Discovering the Food and Wine Delights of Napa and Beyond—Wine-Tasting and Dinner at Chez Panisse in Sausalito

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Morro Bay-Napa Valley, California

Discovering the Food and Wine Delights of Napa and Beyond—Wine-Tasting and Dinner at Chez Panisse in Sausalito

We arrived at the most glamorous day of our travels as we settled down into the gastronomic treats of the famous Napa Valley. Indeed it was a red letter day for it ticked off one more item from a long-standing Bucket List.

Checking Out of The Landing at Morro Bay and Journey Northwards:

It was still dark when we set out of our rooms at The Landing at Morro Bay, checked out and set off in our car for our long (four hour) drive northwards to Napa Valley. The town of Morro Bay was empty (it was about 6.00 am) as we negotiated the streets that got us out of the grid and on to the highway. We resolved to look for breakfast (or at least coffee) along the route. I had a large box of untouched pancakes from my breakfast of yesterday and I shared them with Llew as we drove off. Slowly but surely, we inched along towards our destination, En route, we passed through Silicon Valley and began to see the tech companies along the highway that proclaimed the industry and expertise of the area.

Arrival at Napa Valley and Check-Into the Best Western Plus:

About an hour into our journey (around 9.00 am), I made a call to Deepak Gulrajani, a wine enthusiast and entrepreneur to whom I had been introduced in Bombay, about a year ago. Deepak owns both a vineyard (Nicholson Ranch) and a winery (Gulrajani Estate), the first in Sonoma, the latter in Napa, and he had invited me to visit them, if ever I was in the area. Since we did have reservations at another winery, I was reluctant to call him (time would not permit us to visit both), plus he did not grow Cabernet grapes and, therefore, did not (as far as I knew) produce Cabernet Sauvignon wines (which are Llew’s favorites). However, I decided to make him a courtesy call en route and was delighted when he reiterated his invitation and insisted that we come to see him because yes, indeed, he was able to serve us Cabernets as well. So, we did make a last-minute change, cancelled the original wine-tasting reservation we had, and decided to make our way to Sonoma County instead to meet Deepak. But first, we would find and check into our accommodation for the next two nights—the Best Western Plus Hotel.

The hotel was very centrally located and turned out to be rather more charming than we had imagined considering that it was a chain and very reasonably priced (for a neighborhood that is definitely upper crust). In fact, the cost of living in this neck of the California woods is high and it is rather challenging to have a reasonably-priced holiday in this area. We loved the fact that it had a secluded look to it, was a sprawling property with an outdoor pool, a hot tub and a gym, free beverages in the lobby, coffee makers in the room and a general sense of generosity in the air. We had rooms side by side and obtaining the keys, we checked into them and stashed away our baggage. Then, we re-entered the car to begin our drive to the wine estate.

Our First Wine-Tasting in Napa—at Nicholson Ranch:

And so it was that we arrived at Nicholson Ranch, a vast property with a winding road that led up to the main Tuscan-styled structure—the Reception area and wine cave. There, Deepak was waiting for us and he greeted and welcomed us warmly. It was a fairly warm day…so we were happy to be seated outside on the patio overlooking the acreage of land that included cattle who, periodically, made their way across the fields to the stream on the opposite side. Deepak put us into the hands of his assistant, Jessie, a lovely young lady from New Jersey, who, in turn, put us through the paces and was our hostess for the morning. Deepak did not leave our sides as he launched on his commentary and told us all about his entry into the field of wine-making after a long and very successful career in IIT India, followed by an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU (which made him a kindred spirit), then a stint as a hedge fund manager. This background prepared him well for taking the entrepreneurial plunge into the world of the vintner when he bought a working vineyard and a wine-production unit. His establishment is artisanal, which means it is kept deliberately small and does not compete with the likes of manufacturers such as Robert Mondavi who manufacture en masse for the mid-priced table. Deepak’s wines are priced at upwards of Rs. 150 a bottle, they are top of the line products and, therefore, exclusive.

Llew and Chrsielle indulged in the wine-tasting as my sulphur allergy kept me away from them and AJ is a teetotaller. However, we did sit around, enjoying the serenity of the atmosphere, viewing the sauntering line of cows in the distance, taking in the unusual contemporary sculpture on the estate and shooting the breeze with Deepak. We were with him for more than an hour, during which we were introduced to a range of at least six wines including Cabernets. Deepak never left us alone and played the role of the perfect host. He told us that, time permitting, he would be happy to introduce us to his production unit where we could see the apparatus involved in the making of superior wines. At the end of the session, both Llew and Chriselle liked the wines they sampled and felt pleased that we had made the detour to Nicholson Winery. We were delighted to find that Deepak did not charge us for the wines plus offered them to us on the house although we were more than ready to pay for them. Thanking him profusely, we made our way out of the estate but not before pausing at the gate to take group pictures with his property in the background. It had been an admirable morning indeed.

Lunch at Taco Bell En Route to Sausalito and the San Francisco Bay Area:

With one wine-tasting behind us, we drove deeper and deeper into Napa Valley as we headed for our next site of discovery—the San Francisco Bay Area. Although all of us had been to this part of California before, we had been there separately and at various times over the years—never together. This trip would give us an opportunity to see the city from a long distance away and to explore the Bay Area; and I have to say that I quite fell in love with it. Our destination was the snazzy town of Sausalito that many people had told me was the prettiest in the Bay.

But first we needed to find lunch as we’d not really eaten breakfast anywhere. Since we had talked about eating the Mexican fast food called chalupas, we decided to go to Taco Bell, a chain that offers plentiful outlets in the region. Yes, we did end up ordering burritos, tacos and chalupas from this place—all of which were really very good indeed because we were indulging in them after many years. With that meal behind us, we proceeded towards Sausalito.

Exploring Snazzy Sausalito:

Sausalito is one of those beautiful gems in the San Francisco Bay Area that is highly exclusive and very expensive. On driving into the city itself, we got the impression that we were in a very affluent neighborhood. Finding parking in the vast public car parks close to the water, we began our exploration on foot of the town. We passed by a pretty, old-world looking public garden to arrive at the waterfront which area is completely lined by exclusive boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops that we enjoyed browsing in, buying our magnet and indulging in a bit of window-shopping. Spiffy cars wound in and out of this area and added to the posh ambience of the place. Gradually, we made our way to the wide promenade overlooking the Bay. The water was clear and blue to match the skies above. It was truly idyllic, the weather just perfect. In the distance, we could easily spy the misty skyscrapers of the city of Sam Francisco and the hazy outlines of the famous Golden Gate Bridge. We posed for pictures on the waterfront, then began the walk back to the car park. We had about an hour’s drive ahead of us to Berkeley where we would be stopping for dinner at Chez Panisse, perhaps the most famous restaurant in the area, where we had made reservations. As we made our way there, we had the chance to skirt around the Bay and take in the beautiful, water-front manors and condos that offer some of the world’s most stirring views to the lucky inhabitants of this area.

Arriving in Berkeley and Dinner at Chez Panisse:

Finally, after an hour or so and at a very comfortable pace, we reached Berkeley, the famous university town of Northern California, which I would very much have liked to explore too (as we were only a stone’s throw from it and we were well in time for our dinner appointment). However, there was not much enthusiasm from other members of our party who were concerned about finding parking in the area. In the end, we did find parking very easily and used the extra time to explore the area along Sattuck Avenue on foot (after we passed by and identified the restaurant in which we would be eating). Llew and I enjoyed taking in the relaxed, scholarly ambience of this academic town that made history in the 1960s for being the venue at which student protests against the Vietnam War ultimately led to the its end.

At 7.00 pm, we were at the entrance to the restaurant. We were led upstairs to the more casual eatery—the one below being restricted to fine dining. After being seated at the table and placed in the hands of a wonderful waiter called Cameron, we perused the menu for drinks. I chose to have a cocktail (it has become customary for me to choose an exotic drink in special places) while Llew had red wine. As for our food, we chose two starters to share: the shaved zucchini salad with lemon, mint, pecorino and toasted almonds—it was a delightful fresh salad with a zing—and the Jimmy Nardella roasted red peppers with fig vinaigrette, escarole, prosciutto and sage. They were wonderful palates teasers that left us aching for more. As for our mains, I chose the Duck Leg confit with shell bean gratin, toasted breadcrumbs, fenel salad and sauce verde (I eat duck so rarely that I always choose it when on a menu) and Llew chose the Autumn squash ravioli with chanterelle mushrooms and gremolata. We shared them so that we both had two things to taste. Chriselle and AJ had the Grilled grass-fed New York roast beef with fried sweet peppers, garlicky greens and black olive butter as well as the Halibut baked in a fig leaf with romano beans, new potatoes, fennel salad and sauce verde.Our mains were followed by dessert, of course, but we simply decided to share two of them: the sticky gingerbread cake with crème fraiche ice-cream and fresh fruit and raspberry and crème fraiche sorbet with gratineed figs, raspberries and an almond biscotti. Then, we gave ourselves up completely to the pleasure of healthy eating, keeping in mind the revolutionary concept of farm to table eating that was initiated by chef Alice Waters who founded and ran Chez Panisse and, in the process, revolutionized American gastronomy.

Chez Panisse, incidentally, gets its name from the characters in one of the French writer Marcel Pagnol’s novels. It happens that Waters knew Pagnol personally through her husband who was good friends with the celebrated writer. Posters advertising films adapted from Pagnol’s novels decorate the walls of the restaurant which is very casual. I saw little children seated at the table with grown-ups, the elderly sipping their apertifs in fastidious fashion and teenagers too enjoying the thrills of a sophisticated table. Yes, for me, dining at Chez Panisse was a long-held dream (I once owned all of Wasters’ cook books), but because Berkeley is so far away from where I was based in the US, the chances of me actually eating in this place were remote—which is why I was so thrilled to finally make a dream come true.

And on that triumphant note, we left the restaurant and made our way towards the car park where we entered, fully satiated, and then sank down quietly to enjoy the drive back to Napa Valley and our Best Western Hotel where we hunkered down for the night.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…