Early History – New Haven
The Culinary Institute of America, the institution we know today, started in 1946 as a vocational training school known as the New Haven Restaurant Institute. It was founded by the New Haven Restaurant Association in Connecticut and held the first classes on May 22 in the same year. The GI Bill provided educational benefits for veterans of World War II, and, as a result, many educational opportunities were developed across the United States. The demand for education in the culinary arts was notable and expanded rapidly, perhaps due to exposure to the food services provided by the armed services during the war.
Frances Roth and Katharine Angell were the dynamic duo who designed the curriculum and hired the faculty of three: a baker, a chef, and a dietician. The first location was a storefront, and the first graduating class numbered 50 people, 49 men and 1 woman.
Katharine Angell became the first President and Chairman of the Board of the nonprofit organization. Over the next twenty years, she worked with Yale University which facilitated the purchase of the Davie’s house as the second location for the vocational school in 1947. The name of the vocational school was changed to the Restaurant Institute of Connecticut in the same year as the school became known for its quality culinary education.
The final name change occurred in 1951, when the school was renamed as the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). By the late 1960s, over 1,000 students were attending the Culinary Institute annually. Their board made the decision to move to Hyde Park, New York, where 80 acres of land with a 5-story building containing 150 rooms were purchased for approximately $1 million. This building was formerly known as the St. Andrew-on-Hudson Jesuit novitiate. Renovations began, and the Culinary Institute opened its doors to students in Hyde Park in 1972. This campus has been home to the CIA to this day. The board of regents granted the college the right to award associate degrees upon graduation. Restaurants for the public were added in the Hyde Park location, and additional campuses were founded in St. Helena, California (2005), San Antonio, Texas (2008), Singapore (2010), and downtown Napa, California (2015).
In 1993, the CIA was granted approval to offer two bachelor’s degrees in professional studies.
Copia, Ancient Roman Goddess
The Roman goddess of abundance is known as Copia. She is often shown with the cornucopia, also known as the “horn of plenty.” This magic goat’s horn is large and overflows with fruits and wealth, symbolizing that the contents will provide you with all you could ever desire. The goddess Copia is characterized as representing abundance, resources, wealth, and opportunity.
Copia -The First Museum – 1990s
Copia started as a non-profit educational center and museum in Napa, California, founded by one of the great wine icons, vintner Robert Mondavi, and his wife, Margrit. He purchased the land and donated it with a lead gift of $20 million to establish this organization and its home.
Construction began on the museum building in 1999 with the support of the “Founding Seventy” donors. It opened on November 18, 2001. Julia Child and other philanthropists funded the venture, which was open from 2001 to 2008. It was known as the American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts, established to educate, promote, and celebrate American excellence and achievements in winemaking and culinary arts. The center also focused on the visual arts. The project was supported by three important institutions: the American Institute of Wine and Food, the University of California at Davis, and the Cornell University of Hotel Administration.
This institution did not succeed as envisioned, perhaps because of its opening within weeks of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which dampened tourism in the area for years or, perhaps, it was too early for the California wine industry to truly appreciate California’s contributions to agriculture, wine and cuisine which is now known throughout the world.
However, Robert Mondavi is a very important historical figure in California wine history. He is remembered for his emphasis on hospitality and education for the wine lover and customer. He established a model of hospitality at his winery that changed the marketing and tasting room culture in California. He greeted his guests in person at the door, in the tasting room and in the vineyard. He was always accessible and he encouraged winemakers not to hide in the wine cellar, but to market their wines by establishing personal relationships with customers. Gary Eberle, award-winning wine grower and vintner in San Luis Obispo County, attributes much of his success with Eberle Wines to Mondavi’s business model. The sculptures of Robert and Magrit still adorn the rooftop to welcome you to Copia.
Copia, The CIA And The Revival – 2015
The CIA purchased the land and building in 2015. The CIA has transformed the site to provide a personal adventure for each visitor in the discovery of American food and wine in Napa, California. The visitor is immediately immersed in a large and beautiful California culinary garden of herbs, fruits, and vegetables showcasing California’s abundance. Did you know that California produces more than 400 commodities or that at least 30% of the country’s vegetables and 70% of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California? The market value of these products sold in 2022 totaled 59 billion dollars.
Once inside the building, you can take a variety of classes, meet and cook with guest and CIA chefs, relax at the wine bar, dine-in restaurant, shop at the Marketplace for locally crafted household goods, cookbooks and gift items or explore historic collections.
The first display to open inside Copia was the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum. The founder of Williams-Sonoma has donated more than 4,000 artifacts from curiosities used long ago to a range of more modern cooking equipment that illustrates culinary history.
The David And Judy Breitstein Historical California Wine Collection
From a wine perspective, it is the fascinating collection of almost 200 significant bottles of wine propelling us through California wine history starting in 1888 that draws me back to Copia again and again. This unique museum collection provides a historical path through viticulture, grape varieties, vintners, wineries and the physical locations that developed the rich California history that is celebrated worldwide today. This collection, lovingly assembled over more than 50 years, is the second major collection on view at Copia. (View the collection catalog.)
Imagine a young couple in their early twenties with a vision of establishing a wine shop in Southern California in the 1960s. Note that there may have been other wine shops between Santa Barbara and San Diego at the time, but their shop, Duke of Bourbon, became an institution thanks to their curiosity, dedication to California wine, and the network of relationships they developed over the years.
- Imagine this young couple driving to Napa in 1971 for the first time to visit the wineries and meet the winemakers. Their first stop was Chappellet Winery.
- Imagine this young couple sharing their picnic lunches with these winemakers as they tasted Napa wines.
- Imagine this young couple opening a wine shop in the San Fernando Valley and buying a few cases at a time to stock their shelves.
- Imagine Judy and David having the vision to educate their clientele through lectures, seminars, and tastings on a monthly basis.
- Imagine them purchasing rare wines at various wine auctions.
- Imagine organizing trips for customers to tour wineries in California and in Europe.
- Imagine contributing rare wines to auctions throughout California to raise funds for charity.
The David and Judy Breitstein Historical California Wine Collection spans decades of winemaking in California, and each label tells the story of its producer. To quote David and Judy, “We see wine as art, and each bottle in the collection tells a story of places, people, varieties and moments in a continuum of the California wine industry. We hope that visitors will come away with a new sense of the unique history of California wine as told through these treasured bottles so expertly displayed at Copia.”
Thoughts About Our Wine Collection
Judy and David reminisce, March 2024
When we started collecting wine in the late 1960s, we did not consider the outcome. We just wanted to procure and keep wines that had special meanings to us—from wineries we knew intimately and wineries known for their excellence and rarity.
As the years went by, we became aware of the significance of our collection. We realized that we were holding pieces of history. Eventually, we felt that we should share these treasures with the wine world so that current and future generations could learn about them and appreciate them.
With the help of Karen MacNeil, renowned author of The Wine Bible, our first display of “The History of California Wine – The David and Judy Breitstein Collection” opened in 2009 at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena, Napa Valley.
We were extremely pleased with the reception it received. In 2023, a larger display was opened at the CIA-Copia in the town of Napa, California. We have heard many comments that it is a most special exhibit, including one from award-winning vintner Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, who called it “magnificent!”
