WEEKEND ESCAPE | NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Napa Valley vintners step up their food & wine pairings
You don't have to settle for dry crackers on a tour of Napa Valley. More wineries now offer nibbles, even full meals, that complement the wines.
The first sip on a wine country trip is always the best. Maybe it's the unmistakable musty wine-cellar aroma, the rush of heady flavors or the realization that a weekend of dawn-to-dusk swirling, sniffing and savoring awaits.
The final sips, however, can be a wash. Flavor fatigue sets in: Each glass tastes a little too much like the one before. A simple, flavor-packed bite — a wedge of Parmesan, a slice of salami — might revive languid taste buds, but until recently, there was little more than chalky wine crackers to be had.
Traditionally, vintners steer clear of food pairings at wine tastings, subscribing to the adage that food muddles a wine's profile. After all, the point of a formal tasting is to immerse your senses in the wine, without distraction. But on a recent trip to Napa, I discovered wineries that are tossing out the crackers for more thoughtful fare.
My husband, Kevin (previously a devout crackers-only tasting purist), and I had our first food epiphany last summer in Sonoma. It was the last day of a packed weekend, and our taste buds were in overdrive. Then at J Vineyards & Winery, a small plate of Creole Dungeness crab appeared, piled on sourdough with a smear of cayenne butter. We took a sip of Pinot, then a bite, then another sip. The same wine that tasted flat a moment before was now crisp, intriguing.
So, on a subsequent trip to the Napa Valley in August, we more deliberately sought out wineries that encourage food at their tastings, curious to see whether they would measure up.
Our first stop, Peju Province in Rutherford, recently began food pairing programs. Like many large wineries open to the public, Peju has a culinary staff for private events such as weddings and corporate meetings. This year, Max Duley, culinary director and executive chef, took his food public.
"We're a winery, not a restaurant," Duley said, "but we believe food and wine are inseparable partners. The point of creating a tasting menu was to get our visitors thinking about how our wines enhance different foods. But we weren't sure people would go for it."
So far, they are — and not just at Peju. Food offerings we found in Napa and Sonoma valleys included snack-size plates and multi-course prix-fixe meals, informal lunches and guided instruction.
At Peju, our tasting lunch was served on the garden terrace, a quaint, sun-soaked patio just outside the tasting room. The hostess led us to one of the small iron tables beneath an oversized canvas umbrella, where we settled in with a chilled Peju Provence table wine. Up first, a smoked tomato gazpacho, followed by garam masala spiced lobster and cucumber-watermelon-yuzu salad. We moved on to pan-seared halibut with citrus beurre blanc and pillowy ricotta gnocchi, comparing the flavor of a 2005 Estate Sauvignon Blanc with each dish.
Dessert was a dark chocolate gâteau crowned with coffee gelée with a 2004 Estate Zinfandel. We didn't need a guided tour; Duley's food spoke worlds about the wine.
Stuffed from lunch, we were relieved to learn that Brian Streeter, the culinary director and executive chef at our next stop, Cakebread Cellars, was on vacation. Typically, he leads food-wine pairing classes that include four dishes.
Even without the chef in residence, the talk immediately turned to food during the 30-minute tour. When Jack and Dolores Cakebread founded the winery in 1973, they focused on food almost as much as wine. In the early years, Dolores would cook lunch for visitors and workers alike. As the winery grew, the couple converted a historic house on the property into a multi-room indoor-outdoor kitchen and hired Streeter.
James Shook, our gum-smacking tour guide, handed out tasting cards, pocket-size leaflets with tasting notes about each wine. On the flip side were recipes, such as one for fennel-crusted ahi tuna with fermented black bean sauce on a scallion risotto cake, the recommended pairing for a 2003 Cakebread Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. "Don't worry, these aren't my recipes," Shook assured us with a grin. "My wife won't even let me in the kitchen."
The tour ended with Shook's own food pairing advice. "Cook up a box of mac 'n' cheese and pop a cold Chardonnay," he said. "Now that's a darn good food-and-wine pairing."
By the glass, by the plate
EARLIER in the day, we had visited COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, in downtown Napa. The center offers daily food and wine classes, and the two subjects come together in Julia's Kitchen and at the Atrium wine bar.
Executive chef Victor Scargle recently added a tasting plate to the bar's repertoire. It's simple fare — a handful of toasted hazelnuts, local cheeses, a sliced baguette — meant to enhance the visitor's understanding of each wine.
The success of 5-year-old COPIA underscores how tourists here are eager to learn, and wineries are taking notice.
"Many wineries have picnic areas on-site where visitors can enjoy lunch — packed themselves or purchased in town — with a bottle purchased from the winery," Scargle said. "But wineries are starting to realize that wine country visitors are looking for more than just a place to eat, so a handful have started food-tasting programs to feature their wines."
It isn't always an easy transition for a winery. Many don't have a kitchen on-site or the required food permits. And keeping a chef on staff can be expensive.
At Napa's Darioush winery, the solution is a "chef of the season," a program scheduled to launch in the spring. Every few months, a different local chef — starting with Scargle — will create small plates to complement Darioush's wines.
At Robert Sinskey Vineyards, the chef is close to home. Maria Helm Sinskey, the vintner's wife, is a trained pastry chef and the vineyard's culinary director.
Kevin and I headed there the next day for the winery's bento-box lunch. We grazed clockwise through the compartments, sampling zucchini tartlets with a 2004 Pinot Blanc and cumin fried fish cakes with a 2004 Pinot Noir. The tasting-room manager provided wine notes as we nibbled, enjoying the cool mountain breeze as much as the food.
Afterward, we moved into the hip tasting bar that buzzed with weekend wine revelers. Chef Natalie Felice-Niksa was busy popping pizzas into the wood-fired oven and preparing other appetizers. Every so often, a treat from Felice-Niksa — a cheese beignet or an herb tartlet — worked its way down the bar, tempting us to stay a bit longer.
We had heard from locals that the Duckhorn Wine Co. had been running an education-focused food program, one of the oldest in the area, for more than five years, so we squeezed in a quick visit. Chef de cuisine Mark Sherwood pairs cheeses, nuts and canapés with Duckhorn estate wines. With a wine educator leading, visitors gather around a large wooden dining table in an interactive discussion, chatting about selections and comparing notes.
Although we missed the food program, it was worth the trip for the idyllic view. The octagonal, glass-walled tasting room is peppered with bistro tables and club chairs where visitors can relax and sip wine as they take in miles and miles of grapevine fields. It's easy to forget you're at a commercial winery and kick off your shoes under the table.
Domaine Chandon in Yountville has taken the food-wine pairing experience to its logical conclusion: Étoile, a full-service restaurant among the grassy hills, duck ponds and barrel aging rooms. We arrived after two days of purposeful overeating, not exactly in top dining form. Yet when executive chef Chris Manning sent out the amuse bouche, a foie gras crème brûlée with green apple sorbet and a glass of Brut, we managed to rediscover our appetites.
Over the next three hours, we feasted on a seven-course education in food and wine pairings: Hamachi sashimi with watermelon and coconut (2004 Étoile Brut); squash soup with tempura squash blossoms and chervil oil (2004 Domaine Chandon Chardonnay); striped bass with foie gras risotto and huckleberries (Chandon Pinot Noir rosé); Wagyu beef with polenta and black truffles (2002 Newton claret); fourme d'ambert cheese with orange blossom honeycomb.
By the time we made it to the dessert wine, we were convinced. The last sip really can be as good as the first.
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(INFOBOX BELOW)
Winery hopping, where there's more than a loaf of bread
GETTING THERE
Napa Valley is about 400 miles north of Los Angeles. The closest airport is San Francisco International, about 55 miles southwest of Napa. American, Frontier and United fly nonstop from LAX to SFO. Restricted round-trip fares start at $98.
WHERE TO STAY
Ambrose Bierce House, 1515 Main St., St. Helena; (707) 963-3003, http://www.ambrosebiercehouse.com . Quaint bed-and-breakfast (four rooms). Includes Champagne breakfast and wine and cheese in the afternoon. Doubles $189-$299.
Hotel St. Helena, 1309 Main St., St. Helena; (707) 963-4388, http://www.hotelsthelena.com . Quirky bed-and-breakfast with porcelain dolls and lots of lace. Rooms are very small, but the location is great, within walking distance of several restaurants. Continental breakfast included. Doubles with shared bath $95-$155, private bath $125-$225.
Meadowood Napa Valley, 900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena; (707) 963-3646, http://www.meadowood.com . Luxury cottages on a private estate. Spa, golf, tennis, swimming pool and restaurants on site. Doubles $500-$925, suites $675-$4,300.
WHERE TO EAT: NAPA
Cakebread Cellars, 8300 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford; (800) 588-0298, http://www.cakebread.com . Guided food-wine pairing, Thursdays and Fridays only, $20. Reservations required.
COPIA, 500 1st St., Napa; (888) 512-6742, http://www.copia.org . Exhibitions, demonstrations, wine programs and events, $5 general admission. COPIA Atrium serves wine flights with tasting plates $15-$20. Julia's Kitchen restaurant, (707) 265-5700, http://www.juliaskitchen.org . Lunch $16-$22 (four-course tasting menu $45); dinner entrees $18-$33 (six-course tasting menu $70).
Darioush, 4240 Silverado Trail, Napa; (707) 257-2345, http://www.darioush.com . Pairing, daily, of special-release wine and artisan cheese $50. Reservations required. The chef-in-residence tasting program begins in the spring.
Domaine Chandon, 1 California Drive, Yountville; (707) 204-7530, http://www.chandon.com . Étoile restaurant; (707) 204-7529. Lunch entrees $29-$34; dinner entrees $28-$37; seven-course tasting menu $95, with wine pairings $155. Reservations recommended. After 6 p.m., the Wine Tasting Salon serves a mini version of the restaurant menu with smaller portions $7-$20. Regular tastings with paired appetizers $7-$17.
Duckhorn Wine Co., 1000 Lodi Lane, St. Helena; (707) 963-7108, http://www.duckhornvineyards.com . Guided food-wine tasting program $25. Reservations required.
Peju Province Winery, 8466 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford; (707) 963-3600, http://www.peju.com . Prix-fixe four-course lunch paired with wines $40. Offered spring, summer and fall. Reservations required.
Robert Sinskey Vineyards, 6320 Silverado Trail, Napa; (800) 869-2030, http://www.robertsinskey.com . Bento-box food-wine tasting, Saturdays and Sundays only, $40. Reservations required. Culinary tour with wine and cheese tasting $30. Reservations required.
WHERE TO EAT: SONOMA
Chateau St. Jean, 8555 Sonoma Highway (Highway 12), Kenwood; (707) 833-4134, http://www.chateaustjean.com . Guided food-wine pairing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays $25. Reservations required.
De Loach Vineyards, 1791 Olivet Road, Santa Rosa; (707) 526-9111, http://www.deloachvineyards.com . Tour and artisan wine-cheese tasting, $20. Reservations required.
J Vineyards & Winery, 11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg; (707) 431-3646, http://www.jwine.com . Tasting Bar: four wines with appetizers $20. Garden Pavilion: four wines with cheeses and cured meats $30. Bubble Room: four wines with tapas $45. Reservations recommended.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton; (707) 571-8100, http://www.kendalljackson.com . Reserve wine and tapas-style food $18. Reservations required.
Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery, 10701 Westside Road, Healdsburg; (707) 473-2900, http://www.garyfarrellwines.com . Tour and tasting of four wines with crudités $10. Reservations required.
Mayo Winery Reserve Room, 9200 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood; (707) 833-5504, http://www.mayofamilywinery.com . 11 a.m.-7 p.m .daily. Also, Tasting Room at 340 Center St., Healdsburg; (707) 433-9400. Open Thursday-Monday only. Seven-course food-wine tasting at either location, $20-$25. Reservations recommended.
Simi Winery, 16275 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg; (800) 746-4880, http://www.simiwinery.com . Wine-cheese pairing with four wines, Saturdays and Sundays, $15. Reservations required.
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