Chez Francois presents
A Napa Valley Wine Dinner with Far Niente
Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, Bella Union, Post & Beam,
En Route and Dolce
Thursday, September 25, 2025 • 6:30 pm
Chardonnay, Post & Beam , Los Carneros California, 2023
Corn & Cheese Souffle
A blend of Ubriaco and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Ohio Sweet Corn, oven baked in a ramekin and topped with a roasted corn nuts.
Chardonnay “Truchard Vnyd”, Nickel & Nickel, Los Carneos, California, 2023
Chardonnay, Far Niente, Coombsville·Napa Valley, California, 2023
Duck Raviolis, Truffle Butter Sauce
Raviolis filled with duck confit, garnished with wild mushrooms, flavored with a Pinot Noir reduction glace de viande and sun-dried cherries.
Pinot Noir “Les Pommiers”, EnRoute, Russian River Valley, California, 2023
Roasted Prime Tenderloin of Beef, Duck Confit & Wild Mushroom Glace de Viande
Tenderloin of beef, duck confit, herb risotto, wild mushroom glace de viande.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Post & Beam, Napa Valley, California, 2022
Cabernet Sauvignon, Bella Union, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, 2022
Cervena Venison Loin, Huckleberry Venison Glace de Viande
Roasted Venison Loin, served with chestnut mousseline finished with mountain huckleberry venison glace de viande.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Far Niente, Napa Valley, California, 2022
Cabernet Sauvignon “State Ranch”, Nickel & Nickel, Yountville, Napa Valley, California, 2022
Cabernet Sauvignon “Cave Selection”, Far Niente, Yountville, Napa Valley, California, 2018
Delarobi Fruit Tart
A frangipane tart filled with fresh summer fruit finished with an apricot glaze, served with French vanilla bean ice cream.
Dolce, Far Niente, Napa Valley, California, 2018
$235/Per Guest • Tax & Gratuity not included
All pricing reflects a cash & check payment. A 2.95% non cash/check adjustment is included in all other forms of payment.
Far Niente
Far Niente history was shaped by dreamers, doers, and craftsmen — all in pursuit of perfection in winemaking. Far Niente was founded in Oakville, California in 1885 by John Benson, a forty-niner of the California gold rush and uncle of the famous American impressionist painter, Winslow Homer. Benson hired architect Hamden McIntyre, and together they worked to create an exquisite oasis in western Oakville.
Far Niente prospered until the onset of Prohibition in 1919. The gates closed, but the magic never truly disappeared from the property. Sixty years later, Gil Nickel bought and restored the winery and neighboring vineyard. This three-year-long labor of love put the label back on the map — and on the National Register of Historic Places. He preserved the Far Niente name — an Italian phrase which romantically translated means ‘without a care.’ Nickel hoped to recapture a bygone era when life was indeed without a care.
To this day, Far Niente is consistently recognized as a benchmark producer of Napa Valley Chardonnay and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Theirs is an unparalleled level of time-honored winemaking traditions. This has helped establish Far Niente as one of the world’s great wine estates.
“We are in love with what we do, and it is why our winery is like it is and why no one leaves Far Niente unimpressed, uninspired, or unmoved by all that our winery and our wines are. We are refined and sophisticated with a consistent house style; every Far Niente wine offers the highest expression of its vineyards and vintage, from our iconic Napa Valley Chardonnay to our legendary Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Nested on historic farmstead in Oakville, Nickel & Nickel crafts single-vineyard, single-varietal wines from Napa Valley’s most coveted appellations to express profound personality of place.
Classic yet accessible chardonnay and cabernet Post & Beam wines requires craftmanship, balance and harmony, they use time honored winemaking techniques to make exceptional wines that can be enjoyed upon release.
Bella Union was born from our winemakers’ curiosity to explore the art of blending. In Napa Valley’s storied Rutherford district, they are writing a new chapter were the most beautiful connection is yours to make.
A curiosity to explore new regions, vineyards and grape varieties for Nickel & Nickel’s single-vineyard wines led us west to the revered Pinot Noir region of the Russian River Valley, where EnRoute was born.
Dolce represents the ultimate expression of late-harvest winemaking, proudly standing as America’s only winery to specialize in a single, exquisite dessert wine crafted in the cherished Sauternes style.
The Wines of Far Niente
Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon embodies our passion and commitment to making the very best wine possible. The result is classically structured Cabernets that are rich in texture, layered in flavor, complex, and long. Our Cabernets display the typical cassis and blackberry notes along with spicy oak aromas that have become synonymous with the Far Niente house style.
Far Niente Estate Bottled Napa Valley Chardonnay comes from a blend of superb vineyards, many of which are located in Coombsville, a cool growing region nestled in the rolling hills east of Napa. We’ve been growing here for over 40 years, and the deeper, well-drained gravelly loam and volcanic ash soils enable a Chardonnay of subtle tropical fruit flavors and complex aromas. There’s also an absence of malolactic fermentation which preserves the grape’s natural acidity, lending the wine vibrant fruit and brightness in youth and allowing it to age beautifully, developing a sophisticated palate profile over time.
Nickel & Nickel
Nickel & Nickel Winery, located in Oakville, Napa Valley, California is dedicated to producing exclusively 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that best express the distinct personality of each vineyard. Established by the partners of Far Niente in 1997.
There is a never-ending sense of surprise and delight in unearthing your favorite Nickel & Nickel wines. Each Nickel & Nickel wine is a celebration of place, revealing how vineyards only miles apart, but of the same grape varietal, yield wines of unique character and distinction.
En Route
The magic of the Russian River where the dense fog, the gravelly soil, the microclimates and the proximity to the cool Pacific Ocean create vineyards and conditions that work in concert to create some of the most textured, graceful and stylish Pinot Noirs.
Bella Union
Many years of farming and crafting Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley across appellations as diverse as Oakville, Howell Mountain, Stags Leap District and St. Helena, have helped us to intimately know the very best sites—each with its defining characteristics—from which to create Bella Union Cabernet.
Post & Beam
At Post & Beam, we make wines of uncommonly pure expression, built by generations of hands-on experience in producing authentic Cabernet Sauvignon Classically crafted from carefully selected Napa Valley vineyards, Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon honors the fundamentals of traditional winemaking. It is our purest expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, with elegant layers of fruit, supple tannins, whispers of oak and a finish that is pure finesse.
Inspired by the hand-hewn, enduringly crafted structures that have stood for centuries as a quintessential part of our landscape, Post & Beam is endowed with the knowledge and experience of Far Niente. And that expertise, those four decades of winemaking at the highest possible level, has enabled us to create a wine with the purity of style of Post & Beam.
Dolce
Dolce represents the pinnacle of late harvest winemaking. Indeed, Dolce is the only American winery dedicated to producing a single late harvest wine. Created in 1985 by the partners of Far Niente, Dolce has achieved what no other winery in the United States has been able to accomplish. And we’ve done so through painstaking efforts that involve the finest craftsmanship and the willingness of Mother Nature to lend a hand.
The result? A sublime blend of acidity and sweetness thanks to the luxurious and rare combination of late harvest Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.