Napa Valley: Do a brunch and wine pairing at one of Napa’s newest tasting rooms

Wine pairings in Napa aren’t hard to come by. With more than 450 wineries in the region,  you’ll find a tasting room just about anywhere you go. But a breakfast wine pairing? Now, that’s a rarity.

Winemaker Gabrielle O’Connell from O’Connell Family Wines, which includes the Gabrielle Collection and Pietro Family Cellars labels, first began offering breakfast pairings at her now-shuttered tasting room in downtown Napa. Now she’s doing brunch pairings at Feast it Forward, a winery collective space next to Napa’s Oxbow Public Market.

“I thought (the pairings) would be fun,” O’Connell says. “It’s something different.”

The pairings ($75) offer vinophiles the chance to get a brunch-y start to their day in Napa with a menu that highlights fresh, organic fare from the winery’s estate garden and local farmers markets. Four wines are served with seasonal tartines offering combinations such as Pietro Family Cellars chardonnay and avocado toast, topped with caramelized bacon that uses O’Connell’s own lavender honey. The 2019 Pietro Sauvignon Blanc might be accompanied by a toasted bagel topped with whipped mascarpone, wild fennel sea salt and smoked salmon, for example, while a Pietro red blend arrives with a jambon buerre-topped baguette slice spread with basil compound butter.

Along with the inventive dishes prepared on-site, O’Connell is also keen to create pairings not everyone expects — fish alongside red wines instead of white, for example — and showcase items from her Gabrielle Lifestyle brand, such as that lavender honey and a pomegranate rim sugar.

Afterwards, stroll through the wine collective at The Studio at Feast It Forward and the adjacent outdoor space, The Yard, where you can sample sips from such wineries as Acre Wines, B. Wise Vineyards, Nottingham Cellars and Yates Family Vineyards. And it’s easy to build out the day’s itinerary without going far.

The 40,000-square-foot Oxbow Public Market next door offers seating on the wraparound deck,  tempting eateries and a variety of shops, from Oxbow Cheese and Wine Merchant and the Olive Mill to Napa Bookmine. Craving margaritas and tacos? Head for C Casa. In a burger state of mind? Gott’s Roadside, where the menu offers half a dozen riffs on the burger theme, fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, fries, salads and more.

If You Go