Auction Napa Valley has long been considered the premier wine auction for charity in the country with over a thousand people flying from all parts of the world to bid on lots that include trips to Paris with a visit to Chanel’s apartment, cars with eight cases of different wines and sometimes just excellent wine.
For a poor, ethnic boy growing up in Baltimore (and other parts of the South), to be at place where thousands of dollars are thrown out in the name of charity is like a “pinch me” moment (kind of like going to the Academy Awards…but that made me feel “why am I here” instead of “pinch me”.)
Thursday Evening, June 4, 2009
Paul and I stayed at our friends’ guesthouse, Paul and Sophia Hendricks, owners of Napa Valley Adventure Tours which produces biking, kayaking, and rock climbing tours of NapaValley . They work very hard at creating an unusual experience apart from the wine tasting tours that proliferate American Wine Country. We paired a delicious Signorello Rose, made from pinot noir grapes, with cheese and vegetarian pasta that Paul seemingly whipped up; this pasta had tasty, meat-less meatballs in the marinara sauce.
Friday Morning and onto Afternoon of June 5, 2009:
After our wonderful meal, we still had the rest of the weekend ahead of us and I knew that exercise would most likely be needed but to no avail. Paul, Dan (my colleague from SF/ BMC) and I made our way into the Barrel Auction at Robert Mondavi Winery. Here we would find about 50 restaurants and catering companies paired with about a 100 wineries and vintners where they do a small sampling of what they do best: create great small bites with great tastings of wines from around the Valley. Imagine 50 restaurants sampling things like Brannan’s, from Chef Greg Elliott, homemade crackers smeared with rhubarb compote, a goat cheese brie, drizzled with a Meyer lemon reduction and served with a micro green for color. Drink it with a Swanson syrah rose and POW!; try a Signorello Cabernet paired with Cindy Pawlcyn’s rib; or Ceja Vineyards Chardonnay eaten with the pork-belly brioche sandwich. Dean and Deluca did a masterful take on the niciose salad by combining fresh tuna, herbs and olives on top of a Yukon potato slice. I had this with the Etude rosé. Yep, one notch taken out of the belt and this was an afternoon affair. Paul and I ran into our friends, Penny McTaggart, always fashionable, from Platinum Publishing and her wonderful husband, David Rappaport.
Evening of June 5, 2009:
Pierro Selvaggio of the famed Valentino’s in Santa Monica and Las Vegas allowed his chef, Luciano, from Valentino’s Las Vegas to cook for the opening of Auction Napa Valley. Paul and I met two great press people, Marion Fox and Stephanie Matteis. Also, at our table, was Steve Deavitt formerly of Signorello and now, winemaker for Darioush, plus we had some great food. This included some tasty appetizers which guests stood around the pool of Signorello Vineyards and (I won’t say grazed) devoured Spicy Shrimp Skewers, bite-sized Fontina and Ham Pockets dipped in a homemade marinara sauce, Baked Mozzarella wrapped with Bacon and Snake River Farms Grilled Braciolina served with a Tomato Dipping Sauce dished up with a 2007 Signorello Seta, an enchanting blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, perfect for warm outdoor weather eating.
I know some people think all I do is eat and drink. Quite frankly, that is all I think I do as well but this was a great meal underneath the Napa stars. The antipasto was followed by an informal sit-down dinner included another sampler of various Italian dishes and the 1996 Signorello Estate Chardonnay which was this sun-kissed liquid gold poured softly into a glass which had great depth and richness. We then had a savory Chicken Tortellini Timbale with tomato, mushroom and cream, paired with Signorello’s 1996 Las Amigas Vineyard Pinot Noir. I really liked this but Paul wasn’t crazy about the presentation as his fell. (Mine was stunning.)
By this time, another notch had come off my belt loop but we then had Snake River Farms Kobe Beef Medallions served with White Spring Asparagus and a reduction sauce…needless to say, the beef was tender and I was able to cut through it with my fork. It literally melted on my tongue. I would have had seconds but I knew that we had dessert, a chocolate torte with a Bailey’s crème sauce and I had two more days of this.
Saturday, June 6, 2009: Late morning and early afternoon
Over 100 people were lucky enough to be invited to Signorello Vineyard’s BBQ and Pool Party which is one of the best invites during AuctionNapaValley. Essentially, it’s a barbeque with franks and burgers, salad, et al. However, as previously mentioned, Signorello Vineyards overlooks Napa Valley and the Oakville Appellation right off of Silverado Trail and pretty much centered in the middle of American Wine Country, it is one of the best locations for an outdoor event. The burger and franks were made by Snake River Farms and quite frankly are the best on the market. Boulevard in San Francisco makes their own burger using meat from this purveyor but you have to be careful as SF’s best burger is only to be had early in the week and only during lunch. Regardless, passed around by the waitstaff were wood-fired pizzas and other little nibbles poolside. Of course, everyone was running around in skimpy bathing suits and Ray Signorello was almost thrown into the pool by a bevy of lovelies. (They stopped because of the protesting of a Blackberry in his pocket.)
That evening….and thankfully, The Last Supper.
We were invited by Ray to Go Fish, Cindy Pawlcyn’s newest restaurant and the only seafood establishment in Napa. We started off in the garden with an amazing French rose champagne, Rene Geoffrey, and snacked on piping hot gougeres, chicken satay and crabcakes before going into the dining room. We had fresh sushi, bigeye tuna and lamb paired with Signorello chardonnay, syrah and cabernet sauvignon.
It was a great time had by all and some of the best food West of the Mississippi, if not the tastiest in all of Napa. Hopefully, next year, you can join us….we will run a marathon in between, you betcha.
