The Napa Valley of California has been producing wine since before the US Civil War. The first vintner to take advantage of the Napa’s climate and soil was Charles Krug, who opened the first commercial winery in 1861.
In 1976 the Judgement of Paris, a blind wine taste testing by experts, showed several Napa-grown wines to be the equal or even superior to their finest French counterparts. Napa is now one of the world’s premier wine growing regions, rivaling Germany, France and Italy.
The average price per bottle at Napa Valley wineries crossed the $100 mark in 2022, with the average cost of a higher-end tasting reaching $128 per person. World-renowned hotel names have followed the wine-loving crowd, bringing well-heeled visitors into this bucolic agricultural area. One of the newest is the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley.
The hotel is located just outside the scenic town of Calistoga, about a two-hour drive from San Francisco. In addition to its outstanding service, premier guest rooms and prime view of the lush hills and vineyards, the Four Seasons Napa Valley lures travelers and locals with the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Calistoga, Chef Rogelio Garcia’s Auro. The restaurant, which received a star in 2023, just received a 2024 Michelin star as well.
The Four Seasons Napa Valley opened in November 2021 and grew its popularity despite COVID. The expansive 85-room Five-Star hotel is built around the Elusa Winery. The winery has about 4.7 acres of cabernet sauvignon vines on the property. The high-end winery holds tours that include cheese, charcuterie and “Cabernet and Caviar.”
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On a tour of Elusa’s production facilities and barrel ‘cave,’ I asked a vintner how many 12-bottle cases of wine they sell each year. “Two thousand,” he said. “How do you make money?” “Our higher-end wines sell for $180 a bottle.”
When we decided to visit the Four Seasons Napa Valley to celebrate a special occasion, we decided to fly up from LA, rather than drive. And we decided not to rent a car at Oakland Airport, instead riding on the hotel shuttle.
I have long felt that driving and wine tastings is a poor mix. Although it limited our excursions to the vineyards around the Four Seasons and the nearby town of Calistoga, we never regretted not having a car.
We walked into Calistoga once and biked there again and enjoyed the tasting rooms in town without fear of a DUI. The area is not only scenic, but flat and walkable. A walk into town took perhaps 20 minutes. The hotel offers cruising bicycles to Four Seasons guests, along with locks and helmets, for no additional charge. The key is to limit riding on Silverado Trail, the main drag through Napa Valley, where drivers often go well over the posted 45-mph speed limit.
In addition to Elusa, the winery on the Four Seasons property, we tried two tasting rooms in the quaint town of Calistoga. One, Romeo, was a shady spot with its fence wrapped in American flag bunting. Under an enormous tree, we sat and enjoyed our bargain $30 tasting.
We also tried the very non-traditional Tank Garage, whose tasting room was in a converted gas station. Over the bar was a giant sign reading “Lubrication.” The brand boasted of its “non-vintage” wine, such as a so-called ‘super Tuscan’ that contained 7% Super Tuscan grapes and various varietals. Tank had a punk rock sensibility, from its Sex Pistols-inspired wine labels to its cassette-case style shipping boxes and Evel Knievel pinball machine.
The Four Seasons made a great base for such explorations. The hotel was a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the warm but bearable outside temperatures on the big terrace with a view of the vineyards. When it got too hot to read or drink outside, the comfortable bed and furniture beckoned.
It’s a short walk to cool off in the resort pool or the adult pool. The sparkling resort pool, surrounded by lounge chairs and cabanas, shimmered on a hot day.
The Four Seasons Napa Valley also has a fitness center and a wonderful spa, where I enjoyed the rare luxury of a head-to-toe massage. My wife went for a facial and a do-it-yourself mud bath.
Room service, like our delicious breakfast of eggs and French toast, were just a touch of the room iPad away.
The hotel has three restaurants. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the beautiful Truss. It offers indoor and outdoor dining with an unbeatable mountain and vineyard view. There’s Campo, a casual Cal/Mexican lunch and snack place by the pool.
And then there’s Auro. Auro, helmed by Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia, with experienced sommelier Derek Stevenson, was recognized as the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Calistoga, California.
Four Seasons has made getting Michelin stars something of an obsession since its first in Paris in 2000. Four Seasons now has a total of 34 Michelin stars, eight ahead of its closest competitor.
At Auro's Wine Dinner Series, the food and wine is sourced from Napa Valley's local artisans. A highlight is the beautiful and creative designs of the dishes.
We dined on the restaurant’s outdoor deck as a harpist played, while the sun slowly descended. The table was set with arrays of fresh flowers, and many, many wineglasses. Chef Garcia explained the food as it was set before us. Smiling managers decanted the wine into oddly curved glass containers. Sous chefs and servers presented great cuts of wagyu beef and fish seemingly plucked straight from the ocean.
Menus to honor dietary restrictions and allergies are available by request when booking your reservation. The servers were extremely solicitous of my no-shellfish, request. When they brought out the Kinki fish, they asked me if it was all right that it fed on shellfish. “Of course,” I said.
Auro offers a vast selection of wine, and a highly knowledgeable sommelier, so everyone should find something they like. However, if you have something in your cellar waiting for a special occasion, the hotel offers corkage as well.
The pairings on Chef Garcia’s Wine Country Tasting Menu were delicious. The menu changes, of course, but the sushi quality of the 10-day Dry-aged Hiramasa (California yellowtail aka ‘kingfish’) served with Tenbrink Farm Pluets, Avocado, and Citrus-Tamarind Aguachile was amazing. The 2023 Kenefick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc form Calistoga, CA was also quite nice.
The California Squab with Tenbrink Farm Cherries, Coriander, and Mole Negro was visually arresting, with two cherry ‘eyes,’ a mole ‘mouth’ and a long leg of squab to the side. That was paired with 2019 Knights Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Valley, from Calistoga.
As a meat lover, my favorite was the 21-Day Dry-Aged Kagoshima Japanese Wagyu, with Golden Chanterelles, Bok Choy and Summer Squash. It was served with 2016 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, from Calistoga, and a 2021 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon, from Napa Valley.
Before we went into the kitchen to meet Chef Garcia and his team, we finished up with Cinnamon Bunuelo, Caramelized Chocolate Cremeau, Bana Horchata, 2012 Alpha Omega Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, Late Harvest, from Napa Valley.
Chef Garcia was born in Mexico City and raised in Napa. He started as a dishwasher in nearby Yountville. Cooking became a passion, and Chef Garcia held positions in some of wine country’s most respected restaurants, including serving as Chef de Partie at three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry. In San Francisco, he earned his own Michelin stars at Spruce before returning to Napa to join Four Seasons.
Chef Garcia helped launch Auro after the Four Seasons Napa Valley opened in 2021. The restaurant won its 2023 star from Michelin Guide California just eight months after it opened.
In the kitchen at Auro, the chefs, cooks and the rest of the crew stood at attention to show their loyalty to Chef Garcia. The chef stood under his star holding a copy of his new cookbook, “Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California's Wine Country.”
As Chef Garcia says, “cooking is storytelling.”
