OENOTRI - A Southern Italian Restaurant in Downtown Napa

Jenny Benzie and Sur Lucero

Having lived on the East Coast for more than five years now, it is easier sometimes to get to European wine destinations than those on the West Coast.  It has been some time since I visited Napa (the town and/or the wine area), especially since I moved to Florida from California.  Oh, my - how Napa has grown and changed!  I was fortunate enough to be invited by Angela and Seth Raynor (owners of The Pearl on Nantucket where I worked this summer) on an end-of-season thank you/research and development trip with the chefs and managers of their three restaurants.  With seven out of ten in our group being chefs, needless to say... there was going to be a lot of food involved in our East Coast Meets West Coast adventure.

Open Kitchen at Oenotri

First stop along the way was OENOTRI, located in downtown Napa across from the AVIA Hotel.  The restaurant features Southern Italian cuisine while showcasing 'local, fresh, in-season ingredients.'   Specials for the evening our written on brown butcher paper on the wall at the bar.  Another feature of Oenotri are the pizzas from the wood-fueled oven.  Our group was hosted that evening by Maria Helm Sinskey, Culinary Director at Robert Sinksey Winery.  Maria had arranged with Chefs Curtis de Fede and Tyler Rodde a special tasting menu for us that high-lighted what the restaurant does best (see the attached menu).  The restaurant was full this evening and people were waiting for our tables at the bar as we left.  Tourists and local wine peeps alike could be seen in this bustling place, a great sign that an Italian restaurant is so well supported in Napa Valley.

I have been on several wine and culinary adventures; you soon learn to pace yourself throughout the evening for both food and wine.  I was delighted and surprised to see Sur Lucero as our Sommelier for the evening!  Sur and I traveled together just a year ago in Italy as recipients of the Banfi Vintners Scholarship through the Guild of Sommeliers.  While Sur chose all Italian wines for us, he told me that 35% of his list are wines from the Napa Valley.

Maria Helm Sinskey, Sur Lucero, Angela Raynor

Let the meal begin: our selection of house-cured meats was amazing.  I loved the presentation on the 'lazy-susan' made from the end of a wine barrel.  Our wine selection as an aperitif and for the first course was Tiefenbrunner's Feldmarschall 2008.   The wine is made from Müller-Thurgau (riesling x sylvaner), a grape that matures early, is lower in acid and mildly fruity. This is a winery high in the Dolomiti of Italy where I have had the pleasure to visit many years ago.



Our treviso/puntarella salad was delicious.  Fresh, crisp, slightly bitter - which I thought would be somewhat of a challenge for wine pairing.  Sur proved this not to be the case - Biondi M.I. 2007 from Etna (Sicily, think volcano...), made from a blend of 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Cappuccio.  This wine was decanted and had a slight bitterness as well that matched accordingly with the food.



 

Next came the house-made pennette with mozzerella di bufala.  The cheese becomes delightfully stringy as it cools, so this dish is called the 'telephone wire' as you pull a bite to eat.  The simplicity and execution of this dish made it a winner for the chefs in my group.  Our wine pairing (another winner with the challenge of tomato sauce) was Arnaldo-Caprai 'Collepiano' Sagrantino di Montefalco 2004.



I was most impressed with our last wine and talked about it the rest of my trip.  Macarico Aglianico del Vulture 2004 from Basilicata.  (Mind you, when I was first studying wine, someone in my study group came up with 'Vultures eat Basil' to remember that the wine region and the grape go together!)  This wine had depth, character and resonated on my palate obviously for days later.  Its' strength and meatiness was a nice accompaniment to the mild gaminess of the cotechino and blood sausage with parmesan fonduta.

And my favorite course - dessert! - was a winner for all.  Something that may seem not so hard to make, yet usually falls apart easily, our vanilla bean panna cotta was just firm enough to wiggle on the plate and still stay intact.  Bravo!  While the pears added a nice flair to the plate, I would have preferred another piece of the dolce.

What a fabulous way to start my trip - great food, new and old friends, and wines to prepare my palate for a week long of tasting!