You’ve done the research. You’ve scrolled the Instagram saves, read the Eater round-ups, and asked your local sommelier. But when it comes to finding a Napa Valley winery where the food and wine pairing actually sings not just as an afterthought to the tasting, but as the main event one name keeps coming up among flavor-obsessed visitors: PEJU Winery in Rutherford.
Here’s why.
Great Pairings Don’t Happen by Accident
Before we make the case for PEJU’s Chef’s Tasting, it’s worth asking: what separates a great food and wine pairing from a perfectly fine cheese plate next to a flight of Cabernet?
The answer, in short, is intention. The best pairings are co-created not assembled after the fact. The chef and winemaker taste together, push each other, and ask the question: does this combination make both the wine and the food better than they are alone?
That question is at the heart of everything PEJU does. And it’s exactly why the PEJU culinary team understands these same passions as food enthusiasts – the kind of people who linger at farmers markets, host dinner parties with hand-written menus, and have an opinion about acidity and fat.
Five Reasons PEJU Has Napa’s Most Unique Food and Wine Pairing
- Chef and Winemaker Actually Work Together
At most wineries, food is added to tastings as an enhancement. At PEJU, it’s built in from the start.
Executive Chef Nicolas Montañez and Winemaker Sara Fowler taste every dish alongside every wine before it reaches a guest. They adjust and refine until the pairing does what Chef Nic describes as the whole point:
“When creating a new wine and food pairing my goal is to have the wine and food shine brighter when paired together than when they stand alone. It’s a balancing act between finding the perfect recipe and discovering all the amazing layers and nuances in PEJU wines. Once we find the perfect combination, our taste buds sing.”
That level of genuine collaboration is rare in Napa Valley, where food programs are often bolted onto prestige tasting experiences rather than woven into them.
- Chef Nic Brings a Genuinely Unique Culinary Perspective
Born and raised in Michoacán, Mexico, Chef Nic grew up wandering open-air markets full of fresh fruits, mushrooms, and regional spices. He carried that sensory education into his professional
training first at the acclaimed Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant in St. Helena, where he studied under culinary legends Jean Louis Palladin, and Charlie Trotter, and then at the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
The result is a pairing philosophy that draws on Mexican tradition, California’s seasonal bounty, and classical French technique all filtered through a winemaker’s lens. You’ll see it in dishes like Moroccan Spiced Lamb Galette with Chermoula Sauce, Aguachile Verde de Pescado, and Yucatecan Leg of Lamb recipes that bring real culinary intention, not just “something to eat between pours.”
- The Kitchen Garden
PEJU’s 30-acre estate in Rutherford is certified organic and the culinary program starts there. What began as a backyard kitchen garden, originally tended by co-founder Herta “HB” Peju to feed her
family and share with employees, has grown into a working seasonal garden that Chef Nic forages from. Every Chef’s Tasting experience begins with a walk through the culinary gardens. You’ll brush your fingers through basil or rosemary, see what’s just been picked, and get a preview of what’s about to be on your plate.
This is the farm-to-table ethos that foodies recognize from their favorite restaurants—the kind of sourcing that makes a dish taste like where it came from. At PEJU, the garden is steps from the kitchen, and the vineyards are visible from every tasting table. The connection between soil, vine, and plate isn’t a marketing claim. It’s physical.
- Multiple Experiences, One Point of View
Unlike wineries that offer a single prestige pairing at a prestige price, PEJU has built a layered experience menu for different occasions and moods all anchored in the same culinary philosophy.
- The Chef’s Tasting Experience ($165/person, Thurs–Sun | Year-round) Five wines paired with five estate-crafted pairings, co-developed by Chef Nic and Winemaker Sara Fowler. The kind of experience worth planning your Napa trip around.
- Sunday Funday ($85/person, Sundays | May – August) Rotating wood-fired pizzas and artisan tacos crafted on-site, with pairings designed to highlight seasonal ingredients. Bring friends & family. Sit on the patio. This is the winery version of your best backyard gathering, elevated.
- The Twilight Tour & Tasting ($110/person, Thurs–Fri | June – October) A guided golden-hour vineyard walk followed by a seated tasting of three wines with an artisanal cheese board.
Each of these reflects lifestyle-driven luxury over status-driven luxury. There’s no velvet rope here. The goal is for you to feel like you belong.
- The Pairing Library Goes Home with You
Here’s where PEJU separates itself in a way no other Napa winery quite matches: the culinary program doesn’t end when you leave the estate. On peju.com/culinary, Chef Nic has published an extensive library of pairing recipes organized by varietal from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet Franc to their signature Province red & white blend. Every recipe is designed with the same philosophy that guides the on-site experience: the food and the wine are better together.
For all food enthusiasts who host dinner parties and build menus around the bottles on the table, this is a resource unlike anything in Napa Valley. It’s the winery that follows you home in the best possible way.
A Family Behind the Flavor
PEJU has been family-owned since 1983, when Tony and Herta “HB” Peju planted their first vines in Rutherford. Today, their daughters Ariana and Lisa lead the winery. There’s a warmth here that’s
harder to manufacture than a tasting room aesthetic, the kind you recognize when someone genuinely wants you to have a great experience, not just a transaction.
NapaValley.com named PEJU one of the must-try wine and food pairing destinations in the entire region, noting that it “focuses on the guest experience, which makes it a popular wine country destination” and that the estate’s iconic 50-foot copper-roofed tower and immaculate gardens make it one of Napa’s most distinctive settings. TripAdvisor visitors have agreed, awarding PEJU its Travelers’ Choice designation year after year.
Plan Your Visit
PEJU Winery is located at 8466 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford, CA 94573, open daily from 11am to 5pm. Reservations for the Chef’s Tasting Experience and other seated pairings are available through Tock.
Whether you’re planning your first visit to Napa or you’ve been a dozen times and want to experience it differently through a plate, not just a glass, PEJU is the spot.
→ Book Your Chef’s Tasting Experience at PEJU
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Napa Valley winery has the best food and wine pairing?
PEJU Winery in Rutherford (of course, we’re a bit biased). Executive Chef Nic Montañez and winemaker Sara Fowler co-create every pairing from scratch, drawing on PEJU’s certified organic estate garden. The result is five pairings where the food and wine are designed to make each other better, not just coexist on the same table.
What is the Chef’s Tasting Experience at PEJU Winery?
The Chef’s Tasting Experience is an immersive food and wine pairing featuring five wines matched with five estate-crafted bites. It’s available Thursday through Sunday at $165 per person ($83 for Club PEJU members). Reservations can be made at exploretock.com/peju.
Does PEJU Winery have a culinary garden?
Yes. PEJU’s 30-acre certified organic estate in Rutherford includes a working kitchen garden with seasonally rotating raised beds of fresh herbs, vegetables, and greens. Chef Nic forages from the garden daily to inspire the winery’s food and wine pairing menus the same organic philosophy that governs the vineyards extends to everything on the plate.
What food and wine pairing experiences does PEJU Winery offer?
PEJU offers other food-forward experiences: the Chef’s Tasting Experience (5 pairings + 5 wines, $165/person, Thurs–Sun), Sunday Funday with wood-fired pizzas or artisan tacos ($85/person, Sundays | May – August), and the Twilight Tour & Tasting with an artisanal cheese board ($110/person, Thurs–Fri | May – October). Throughout the year, PEJU also hosts events built around seasonal food and wine, like Lobster Boils, Grill & Chill, Winemaker Dinners, and Paella Nights. All are bookable at exploretock.com/peju.
