Napa Valley winery’s food and wine salon is well worth checking out.
The Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, first planted in 1858, provides the backdrop for wine and food pairings at Clif Family Winery’s Enoteca salon in St. Helena. The space is two blocks west of the winery’s Main Street tasting room.
I dropped by in October 2024 for the multicourse Pasto e Vino full lunch and tasting experience. Most of the produce used in the cuisine was grown in the winery’s certified organic garden on Howell Mountain. The wines’ grapes, all estate-grown, came from either Howell Mountain vines or the Valle di Sotto Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of southern Napa Valley. A few impressions excerpted from my social media posts follow.
Amuse-Bouche
The gazpacho amuse-bouche with pistachio oil, brunoised garlic (quite the flavor burst), and cucumber paired well with the refreshing yet layered 2022 Sauvignon Blanc (58% the usual Clone 1, 42% Sauvignon Musqué), which spent beneficial time on mostly neutral French oak.
Caprese Salad
Next up was caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, cherry-tomato confit, stracciatella cheese, basil, and basil-Parmesan breadcrumbs. The 2022 Chardonnay, like the Sauvignon Blanc from Valle di Sotto Vineyard grapes, amplified the basil’s aromatics and tomatoes’ acidity and flavors.
Bruschetta and Braised Short Ribs
Bruschetta di funghi and red wine braised short ribs were paired with two very fine Zinfandels (2021 Valle di Sotto and 2021 Le Colline Vineyard, the latter just below the Howell Mountain AVA), and the 2019 Cold Springs Vineyard Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. The Zins loved the mushrooms (and vice versa); the Cold Springs Cab brought out the best in the short ribs.
Cheese and Charcuterie
Cypress Humboldt sheep cheese, Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk cheese, Journeyman Meat Co. prosciutto, and Zin-poached Asian pears. Not that we needed further proof of Cabernet’s compatibility with soft ‘n’ creamy cheeses, but this voluptuous pairing with 2019 Howell Mountain Cabs, one the Croquet Vineyard, the other the Cima blend of Cold Springs and Croquet grapes, made for a satisfying course.
Chocolate Budino
Chocolate budino was all the richer when paired with the Arriva Petite Sirah Dessert Wine.
Many thanks to the hospitality team for the food, wines, and backstory. And winemaker Laura Barrett for the beautifully crafted wines. The Enoteca experiences, well worth checking out, are available daily by appointment.
Update: Clif Family Winery was among four recipients of the 2026 California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards, recognizing “notable sustainability practices and innovation.” The winery won in the Environment category for initiatives that include adopting lightweight packaging, solar and EV charging, drip irrigation, drought-tolerant landscaping, dry-farming (when possible, to reduce water usage), wildlife corridors to preserve animal habitats, and natural pest control.
Why go: food-friendly wines; farm-to-table cuisine; vineyard-view setting.
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Address
1334 Vidovich Ave., St. Helena 94574
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