Tuesday, November 4, 7:00 p.m.
Members $100, guests $125

As one of the “Great Chefs of the Napa Valley,” on the television show of the same name, Pilar Sanchez showed viewers her take on fresh seasonal wine country cuisine, using locally farmed produce, foraged mushrooms, and, of course, excellent wines. For one night, Sanchez, who also appeared on Melting Pot’s Mediterranean Table is stepping out of the television and into the Beard House, partnering with renowned Beaulieu Vineyard to offer us the cooking that Caroline Bates in Gourmet called “the best kept secret in Napa Valley.”

Fall is the busiest time of the year in Napa, and we are catching Sanchez at a fruitful time in her career. She was recently the head chef of the Wine Spectator restaurant at CIA—Greystone, but now plans to open her own restaurant in Napa, Pilar, this spring. Critics and fans who’ve tasted Sanchez’s rustic, seasonal dishes are waiting with eager anticipation. After her trip to Greystone, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Jane Citron urged readers to taste Sanchez’s food, such as lobster minestrone and sautéed scallops with sweet white corn flan, “firsthand.” Napa Life described Greystone Wine Spectator as “one of the most attractive and interesting restaurants in all the Napa Valley…a must stop.”

Sanchez’s affinity for and knowledge of wine comes from years of experience. After growing up in Santa Barbara, California, learning traditional Mexican dishes from her mother and grandmother, at age 18 Sanchez went to Bordeaux to cook for the field workers during the grape harvest. Years later, she returned to France to work at Café del Sol. Stateside, Sanchez has worked at some of California’s finest restaurants including The Wine Cask and Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, Ernie’s and the Four Seasons Clift in San Francisco, and the celebrated Restaurant at Meadowood in the Napa Valley.

Founded in 1900 by Bordeaux native Georges de Latour, Beaulieu Vineyard has become one of California’s most respected wineries, thanks in no small part to the leadership of current winemaker Joel Aiken, who has been with BV since 1982. The winery has expanded greatly in the past century, but still grows on the original vineyards planted by de Latour, BV #1 and BV #2, and honors his legacy with the George de Latour Private Reserve. Virtual Gourmet John Mariani wrote, “I have for years—decades, really—always felt that the most consistently fine wine made in California has been Georges de Latour Private Reserve.”