Cana's Feast Winery

The smell of the baking focaccia bread greeted me. I had walked by the bocce court and entered through the patio door into the barrel-lined tasting room. A small crowd of tasters were listening to the pourer explain the winery’s special focus on Italian wines, including nebbiolo, sangiovese, and barbera. My initial thought was that I needed an emergency glass of sangiovese to go with the focaccia. My second thought centered on the fact that I had stumbled into a special winery and a terrific tasting room with the auspicious name of Enoteca, which is Italian for wine cellar.

It was at a wedding feast in Cana that Jesus performed his first miracle. All reports indicate that a good time was had by all, especially when Jesus turned water into wine. The parable was Gino Cuneo’s inspiration in naming his winery Cana’s Feast, which also offers a feast of great Italian food with its wine. I glimpsed at the menu and noted traditional Italian headers: “Antipasti,” “Zuppa,” “Insalata,” “Primi,” and “Secondi.” I rehearsed saying, “I’d like your raviolo with whole-milk ricotta, morel mushrooms and fresh farm egg with a bottle of your Bricco Sangiovese.” On the bottom of the menu, I read the sentence, “Menu subject to change due to availability and inspiration from the garden.” I found this curious at best, but later when I meandered by the well-tended garden, I got it: Everything on the menu is both fresh and local.

Within this world of fine food and wine, winemaker Patrick Taylor produces 6,000 cases of wine annually, one small batch at a time. His collection of red wines include blends with the names Bricco Rosato, Bricco Two Rivers Bordeaux Style, Bricco Sangiovese, Cana’s Feast “Cuvée G” Pinot Noir, and Cuneo Syrah.

I joined a group of other tasters and eventually, armed with a glass of Bricco Rosato, retreated to the stone-paved patio to take in the spectacular views of the Coast Range and the aroma of that baking focaccia. The winery’s Mediterranean-inspired stucco colors perfectly complement the nearby cypresses. To my left, a group of four visitors played bocce, juggling the bocce ball in one hand with a glass of wine in the other. I wondered if they knew that the Romans had refined the game centuries after its debut in ancient Egypt. Funny how food, wine, and games go together just as well today as they did in times long past.