David Arthur Chardonnay with Salmon and Ahi Tuna at Vintij Grand Blvd, Sandestin
Staycationing at The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental home, we dined at Vintij Wine Bar and Restaurant on Grand Boulevard in (San)Destin. This is one of our favorite go-to restaurants that we try to frequent each time we’re in town. This was a near replay of our Delightful wine lunch at Vintij Grand Boulevard, featured in this blogpost last spring.
I wrote about Vintij and their combination wine shop and restaurant in more detail in this earlier blogpost, Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin, excerpted here.
Vin’Tij Food & Wine has been a local favorite restaurant for over 26 years and was recently voted as the “Best Restaurant in Walton County” by Emerald Coast Magazine.Vin’Tij is known for their creative menus preparing fresh seafood, pasta and beefsteak entrees, and, an impressive wine boutique with an artful carefully selected collection of wines across the spectrum of varietals, styles and price points.
Most notable is a collection of rare, highly allocated ultra-premium labels.
Vin’Tij is the fullfillment of the vision based on passion for food, wine and people of founder/owner Todd Reber. Todd worked in the food and wine trade in several highly acclaimed restaurants along the Emerald Coast starting in 1990. He opened Vin’Tij Food & Wine in 1998 building upon relationships he had developed with wine makers, purveyors and sommeliers throughout the world, and his learnings from wine educational events in California, Oregon, Germany and Spain.
Vin'Tij Food & Wine won “Best Restaurant In Walton County” in the 2023 Perfect in South Walton Awards in recognition of Todd, Chef Ignacio and the entire Vin’Tij team making it ‘one of the best overall dining experiences in the area’.
Chef Ignacio Bernal was inspired by his mother to develop an interest in and pursue a career in culinary arts. He began training under Chef Todd Misner at Stinky’s Fish Camp in 2012. Under Misner’s mentorship, Bernal’s skills and cooking techniques elevated to a new level. It was at Stinky’s Fish Camp that Chef Bernal was promoted to sous chef as he continued to fine tune his skills and continued to grow under Misner’s leadership.
In 2018, Chef Ignacio joined Vin’tij to apply his vision and knowledge of wine and food pairing as Chef de Cuisine. At Vin'Tij he has developed diversified menu with unique dishes to compliment the extensive wine selection. Chef Ignacio is Vin’Tij’s partnering Chef where he has received the “BEST CHEF AWARD” in 2025 from VIP Destin Magazine!
I wrote up top of this post that this was a near replay of an earlier lunch outing at Vintij. As featured in that earlier blogpost, we chose to dine outside, and we both ordered the same entrees as before. The difference today was our wine selection.
We had a delightful lunch sitting outside on the patio at Vin’tij Wine Bar in the tony Grand Boulevard shopping center, where you can purchase a bottle and enjoy with small bites, lunch or dinner.
I wrote about Vin’tij and their extensive wine shop selection in this blogpost last autumn - Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin.
As before, before lunch we had the delicious Bread Basket with olive oil, Roasted Garlic, Marinated Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese.
Just like our lunch last spring, Linda order the Seared Ahi Tuna with marinated cucumber Marinated Cucumber Salad, Sriracha Kewpie Mayonnaise, Chili Oil & Ponzu.
And, as before, once again I ordered the Mango Ginger Salmon with stir fried vegetable cous-cous which I enjoyed immensely last time when I wrote, “It was delicious, as good as any salmon entree I’ve ever encountered.’
A departure from our earlier outing was the wine. From the wine shop I selected this ultra-premium Napa Valley Chardonnay from one of our favorite producers. Our visit to David Arthur estate vineyards and winery on Pritchett Hill in 2013 was a highlight of our Napa Valley trip - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.
A highlight and targeted visit of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 was our visit to David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery. We've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties since the 1997 vintage but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. The property is situated up at the end of Long Ranch Road up atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range. The drive up offers some spectacular vineyard views and vistas of the Napa Valley below. The adjoining vineyards represent some of the premier producers of Napa Valley wines - Brand, Bryant, Colgin, Continuum, Montagna, the new Del Dotto property Villa Del Lago, and Ovid. Not (yet) designated an appellation, never-the-less, it is fast becoming one of the premiere wine growing areas of Napa Valley.
David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.
We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.
David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, all are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura running the office and daily operations.
A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long were with us. Wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together.
Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..
David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.
We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.
David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, all are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura running the office and daily operations.
A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long were with us. Wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together.
Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..
David Arthur Napa Valley Chardonnay 2019
The grapes for this vibrant and expressive wine are grown in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley at the southern end of the valley floor. The close proximity to San Pablo Bay provides a cooler climate for which these vines thrive. Morning fog and cool off-shore breezes allow the fruit extended hang time resulting in lower sugars and higher acidity.
Winemaker notes - “This is where we get the ineffable characteristics of complexity; balance, nuance, elegance and finesse. This wine is unfiltered, unfined, aged on the lees and has undergone full malolactic fermentation. This Burgundian-inspired wine is crisp, complex, and full-bodied.”
Winemaker Notes - “A golden straw color with tints of green offers aromas of ripe Bartlett pear and Fuji apple. There is a freshness to the fruit as well as notes of lemon rind, pineapple and white fig. The oak spice is subtle with vanilla bean crème brulee notes. The palate is broad and expansive yet a mineral acidity balances the texture while flavors of white peach, green apple skin and kiwi carry the length of the palate.”
This release was rated 93 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
This had a strong resemblance to the Kosta Brown Chardonnay we enjoyed earlier this summer with its full, round, rich tasting profile, and same price-point, albeit slightly less elegant and polished. I wrote about that label that we enjoyed immensely in this blogpost at the time - Kosta Browne Chardonnay at The Cellar Wine Bistro Lafayette.
Golden straw colored, medium to full-bodied with a rich full round texture, balanced layers of ripe-mango, peach, honeysuckle, yellow apple and pineapple fruit, with notes of toasted almonds, nutmeg, toast and hazelnut flavors, and a hint of background oak and bright acidity on a long sumptuous finish.
RM 94 points.
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