Napa Classics: Our French Connection

My love affair with Napa Valley started in my twenties, when work had me traveling regularly to Asia with frequent stops through the Bay Area. Whenever I could, I’d stay with my cousin Debi, who has worked at Domaine Carneros for nearly two decades. She became my unofficial Napa guide, introducing me to the iconic wineries, restaurants, and local haunts that defined the valley in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

At the time, I didn't realize how much those early visits would shape my relationship with wine—or how intertwined Napa would eventually become with another great love of ours: France.

Dave and I lived in Paris for two years, and French wine has always been a touchstone for us. We love the restraint, the sense of place, and perhaps most of all, the French belief that wine belongs at the table. But you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to find some of that same spirit. Napa has its own deep French connection, from Champagne families who helped establish California sparkling wine to chefs and winemakers inspired by Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, and the bistros of Paris.

It’s one of the things we love most about this valley. Napa is unmistakably California, but every now and then, it gives us a little taste of France.

These are some of the classics that still do.

Domaine Carneros

There may be no better place to begin the French connection than Domaine Carneros.

The château rises above the southern entrance to Napa like a grand welcome to the valley. Founded by the Taittinger family of Champagne, Domaine Carneros brought generations of French sparkling-wine tradition to California and helped establish Carneros as one of the country’s great regions for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

It was also one of the places where my own Napa education began, thanks to my cousin Debi.

Perched on the terrace with sweeping vineyard views, a glass of bubbles in hand, you get a wonderful combination of two worlds: Champagne tradition and California sunshine. The méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines are the obvious draw, but don't overlook the Pinot Noir.

We celebrated our first party on our property with literal buckets of Domaine Carneros.

Oakville Grocery

Not everything we love about France is fancy. Some of our favorite memories there involve a baguette, cheese, charcuterie,and a bottle of wine. Oakville Grocery captures a bit of that spirit, Napa-style.

Dating back to the 1880s, it has been feeding travelers, winemakers, and locals for generations. For us, stopping here makes a Napa trip feel official.

Grab one of their decadent sandwiches, find a bottle or glass of rosé, and settle onto the patio. Or load up for a picnic between winery visits. It’s part gourmet market, part neighborhood gathering place, and part Napa ritual.

Sometimes the best wine experiences aren't tastings at all. They're simply lunch outside with someone you love and a good bottle on the table.

Angèle

If there is one Napa restaurant that can transport me straight back to France, it might be Angèle.

I worried that returning after twenty years would ruin the nostalgia. Instead, somehow, it was even better.

Set along the river in downtown Napa, Angèle has the effortless charm of a French country restaurant: romantic without being precious, polished without feeling formal. The food is consistently excellent, and the wine list bridges the two worlds beautifully, with French classics sitting comfortably alongside California favorites.

Lunch on the patio can make you forget for a moment that you aren't somewhere along the Seine—or tucked into a village in Provence, rather than sitting alongside the Napa River. 

And if you know, you know: the burger at the bar for dinner is worth planning around.

Bouchon

If Napa has a little corner of Paris, for us it’s Bouchon. 

Thomas Keller opened Bouchon as his interpretation of the neighborhood bistros he fell in love with in France—the kind of place where you can settle into a banquette, order oysters and steak frites, open a bottle of Burgundy, and happily lose track of time.

We love it because it captures something essential about French dining: serious food without taking the experience too seriously. The room is lively, the zinc bar feels transported from Paris, and the menu celebrates the classics rather than constantly trying to reinvent them.

And then there’s Bouchon Bakery next door.  Dave happens to be an almond croissant expert and swears by Bouchon as one of the best in the world.  And, he’s been there.  One of our favorite things to do is ride our bikes from the property to Yountville for coffee.

It’s one of the only places in Napa where we're willing to stand in line with the masses. The pastries are excellent, but the ham-and-cheese baguette alone justifies the wait. Grab one with a coffee and wander Yountville, or hop back on the bikes and continue down the Vine Trail.

Between the bistro and bakery, Bouchon gives us a little hit of France without ever leaving Napa—and proves that sometimes the simplest things are the ones worth returning to.

Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc is another Thomas Keller institution, but with an entirely different personality.

Originally intended as a temporary concept, it became too beloved to disappear. The menu changes daily and is served family-style, so you arrive ready to trust the kitchen.

There's something very French about allowing the ingredients and the season to dictate what ends up on the table rather than trying to make every meal endlessly customizable. You eat what's wonderful right now, open some wine, pass the plates, and enjoy the people you're with.

You can’t be a picky eater here - you get what you get.  But, I can tell you that I’ve never been disappointed.   

Bistro Jeanty

For a full dose of France in Napa Valley, Bistro Jeanty is hard to beat.

Chef Philippe Jeanty brought the food of his native France to Yountville and created the kind of neighborhood bistro that feels as though it has always been there. It’s warm, unfussy, and deeply satisfying—the sort of place where you want to settle in rather than rush through dinner.

This is where we go when we're craving the classics: rich, comforting French food, a great bottle of wine, and the feeling that dinner should take as long as dinner takes.

It also captures something important about the relationship between France and Napa. The best French influence here isn't about imitation. It's about bringing a philosophy with you: respect the ingredients, respect the wine, and make the table a place where people want to stay. Bistro Jeanty does exactly that.

Robert Sinskey Vineyards

Robert Sinskey Vineyards was our very first wine club, and in many ways it shaped what we came to value about wine. Long before “organic” and “farm-to-table” became ubiquitous marketing language, Sinskey was farming thoughtfully and putting food at the center of the wine experience.

That philosophy resonated deeply with us, especially after living in France. Wine isn't meant to exist in isolation. It belongs with food, conversation, friends, and the rhythms of everyday life.

The Sinskey club reflected that beautifully, combining wines with culinary items, seasonal recipes, and a lifestyle rooted in the table.

It taught us something that seems obvious now but was formative then: wine tastes better when it has a place in your life, not just a score attached to the bottle.

From France to Napa—and Back Again

France taught us a great deal about wine. Napa taught us to fall in love with it. And over the years, those two influences have become increasingly difficult for us to separate.

We love Bordeaux and Burgundy, Champagne and Provence. We love long French lunches, neighborhood bistros, tiny wine shops, crusty baguettes, and the idea that opening a good bottle on a Tuesday doesn't require a special occasion.

But we also love Napa—the generosity of the wines, the beauty of the vineyards, the pioneering spirit, and the people who have created places worth returning to decade after decade.

Those two worlds are also part of the inspiration behind Flight Path.

We aren't trying to make French wine in Napa. Napa has its own voice, and we want our wines to express it. But France influences the way we think about balance, blending, food, hospitality, and the role wine plays in bringing people together.

Maybe that's why these Napa classics still resonate with us after all these years. Each, in its own way, reminds us of something we love about France while remaining unmistakably Napa.