Napa Wine Pairings

By Food & Wine
Updated January 17, 2017
Terrific Napa wine pairings, including an elegant Chardonnay and a crab salad with caesar vinaigrette.
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Yukon Gold Potato, Leek and Fromage Blanc Frittata

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Dede Sampson prepared this frittata for the Oliveto staff when she applied for a pastry position at the restaurant. This recipe gets its extra-creamy texture from fromage blanc, an extremely soft cow's-milk cheese with a sour cream-like tang. Sampson buys hers from San Francisco's Cowgirl Creamery.

Pairing: 2009 Beringer Knights Valley Alluvium Blanc

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Slow-Roasted Pork

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Hunter and metal artist Audwin McGee is a big fan of slow-cooked meats: "You just can't mess up a big hunk of pork. I like to use a bone-in Boston butt or shoulder with good fat content, so it doesn't dry up." His pork is smothered in a garlic-rosemary paste, then cooked at a low temperature for several hours until it's supertender.

Pairing: 2007 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

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Crab Salad with Caesar Vinaigrette

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A blender does the work of the mortar and pestle. Store-bought roasted peppers, instead of home-roasted ones, are combined with the crunchy greens.

Pairing: 2009 Hess Collection Chardonnay

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Fideos with Shrimp, Ham and Clams

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Fideos are thin, often toasted noodles that are used in a paella-like Spanish dish called fideuá. Chris Ainsworth cooks his fideos over the grill with a saffron-scented ham-hock broth and head-on prawns, but the recipe is also good with standard shrimp.

Pairing: 2008 St. Clement Vineyards Merlot

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Fresh Vegetable Curry

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Vikram Sunderam blanches the carrots, squash and green beans individually before cooking them in the curry sauce.

Pairing: 2009 Duckhorn Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

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Orecchiette with Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes

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Using sausage in place of ground meat is a good sauce shortcut, because it's already seasoned. For a salty, creamy finish, Marc Vetri stirs in shredded provolone cheese before serving.

Pairing: 2008 SKN Merlot

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Shrimp and Avocado Salad

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Traci Des Jardins created this refreshing salad to showcase one of her favorite Latin ingredients, the avocado. She tasted her first avocado during a visit to her Grandma Salazar in Mexico; she would snack on it at taco and fruit stands on the street, where it is typically served with fresh lime juice and chile salt.

Pairing: 2009 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

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Whole Grilled Chicken with Wilted Arugula

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"I don't care if you're sophisticated, with a boatload of money," says Thomas Keller, "roasted chicken makes you feel wonderful." Cooking a whole chicken on the grill can be tricky, but Keller has perfected a method that uses indirect heat; he adds rosemary sprigs to the coals to infuse the smoke and flavor the chicken.

Pairing: 2009 Cuvaison Chardonnay

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