Guana Island, the award-winning resort in the British Virgin Islands, is collaborating with renowned California wine brand, HALLWines, to offer a three-day Spring Wine Program from May 5-7, 2020.  The program will bring some of HALL’s most celebrated vintages as well as its Director of Winemaking, Megan Gunderson, to Guana for a dynamic program for travelers and food- and wine-lovers alike.

The HALL team will work closely with Guana’s Executive Chef, Kael Mendoza, to prepare a program celebrating the flavors of the California wines alongside the island’s natural bounty. Director of Winemaking for HALL Wines, Megan Gunderson, will work with Chef Mendoza to create special menu pairings inspired by the flavors of Guana. She will also personally pour wines from across the HALL Family Wine brands portfolio including HALL, WALT and BACA Wines, and be available to chat with guests about the brand’s extensive West Coast vineyards, and the winemaking process.

Chef Mendoza will be creating new menus for the program, pulling as many ingredients as possible from the Guana Island orchard, including fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables and microgreens. The four-acre orchard has been recently expanded to include three new greenhouses and is home to tropical fruits such as breadfruit, soursop, and papaya as well as more exotic items such as lemongrass and pomegranate. The culinary team also sources fresh fish from the waters surrounding Guana, including grouper, yellowfin tuna and mahi-mahi. 

The three-day program will kick off with a Beach BBQ pairing Caribbean-inspired flavors with WALT Wines, known for single vineyard Pinot Noirs, complemented by live music from a local band. The following day, Gunderson and Guana General Managers Vernon Daniel and Jason du Plessis will host a formal al fresco dinner, offering tastes of some of the most celebrated bottles from the HALL wine collection, including the bold Cabernets for which they’re known. Gunderson will be on-hand to personally discuss each vintage, guiding guests through an educational and flavorful evening. The program will conclude the following day, with a guided tour of the orchard and an invitation to try some lesser-known vintages, matching HALL Wines with just-picked produce and tropical fruits that are only found in the Caribbean.  

HALL and WALT Wines offered during the immersive experience will be available to order throughout the program, and each guest will receive a copy of Craig and Kathryn Hall’s New York Times Bestseller, A Perfect Score, upon arrival. As with all meals at Guana, the meals and activities prepared as part of the Spring Wine Program will be included in the cost of a room. Rates at Guana start at $720 per night. Images here courtesy of Jacqueline Marque. 

For reservations or more information on the Spring Wine Program at Guana, please visit https://www.guana.com/wineprogram/ or by calling (800) 544.8262.