What an afternoon we recently spent at the Kuleto Estate in Napa – great food, great wine and tremendous views. Restaurateur and designer Pat Kuleto built the winery. His restaurants include Boulevard, Jardiniere and Farallon in San Francisco, Martini House in Napa, the newly opened Nick’s Cove in Tomales Bay and the soon-to-be-opened Rincon Park Restaurants, Epic Roast House and Water Bar on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.
Kuleto has been heard to joke that he was born with a building permit rather than a birth certificate. He has already designed more than 170 restaurants. Locally, he designed the Los Altos Golf & Country Club. To say he is a man of many talents is an understatement.
Master sommelier Nunzio Alioto purchased an afternoon luncheon party at the Kuleto Estate for 10, and I was fortunate to be a last-minute fill-in. The Kuleto Estate is in Napa off Sage Canyon Road on a winding road that meanders through his property, eventually reaching a height of 1,450 feet.
The main facilities are located on the mountaintop. Kuleto’s land comprises 761 acres of steep hillside. He began planting in 1993 and now has 90 acres planted in 10 different varietals. There are plans to plant 33 additional acres eventually. The hillsides and soil types stress vines, and as a result the vines produce less, but higher quality, fruit. Planting, cultivating and picking are challenging and costly when the land is slanted.
Kuleto first built his home in 1995 and aptly named it Villa Cucina – the rooms are built around a central kitchen hearth.
The 17,000-square-foot Kuleto Estate Winery was completed in 2001 and is currently producing approximately 8,000 cases a year. Both buildings are Tuscan-style beauties, featuring heavy stone that had to be trucked in.
The upper point of the property is a promontory with a triangular glass structure on it. There is a weight room in the back and a king-sized bed at the apex. The views go forever.
The estate is on the other side of the hill from the Pritchard Hill wineries that include David Arthur, Bryant Family, Chappellett and Colgin. All the properties, including Kuleto, overlook and drain into Lake Hennessey. Currently there is discussion about designating a Pritchard Hill Appellation or perhaps a larger area named the Lake Hennessey Basin Appellation.
Kuleto employs a full-time chef, Janelle Weaver, who does the property and the Kuleto name justice.
The Kuleto Estate is sustainable in the truest sense of the word. Not only are the wines estate grown, the food is as well. There are cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, guinea hens, pigeons and rabbits. Fruits, herbs and vegetables all are homegrown, and there are plans for Kuleto to make its own cheeses.
There is even a man-made lake. Lake Brunello offers its own catfish, perch, bass and, unbelievably, sturgeon. We had caviar on one of the hors d’oeuvres – I was afraid to ask if it were from their own sturgeon.
We dined on estate squab, estate lamb, estate sweetbreads and fresh peach upside-down cake from the orchard. The seared ahi tuna was not from the estate (no salt water lake yet), but all the accoutrements were.
The Kuleto wines are very good. I particularly liked the 2005 Chardonnay and the 2003 Cabernet. The 2002 Reserve Cabernet was exceptional. The beauty of going to an event like this with a master sommelier is that they like to bring wine, and this affair had two masters in attendance.
To supplement the excellent Kuleto wines, we started off with magnums of 1996 Salon Champagne, then paired wines with the Kuleto wines. A magnum of 2003 Ramonet Bienvenue-Batard Montrachet was awesome, and a 1990 Pichon Lalande was equally outstanding. Another highlight was a 1998 Barolo Brunate magnum by Piedmont superstar Roberto Voerzio. This wine showed great fruit and a long, lingering, complex finish.
The winery tour is available by appointment and can be reserved online or by phone at (707) 963-9750. The price is $35 per person and includes four wines and paired appetizers. Groups are restricted to 16, but arrangements can be made for special events.
Steve Hicks is a wine adviser and consultant. For more information, e-mail shicksvine
@aol.com.
