WINE COUNTRY ELEVATES PAIRINGS TO AN ART FORM
Not too long ago, visitors to wineries had limited food options, and restaurant-goers had to rely on servers for wine suggestions to pair with their meals. However, the wine scene in northern California has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, and the new norm is a heightened focus on culinary excellence that deserves attention.
While not all wineries in northern California offer food pairings, some do much more than provide them; they hire onsite chefs and create culinary experiences typically found in full-service gourmet restaurants. And it’s not just the wineries; restaurants are raising the bar high, too. These Napa and Sonoma spots are setting new standards using leading wine and bites experts who have made the traditional cheese and charcuterie board a thing of the past.
- Cakebread
One sure sign that you are in for a culinary treat is an onsite garden promising as-fresh-as-it-gets dishes. Cakebread’s Executive Chef Brian Streeter has been highlighting Cakebread Cellars’ world-class wines with seasonal, product-driven menus since 1989. His expertise shines in his hands-on cooking classes at the winery and an annual American Harvest Workshop at the winery’s Rutherford location, a four-day “boot camp” for chefs, sommeliers, press, and consumers.
For the Perfect Pair tasting, Cakebread’s culinary team gets creative with whatever’s growing in the winery’s garden. The wines are paired with inventive bites like red flint corn polenta with burrata, chiles, and artichokes. Another sublime summer pairing—grilled little gem lettuces with harissa shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and a preserved lemon dressing with 2020 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve.
- B Cellars
Napa Valley’s B Cellars Oakville Trek tasting starts with a tour of B Cellars’ garden and estate grounds and concludes with a seated wine and food pairing. If you’re lucky, the man behind it all, Chef Derick Kuntz, will stop by your table for a chat.
His pairings include 2022 B Cellars Rosé with Bahn Mi Lettuce Wrap (pork loin, Fresno chili aioli, and pickled vegetables) and 2022 Game Farm Vineyard Sangiovese with Tempura Squash Blossom and Ratatouille with basil pesto and cherry tomato.
- Farmhouse Inn
One benefit of restaurant over winery pairings is that most restaurants are not tied to a winery and can incorporate a wide variety of libations in their pairings. Farmhouse Inn is a perfect example, using everything from Vincent Joudart Brut Reserve Cote de Blancs Champagne to Kamonishiki Junmai Daigingo Nama Niigata from Japan. Two recent notable pairings are Abalone Shell with 2022 Processus Maria Gomes Western Cape, South Africa, and Apple Mooncake with 2005 Château Raymond-Lafon en Magnum Sauternes.
- The Matheson
Set in the culinary town of Healdsburg, Matheson’s culinary level is exceptionally high, so when owner Dustin Valette’s wine, 2021 Valette Wines Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, was awarded 100 points, the wine pairings were already destined for greatness. Owen Bargreen (Vinous and Decanter) loved the wine, writing that it is “a must-taste for any lover of Napa Cabernet.” Chef Valette paired his prized wine with Butter-Roasted “Eye of Ribeye” with preserved blackberry, garlic confit, beef bushi, and black truffle.
A chef’s kiss goes to the 2020 Valette Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir pairing with Cherry-glazed Liberty Farms duck with poached Ranier cherry, cocoa nibs, and caramelized shallot. Valette’s Chief Operating Officer, Michael Riel, summarized the restaurant’s philosophy: “We believe that food and wine belong together and become more enjoyable when paired right.”
- Sequoia Grove
Sequoia Grove is known for its location, which is flanked by towering Sequoia redwoods, and for being one of the first five Napa Valley vineyards certified under Napa Green guidelines. Inside its 1908 tasting barn, surrounded by sustainably farmed vineyards, Sequoia Grove’s Executive Chef, Spencer Conaty, showcases the variety of ways Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon can be paired with food. Conaty’s background in Japanese and Michelin-starred cuisine brings a unique twist, complementing the flavors in the wines in unexpected ways.
Experience a multi-course tasting to discover the surprising versatility of Cabernet Sauvignon when placed in expert chef’s hands. The journey features the single-vineyard Reserve Cabernet and Cambium paired with unconventional dishes: 2019 Tonella Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon with Parisienne Gnocchi with seasonal mushrooms, winter squash, and celery root puree and 2017 Cambium with Cassoulet Toulousain with pork belly, duck confit, and house sausage.
- Bricoleur
Another sign of a real palate winner? An onsite chicken coop like Bricoleur’s Poulailler. With one of the largest fruit, vegetable, and flower gardens around, Bricoleur was already spoiled for choice. Then add winemaking legends Bob Cabral and Cary Gott, assisted by Tom Pierson, and estate chefs Thomas Bellec (Master Chef of France by Maîtres Cuisiniers de France) and Todd Knoll (formerly of Jordan and the Ritz-Carlton) and James Beard Award-winning Chef Charlie Palmer. You know your dining experience will be a slam dunk.
Opt for the Rooted (six-course) or Soaring (three-course) food and wine pairing. They constantly evolve to reflect the seasonality of the estate’s internationally acclaimed, sustainably farmed culinary gardens, which won Slow Food International’s Snail of Approval for growing good, clean, and fair food.
A few of their recent pairings include 2023 Rosé of Grenache with Rose Water Poached Shrimp with Feta & Melon, 2022 Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc with European White Asparagus and Sacramento Delta Green Asparagus, broken brown butter and grapefruit vinaigrette, kumquat marmalade grapefruit glass, and 2022 Estate Chardonnay with wild fennel and Sonoma Dungeness crab bisque cauliflower mushroom with roasted fennel frond.
- Silver Trident
It might not rise to the heights of culinary excellence like others on this list, but Silver Trident in Yountville is the most exciting place for potato chip lovers to taste wine. Who knew that Route 11 sour cream-flavored potato chips could be improved with a glass of Silver Trident Symphony No. 9 Sauvignon Blanc or that Zapp’s Cajun Dill chips could enhance Silver Trident Benevolent Dictator Pinot Noir? Silver Trident wins the gold for wine pairing deliciousness without an onsite chef. And it gets bonus points for offering a special treat tasting for our four-legged friends.