At the end of last year, Priest Ranch debuted their new restaurant, The Kitchen at Priest Ranch. But the concept helmed by Chef Dan Solomon is so much more. In fact, it embodies all that of a home kitchen: It’s not just a room that serves food; it emphasizes Priest Ranch’s mission to bring people together, encourages epicurean curiosity, and acts as an accessible gathering hub.
“Accessibility, comfortable, effortless, quality” are all terms that were mentioned several times when speaking to the Priest Ranch team as they opened The Kitchen in response to “what locals wanted” with the elevated convenience that the new space brings to Yountville. “There’s so much excellent food here but not a lot of elevated fast casual,” said Judd Wallenbrock, who joined the Priest Ranch team as CEO in 2023.
On the same street as The French Laundry, Bouchon Bistro, and Bistro Jeanty, The Kitchen at Priest Ranch, or KPR, saw an opportunity to offer something different for the town. “It’s easy but still high quality,” added winemaker Cody Hurd on the operations. They aren’t trying to lure customers away from these existing businesses; in fact, they’re uniting with the long-established eateries here, like sourcing baked items from Bouchon Bakery and spotlighting California purveyors like Marin’s artisanal cheeses and Mary’s Chicken used in both their front-of-the-house takeaway counter and back-of-house experimental kitchen.
“It’s about getting away from the standard expectation and doing something different,” said Chef Solomon, who’s created a menu that he refers to as “going against the grain,” changing with the seasons to accommodate the best pairings. “Everyone expects to see braised short ribs and Cabernet, but what if it’s the middle of July and it’s 100 degrees in the sun, and you’re planning a lunch on the patio?” He poses the question, referring to The Kitchen’s sizable patio area and second-floor rooftop that coaxes customers to enjoy his food alfresco.
Although Chef Solomon prides himself on inventive, daily specials, fan favorites have emerged from his signature offerings. Like the Smashburger – a brisket and chuck blend – with grilled onion, American cheese, house pickle (Solomon ferments his own pickles and kimchi), lettuce, tomato, and KPR sauce on a Bouchon bun. “I love making pickles, hot sauces, and all other varieties of fermented foods,” shared Solomon. “Something magical happens when you take something as simple as cabbage, add a little salt, and exercise the patience to let it hang out in a dark place for a few weeks (or months) while it transforms. This is what really pulled me into this style of food in the first place: the virtue of patience and the level of trust that’s needed to just let it go. Fermented foods are kind of “punk rock” in that way – they’re just doing whatever they want, not worried about anyone else’s input or opinion, wild and free. I’ve always had a wild side, so expressing that through food is fun.”
There’s also the ham panini, layers of Parisian jambon, Marin French brie, and caramelized onion on a telera roll smeared with pumpkin seed pesto and Calabrian chili maple glaze. Even the steak frites, seemingly a more popular sit-down, stay-awhile dish, are presented in an elevated fast-casual way with seasonal butter, fries, and KPR sauce.
Every dish comes with suggested wine pairings, which customers can order by the glass or pick up a bottle. For example, Smashburger’s complement is Priest Ranch’s 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, while its 2018 Double Barrel is for the ham panini. A lighter dish like the roasted squash panzanella salad with baby lettuce, farmer’s cheese, and sweet maple vinaigrette is paired with their 2018 Brut Rosé.
“We think that wine is food; it’s not an accompaniment to the plate; it’s a part of the plate,” Wallenbrock proclaimed. He emphasized how wine pairings are particularly important at Priest Ranch. As overstated as it may be, Wallenbrock explained that their ethos revolves around what it’s like to rethink wine pairings – where the wine elevates the food and food elevates the wine.
Visitors will notice this immediately when browsing Priest Ranch’s tasting room offerings. A recurring hit is their Bacon and Wine experience that pairs four signature wines with four seasonally updated sous vide pork belly flavors. Past glazes include chocolate raspberry, cherry ras el hanout (an Arabic spice blend of cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, and more), and plum and black pepper gastrique. Right now, it’s a mustard variation that will run through March to coincide with the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration. And Chef Solomon doesn’t exclude the winery’s vegan friends; he’s simulated the bacon tasting with mushrooms, which still enables guests to partake in the incredibly sensory experience.
A forthcoming way that Priest Ranch will continue to encourage guests’ curiosity with wine and food – viticuriousity as they call it – is with their new mystery dinners. At these weekly dinners, guests will choose the wine, permitting Solomon and his team to pair their culinary course accordingly. Whereas most restaurants choose the food first, and the sommelier pairs the wine, Priest Ranch flips this on its head.
“We zig while everyone else is zagging,” said Wallenbrock. “We’re trailblazers. We’ve done it with our wines; now we do it with foods, and when you combine the two, you take it to another sublime level; that’s what’s so exciting about this opportunity.”
Chef Solomon said he’s thrilled to offer this to guests as it is another opportunity to showcase seasonality and the abundance of hyper-local ingredients throughout California and Yountville. “We have a small garden up at the winery that I intend to utilize for some products, as well as the farmers’ markets throughout the valley and other relationships that we have with different producers in the area,” he explained. To approach the pairings, Solomon sits down regularly with Hurd and the team in the tasting room for a discussion. “I prefer a collaborative approach because, at the end of the day, I can only cook how and what I want to eat, so I believe it’s vital to get input from a broad group,” once again stating the unexpected quality to these mystery menus. As for what guests can expect, Solomon teases a past pairing of a grilled swordfish steak in a coffee-maple glaze with grilled asparagus and ramp salsa verde that paired beautifully with Priest Ranch Cabernet. “I tend to lean into the more subtle flavors of the wines and find a pairing to complement those, and sometimes I’ll have fun with it and contrast the bigger, bolder flavors that are coming.”
These mystery menus are slated for Thursday nights – along with the majority of the winery’s unique programming. Wallenbrock explained their goal is to “own Thursday” nights year-round. “When I was in college, that was the party night. We want to bring that to Yountville, having some fun with things,” he said. Other forthcoming happenings include their Smashburger kick-off with TV personality Liam Mayclem, a leap into spring dinner on February 29, and a speaker series about food fermentations. “We’re bringing culture to SoYo as I call it (South of Yountville),” but at the same time, we are always incorporating the wine and food as stars,” said Wallenbrock.
Hurd said that aside from all the new additions last year, there’s even more to be excited about on the horizon. “2023 was our largest harvest to date,” he said, comparing it to a wetter harvest like 2011, yielding fruit with mellow tannins and great acidity. Also, he said, Priest Ranch is reintroducing Grenache Blanc to their predominantly Bordeaux portfolio this year. “People previously loved this, but we had to yank out the vineyards and replant them; the anticipated release date for that is April 2025.”
And while there’s plenty of newness at the ranch, there are some existing offerings that the winery is just as excited about since launching them – like their four-wheel vineyard tours that take guests 1000 feet up into their vineyards as well as their private group winemaker lunches and dinners that further explore the parallels between wine and food with a four-course meal by Chef Solomon.
“The combination of the tasting room, restaurant, and 1,682 acres is like a little jewel you weren’t expecting to find,” said Wallenbrock. “We’re adventurous and here to satisfy the viticurious.”
