Valleys Of Magic

The Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California have been famous for yielding some of the best and most coveted wines in the world. Imagine a breathtaking countryside teeming with rows and rows of healthy vines, all nurtured by nippy air and rich soil. It is no surprise then that the valley area has also produced food to equal its array of excellent wines.

Located right in Napa Valley are two outstanding restaurants. Julia’s Kitchen features the much talked about creations of Julia’s Child, America’s guru of fine cuisine. Julia’s Kitchen serves a unique, tasteful risotto made of fresh Chanterelles and other country mushrooms topped with slivers of Parmesan – perfect with the light berry taste of Robert Mondavi’s La Famiglia-Sangiovese. Plus, another sizzling attraction at Julia’s Kitchen is its open kitchen, where you can clearly see the chefs having fun whipping up fabulous selections and intermingling with the guests.

Voted the best Italian restaurant in Napa Valley for 2002 is Bistro Don Giovanni. The bistro offers to-die-for buttermilk mashed potatoes and the famous Antipasti alla Toscana, an assortment of Tuscan salami, French proscuito, Provolone, and olives served with grilled garlic bread. Everything was superb, especially if you downed it with the Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Pinot Noir, a great wine that reminds you of the fineness and fragrance of a woman’s skin.

Robert Mondavi is an icon when it comes to California wines. The Robert Mondavi Winery pioneered the effort of making typical California wines by using the French influence of aging wine in French oak barrels, strictly following the dictates of the terroir, and eventually adding the master stroke of the winemaker.

In 1979, Mondavi teamed up with another great winemaker, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild to establish the Opus Winery. This winery is the most envied in the whole of Napa Valley because of its one-of-a-kind, spaceship-like architecture and its modern, state-of-the-art steel tanks and processing. The Opus Winery churns out spellbinding potions like the 1996 Opus One, a Bordeaux-style red blend comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The Opus One is so fine, so smooth, the kind you savor as much as the sight of an unspeakably beautiful woman at an intimate candlelight dinner.

Winemaking, however, is not the only preoccupation of Robert Mondavi. The man is also a very generous patron of the arts. Mondavi is the founder of and donor of $70 million to Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. Mondavi put up this modern museum in the heart of California wine country to integrate the visual arts with the gastronomic, but still aesthetic pleasures of food and wine. The museum plays host to exhibitions participated in by the leading vintners, chefs and artists. The galleries are filled with modern art and photographs by leading artists. The amphitheater resounds with concerts held occasionally, while the outdoor gardens remain serene with their plots of organically grown veggies, fruits, and herbs.

From the glass atrium lobby of the Copia’s amazing 80,000-square-foot building, you could see a dramatic view of the Napa River. As you gaze beyond the fog, beyond the dew-kissed vineyards and rolling landscape, you could behold the magic that made possible a world-renowned mix of superior wines and five-star cuisine. Despite imbibing it all and trying to decipher the reason for the valley’s exceptional food and wine, in the end the mystery and miracles of the valley remain just that – a connivance between nature and human wizardry.