9 minute read
Distinctively Different Food & Wine Experiences
For the Adventurous Gourmand: Napa Valley’s Distinctively Different Food and Wine Experiences
WRITTEN BY MARISA MCCANN
Napa Valley may be known for its wine, but its world-class food is equally on par. Thanks to the abundance of year-round produce and a wealth of culinary talent throughout the region, many Napa wineries offer exquisite wine and food pairing experiences. Armed with Michelin-starred and fine dining-quality chefs, wineries are creating menus that perfectly complement their wines while showcasing the region’s bounty – much of which is grown on the winery estates themselves. From curated bites such as Bresaola and black pepper yogurt to chef-designed multi-course meals, the choices are plenty depending on palate or pocketbook. Some wineries are stepping out and shaking things up by putting as much thought and intention into crafting their pairing menus as they have put into producing their remarkable wines, creating some titillating new tasting experiences.
ARTESA VINEYARDS & WINERY
Artesa Tasting Flights
Photo by Sarah Anne Risk
Set high in the foothills of Mt. Veeder overlooking the prominent appellation of Carneros, Artesa is a modern winery that blends seamlessly into its surrounding hillside. The winery was founded by Raventós Codorníu, Spain’s oldest winemaking family and the creators of Cava, the country’s now-famous bottle-fermented sparkling wine. Artesa embodies its Spanish heritage not only throughout its impressive estate that includes sculpture gardens, a series of avant-garde water features, and a sleek tasting salon displaying handmade tiles from Barcelona but also with its diverse collection of experiences.
The Spanish-themed Tapas and Wine pairing ($85 per person, Friday – Sunday) is a semi-private experience that begins with a welcome splash of Artesa’s late-disgorged sparkling wine as the group is escorted throughout the property to learn about the unique architecture and the history of their founding family. Guests are then privately seated at tall ‘tapas’ tables where five wines are paired with traditional Spanish small plates like shrimp ceviche and tortilla Española. // www.artesawinery.com
CLIF FAMILY WINERY
Photo courtesy of Clif Family Winery
Clif Family Winery is owned and operated by adventure enthusiasts Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, whose goal has always been to create and share high-quality, low-impact wine and food. Their lively St. Helena Rifugio Tasting Room, Bruschetteria Food Truck, and intimate Enoteca Tasting Salon serve up organically farmed wines with seasonal ingredients from the Clif Family Farm located on five acres in the Eastern Hills of Napa Valley. Now, they’re taking it a step further by offering plant-based experiences in their brand new, Enoteca Private Tasting Salon which opened its doors earlier this spring, just a few steps away from the original tasting room and offers both a private patio with expansive vineyard views and an intimate fireside setting for the cooler months. Here, Executive Chef John McConnell has designed several seasonally inspired food and wine experiences that are offered daily, and all can be requested with plant-based alternative offerings. The La Cima Reserva tasting ($125 per person) highlights beautiful presentations of seasonal produce from the organic Clif Family Farm along with plant-based proteins from local partners like Sonoma County based Miyoko’s Creamery and Bay Area TCHO chocolate. Each item from the seasonally-driven menu accentuates the flavor profiles of the small-production wines from Clif Family’s Howell Mountain estate. Clif Family offers two other food and wine experiences in the Enoteca that can also be requested plant-based: the Presto Gusto brunch ($100 per person), featuring a four-tiered platter of simple yet refined small plates, and Pasto e Vino ($195 per person), an ample farm-to-table lunch. // www.cliffamily.com
DAVIES VINEYARDS
Davies Bubbles and Caviar Brunch
Photo Courtesy of Davies Vineyards
There’s no better way to awaken one’s palate for the day than at Davies Vineyards, the still wine brand of California’s famed sparkling wine producer, Schramsberg. Hosted in their St. Helena tasting room, the Bubbles and Caviar Brunch ($160 per person, Friday – Sunday) pairs seven glasses of Schramsberg’s extraordinary Chardonnay and Pinot Noir-based sparkling wines with a tin of Regiis Ova Ossetra caviar and various accoutrements like lemon crème fraiche, egg yolks, and potato chips. Chef Jeff Bernys also prepares several brunch bites like caramelized leeks and gruyere quiche, smoked salmon, and vanilla pot de crème to encourage a playful exploration between glass and plate. // www.daviesvineyards.com
HANDWRITTEN WINES
Handwritten Bread and Butter Pairing
Photo Courtesy of The Good Life Wine Collective
At the southern edge of Yountville’s downtown center, Handwritten Wines welcomes guests in their inviting Den, Founder’s Study, Kitchen, and outdoor Courtyard daily. Each space aptly features unique furnishings and details such as writing desks, fine writing instruments, and even handmade postcards and bookmarks for guests to write on and take home.
Designed by Handwritten’s Resident Chef MikeC, the Bread and Butter experience ($100 per person) presents five wines, beginning with their exclusively imported Champagne Relié Cuvée, followed by several hillside and Napa Valley mountain district Cabernet Sauvignons sourced from two-acre blocks. The wines are accompanied by white truffle potato chips, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery baguette, Stagberry Salame, 12-month aged reserve Gouda cheese, and above all, three artisan domestic butters. Ranging from a silky Amish salted butter from Ohio to a luscious goat milk butter from Wisconsin, each selection brings forth a unique set of flavors and textures to complement and enhance the wines in a fun and unique way. // www.handwrittenwines.com
RD WINERY
RD Winery Food and Wine Experiences
Photo by Bob McClenahan
Head to the south side of Napa, where RD Winery, the first Vietnamese-owned winery and production facility in Napa, produces several brands of wines. Fifth Moon, named after the Vietnamese Summer Solstice, showcases quality wines sourced throughout California, including some off-the-Napa-grid, food-friendly varieties such as Grüner Veltliner, Malvasia Bianca, and Chenin Blanc. For a unique sensory tasting experience, RD Winery Winemaker Timothy Milos and Associate Winemaker Rachel Froelich team up with Chef Max Ackerman of Napa’s Sushi Monkey to pair an exciting lineup of Asian dishes alongside a flight of five of the Fifth Moon wines in the Fifth Moon Food & Wine Pairing experience. ($55 per person) Discover surprising but complementary pairings such as the Malvasia Bianca, Green Valley alongside poached shrimp and kimchi cocktail sauce, and RD’s signature Red Blend with a hoisin pulled pork slider and wasabi slaw. Chef Ackerman’s formal training in traditional Japanese cuisine and passion for working with thoughtfully-sourced ingredients create a harmonious lineup of colorful tapas-style dishes that reflect the season and offer an unexpected dimension to the more traditional farm-to-table Napa wine tasting experiences. // www.rdwinery.com
ST. SUPÉRY ESTATE VINEYARDS & WINERY
Photo Courtesy of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery
St. Supéry has built a reputation on producing balanced Sauvignon Blanc and other Bordeaux grape varieties on their Rutherford and Dollarhide estate vineyards. As a 100% estate-grown and Napa Green certified property, St. Supéry strongly values environmental stewardship in its vineyards and culinary garden. Estate Chef Tod Kawachi finds inspiration for his seasonally rotating wine and food pairing menus from whatever is growing on the one-third acre on-site garden and orchards. Currently being offered is the Vino & Veggies experience ($100 per person, August – October). This tasting matches four wines with inventive vegetarian bites, such as preserved maitake mushrooms with red onion jam on a crisp crostino. This experience fully embraces the farm-to-table philosophy and heightens the guests’ appreciation for sustainable and responsibly grown food and wine. Throughout the rest of the year, guests can enjoy the Great Sustainable Seafood experience ($100 per person, May – July) or the Sauvignon Blanc and Caviar Pairing ($100 per person, November – May), which partners eco-certified farmed sturgeon on toasted blinis with three Sauvignon Blancs. // www.stsupery.com
STAG’S LEAP WINE CELLARS
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Pairing
Photo courtesy of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
The first vintage of Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon went on to triumph over renowned Bordeaux wines at a blind tasting in 1976, an event now known as the Judgment of Paris, putting Napa Valley on the world map. To this day, Stag’s Leap produces First-Growth quality wines on its estate Fay and S.L.V. Vineyards which are the focal point of the winery’s two food and wine pairing experiences. The Celestial Tour & Tasting ($125 per person, weekdays) is the abbreviated version of the Cellarius Kitchen Experience ($245 per person, weekends), which is perhaps one of the most bountiful culinary programs in Napa Valley.
Guests are guided through the property’s mile-long cave system, which houses their aging red wine in French oak barrels and a true Foucault Pendulum, a large and striking device demonstrating the Earth’s rotation. The tour concludes in the estate kitchen, where Chef Travis Westrope and his culinary team artfully prepare four courses of gourmet plates that can easily satisfy lunch. Chef Travis spends a few moments explaining the narrative behind each food pairing, connecting the dish to the wines. The menu changes seasonally but currently celebrates the winery’s 50th anniversary with dishes like “Salad Gold” made with sunchoke, opal apple, Asian pear, pecan pesto, and pistachio vinaigrette, and “Caille au Vin Rouge,” which is Chef Travis’ creative interpretation of the classic French dish, coq a vin. // www.stagsleapwinecellars.com
TREFETHEN FAMILY VINEYARDS
Photo courtesy of Trefethen Family Vineyards
Set on 400 acres of planted vines and five acres of gardens in Napa’s Oak Knoll District, Trefethen Family Vineyards pairs exclusively estate-grown wines with some of the best estate-grown food in wine country. The family, now in its third generation, has a long history involved in Napa’s culinary scene, having founded the Napa Valley Cooking School in the 1970s, which brought in top chefs from all over the world. Today, equipped with its own talented chef, Chris Kennedy, Trefethen continues their culinary legacy by offering an array of wine and food pairing experiences.
Twilight at Trefethen ($200 per person, Thursday and Friday) is the pinnacle of exclusivity, granting just 12 guests access to the estate during the magical evening hours. After a brief tour through the historic winery, small redwood forest and gardens, guests settle in the dining room or on the scenic terrace of the former Trefethen residence for a tasting of their finest wines paired with seasonal shared plates. The daytime equivalence, Taste the Estate ($100 per person, daily), pairs a unique set of five wines with sublime bites to showcase the interplay between the flavors and textures of wine and food. For example, diners might find Cabernet Franc served alongside goat cheese and morel mushroom croquettes or Merlot with black forest bacon, butter lettuce, and green tomato on toasted brioche echoing the classic flavors of a B.L.T. sandwich. // www.trefethen.com
