First Punta Mita Gourmet & Golf Classic Event To Take Place In Riviera Nayarit, April 28-May 1

Riviera Nayarit, Mexico (March 16,
2011) – The first Punta Mita Gourmet &
Golf Classic event will take place April
28 - May 1 in Mexico’s most exclusive
beach community, Punta Mita,
along the shores of Riviera Nayarit.
The Riviera Nayarit Convention &
Visitors Bureau, main sponsor for
this event, joins the host hotels, The
St. Regis Punta Mita Resort and the
Four Seasons Punta Mita, as well as
DINE - developer of Punta Mita, and
American Airlines, as official sponsors
of this prestigious event that combines
the sophisticated worlds of culinary
excellence and world-class golf.
The Punta Mita Gourmet & Golf
Classic will feature gourmet meals
and cooking courses taught by
distinguished chefs, a series of wine
and tequila tastings, festive gatherings
at the luxurious St. Regis Punta Mita
Resort and Four Seasons Punta Mita,
and “The Punta Mita Cup”, a two-day
golf tournament on Jack Nicklaus’ two
signature courses Bahia and Pacifico.
Enjoy this exciting event April 28 –
May 1 with the Punta Mita Gourmet
& Golf Classic package, available at
both host hotels. The package includes
three nights’ accommodations in the
room category of your choice, daily
breakfast, roundtrip airport transfers,
opening cocktail, guest chef lunches
First Punta Mita Gourmet & Golf Classic Event
To Take Place In Riviera Nayarit, April 28-May 1
and dinners, wine and tequila tastings,
cooking classes, and participation
in the Punta Mita Cup and play on
Jack Nicklaus’ signature courses.
Rates begin at $1,180 per person for
a three night stay based on double
occupancy. For the St. Regis Punta
Mita, reservations can be made by
calling 877-250-8871 or via email.
Reservations at the Four Seasons
Punta Mita can be made by calling +52
329 291 6019 or via email.
Famed sommeliers, tequila masters
and winemakers such as Charlie
Arturaola of Miami-based Grappolo
Blu, considered one of the nation’s top
10 palates by the American Sommelier
Association and Laura Catena,
president of Bodega Catena Zapata,
author and daughter of Argentina’s
most celebrated winemaker, Nicolas
Catena, Anthony Dias Blue from
The Tasting Panel, Hans Backhof
from renowned Mexican winery
Monte Xanic, Argentinean sommelier
Edgardo Schiller and local Ricardo
Espindula, along with tequila master
Arturo Lomeli, will further excite
guests’ palates with pours of some of
the world’s finest wines and tequilas.
The Four Seasons will welcome guest
chefs and wines/tequila connoisseurs
Richard Sandoval and Victor
Casanova, chef of Culina Restaurante
from the Four Seasons Hotel Los
Angeles at Beverly Hills, as well as
Maria Laura Bevilaqcua, sommelier of
Casa Madero, the oldest winery in the
Americas located in Parras, Coahuila,
Mexico; Christophe Gaercner,
enologist for Macouzet Wines from
Valle de Santo Tomas in Ensenada the
northern Baja Peninsula, along with
Arturo Lomeli founder and owner of
“Clase Azul Tequila.”
Led by Sebastian Fontes, executive
chef of the AAA Five Diamond St.
Regis Punta Mita Resort and Sylvain
Desbois, executive chef of the
resort’s AAA Five Diamond Carolina
Restaurant, a team of participating
guest chefs from around the globe
include one of Mexico’s gourmet
ambassadors and most renowned chefs:
Patricia Quintana of Izote and Enrique
Olivera of the famed Pujol, both in
Mexico City; Australian Andrew
Ormsby of Ormsby Catering and
Abraham Salum of Salum Restaurant,
both in Dallas; Gaston Yelicich of Isla
de Flores in Jose Ignacio/Uruguay;
Paola Carosella of Arturito, Chef of
the Year 2010 in San Paolo, Brazil;
renowned local French chef Thierry
Blouet of Café des Artistes Del Mar
in Riviera Nayarit; Frederic Castan of
The St. Regis Monarch Beach; Enrique
Farjeat of The St. Regis Mexico City;
and Phillipe Piel of Four Seasons Punta
Mita, amongst others will enchant
attendees with their creations.
Event highlights include the “Riviera
Nayarit Welcome Fiesta” at Four
Seasons Punta Mita Resort, the Gala
Dinner featuring five of the guest chefs
at The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, as
well as a day on the bay with Mondrian
Yachts and sunset sailing with Vallarta
Adventures.
Non-golfers are invited to spend the
day in a private cabana at the Tamai
adult pool complex at Four Seasons
Resort Punta Mita, where guests can
enjoy an indulgent day in the sun or
protected in a fully furnished cabana.
The events will conclude with the
American Airlines Farewell Brunch.
As a part of the four-day extravaganza,
guests will play in the Punta Mita Cup
on Friday in a team scramble format
on the Pacifico golf course, and on
Saturday in a two ball best ball format
on the Bahia course with exciting
prizes for the winning team, hole in
one closest to the pin, longest drive,
including collector’s items like limited
edition tequila, hotel stays, and golf
kart among other surprises.
The Pacífico, with eight holes directly
facing or playing alongside the Pacific
Ocean, features the “Tail of the
Whale,” an optional par-three hole
and the world’s only natural island
green. The Bahía, Nicklaus’ second
championship course in Punta Mita,
has six ocean holes and opened in late
2008.
“Punta Mita offers extraordinary
golfing with two championship Jack
Nicklaus courses, outstanding cuisine,
personalized service and timeless
luxury, all combined with beautiful
scenery,” said Marc Murphy, managing
director of the Riviera Nayarit Visitors
and Convention Bureau.
“The Punta Mita Gourmet & Golf
Classic is the perfect combination of a
unique experience in Riviera Nayarit,
and we invite guests to enjoy this
incredible event in Punta Mita, one of
the most privileged beach resorts in all
of Mexico.”
With eight golf courses designed by
Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Robert
Von Hagge and other illustrious names,
Riviera Nayarit offers ideal year-round
golfing weather, breathtaking views of
ocean, bays and coves, a backdrop of
tropical forests and rugged mountains,
and plentiful varying landscapes ready
to be molded into fairways and greens
of exceptional challenge and beauty.
For more information on the events of
the festival, please visit
www.puntamitagourmetgolf.com.