Worth the Drive: Carols in the Caves
Worth the Drive is NBCLA's twice weekly look at nearby getaways
Rhoda Stewart
The Improvisator returns with his Carols in the Caves on Saturday, December 19th and Sunday, December 20th.
Your job: Decide to get out of town and fast. Our job: Help you find where you're headed. This week, NBCLA's Worth the Drive takes us to...
Carols in the Caves: You like music of the season. You like wine. You like caves. Now put those three things in a cup and take a big sip.
The Improvisator: The man behind the music. For just about a quarter century the musician, who goes by the handle The Improvisator, hauls an array of unusual and beautiful instruments into a wine country cave. And then plays. Are you thinking the sound is haunting and soul-stir-y? You would be right.
Holiday concerts: You can find the cave concerts here and there around the Sonoma and Napa area, but, come Christmas, the shows take on a seasonal theme. The Carols in the Caves for 2009 will happen on December 19th and 20th in a high-up cave in Calistoga. The Cave of the Drums concert is also in Calistoga, on January 2nd and 3rd, 2010. It's at the already art-filled Clos Pegase winery.
Will wine be for sale at intermission? Oh yes. Puts the glow in those cave-cooled cheeks.
If you can't make it this December or January: We'd build a whole wine country weekend around this unusual event *next* December. It is a Golden State staple of the season, and should be experienced at least once.
The acoustics: We're still getting pre-chills, thinking about them. Cave concerts. The ideal venue?
