Napa Valley in August

B and I headed up to Napa with some friends to take advantage of the perks that came with our new Goldeneye wine club membership – free tastings at their sister wineries. We’d been to Duckhorn before (great merlots), so we decided to give Paraduxx a try. But first, we needed to get some food into our systems!

We had lunch at Bottega Restaurant. I had wanted to try it after a friend gave it high praises, so I had made reservations as soon as we planned to go to Napa. However after watching the latest episode of Top Chef Masters (TCM) a few days before our trip, I had almost canceled our reservations. Chiarello’s display of his big, nasty ego left a very bad taste in my mouth, and I didn’t want to support someone like that. However, since the recommendation came from a trusted foodie friend, I decided to give Bottega a try and hope that “reality" television editing made Chiarello seem much worse than he really is.

The restaurant is hidden in the back corner of a strip of other restaurants and shops, so it was a little hard to find. Walking up, I noticed their huge patio shaded by a bright orange awning and wished I had known to request outdoor seating with my reservation (of course, it was already filled). Fortunately, the inside of their restaurant was also quite pleasant and we got a table by the window. Bottega had a rustic yet contemporary feel to it – exposed brick walls, high ceilings, large black metal fixtures.

First up was the salmon tartare and halibut crudo. I was immediately impressed by the presentation – it came on a huge pink salt block. The salmon tartar was good, but didn’t stand out. I enjoyed the silky texture of the fresh halibut, but found the strong licorice/anise flavor of the fennel seed topping to overpower the delicate fish.
Next was the ‘polenta under glass’. I have never seen polenta come in a jar before so I thought the presentation was interesting. The polenta was rich and creamy, and the earthy flavors of the caramelized sautéed mushrooms made a perfect complement.
For my entrée, I had the chitarra-cut spaghetti with white gulf prawns. This dish tasted exactly like I had hoped it would. The hand-cut spaghetti had the springy texture of homemade pasta. The tomato-fennel sauce captured the rich, seafood flavor of the prawn heads, without being overwhelmingly fishy or cloying. The portion size was also just right – just enough to not leave me wanting more, but also didn’t leave me feeling stuffed (a difficult thing for me to balance given my large appetite!)
What *did* put me over the top was dessert! A warm, milk chocolate cake topped with crème anglaise and hazelnut toffee. This dessert is made-to-order so we literally got it right out of the oven. The cake was warm and fluffy like a dense soufflé, and it had that gooey molten center that I dream about. The crunchy texture of the hazelnut toffee provided a nice contrast.
The service was great. Our waitress was helpful and efficient – she even timed our dessert and brought our check out in advance so we could make our wine tasting appointment on time. Chiarello didn’t walk around the restaurant that day, so I can’t say whether he comes off as cocky in person as he did on TCM. However, I will say that his food did taste as good as they looked on the show. I will be back to Bottega.

After stuffing ourselves, we made our way over to Paraduxx. The winery has a much more modern look to it than its sister wineries. We were escorted to the back patio for our tasting. The area was set up well - only a few tables with sleek black Adirondack-like chairs, shaded with big umbrellas. It was a great atmosphere to sit back and drink lots of wine. We tasted 8 wines, each accompanied by a ‘postcard’ of the particular wine’s label filled with information and tasting notes on the back. I like the concept of their wine labels – different stamps with pictures of ducks. Paraduxx specializes in zinfandels, and we tasted their current releases as well as their limited production wines. I really liked their zins – they much more body than typical zins because of their higher cabernet sauvignon content, and you could taste many different layers of fruit and spice.
B and I purchased the 2004 Paraduxx because that was our favorite. Here is a Wine News review that describes the wine better than I ever could: “Dense inky purple hue. Spicy scents of powdered chocolate, nuts and earth. Dusty entry with spicy terroir notes that showcase raspberry flavors and echoes of walnut and mocha from this unusual blend of zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Rich and coating on the close with ripe berries and oak-laced tannins. 92 points”
We then went to Salvestrin Winery, a tiny family-owned winery that’s been around for almost 100 years. The tasting room manager was really friendly. We had the room to ourselves, and he sat at our table talking to us for quite a while. He also gave us recommendations for other small wineries, which I noted for my next trip to Napa. That’s what I love about the smaller wineries – the personal dialog and attention. Salvestrin makes more red wines, but I thought their 2008 Estate Sauvignon Blanc was the most interesting. It was bright and crisp, and had a very unique honeysuckle taste.

Believe it or not, we were hungry again. We had overheard people talking about Pizzeria Tra Vigne, so we decided to check it out. We immediately ordered a pitcher of strawberry lemonade to wake up our taste buds after all that heavy wine. We then had the chicken salad, the margherita pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil), and the ducati pizza (spicy Italian sausage, capicola, sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom, mozzarella, and tomato sauce). The food was just ok. The crusts should have been more crispy, and the margherita pizza was lacking that fresh mozzarella taste. At least the italian sausage on the ducati pizza had a good kick to it.

BITE METER:
Bottega Restaurant - 4.0 bites (out of 5)
Paraduxx Winery - 4.0 bites (out of 5)
Salvestrin Winery - 3.0 bites (out of 5)
Tra Vigne Pizzeria - 2.5 bites (out of 5)