Paul Franson

Napa Valley is best known for its wine, but its residents are obsessed with food, too.

They support world-class restaurants like the French Laundry, they flock to food-oriented classes, fairs and events, and they patronize gourmet shops and cookware stores equal to those found only in very large cities.

That’s why it’s fitting that two of America’s most important shrines to food lie in the Valley. Copia: The American Institute for Wine, Food and the Arts, and the Culinary Institute of America are both relatively recent arrivals, but they have left huge footprints on the Valley.

The graduate campus of New York’s prestigious Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena offers continuing education for trained chefs and wine professionals, but some classes are open to serious amateurs – and those considering a career in food and wine. It also now offers an associate degree in culinary arts as well, notably for bakers.

The CIA, as it’s called locally, also offers daily cooking demonstrations, and its Spice Islands Campus Store is a comprehensive cookware store and bookshop aimed at serious hobbyists as well as professionals.

Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, now focuses more on wine, but  offers eating and tasting experiences ranging from short introductions given regularly to extensive course you need to book in advance. The edible garden is a treat, too, and docents lead regular tours that would please any food lover or gardener.

Copia also has a store, Cornucopia, and it naturally includes cookbooks and books plus a lot of kitchenware.

Both the CIA and Copia have fine restaurants, and Copia also has an informal deli where you can buy salads and sandwiches to enjoy on the patio outside or in the garden.

Napa Valley also has three other interesting cookware stores. One is Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, which also sells an amazing assortment of gourmet food. In downtown St. Helena, Steves Hardware combines an old-fashioned hardware store with a wide selection of items for cooking and serving food.

Most impressive of all, however, is Shackford’s, an externally unimposing kitchenware store in downtown Napa piled high with products for both the world-class chefs who practice in the valley and ordinary home cooks. The selection surpass some of the famous chain cookware stores and the prices are often lower, but you may have to ask for help finding what you want in the crowded aisles.

The Valley also teems with exceptional markets and food shops. Three, Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, Genova Deli in Napa and Oakville Grocery, are clearly gourmet shops that also prepare picnics and sell deli delights, while V. Sattui Winery is the only winery in Napa Valley with a deli – and it’s a treat.

A local favorite is funky Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Company  on a side street in St. Helena. It is owned by a family from Lucca in Tuscany and stocks amazing treasures as well as bargain extra virgin and regular olive oil.

Some of the local supermarkets are almost equally tempting. Sunshine Market in St. Helena, and Brown’s Valley and the Vallergas Market in Napa all have real butchers, delis and wide assortment of gourmet produce and specialty cheeses and foods. Even the big chains have moved upscale, and there’s always the popular Trader Joe’s for gourmet bargains. Whole Foods is arriving this fall, too.

Markets and delis in Napa Valley

Brown’s Valley Market, 3263 Brown's Valley Rd., Napa, (707) 253-1873

Copia: The American Institute for Wine, Food and the Arts, 500 First St., Napa (707) 259-1600 www.copia.org

Culinary Institute of America, 2555 Main St., St. Helena, (707) 967-1010 www.ciachef.edu

Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, 607 South St. Helena Highway, St. Helena (707) 967-9980 www.deandeluca.com

Genova Deli in Napa, Genova’s, 1550 Trancas St., Napa, (707) 253-8686.

Oakville Grocery, Hwy. 29 at Oakville Crossroad, (707) 944-8802. www.oakvillegrocery.com

Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg Company, 835 Charter Oak Ave., St Helena, (707) 963-4173 www.napavalleyoliveoilmfg.com

Steves Hardware, 1370 Main St., St Helena (707) 963-3423

Shackford’s Kitchen Store, 1350 Main St, Napa (707) 226-2132

Sunshine Market, 1115 Main St., St. Helena, (707) 963-7070.

Trader Joe’s, 3654 Bel Aire Plaza (Trancas and Highway 29), Napa. (707) 256-0806.

Vallerga’s Market, 3385 Solano Ave., 1525 Imola Ave., Napa; (707) 253-2620.

V. Sattui Winery, 1111 White Lane, St. Helena, (707) 963-7774. www.vsattui.com

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