Wine and great music at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Tiburon

New Century Chamber Orchestra presents New Century Wine Club: Italian Reinvention on Sunday, May 15, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3 Bayview Avenue, Tiburon. 

New Century Chamber Orchestra combines Italian Baroque masterworks with a guided tasting by renowned California winemaker Martha Stoumen. Cost: $150.  For more info see http://ncco.org or call 415-357-1111 or email info@ncco.org. 

New Century Chamber Orchestra and Music Director Daniel Hope will perform masterworks of the Italian Baroque period as historian and sommelier Ron Merlino highlights the interconnected histories of Italian music, wine and politics of the era. The event will conclude with a guided tasting by renowned California winemaker Martha Stoumen as she shares how classic Italian varietals inspired her bold and exciting natural wines.

Daniel Hope and the orchestra will perform Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico Op. 3, Concerto No. 11 for two violins in D minor and La stravaganza Op.4 No. 4 Concerto in A minor alongside Geminiani/Corelli’s Concerto Grosso No. 5 in G minor. Two distinguished wine industry figures will feature as guests, including sommelier and historian Ron Merlino and California winemaker Martha Stoumen. As Owner and Manager of MusicVine Performing Arts and Wine Consulting, Mr. Merlino manages both a roster of international orchestral conductors and serves as a consultant for artisanal wineries and arts institutions worldwide. 

Combining both the world of wine and the arts, Mr. Merlino will take New Century audiences on an interconnected history of Italian music, wine and politics of the Baroque era. Following the hybrid lecture and performance, renowned California winemaker Martha Stoumen will lead a four-wine tasting and share how classic Italian varietals inspired her bold and exciting natural wines. Born in Sebastopol, Ms. Stoumen is a first-generation winemaker and the founder of Martha Stoumen Wines, selling wines throughout the United States and worldwide. Inspired by her time spent in places such as Sicily, France and New Zealand, Ms. Stoumen realized her dream of utilizing organic, regenerative agriculture and low intervention winemaking, and she now produces award-winning wines that have been featured in The New York Times and Vanity Fair, among many others.