Calistoga offers many reasons to visit the quaint, northern-most Napa Valley town. Mud baths, resorts both diminutive and grand, recreational activities, and wineries top the list. Now with the opening of Auro at Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley, fine cuisine provides added destination inspiration for both locals and tourists.  

Auro showcases a rotating five-course tasting menu that begins with a series of amuse-bouches, followed by house-made milk bread and two butters. Fourteen-day dry-aged meats and fish are central to the menu including dry-aged Shima Aji, a delicate fish paired with harvest apple, cilantro, and emerald crystal lettuce; and California White Duck complete with Medjool dates, pearl salsify, and Sonoma baby beets. Other standouts include a butter poached Norwegian crab served with pearl onions, and Kagoshima A5 Wagyu with walnut purée, creamed kale, and black trumpet mushrooms. Desserts include a house-made gianduja hazelnut chocolate tart and varied mignardises.

Auro Amuse-Bouches

Auro Kagoshima A5 Wagyu

All of this deliciousness is overseen by Mexico-born, and Los Angeles and Napa-raised executive chef Rogelio Garcia, who rose through the ranks in some of wine country’s most respected restaurants, before setting forth to San Francisco where he perfected his craft at notable spots like Traci des Jardins’ The Commissary and Michelin-starred Spruce and Luce. 

Garcia is also an alumnus of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 15 and author of the upcoming cookbook, Convivir: Modern Mexican Cooking in California’s Wine Country. His Auro inspiration is drawn from his time-honored relationships with farmers, foragers, and fishermen, such as Elysian Fields Lamb, Ōra King Salmon, and Wolfe Ranch Quail. He sources produce from a dedicated culinary garden at neighboring Triple S Ranch.

Auro Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia

“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to return to Napa—where my culinary journey began—and to create a distinctive dining concept from the ground up that pays homage to outstanding producers from California and beyond,” said Garcia. “This feels like the warmest homecoming. My Auro menu honors the exceptional ingredients of the region and the labor that brought them to us.”

Garcia’s cuisine is beautifully complimented by wine pairings curated by sommelier Derek Stevenson: Radio-Coteau La Neblina 2020 Pinot Noir, a Sonoma Coast terroir-driven wine with notes of cranberry, bing cherry, tobacco and Merryvale Vineyards Silhouette 2020 Chardonnay, a Napa white with a nod to the old-world winemaking techniques of Burgundy.

Auro Gianduja Hazelnut Chocolate Tart

Designed by award-winning hospitality design firm EDG, Auro draws on the organic palette of the surrounding landscape and the bucolic grounds of its Four Seasons home. Open and airy, the dining room features floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors which lead to an outdoor terrace with sweeping vineyard views of the resort’s on-site winery Elusa.

Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley Adult Swimming Pool

Auro also overlooks the resort’s two swimming pools, and the surrounding Hirsch Bedner Associates-designed rooms and suites. Those on the first level boast a wine cellar-like vibe of dark, sultry tones and low illumination, with gleaming white large bathrooms featuring soaking tubs. Upper-level rooms are the reverse – bright white design with black-tiled bathrooms. All rooms feature fireplaces, private, furnished terraces, fully stocked mini-bars, and the heavenly Four Seasons bed – the most ideal of ‘next stops’ after a multi-course Auro meal. 

Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley Guest Room

Photos courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley