Olive & Vine
14301 Arnold Drive
Glen Ellen
(707) 996-9152
Wine Country Cuisine
Dinner Wed.-Sat.; Sunday Supper Club
Entrées: $21-$33
Excellent wine list
Olive & Vine is truly a hidden gem in the Sonoma County restaurant scene. Located in Glen Ellen’s Jack London Village, its beautiful, wooden interior features mixed furnishings, chandelier lighting, an open kitchen, and candles and fresh flowers on each table. Even the Italian flatware looks antique. Chef/owner Catherine Venturini has certainly created an amazing space with food and unpretentious, friendly service to match. Sommelier/partner John Burdick’s wine list is impressive, and chef de cuisine Julie Warner’s talents are obvious. On Sundays, the restaurant features a “supper club” with live music and a bistro-style menu that changes weekly ($10 cover).
An amuse bouche of seared tuna with tomato jam (with a bit of a kick) on a homemade fennel cracker was a great way to start the meal, along with a couple glasses of Scharffenberger Brut (nutty, smokey, almond).
Burdick paired 2009 Stark Viognier (Damiano Vineyards, Sierra Foothills) with our first course of fresh and light black cod and bok choy dumplings (with ginger broth, chili infused oils and spring pea shoots), and its smooth texture and sweet aromas fully complimented the dish’s flavors and mild level of building heat. A 2011 Louis Michel Chablis (France) went great with plump and sweet roasted gulf shrimp atop thick, herbed parmesan ramp grits and fried leeks.
A 2012 Botasea Rosé Di Palmina (Santa Barbara) paired with the Alma Tierra baby lettuces salad with sweet, local roasted beets, plenty of Marcona almonds, fennel and Redwood Hill chevre really brought out the salad’s flavors well.
A seafood risotto special had large prawns, baby tomatoes and blanched asparagus with a rich, buttery broth. The risotto was perfectly cooked (not too soft) and paired with a luscious 2011 Barbed Oak Chardonnay (Bennett Valley). Our second entrée was a thick cut of herb-crusted lamb, served medium rare (with a wonderful layer of fat!) with a slightly sweet reduction sauce and a delicious vegetable/potato cake. This was a particularly memorable pairing because it came with one of my all-time favorite Syrahs, 2010 GlenLyon Estate (Sonoma Valley; dark fruit, pepper, earthy)—and we were lucky enough to be seated next to GlenLyon’s Squire and Suzy Fridell, who are always a joy to see and who shared a special bottle of their wine with us (also amazing; it smelled like meat). It was truly a treat to have such great timing.
Dessert was “Julie’s Grandmother’s Meyer Lemon Pudding,” which came with 2005 Deerfield Ranch “The Gold” dessert wine. The pudding was rich and came with huckleberry sauce and lemon shortbread cookies, and the wine’s apricot, caramel, lemon and watermelon flavors made for an excellent ride along with the pudding—a great ending to an exceptional meal.
