Wine

A Speech for Visiting Groups

From Frontier to Front Runners

The Miracle of Napa & Sonoma

In less than two hundred years the region just north of the San Francisco Bay went from being the farthest northern tip of the Spanish Empire, to a world class wine producer and luxury tourism destination. How did that happen? The story is a remarkable confluence of an exceptional location, advances in transportation technology, and a colorful cast of audacious and sometimes outrageous characters. This talk gives the audience a unique perspective of this wonderful place that enhances their appreciation and enjoyment.
We started by writing and publishing tour books about Napa and Sonoma in 2005. Then we started Amicis Tours to bring clients about this beautiful region. Next we started producing our TV show Wine Country at Work in 2012, and recently we added a weekly WCaW radio show and podcast. In 2023 we assembled the stories that we had been telling to clients and groups for years into three story books. I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
Wine Country is a fun, relaxed place and those qualities show up throughout the talks. Our presentations open our visitors’ minds to seeing Wine Country as it truly is, a remarkable place that celebrates farming, food, wine, people and history. Where the venue permits, while Ralph is speaking, we run beautiful, high quality videos related to the stories and talks. We are Ralph and Lahni DeAmicis, and we have been speaking professionally for thirty years on popular, professional and business topics.

Preview of Ralph's Storytelling Talk at Napa Valley Historical Society 2/20/2025 7PM

We speak to all kinds of audiences, run seminar series, moderate panels, and lead large tour groups. We entered wine tourism twenty years ago through a book project about winery buildings, that became the Dream Tour Guides, the North Bay’s longest running and most popular series of wine tour books. We began producing the TV show Wine Country at Work at Napa Valley Television in 2012, and also produce documentary films for numerous local organizations. In 2024 we published Wine Country in Shorts, the Stories of Napa and Sonoma.
We also offer other presentations when conference planners want a local keynote speaker or need to fill a last minute spot. One of our popular business talks is ‘The 5 Steps to Creating a Great Home Office,’ a very popular topic. We’ve recently added a new fun talk, ‘Wine Tasting with the Stars.’ You can contact us at our office in Napa @ 707-235-2364, or @ RalphDeAmicis@gmail.com.

Stories

Stories are a charming way to welcome visitors and share what makes this place special. After guests visit wineries, they often say the wines were good, but it’s the stories they remember, because it gives them the context and texture of a place. It helps then feel comfortable, confident and welcome during their visit. We select stories based on the group’s interests, and there is plenty to choose from. The history of this place, once considered the ends of the Earth, is remarkable. It was both the northern tip of the Spanish Empire and the southern tip of the Russian Empire, and five other flags flew over the region.

Product & Services

How did they get along so well? The tale of the famous Silverado Trail spans thousands of years, but it’s the heroics and romance of the past one hundred and fifty years that is the most fascinating. The grand Sonoma Plaza didn’t become the most historic spot in California by chance! The 1976 Judgment of Paris wine tasting is locally famous, but it’s the inside story, and about how the movie got made, that is the most entertaining part. Many visitors ask about how someone starts a winery, and who owns them? The answer offers an insightful lesson about how businesses are put together when everything has to be planned long-term.