Over the last five years, it’s become a tradition at NorthBay biz to pose a question to a collection of Napa and Sonoma county winemakers during the harvest season. This year’s question: What would be your dream dinner, and what bottle of wine would you choose to drink with it? And because we know these winemakers create exceptional wines that we all want to drink, we asked them to choose a bottle of vino that doesn’t have their fingerprints all over it. We also invited them to share additional details such as the setting, whether there would be music and who would be their dining companions (living or not). Here’s what they have to say.
Kimberlee Nicholls
Winemaker
Markham Vineyards
My dream dinner would be centered around a roast duck. I love how versatile this dish is with different wine pairings, although I’m partial to serving it with Merlot. As for a side dish, I’m growing delicata squash in my garden right now, so I’d oven-roast that and top it with my favorite condiment, garlic chili crunch, for an extra kick. I firmly believe that items you grow yourself always taste better! Since this is a celebratory dinner for the end of harvest, I’d finish off the meal with a glass of Argyle bubbles from Willamette Valley. And of course, my dinner guests would be my lovely Markham winemaking team—I call them my dream team! We’re unique in that we have women-led winemaking, viticulture and operations teams here at Markham. They’re chipping in by bringing their favorite bottles as well, which includes a rich MacRostie Chardonnay, Artesa Albariño and vintage 1996 Champagne. Since we’ve been working around the clock throughout harvest season, this dinner is ending at 9 p.m. sharp so we can all get a good night’s sleep!
Ashley Herzberg
Winemaker
Amista Vineyards
My dream dinner would, of course, start with a bottle of sparkling wine. While my go-to would be our Amista estate grown Sparkling Grenache, for a special occasion, I would choose one of my most favorite grower champagnes: Georges Laval Cumieres. This wine is elegant and delicious and has enough texture to really stand up to a meal. My ideal meal would start with homemade double-fried French fries made from Kennebec potatoes, plus fried smelt or other small fish, served with green and purple tomatoes and kewpie for dipping, of course! (Fried foods and Champagne are one of my favorite pairings!) My dining companions would be some of my favorite winemakers from all over the world. I would love to have many countries and winemaking styles represented at the same table, all sharing wine and stories together.
Walter Leiva
Assistant Winemaker
Davis Estates
For my dream dinner the location wouldn’t matter–the people around the table would be my first priority. It would be myself, a few of my winemaker friends and the great Andrè Tchelistcheff. The cellar protocols of Andrè Tchelistcheff made their way to my desk two days ago and I’ve been reading through this 78-page manuscript documenting winemaking from 1936 to 1971. Fascinating would be an understatement. It’s nothing short of amazing to see how things have progressed in the last 50 years. I can only imagine what it would be like enjoying a delicious meal, chatting wine and winemaking with friends and “the maestro” himself, all while enjoying one of the finest wine specimens from the very same region that drove his winemaking philosophy of innovation and terroir expression.
Matthew Crafton
Winemaker
Chateau Montelena
My dream would be to host a dinner with Rene Redzepi, a Danish chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin-star restaurant, Noma, in Copenhagen paired with my wines. I’m a fan of his work and his limitless curiosity about ingredients and cuisine. Moreover, his incredible creativity and tireless work ethic are qualities I try to imitate and instill in my team here. He also seems to embody intellectual humility, constantly revising his own opinions and beliefs when new ideas, experiences or opportunities arise. Those are values we all share at Montelena. That said, I’m sure the chance of that paired dinner happening is quite low (but thankfully, not zero). Instead, I’d be elated to have dinner at Noma with my beautiful wife. She certainly deserves it after putting up with me during harvest. Given the diversity and unpredictable seasonality of the menu at Noma, the wine choice is easy: Krug Clos du Mesnil. It’s that simple. I think we’d need a bottle of the 1989 and the 1996. Why not.”
Alberto Bianchi
Winemaker
ADAMVS
I’ve always been fascinated by fine dining and the art of creating plates that contain meaning and move people. Often, I also feel that prime, natural ingredients with just a slight human touch is what I lean towards. As for my dream dinner, I’d say my mind goes towards simplicity. On a fresh day in May, I’d like to drive down to San Francisco, pick up Gerry Garcia on Haight-Ashbury and then walk together to Polk Sreet at Swan Oyster Depot. Once there, we would order Sicilian sashimi and Kumamoto oysters with a couple of glasses of aged Chateau Mont Redon Chateauneuf du Pape blanc. We would then finish with a plate of Dungeness crab claws, sipping from a magnum of Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus, discussing what songs he will play in his up-and-coming 2023 tour! And of course, I’d ask him to autograph a couple of records for me. That would be a nice day!
Giovanni Balistreri
Winemaker, Founder, Managing Partner
Russian River Vineyards
My dream dinner would be seared duck breast with a side of rack of lamb and Osso Boco for dessert, as Frank Sinatra plays in the background. As a child growing up, we were raised to live off the land. Many of our meals that my family shared together were raised or grown on our property. The wine that I would enjoy with this meal was made by my winemaking mentor, Anthony Austin. The wine would be a 1983 Austin estate Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara. This wine won the World’s Best Wine in the early 1980s. I’d share this meal with my lovely wife, Ashley, and my Nonna and Nonno, my grandparents, who are no longer with us. Growing up, these grandparents instilled all of the core values that I live my life by today and that I will pass on to my kids. We spent every summer at Dillon Beach, so that would be the perfect location to experience this once in a lifetime meal with family!
Craig McAllister
Winemaker
La Crema Winery
I have been very lucky to travel both for work and pleasure—so my dream dinner would be a multicultural feast comprised of some of the memorable dishes from those travels. Fish & chips from my homeland (New Zealand), shawarma from Jerusalem, Malaysian fish curry, tonkatsu & yakitori from Tokyo and a meze (all 10 to 14 courses) from Cyprus—just for a start.
I’d be looking for a fairly versatile wine for this dinner so I’m going to go with Grosset Polish Hill Riesling from Australia’s Clare Valley. It’s a wine that I tried first while studying winemaking and has been a favorite since.
As for my dinner guests, I’d love to have dinner with my parents one more time. I have long thought that Sir David Attenborough would be the most amazing dinner guest, Lynda Carter gets an invite, and just for entertainment, I’d also invite Billy Connolly and Keith Moon.
