The Kelleher Family, which owns Brix Napa Valley in Yountville, announced that the restaurant has re-opened following a major renovation.
A classic Wine Country restaurant located on a heritage property, Brix Napa Valley has long been a local favorite. Originally opened in March of 1996, and surrounded by the Kelleher Family Vineyard, Brix Napa Valley has been creating farm-to-table cuisine for more than two decades, while welcoming Napa Valley locals and travelers with the Kelleher family’s warmth and hospitality.
The Brix Napa Valley estate is located in the heart of Wine Country, just north of downtown Yountville, and offers a complete dining experience that indulges all of the senses. This 16-acre culinary destination includes 25 long-established, raised gardening beds and orchards that produce fresh ingredients for the kitchen year-round – plus a 10-acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the famed Oakville appellation. The Kelleher family purchased the former Grape Vine Inn in the mid-1990s and created Brix Napa Valley in 1996, while dedicating themselves to planting and cultivating the gardens, orchard and vineyard. Kelleher family patriarch, Don Kelleher, named the restaurant after “brix,” the crucial measurement of sugar levels in grapes just before harvest.
In re-designing Brix Napa Valley, Shopworks Design Studio of Napa tapped into the restaurant’s location in the heart of Wine Country to inform its agricultural chic style. Blurring the line between indoor and outdoor dining, the team at Shopworks opened up the restaurant so that more guests could enjoy one of the best views of the vineyards and Mayacamas Mountains in Napa Valley. The new design buzzes around a bar located in the center of the restaurant, which now has convenient charging stations for guests’ cell phones and laptops. The cozy fireplace and stone walls that locals remember well have been retained, and fun, circular booths have been added along with new wood and tile floors that give Brix Napa Valley a rich, welcoming feel.
“My family and I are so excited to welcome everyone back to Brix Napa Valley,” says Valerie Kelleher Herzog. “We have been blessed with one of the best views in the area and abundant culinary gardens. With our refreshed design, we’ve opened up the restaurant so that guests can enjoy an expansive view of the sustainably-farmed gardens where much of our produce is grown, alongside our Kelleher Family Vineyard, which produces highly-sought Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon for Kelleher wines and other esteemed Napa Valley wineries.”
Led by Executive Chef Cary Delbridge, Brix Napa Valley is now focused on eclectic California fare. An alum of San Francisco restaurants Town Hall and Farallon, Delbridge says he is inspired daily by the gardens right outside his kitchen. He has added nearly a dozen new dishes to the lunch and dinner offerings and is experimenting with ingredients like koji for new standouts such as Cajun Red Beans with farro verde and smoked tofu and Liberty Farms Duck Breast with sweet potatoes, turnips, savoy cabbage, pearl onions and huckleberry hoisin sauce. Other new additions at Brix include:
- Punch bowls served in the garden and paired with savory éclairs
- Intriguing wine flights, including a flight of wines made by renowned winemaker Philippe Melka
- Craft cocktails made with herbs and flowers fresh from the Brix garden
- The “Barking Lot,” where guests can bring their dogs to relax in a shady grove
The experience of the 16-acre Brix Napa Valley estate includes the opportunity to stroll through the gardens that surround an expansive lawn; indoor and outdoor dining with spectacular views of the estate gardens, Kelleher Family Vineyard and the Mayacamas Mountains; a welcoming dining room and lively central bar; and intimate, private spaces for special events and weddings for parties ranging in size from two to hundreds of guests. For fans of Kelleher Family wines, Brix proprietor and vintner, Valerie Kelleher Herzog, hosts tastings by appointment, paired with lunch in her family’s vineyard, just outside the restaurant.
