Page 25 - Terroir_2014

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has a specificity you can’t get in New York, and yet has the proximity to
an urban center, San Francisco, that most rural areas don’t have. There
aren’t a whole lot of places in the world like this for someone like me.”
Chef Kostow takes full advantage of what Napa Valley has to offer, not
just in the way of food and wine but also with the artisans, craftsmen,
and small producers out there. “We have tried to create a sphere of
inspiration that encompasses more than just the growers and the
vintners. It includes all those who might be a little more out of sight—
from the people who make our plates and olive oils to the various
foragers in the valley. There is a very vibrant community here. There is a
lot more depth than many people realize. And we have taken it on as our
job to showcase some of that.”
Wine is a partnership in many ways at Meadowood. “The owners are
vintners, and so the role of local food and local wine has amore emotional
than gustatorial intensity to it,” explains Kostow. “Community is a word
you hear a lot in the valley, and that is owed to the fact that agriculture as
a pursuit tends to involve most of those who live here. We are so closely
involved with agriculture and grapes that we have this sort of ‘best and
brightest’ vibe in the valley.”
she carefully picks on her property, unable to bear the thought of them
going to waste. All the flavors of the neighborhood, and what better to
pair them with than neighborhood wines.
“Food should be as good and local as the wine”—It’s been Pawlcyn’s
mantra since she started cooking in Napa Valley. “The flavors of local
wines go so well with the flavors of the food grown or raised right here.
A locally raised beef roast with a Napa cabernet is just magical. It’s one
of those perfect pairings they talk about. You need that flavor of the
terroir, the earth, the neighborhood, as I like to call it. I work very closely
with the vintners, and it’s fun to see what they want paired with their
wines, too,” she explains.
Chef Christopher Kostow on
A LOCAL SPHERE OF INSPIRATION
When he’s not in his kitchen, you might find Chef Christopher Kostow
tending the gardens at theMontessori school, where he grows vegetables
that eventually find their way onto the plates at The Restaurant at
Meadowood. Incidentally, the plates are made locally, too.
Three Michelin stars and a host of other accolades might give Chef
Kostow carte blanche the world over, but his feet are firmly planted in
Napa soil. “As a chef I get to work in a rural setting—which is what I
want, because I can grow my own vegetables and cook from a place that