If we brand John Zorn a jazz musician, the label is certainly too confining.

The Napa Valley Opera House hit a resounding chord with its 2007 “Idol NV” competition, as local audiences discovered a wealth of talent among young Napa singers.

Due to a huge demand for tickets, Berkeley Repertory Theatre has extended its acclaimed production of “After the Quake.”

The proper pairing of food and wine has become de rigueur at Napa Valley wineries, restaurants and among foodies, but pairing music and wine may be something new.

The Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra joined the big leagues last Saturday night.

Granted there are some people who get all excited about the football at Big Game, but there are also those go to Memorial Stadium to see  the biggest half time show of the year, when both the Napa and Vintage bands will perform under the direction of Harry Cadelago at Napa and Bill Gantt from Vintage. The Register will provide coverage of these always memorable performances on Sunday, Nov. 11.

School kids around the valley will get a chance to see live theater this week and next as Napa Valley College presents “Bambi: A Life in the Woods.” Based on the original story by Felix Saltern and adapted by James Devita, this Theater for Young Audiences production is directed by the college’s artistic director, Jennifer King.

It’s been a busy year for Napa musicians Bob St. Laurent and James Regan, who will play a rare, mostly-acoustic concert with their band St. Laurent at Copia on Nov. 15.

Richie Havens is gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music. His fiery, poignant, soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. Havens performs at the Napa Valley Opera House on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m.

Education

We were up at the CIA, Greystone, for a wine tasting but we got distracted by the teaching kitchens where visiting chefs were making all kinds of breakfast dishes.

No holiday puts on the do-it-all-from-scratch pressure quite like Thanksgiving.

It’s no surprise that “Turkey Day” is one of America’s most meat-centric holidays.

Don’t leave a safe and satisfying Thanksgiving to guesswork. Here are some simple formulas for Turkey Day math.

This simple cranberry tart is a breeze to assemble and can be made a day ahead. The crust is baked from crushed gingersnap cookies, but you could substitute a purchased no-bake graham cracker pie crust.

Give way to your creative side with this pumpkin trifle.

Turkey still frozen and dinner just an hour away? The bread won’t rise? Still not sure what temperature you’re supposed to cook stuffing to? Help from holiday cooking hot lines is just a call or click away.

Sweet potato and apple gratin packs plenty of traditional flavors and is a nice way to avoid the marshmallows that some vegetarians won’t eat. If you’re making this for vegans, substitute vegetable oil for the butter.

This weekend Copia introduces a new series exploring the world of herbs with Stephanie Georgieff, an herbalist, acupuncturist and naturopath, leading a class on the exotic world of Asian herbs.

The “Guitar Hero” series has made great strides over the past few years. When it was first released, nobody knew if it would be successful and most of the songs were covers.

From Register Staff

It was a warm, sunny afternoon at Mahoney Vineyards in Carneros, and winery owner Kathleen Mahoney was cooking some pork and tortillas for her workers, most of whom are scheduled to return to their native Mexico in the following weeks.

In a park in Jerez, Spain, there’s a statue of Shakespeare —  a token of appreciation for the Bard who, 400 years ago, was extolling the pleasures and benefits of the region’s most famous product, Sherry.

I fell in love last summer.

“Wine is geography in a bottle,” Jancis Robinson observed as she presided over a tasting that established her point.

Trester Goetting has been named associate winemaker at Ladera Vineyards. A long-time Napa Valley resident, he has worked at Tulocay Winery, Domaine Carneros, Yorkville Cellars and St. Clement Vineyards, and joined Ladera in 2004 as assistant winemaker.

It was a frequently used wine cliché a few years back — the one that went, “We listen to our grapes.”