MICHAEL CHIARELLO ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW RESTAURANT IN YOUNTVILLE

Napa Valley Restaurant to Deliver Farm-to-Table Ingredients and Signature Chiarello Style

Yountville, CA-- January 16, 2008–Chef Michael Chiarello, Emmy-winning tastemaker behind NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and founding chef of Tra Vigne restaurant, is pleased to announce plans to open a new signature restaurant in Fall 2008. Located within the V Marketplace complex in Yountville, CA, the yet-to-be-named restaurant will celebrate Michael Chiarello’s signature cuisine and entertaining style as well as farm-to-table regional ingredients. Additionally, Chef Chiarello announced plans for a Flagship NapaStyle retail store inside the V Marketplace to open in Summer 2008.

“Having lived and cooked in the Napa Valley for over 20 years – and made wine here for 10 years -- my distinct love of this valley includes memories of a different era,” says Michael. “My sense of what constitutes a memorable culinary experience has shifted over the years, along with what the general public has come to expect. I’m thrilled to be stepping back into my chef jacket and clogs, and to greet food and wine lovers once again with my personal blend of Napa Valley’s famous hospitality. To be joining Yountville’s talented community of chefs and restaurateurs is a true honor.”

After leaving his post as Tra Vigne’s executive chef, Chiarello continued to share his passion for Napa Valley living through his personally designed line of NapaStyle gourmet food products, cookware and furniture, as well as through his Emmy-winning television show, Easy Entertaining on Food Network. His new restaurant, the culmination of 24-years of professional cooking, will embody Michael’s steadfast love of rustic flavors and sustainable living through a truly memorable and quintessentially Napa dining experience.

"Michael’s inspiring restaurant plan will serve to further define Yountville as a world class culinary Mecca,” added V Marketplace managing general partner, Jan Lee Fechter. “We couldn't be more pleased that he chose V Marketplace as his new home.”

About Michael Chiarello

Michael Chiarello is the tastemaker behind NapaStyle (www.napastyle.com) Chiarello Family Vineyards (www.chiarellovineyards.com), and Consorzio Flavored Oils, and is the Emmy Award-winning host of Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on Food Network. Over his 20-year career, Michael has drawn on his Southern Italian roots and Napa Valley way of life to pioneer culinary and lifestyle innovations that inspire friends and family to gather around the table to create meaningful traditions. Michael was Founding and Executive Chef of Tra Vigne and seven other restaurants, and was twice named Chef of the Year, first by Food + Wine magazine and later by the Culinary Institute of America. His latest cookbook, At Home with Michael Chiarello, follows Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking—which won the 2002 IACP Award—in addition to Napa Stories, The Tra Vigne Cookbook, and Flavored Vinegars and Flavored Oils. Michael is also the proprietor of a small family winery, Chiarello Family Vineyards, making highly rated estate wines from the historic 94-year old vineyards surrounding his home in California’s Napa Valley.

About V Marketplace

Set on the beautiful 23-acre Vintage Estate, V Marketplace is an historic retail complex featuring a collection of upscale specialty shops, galleries, restaurants, a wine cellar and tasting bar and the Napa Valley's original hot air balloon company. Located at 6525 Washington Street in Yountville - Napa Valley, V Marketplace shares The Vintage Estate with its Four Diamond award-winning sister hotel properties, the 80-room Vintage Inn —a discreetly elegant French country-style inn—and the 112-room Villagio Inn & Spa —a stylish vision of a Tuscan village. Take the Yountville/Veterans Home exit off Hwy 29, just 9 miles north of the City of Napa. Hours of operation are daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For event information, call (707) 944-2451 or visit www.vmarketplace.com

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