Napa Valley's newest: Restaurants, places to stay, etc.
Visit Napa Valley, that area's official tourism marketing organization, has released its spring list of new restaurants, notable places to taste wine and the latest attractions.
WHERE TO EAT
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone opened Gatehouse Restaurant at its historic St. Helena property in January. Orchestrated by CIA faculty-led students, Gatehouse Restaurant is the capstone experience for CIA students. It's open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
Ottimo, the Italian market by chef Michael Chiarello, opened in January in V Marketplace, Yountville. The marketplace includes brick oven pizza, hand-pulled mozzarella, an espresso and dolci café, craft beer and wine, and a tasting bar.
Bella Bakery, a family-owned coffee shop in Calistoga, had an extensive makeover in February, with new display cases, flooring and menu boards showcasing added seasonal soups and more.
The bakery offers local-roasted coffee selections and teas. A large selection of house-made pastries, custom cakes, paninis and pizzas are offered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday only.
XiXi Bistro, a contemporary Chinese cuisine restaurant in downtown Napa, is set to open in July. Special features will include a wine-tasting room, an elegant bar and art.
Acacia House at the new Las Alcobas in St. Helena is scheduled to open this spring. The restaurant was created by chef Chris Cosentino with business partner Oliver Wharton of San Francisco's Cockscomb restaurant.
The menu at Acacia House will feature a selection of small and larger plates. Cosentino and Wharton will oversee the food and beverage components at Las Alcobas including an on-site artisan bread program with a focus on sprouted grains.
The Charter Oak, an 'elemental restaurant' by chefs Christopher Kostow and Nathaniel Dorn of the Michelin-three starred Restaurant at Meadowood, will open in St. Helena in spring 2017. The menu, with Chef Katianna Hong at the helm, will reflect the products of the Napa Valley and surrounding San Francisco Bay Area with an elemental cooking style highlighting one or two ingredients at a time.
Napa Noodles from the owners of Eiko's and Eiko's at Oxbow, will open in summer 2017 in downtown Napa. Napa Noodles will be an Asian Pacific Rim-style restaurant. Planned house specialties include house-made noodles, savory soups, slow roasted meats, seasonal salads, Peking duck, flavorful rice dishes, Asian beers, Sake, and local wines.
Charlie Palmer Steak by chef Charlie Palmer, also owner of Harvest Inn by Charlie Palmer and Harvest Table in St. Helena, is slated to open at the new downtown Archer Hotel Napa this year.
WHERE TO DRINK
Gabrielle Collection taste + opened in March in downtown Napa. It offers bites paired with Gabrielle Collection, Pietro Family Cellars and O'Connell Family Vineyard wines.
Outland opened in March. This collective tasting room represents Farella Vineyards, Forlorn Hope and POE Wine, which is only offered for tasted there. They offer flights, by the glass, as well as by-the-bottle selections.
Tannery Bend Beerworks, Napa's newest homegrown brewery, opened its taproom and brewing space south of downtown in March. Tannery Bend Beerworks is brewing beers made with unique, locally sourced ingredients.
The taproom offers an ever-changing menu of lighter fare such as grilled cheese, grilled blue crab, popcorn and more created by chef Tyler Rodde.
RiverHouse by Bespoke Collection in downtown Napa launched portfolio tasting with Bespoke Bento Box in February. The tasting is paired with a bento box from Morimoto and includes the chef's selections of sushi, tempura and teriyaki beef, adjustable for dietary needs.
B Cellars in Oakville plans to launch its exclusive heritage experience in May. The private tasting experience includes a tour of the caves, followed by a tasting in the Beckstoffer Heritage Room of wine made from Beckstoffer Heritage Vineyard sites paired with small plates.
B Cellars is the only winery in the Napa Valley that produces a wine from each one of the six Beckstoffer Heritage vineyards and the only winery that is allowed by Andy Beckstoffer to also produce a wine blended from several Beckstoffer Heritage vineyards.
Odette Estate Winery, located in Napa Valley's Stags Leap District, has achieved official status as a certified Gold-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Odette's sister property, CADE Estate Winery, was the first winery in the Napa Valley to become LEED Gold certified for the entire property, including the hospitality building, caves, and production facility.
Trefethen plans to reopen its iconic winery in Napa on May 6, after repairs of damage from the August 2014 Napa earthquake.