Noted & Noteworthy
  The Twenty Grand Burger
Now in its eleventh year, Trinchero Family Estates is once again searching for the country's best burger with their "Sutter Home Build A Better Burger Contest". Last year's winner, Minnesotan Jamie Miller with her "Hawaiian Tuna Burger with Maui Wowee Salsa" collected $20,000 for her efforts. Judges for this national event (sorry, if you're a Californian you can't enter, thanks to the sometimes draconian laws of the Golden State) have included such culinary luminaries as Sheila Lukins, Marion Cunningham, sausage meister Bruce Aidells and local cookbook author James McNair.
  Mustard Festival Mustards
If you missed mustard season in the Valley you can still take a jar of it home with you, thanks to the efforts of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival people. Continuing a popular tradition, three mustards (Honey Mustard, Whole Grain and Dijon) made specially for the Festival are now on sale at area stores and a few wineries. Priced at $4 each, they're available only for a short time and are well worth looking for. If you can't locate them, try calling (707) 259-9020. Be warned: they disappear from shelves fast.

 

 The Perfect Napa Martini
A martini? In Wine Country? Yes, particularly if you make it with Duckhorn Vineyard's own King Eider Vermouth. If you're a fan of Duckhorn's wines it will come as no surprise that this vermouth is among the best. Mix it (sparingly) with one of the ultra-premium Charbay Vodkas from Domaine Charbay Distillers (try the Meyer Lemon, the Ruby Red Grapefruit or the Blood Orange) to make the quintessential Napa Valley martini. For a martini made with these Valley nectars try Cole's Chop House in Napa, St. Helena's 1351 Lounge or the bar at Piatti in Yountville. And by the way, look for more on Domaine Charbay in a future issue of Destination Napa Valley.

The Corkscrew as Art
Maybe it doesn't make the wine taste any different, but using a corkscrew from Forge de Laguiole will certainly do wonders in terms of style points. This French import not only looks terrific, it works beautifully, as generations of European wine drinkers have proved. You can find them at the Bounty Hunter in Napa (707) 255-0622, and at a few shops and wineries around the Valley. Prices start at $95 and go up, depending upon the handle (bone, horn or exotic woods) and style.

The Culinary Voyeur
No longer do you have to be enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena to be able to attend one of their highly respected cooking demonstrations. With the opening this spring of the 48-seat DeBaun Theater at the historic facility (formerly the Christian Brothers Winery), anyone with a glimmer of culinary interest will be able to watch cooking demonstrations by CIA chefs and an ever changing cast of guest chefs. Quite a deal for ten bucks. Call the CIA at (707) 967-2320 for a schedule or to make reservations, which with just four dozen seats available isn't a bad idea.
The Ultimate Picnic Tool
Cutting saucisson, slicing a fresh baguette (a piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano or pate de canard) or dining on Moroccan chicken with plastic utensils just doesn't make for a perfect picnic no matter where you are. The answer? Try the Richartz No. 5. This slick and slightly retro-looking tool is no bigger than a pocketknife but unfolds to become both knife and fork. There are even various openers and other handy tools (including a quite serviceable corkscrew) attached to this wonderful device. At under fifty bucks it's a picnic basket must for serious dining al fresco, or to keep in the glove compartment or in your briefcase for that unexpected meal on the run. Even if you never take it on a picnic it's worth owning just because it is so darned neat.

Just Tap the Ball
This may not make you keep your head down, but it will surely help you lighten your touch on the greens. A glass putter? Yes. It's actually called the "Glass Putterhead" and it's a handblown 340 gram art glass putting head (with 5 degree loft and an engraved "Tee" to help you line up your shot) on a True Temper regulation shaft. And on top of that, the USGA has even said that it "Conforms with USGA Rules." Raymond Mathews, Jr. is the well-known artist who created it. Available at RASberry's Art Glass and Raku Ceramics Galleries in Yountville.