Pahlmeyer's star winemaker Katie Vogt on Napa, travel and great wine for rotisserie chicken

My earliest memories of wine were at my grandparents house in Anaheim [southern California]. My grandma was born and raised in France so French food and wine were always a focal point of family events. My grandma drank red wine her entire life – as she got older she would do half wine-half water, but the ritual was there. We would get small glasses with the water [and] wine mixture as kids when we sat down for meals.

The whole concept of gathering, eating and drinking was such a wonderful part of my childhood. I don’t know if I fell in love with wine as a beverage during those moments, but I definitely fell in love with the culture surrounding wine.

Wine transports you. It is a wonderful way to learn about different places, different cultures and different people. It is the perpetual learning and exploring that excites me.

My winemaking philosophy is very focused on the basics: how clean is the cellar? Were we intentional about the amount of lees we took when we racked that barrel? Are we careful to eliminate air exposure throughout the process? Having a mastery of the fundamentals of the cellar allows us to create ageable, cellar-worthy wines that will go the distance. It gives us the opportunity to purely express our sourcing and the decisions made in the vineyard.

I think Napa is such a unique and special wine growing region and I think that you truly have to experience it to understand and appreciate it. “Napa Cab” can mean so many different things depending on where it is farmed. I think it is a misconception that Napa doesn’t have the same level of sense of place that France does.

New York is such a fun city to explore. In Napa, not much is open past 9pm and in New York the city is just getting going at that time. It’s infectious. I love to grab a bar dinner at Le Bernardin – I respect [chef] Eric Ripert and his approach to food and wine so much.

Minetta Tavern is great for some people watching and a martini. Le Rock also has an awesome martini menu and is a great stop when I’m in that area. We have limited Chinese options in Napa so a stroll through Chinatown for some dumplings is always on the agenda. And bagels – so many good bagels.

I’ll start down the valley and work my way up; there are so many things to see, and eat. Stop at the Fatted Calf in the Oxbow Public Market for some of the best charcuterie in town. If you have the resources to take anything home cold – the diablo spatchcocked chicken is worth the effort. Bistro Don Giovanni is my favourite restaurant in Napa proper. When the weather is nice, a martini on the patio is pretty close to perfect.

Rent a bike in downtown Napa and ride the vine trail up to Yountville. In Yountville, the sushi at R&D Kitchen is top notch. I’m partial, but they have [Pahlmeyer’s] Jayson Chardonnay by the bottle and it goes great with the Osaka-style roll.

If you are looking to go all out – dinner at Auberge de Soleil is worth the stop. The view is out of this world and the food matches. If you find yourself in Calistoga, Solbar [Picobar – Solage resort and spa] is my favourite Mexican food in the valley.

Roast or Rotisserie chicken. I bought a rotisserie that sits on top of my Weber [grill] and it is the best thing ever (Cajun Bandit, if you’re interested). My grandma taught me the importance of a pan sauce and it is probably the thing I do best.

Chardonnay is typically my pairing of choice. A sunny Sunday, rotisserie chicken on the grill and a cold glass of Pahlmeyer Chardonnay does the trick for me.

Merlot with anything with truffle or mushrooms is such a great umami combo. The earthiness of them both really work well together.

If by cellar you mean linen closet taken over by wine boxes, then yes. I love Pinot Noir from all over – Sonoma Coast, Oregon [or] Burgundy – and Chardonnay, as well. I started my career on the Central Coast of California and I still enjoy drinking the Rhône-style wines from that area.

I drink a lot of white wine – I love Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. I really don’t discriminate when it comes to acquiring wines. Variety is the spice of life.

I love anything I can do with my lab Olive. She’s a hurricane of energy, so we love to get outside and move around. I did floral design in college and I still love to take on small projects to flex a different creative muscle. Flowers are instant gratification.

I also love to restore cast iron. I have an electrolysis tank that I set up and it is so gratifying to see the transformations. I got started with the pan that my grandma would make her roast chicken in that needed some TLC. It is really wonderful to think about all the meals she cooked in that pan and that now I get to do the same.