Eat your way up – or down – wine country with this handy planner.
Grove 45
Put a twist on your wine-trail weekend with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting. Learn to distinguish between old- and young-tree EVOOs, nosh on bread and paired bites – and, yes, pair it all with a glass of vino.
965 Silverado Trail N, Calistoga, grove45.com
Goose & Gander
“Make sure to sit in the basement bar,” anyone in Napa Valley will tell you about this longtime gastropub classic. The sticky pigs ears will utterly rewire your notions about ear consumption.
1245 Spring St., St. Helena, goosegander.com
Lovina
Among this Calistoga eatery’s many steady charms: a cocktail program based on “gins” and “whiskeys” that the bar manager steeps using a lower-proof sake-vodka hybrid. The umami-centric menu is great, too, including trufflized deviled eggs.
1107 Cedar St., Calistoga, lovinacalistoga.com
PRESS
Newly anointed with a Michelin star, this tasting-driven fine-dining restaurant will prove a high point for fans of post-nouvelle French-American cuisine. Chef Philip Tessier captivates with phsyics-defying pillows of ricotta gnudi (pictured), a procession of etheral rhubarb desserts and a caviar pretzel first course that fans have taken to calling “crack pretzel.”
587 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena, pressnapavalley.com
FARM at Carneros
Valley dining legend Chris Bianco worked his magic on the menu at this farm-driven resort restaurant. Look for his telltale, hand-drawn pasta genius, including veal lasagna and osso bucco with pickled kumquat.
4048 Sonoma Hwy., Napa, farmatcarneros.com
