Up until now, I’ve only shared the 100% gluten-free places we dined at on the road trip because I wanted to show that these places are out there and they can take a load off on us, especially during stressful times like travel. This post is not about a 100% gluten-free restaurant or bakery. They do serve bread here, so you’ll need to take precautions and make sure to ask questions if you choose to eat here. And even if you don’t eat here, I’d recommend it just for the wine and scenery.
As I mentioned in the Napa Wine Tour post, we returned to the St. Clair Brown Winery later in the week. By design, they are open later for people who want to sit and hang out with a glass of wine and something to nosh on after work. The Garden Eatery is set amidst their kitchen garden, the cars driving by aren’t much of a distraction (unless you allow them to be). They serve small plates using items from the garden and are created to pair with their wines.
The idyllic setting lends to the desire to want to stay as long as possible.
Wine is served by the half-glass, full glass, half-bottle, table bottle, and traditional tasting flight. We were served the traditional tasting flight during the wine tour. This time, we ordered by the glass. I chose the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc, both are some of the best whites we had in Napa. That’s saying something since I’m not one who typically likes Chardonnay.
They also serve non-alchoholic drinks like iced tea and lemonade. During the tour, we were first served Fig Lemon Iced Tea, made with figs from the garden – delicious. And after I was done with wine the evening we went back, I switched to the Lavender-Bergamot Lemonade – doubly delicious.
The plates are usually served with bread (made locally), but you can ask for gluten-free crackers instead. The above is the cheese plate served with citrus blossom honey and pistachios.
We also had the Duck Rillette that came with Fig Apricot Compote. The Citrus-Marinated Olives are a separate “dish.” We were served them at the wine tasting along with Roasted Almonds and Hummus (the latter comes with bread, I ate it with a fork at the tasting, but you can substitute gluten-free crackers at the Garden Eatery). I enjoyed the olives so much I had to have them again when we went back and when we got home I made some. They are that good. Also on the menu when we were there was: PB&J Board (homemade organic ginger almond butter served with strawberries and blackberries) and Heirloom Tomatoes & Burrata (much like Caprese).
As the sun set, the patio lights were turned on and I didn’t ever want to leave.
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