At St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, Executive Chef Peter Janiak has a simple belief: wine country shouldn’t feel like a test. Instead of asking guests to prove what they know, Janiak leads with food — using flavor, texture, and the instinctive way a bite changes a sip to make wine feel personal, approachable, and alive. It’s a philosophy that starts in the kitchen and carries through every course of our acclaimed Wine & Food Pairing Experience.

Janiak builds every pairing around the wine first, asking not “what dish can I create?” but “what do I want to eat with this?” The result is a five-course menu that reads like a conversation — rosé with Fort Bragg rockfish crudo, Zinfandel with bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, Port with buttermilk shortcake and pink peppercorn ice cream. His teaching tool is as simple as it is effective: taste the wine, take a bite, taste again. He calls it the “sip sandwich,” and it works because it lets guests feel the pairing happen rather than just hear about it.

Forbes contributor Noël Burgess recently spent time at St. Francis exploring how Chef Peter’s approach fits into a broader shift happening across wine country — one where hospitality leads with pleasure before expertise, and the table becomes the most powerful invitation a winery can offer. We think he captured it beautifully.

Read the full Forbes feature here →

Ready to taste the difference for yourself? Reserve your seat at our Wine & Food Pairing Experience — a five-course culinary journey led by Chef Peter and our expert wine educators. Prefer a more intimate introduction? Our Secrets of Sonoma Culinary Pairing offers a relaxed, self-guided exploration of Sonoma’s finest flavors. Either way, your table is waiting.