Tra Vigne Pizzerria
The Napa and Sonoma Valleys of Northern California are a traveler’s dream with luxurious resorts, beautiful scenery, world-class wineries, and outstanding restaurants. In fact, the little town of Yountville has four restaurants with Michelin stars.
The area is still largely agricultural, so there’s all kind of fresh produce in abundance. And the lifestyle and climate have attracted artisanal cheesemakers, butchers, and more. Eating well is as much a part of wine country life as enjoying great wine.
For years, French food was the main attraction with Thomas Keller’s incredible French Laundry leading the way. But new Italian restaurants, including Bottega, and old favorites like Tra Vigne, make the area heaven for lovers of Italian food.
Here’s our list of the Top 10 Italian Restaurants in California Wine Country:
1) Bottega
Owner/Chef Michael Chiarello has come a long way since his days at Tra Vigne. In the ensuing years, he’s created Napa Style, three cooking and lifestyle TV shows, and several cookbooks. After a decade out of the kitchen, he decided it was time to return, and opened Bottega in 2009. He chose the V Marketplace in Yountville, across from his Napa Style store. It’s a great location, and the pretty patio overlooks the lawn and gardens. The concept is farm-to-table, so dishes center around locally sourced ingredients prepared in a rustic Italian way. Almost everything is made in house, from scratch. Duck, rabbit, lamb, and fresh fish all shine in Chiarello’s capable hands. And desserts are fabulous.
2) Tra Vigne
“In the Vines” has been a St. Helena fixture for years. Michael Chiarello’s original wine country restaurant, it soldiered on without him for a decade, and it’s still one of the most romantic restaurants in Napa Valley. The vine-covered patio is the place to dine on dishes like roasted Dungeness crab, Pappardelle with rabbit ragu, and risotto with duck confit. The wine list features the best local products.
3) Oenotri
Specializing in the cuisine of Campania, Calbria, and Puglia, Oenotri imported their wood-burning Acino oven from Naples to ensure authentic Naples-style pizzas. After a trip to the antipasto bar, try a Margherita, lamb sausage, or summer squash pizza. Or indulge in buccatini all’amatriciana or lamb ravioli with olives. The house-made salumi is outstanding. And desserts include lavender panna cotta and wild strawberry pizzelle.
4) Bistro Don Giovanni
The town of Napa is transforming itself and these days, it’s well worth a visit. Bistro Don Giovanni, which is run by the owners of Scala Bistro in San Francisco, is the best in town for Italian food. Beef carpaccio and beet salad are two of the excellent starters, Pasta dishes include pumpkin ravioli in brown butter, sage sauce and paccheri with duck Bolognese. And the wood-burning oven is used to produce delicious thin-crust pizzas with tasty ingredients like figs and caramelized onions. Tables on the terrace near the fireplace are ideal.
5) Cantinetta Piero
Located in the new Luca Hotel in Yountville, Cantinetta Piero serves Tuscan cuisine in a beautiful dining room with vaulted ceilings and wood beams. Home-made sausage, wood-oven roasted mussels, and grilled local asparagus are wonderful ways to start your meal. And good luck deciding between the pastas, the Neapolitan pizzas, and pan-roasted halibut.
6) Della Santina
Located in the cute town of Sonoma, just off the main square, Della Santina serves the cuisine of Tuscany in an old, stone building. Specialties here include gnocchi della nonna and meats spit-roasted in a rotisserie. Three-course prix fixe dinners are a good value, and the wine list has many good selections for around $35 a bottle.
Burrata Caprese from Bottega
7) Mamma Tanino’s
Executive Chef Gaetano Patrinostro went to culinary school in Bellagio and was working at Villa d’Este while still a teenager. After gigs at world-renowned Valentino’s in Los Angeles and Corporate Chef for Warner Brothers, he landed in Sonoma. The menu features traditional Italian dishes like calamari fritti and linguine vongole.
8) Uva Trattoria & Bar
One of the liveliest places in the Napa Valley, Uva Trattoria has live jazz several nights a week. There are a few specials each night, and half a dozen pizzas, a dozen pasta dishes, and several entrees, such as roasted sea bass. The crispy little arancini rice balls are a good way to start your meal.
9) Pizzeria Tra Vigne
On Main Street around the corner from Tra Vigne, their pizzeria is the best place in wine country for a Neapolitan pizza. Start your meal with some of the yummy garlic rolls, then have a traditional Margherita or Ducati pizza with sausage and mushrooms. Or opt for something more exotic, like the Gardiniere with cauliflower and broccoli, or the Positano with fried lemons and gulf shrimp.
10) Red Grape Pizzeria
About a block from Sonoma Plaza, Red Grape has designer pizzas, a good selection of draught beers, panini sandwiches, affordable wines by the glass or bottle, and good appetizers. Try the clams casino and applewood smoked bacon pizza or the pork, brie, green apple, and caramelized onion panino.
Tra Vigne Pizzerria Image Flickr: star5112
Burrata Caprese from Bottega Image Flickr: armaburrito
