St Francis Winery & Vineyards has been a favorite stop of mine for some time. Not only do they pour a fierce glass of wine, but the landscaping, tasting room, staff & atmosphere are lovely.
I had visited them in the Fall recently when the leaves are yellow and the backdrop of the mountains beyond couldn’t be more picturesque. See the Blog Entry Here – St Francis Knows His Food & Wine Pairings
Recently they have been Voted #1 in America by Open Table! Congrats to the amazing Executive Chef David Bush and St Francis Winery.
OpenTable Best Restaurants: http://www.opentable.com/best-
Sonoma Restaurants: http://www.opentable.com/ca/
Chef Bush has an unconventional approach to pairing the best of Sonoma County ingredients with the exceptional, handcrafted wines of St. Francis.
His passion for intense flavors leaves an unforgettable impression on the many guests who experience his multi-course Wine & Food Pairing at St. Francis Winery.
I was recently asked to attend a Media Dinner at the lovely San Francisco Wine Center on Bryant. This was an intimate evening aptly named St. Francis in The City.
The dynamic wine making team of Katie Madigan and Chris Louton dined with us and were able to present each wine to us with a background.
All the while Chef David Bush dazzled us with his creative California cuisine. And I mean dazzled folks.
CEO Christopher Silva was also on hand to tell us more about the history of the winery and plans for the future. I sat between the lovely Katie Madigan, winemaker and the equally lovely Aura Bland, marketing extraordinaire. Great seat.
If you visit the winery itself, at their seated, multicourse Wine & Food Pairing, Chef creates an assortment of small dishes to pair with hand-selected artisan wines.
Guests enjoy stunning vineyard views and a fine dining presentation at a shared table. Each seating is hosted by a St Francis wine expert.
This intimate dinner really captured the experience that the winery offers. At the vineyards, they offer three delicious and distinctively unique wine and food tasting experiences including a cheese selection, food & wine pairing and private estate dinners.
I enjoyed the group that was invited, including Sunset Magazine Wine Editor Sarah Schneider, Marin Magazine’s Mimi Towle and Kirstie Martinelli, “Dining Around” on Talk 910, Clear Channel Media + Entertainment Host Joel Riddell, “Check, Please! Bay Area” Producer Tina Salter, Gastronomique En Vogue’s Donte Young and Matthew Brandalise, 7×7.com contributor Renee Alexander, and blogger Angela Petersen of “Far & Wise.
Terrific to enjoy food and wine with others who enjoy a lifestyle filled with the same. I was impressed at the passion of the winemakers as they spoke of picking the grapes in the evening hours and about how important going organic was to the winery itself after years of effort.
I was also impressed that they spoke on the groundwater and solar programs that they were running to preserve the environment and water supplies for future generations.
St Francis has taken terrific steps in creating & culinary, winery and vineyard company that Sonoma County can be proud to call “local” to “Real Wine Country.”
I highly recommend trying a food and wine pairing with St Francis. For the price, it cannot be beat when it comes to experiences in Sonoma County. As you can see from the photos, it is not to miss.
Thank you again to Emily and Michael at Cinch PR for the invitation to a wonderful event. I enjoyed meeting you at Sonoma Tastemakers and again at this event.
Also big thanks to all those who participated from the winery itself and the SF Wine Center, a beautiful location for a lovely dinner with friends.
Afterward the event- myself, Katie and Angela all went out for bubbles and girl talk. Terrific night in the city when three girls stalking a hot Canadian who may or may not be around….ha (inside joke folks)
…..Can find a bar who holds “Taco Tuesdays” and yet still has a beautiful bottle of Perrier Jouet French bubbles for us to enjoy together!!
*Clink *Clink
Cheers all until the next..
[…] have visited many times since this post – See our Full Food &Wine Article Here… for photos of the fabulous food and wine pairings you will dine on at St Francis should you […]