor concert terrace; a café; a museum gift shop; and three and one-half acres of landscaped organic edible gardens for hands-on learning about soils, farming and viticulture. There is also ample parking in the south (161) and north (180) parking lots for a total 341 parking spaces.
References
Notable people
*
Robert Mondavi , Founder
*Margrit Mondavi , Founder
*Victor Scargle , ChefExternal links
* [http://www.copia.org/ COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts Homepage]
* [http://www.juliaskitchen.org/ Julia's Kitchen at COPIA Homepage]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.