At J Vineyards & Winery, our philosophy is that wine and food enhance each other beautifully, and have always been meant to be enjoyed together. We carefully craft our Russian River Valley sparkling and varietal wines to complement food, and we offer these pairings with many of our tasting experiences at the winery. Our original recipes are developed in our kitchen by Executive Chef, Mark E. Caldwell, who works from an intimate knowledge of our wines to match them with the finest seasonal Sonoma County fare.

Mark grew up helping his mother make meals for their family of 10 children. Every meal was the size of a dinner party, and it seemed natural for him to move from the family kitchen to the restaurants of Northern California. He joined J Vineyards & Winery in 2003, and loves changing the menu regularly to reflect the freshest local ingredients. Some of his favorites include Prawns with Spicy Peanut Sauce paired with J Pinot Gris, or Braised Painted Hills Beef Short Rib Parmentier with J Pinot Noir. His favorite part of the job? Watching a guest take a bite of his food, a sip of our wine — and smile with pleasure.