AficioNada

Rather than tuck in, cut costs, reduce the calendar to the bare minimum and try to simply ride out the recession, Martini House, one of my favorite Napa Valley spots, is filling the summer with tasty, tantalizing events and eats.

First, there's the Battle of the Vines, a weekly competition among local wineries to see whose wine continues to be poured by the glass. This week: Martin Estate 2003 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon versus the 2005 Beaulieu Vineyard "Georges de Latour" Private Label. My money is on the underdog, Martin Estate, although perhaps that's because I'm doing some bookkeeping for the boutique, family-run property tucked into the heart of Rutherford, Napa Valley. (Everyone can please wipe that shocked look off your faces at the mention of me keeping someone's books.) Strangely, the stunning 19th century stone chateau housing Martin Estate was where Georges de Latour made some of his first wines for Beaulieu.

The wines from Martin Estate are the equivalent of plucking an Early Girl tomato fresh from your home garden. The wines are 100-percent estate grown; they're subtle and elegantly understated, much softer than its competitor, whose wines do come from a notable blockbuster year in the Napa Valley. It's a food wine and just chameleon enough to pair well with a variety of Martini House's menu items, including the pan roasted venison, the roasted Colorado lamb, and the portobello mushroom "steak". I think the savory earth and herb elements of the wine, along with its soft dark fruits, will just sing with that mushroom. Yes, I'm biased. But, yes, I have also gotten to know - quite intimately - the rich collection of blended flavors this wine has to offer.

If you get a chance, head over to Martini House all this week to sip, savor and vote for this great wine find.

In addition to the "Battle," Martini House is also celebrating Riesling Week, now in its fifth year, by offering a selection of German, Austrian and Alsatian Rieslings by the glass, as well in a special Riesling Week Flight ($20). In addition, guests will find select Riesling pairings among the restaurant's many dinner menus throughout the week.