Food, glorious food

Oh America I do love you but why do you serve me food in wheelbarrow proportions? I am what is known as a greedy girl, I like to eat and I have no truck with fad diets, cutting out food groups, not eating after 7pm nor "diet" foods. However, when I visit America I skip meals pretty much every day. I can't cope with the portions nor the fried/synthetic approach to so much of the food that I am presented with. This is quite the dilemma for a woman who likes to eat so I have to start digging around to discover the good places to eat.

Now there is a difference between somewhere that serves good food and somewhere that is a good place to eat. Sunday evening I discovered a lovely restaurant Celadon http://www.celadonnapa.com/ which served delicious but enormous food. The menu looks fantastic, Kobe steak with wasabi mash for example but I was left sweating after a mere polenta and roasted vegetables, no room left after that to sample the puddings which as a rule are the highlight of my meals.

I struck gold at V Wine Cellar in Yountville, http://www.vwinecellar.com/ . Not for dinner, although the cheese straws were pretty tasty but for advice on where to go that wouldn't require me to be winched from my chair afterwards. The guys suggested Oenotri and they were bang on the money.

Oenotri http://www.oenotri.com/ in Napa is a little gem of an Italian with Californian charm, squash on tables but not Californian portions. My pizza with pancetta was only marginally bigger than my head, thin, crispy and fully flavoured. The wine list is interesting and well thought out and I enjoyed my very first glass of Franciacorta, not something easily found in the UK despite cropping up in the WSET Diploma exam.

I have nothing to compare it to but the Quattro Mani Franciacorta was intense with something of the farmyard about it on the nose with hints of sweet spice, bread, lemon and baked apples on the palate. I am now in planning for an Italian leg of the sparkling tour so I can continue to taste and discover.

Fortune favours the brave so they say, so after agreeing to some company from a chef at a local restaurant on my chefs bench I was incredibly fortunate to find myself sat next to Aaron London from Ubuntu. Michelin starred Ubuntu http://www.ubuntunapa.com/, what a result! In addition to being a fascinating individual with an intense passion for food he also provided a location for my next evenings dining.

Being something of a hippy, the whole idea of Ubuntu appeals to me massively as ingredients are sourced from the restaurants bio-dynamic garden. Oh. My. Word. the raptures and joy of being served food with such freshness and vitality in America. The Michelin star is well deserved as the delicate balance of texture and flavour alongside the realistic portion size meant that I would have licked the plate clean if it had been decent to do so.

The Kohlrabi noodles were outstanding and perfectly balanced; so much so that my carnivore self didn't feel denied. Which coming from a woman who will happily eat an entire packet of Serrano ham in one go from the packet is saying something. My very favourite thing about the place was that I had room for dessert which I can state was a chocolaty triumph and the perfect end to one of the best meals I had eaten in a long time. I think I very nearly growled at the waiter who tried to take my plate before I had nigh on licked it!

If all food in America was like this there wouldn't be documentaries about people who have to have a wall knocked down so they can get out. Absolute perfection in my books and the wine is pretty darned good to boot. I had a Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose, Allimont Laugner for an aperetif followed by a glass of Marsanne, Stagecoach Vineyard, Krupp Bros. Both were excellent wines and on my next visit to Napa this is going to be one of the first places that I come!

In the interest of a balanced approach and my desire for dessert I took the tactical approach of having a side salad and cheesecake at San Francisco's Cheesecake factory. Whilst all around me people were being served their main courses in dishes the size of babies baths and skips I cut straight to the chase. Reader, it was delicious, massive but delicious. Sometimes even a girl as classy as myself must succumb to the dark side from time to time...

Holiday homes of the champenois

Being a very lucky girl, the sparkling tour this year has taken me to Taittinger in the Champagne region and Taittinger in the Napa Valley. In the guise of Domaine Carneros it is still pretty easy to spot which is Domaine Carneros if you've ever been to Taittinger's Chateau de la Marquetterie

Top: Domaine Carneros, Bottom: Ch de la Marquetterie

Domaine Carneros is home to one of the First Ladies of sparkling wine Eileen Crane. She has created a range that holds its own identity whilst retaining the classic elegance and finesse of Taittinger. Head hunted by Claude Taittinger himself, Eileen's appointment was a shrewd move in developing world class sparkling wines.

One thing the Americans have down pat is a great winery tour. I was fortunate enough to have the sole attention of Bruce Stirling who took me through a physical tour and also a tasting tour. I tried the Brut 2006, Le Reve 2004, Rose 2006, Demi-Sec 2006, Late Disgorged 2004 and the Blanc de
Noirs 2006. Across the board the wines were an impressive balance of ripe Californian fruits with crisp and refreshing acidity alongside some complex developing flavours.

Being a very English girl I was particularly enamoured with the older sparklers, Le Reve 2004 and the Late Disgorged Brut 2004. The hints of complexity and age that had come through on the 2006 had opened up a little more , showing richer bready and yeasty notes alongside the still ripe fruit flavours.

Although both wines had the capacity to age longer, the extra couple of years had made a real difference and I thought at the time how interesting it would be to see just how old it is possible to go with New World sparklers. The oldest I tried on this trip was a 1999 from Gloria Ferrer that showed some real class and sophistication without being tired. I think the goal for the next trip will be to see how old I can go and see if the fizz will hold up.

Sadly this year did not bring the opportunity to visit Louis Roederer in France but the long drive out to Philo to visit the Roederer Estate is well worth it (fill up before you go though, limited petrol stations). As you pull up the long drive to the winery on top of the hill then you are not only rewarded with an amazing view but a cracking selection of wines that are not readily available outside the US.

In a sleek and simple tasting room I tasted my way through Brut Rose Multi-Vintage, L'Ermitage 2002, Brut MV Magnum, Extra Dry MV and three still wines; Chardonnay 2007, Pinot Noir Rose 2009 and Pinot Noir 2007.  Back at the Majestic ranch in York we would always recommend the Louis Roederer Magnum mainly because it's a great Champagne but also because it adds a little something extra in a large format.

The same is definitely true of Roederer Estate in magnum. If you're celebrating anything Stateside, get your sweaty little paws on one of these gems. I love alternate format bottles anyway, there's nothing like a little half bottle of fizz and a good book for a long train journey and a magnum or jeroboam for big celebration (train journey not necessary).

I'm going to go off piste for a moment and recommend a still wine, it's OK I'll have a lie down shortly. I am something of a Francophile; I love France as a place, as a people and as a provider of wine to me. Thankfully Roederer Estate have taken some of that French style and skill in creating a Pinot Noir Rose that would give most Sancerre's a run for their money. A delicate salmon pink with crunchy red fruit flavours, cherries, raspberries and red apples with hints of vanilla, this wine is crisp, fresh and great drinking. The lightness of touch and skill in winemaking shows that California can produce very good still rose that is completely alien to the terrifying day-glo sticky sweet nightmares they are better known for.

Aside from the joy of a magnum, my sparkling recommendation from Roederer Estate has to be the L'Ermitage 2002. 52%Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir this wine is complex and interesting with hints of baked apple, lemon, almonds and toasty notes. Slightly honeyed with hints of white flowers its youthfulness betrays the eight years ageing it has had.

Roederer Estate was a fine end to my sparkling tour of the Napa Valley. Well not quite the end. I went for a sneaky glass of Dom Perignon 2002 at Napa Style. Sat next to the roaring fire, surrounded by enormous squash and pumpkins I wasn't drinking a local fizz but at that moment I couldn't have been anywhere else in the world and nor would I want to have been.