Zeroing in on Zero Proof: Napa Valley Grille does non-alcohol right.

To Napa Valley visitors, the countryside seems to be spreading itself out for a picnic. Sea breezes modulate the sunny climate, and the landscape frames a vision of The Good Life, equal parts tranquillity and adventure, hills and vineyards punctuated by wild rivers, hot geysers, mineral springs and deep lakes. A unique Wine Country cuisine that lakes. A unique Wine Country cuisine that fuces tradition and inventiveness, emphasizing freshness and seasonality, is an essential part of it.

"When we set out to create the Napa Valley Grilles," Hazem Ouf, president and CEO of Constellation Concepts, Inc., explains "we wanted the food, wine, decor, menu -- the whole experience -- to be as close as possible to visiting the Napa Valley: very good, very fresh food in a setting of refined rusticity, the hospitable elegance of Wine Country, but all done with contemporary California flair."

To realize this vision, Ouf continues, "we knew we needed a top-notch beverage program that offered our diners not just superb boutique wines, liquors, and cocktails, but also a bold and broad-based non-alcohol program, one equally able to complement and complete the dining experience."

So good is the non-alcohol program that Cheers recognized it as the best of 2002.

"A first for us!" laughs Susan Sears, manager of training and the person responsible for the beverage programs for NVG, "a beverage award that isn't about our excellent wine selection! [NVG is a past recipient of the Cheers Best Wine Program award as well.] Seriously, we were pleased as punch, because it recognizes what we wanted to accomplish. We pride ourselves on a balanced beverage program. Our Zero-Proof Beverages are completely consistent with our mission -- and my passion -- to provide a uniquely Napa Valley dining experience in our restaurants."

When challenged to develop the envisioned bold and broadly based non-alcoholic beverage program, Sears says, "I imagined I was at the Oakville Grocery Store . . . what would I want to pack for a picnic in Napa Valley?"

Napa's Oakville Grocery Company, established as a general store in 1881, is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, and offers an extensive selection of California wines, cheeses, artisan breads, meat, fish, local produce, pastries, coffees and other beverages, and has several times been cited to be the best store in the country for picnic ingredients and specialty foods.

ZERO-PROOF DRINKS

Napa Valley Grille divides its Zero Proof Beverages into three categories: juices and lemonades, bottled beverages, and caffeine concoctions.

"Within the juices and lemonades category," Sears explains, "I like to mix the taste of fresh fruit into lemonade. The fresh fruit flavors come from Perfect Purees of Napa Valley, especially their red currant and white peach. Perfect Purees uses only field-ripened berries, fruits and vegetables, and their flavors and colors are intense. The product comes in 15-ounce plastic jars that we can fit our pour spouts into, and their shelf life is 18 months frozen, one week in the refrigerator. We use Sunkist frozen lemonade concentrate because it has proved itself the most consistent product, and we buy fresh orange juice from a local provider.

"Another set of local products we feature is ripe juices and verjus pressed from wine grapes and bottled by Navarro Vineyards; Gewurztraminer, for example and Pinot Noir. These are offered straight up and in mixed Zero Proof drinks such as 'Almost a Bellini' (gewurztraminer juice and Perfect Puree's apricot puree) and the Pinot Noir Cooler (pinot noir juice and Sprite).

Other popular non-alcoholic specialty drinks are "California Living" (fresh orange and cranberry juices) and the Zero Proof Bloody Mary (the mix, also used for the standard Bloody Mary, is made in house).

Bottled Zero Proof beverages include tea drinks from Republic of Tea, Novato, California, with flavored traditional teas like Mango Ceylon, and herbal tea blends like Ginger Peach, Raspberry Quince and Blackberry Sage. "Their bottles have a lovely shape," Sears points out, "that adds to the presentation.

"Although I go to many wine auctions and tastings," Sears continues, "there are other Napa Valley memories that are important to me, like sharing a cream soda or orange drink with my Dad. We found a source of natural soft drinks in the Napa Valley Soda Company (Calistoga Cola, St. Helena Citrus, Oakville Orange, Rutherford Root Beer, etc.), all delicious and all made from natural ingredients and beet sugar, with unique elements and flavor notes, such as hibiscus extract in the cherry soda, and eno (a grape skin extract, and possibly very good for us) in the grape soda."

"This is one of those living-the-dream Napa Valley businesses: the owner wanted to provide a natural product in a fun and artistic way. We love the labels on the bottles -- a hot-air balloon floating over the Valley, and I know we could sell a ton more of their sodas if they produced more -- the company started up just last year -- and if they could find a Chicago distributor."

NAPA STYLE

Also in the bottled beverages category is water. Servers are trained not to greet guests automatically with tap water. When taking drink orders, diners are asked if they would like a still (Panna) or sparkling (San Pellegrino) bottled water. The restaurants sell between 15 and 20 cases a week of one-liter bottles.

Caffeine Concoctions is an increasingly popular category of non-alcoholic (and also spiked) beverages, and NVG is thinking of expanding the list. "We serve hot teas from Mighty Leaf Tea Company of Sausalito," Sears says, "and our presentation makes them unforgettable. We use cast iron teapots on trivets, and this both intensifies the unique flavors and creates an atmospheric experience. Each tea pouch costs 35 cents and we sell the tea service for $3.95."

Warm drinks connote comfort, and "I like to key some of them to desserts," Sears admits, "like vanilla steamed milk with our warm flourless chocolate cake. How comforting does that sound? I also like to offer warmers like hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows and hot apple cider in both Zero Proof and spiked versions."

ZERO PROOF TAKES UP THE GAUNTLET

A mighty challenge confronted the Zero Proof Program when a new Napa Valley Grille opened and survived its first 28 days in Chicago without a liquor license. "It was the ultimate test of our planning and principles," Sears says, "we saw how important the selling of beverages by the serving staff can be.

"All of our servers are well-trained, initially and continuously, in our entire beverage program. They begin with a week of wine classes, learning to characterize tastes by comparisons ("oaky", for example, against "bright and crisp") and using an aroma wheel. Although I am in charge of the beverage program, my actual title is manager of training. I see every day what an advantage this is.

You can have great beverage ideas but if someone doesn't sell them, they won't move. Nothing moves without impetus! I provide each server with a 30-page bock that explains our beverage program in detail and how to suggest beverages to our diners. Each server also carries a small sheet listing appropriate glassware and garnishes.

"We taste and sample intensively at our daily a.m. and p.m. shift meetings and share ideas about what's working and what's not and why. I send out a weekly memo and frequent e-mail alerts about what's new, what's hot, what's not.

"We also work with the different regional locations to incorporate their suggestions. Each locale is unique. In Chicago, by the way, beverages make up 35 percent of total sales, and the percentage is 30 percent in other restaurants. Maybe rising to that initial challenge spurred us on."

WHAT ABOUT THE WINES?

The wines offered by Napa Valley Grille set the tone and establish a context for the entire beverage program. At least one person at each location -- Napa Valley Grilles now operate in Yountville, Los Angeles and San Diego, and in Providence, Rhode Island, Paramus, New Jersey, Minneapolis and Chicago -- is thoroughly versed in wine, and Michael Martin, the general manager of the Yountville location, maintains relationships with nearby vintners. Napa Valley Grille seeks out unusual reds and whites, and makes sure the serving staff knows them can describe and recommend them, and knows how to serve them. For instance, NVG recently acquired a '98 Schweiger Winery cabernet sauvignon at auction that the California locations were excited to add to their cab-by-the-glass promotions.

At all locations, the house wine program is by Round Hills. Regional variations create a different wine profile at each location; California operations, for example, prefer serving Malibu and Santa Barbara wines that remain unknown in the much of the country, and merlots are bigger sellers in Chicago, especially in the winter.

One result that lingers among consumers from earlier wine appreciation campaigns in the United States is the belief that varietals are superior to blends. Napa Valley Grille pays homage to the meritage concept by promoting blends the staff finds exceptional (e.g., Au Bon Climate, or as NVG refers to it, "ABC" from the Santa Maria Valley Winery -- 55 percent pinot gris, 45 percent pinot blanc).

All wines are offered by the glass AND by the bottle, and Sears says wine sales are almost equally balanced between the two.

THE WINE COUNTRY CONTEXT

NVG also has fun with the wine blend campaign, labeling an inventive group of mixed drinks "Meritage Martinis." A colorful example is the "First Crush" (Domaine Charbay Blood Orange Vodka, orange and cranberry juices).

Specialty drinks offer an opportunity to showcase the small-batch distilleries tucked among the vineyards of Wine Country; the fruit-flavored vodkas offered by Domaine Charbay, for example (Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, Ruby Red Grapefruit). The presentation and garnishing strike Wine Country picnic notes: "Olives! Olives! Olives!" (an olive juice Dirty Martini made with Ketel One Vodka) is served with a side plate of mixed gourmet olives, the Cucumber Gin Martini (Hendrick's Small Batch Gin) comes garnished with fresh cucumber, and the Winemaker's Martini (Knob Creek Bourbon and Navarro Vineyards Gewurztraminer Juice) with lychee nuts.

Some of the specialty drinks tweak the wine connoisseur's palate in an "Anything But Wine" list that feels free to sneak a spritzer-like drink or two in the back door; "Red Velvet Bubbles," for example (Beringer Port and sparkling wine).

NAVIGATING THE MENU

Sears noticed that many diners felt overwhelmed by the multi-page NVG wine list. For most guests, she concluded, "too much bulk! And too much to haul out for each course.

"We've tried to move the wine list closer to the food in several ways," she says. "We have special short lists; for example, we're just now trying out a short list titled 'Wines We Love' and these range from $24 to $72 a bottle. We also have short lists titled 'Food Friendly Wines' and 'Staff Selections."

Placement on the menu can also suggest placing an order. Espresso-based drinks and hot teas appear on the dessert menu, and this has boosted their sales. Another dessert possibility is a stand-alone drink from the group NVG calls "Liquid Desserts." In this context, the classic Grasshopper and Brandy Alexander seem new again. "I can tell you," Ms Sears affirms, "there's a buzz of excitement when that big green drink sails through the dining room!"

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"I see how hard our chefs work to seek out fresh foods by season," Napa Valley Grille's manager of training Susan Sears explains, "how they constantly update and fine-tune their menus, and innovate new offerings. I feel that as beverage people, we have to work just as hard, spend just as much time on our menus, and invest them with our creativity and originality.

"I'm thinking we, too, need to make up seasonal lists of wines, specialty drinks and Zero Proof offerings to match the seasonality of the chefs' menus. NVG's Summer Margaritas featured light seasonal tastes like watermelon and these were a big hit. We also broke but a short list of Summer Wines our guests liked.

"Chefs observe what people eat and how they want to eat. One of the chefs came up with the idea of Perfect Pairs, a list of six 'little plates' of bite-sized offerings matched to two ounces of just-right wine (or Zero Proof alternatives). This allows diners to sample or graze -- or both, and creates a new course that is more than an appetizer, less than a full entree. Each of our Napa Valley Grilles may sell 150 Perfect Pairs Trios (3 bites, 3 wines, or 3 bites and Zero Proofs) a night.

Our guests like testing and trying, and it's a good way to introduce lesser-known Wine Country offerings such as port and dessert wines to the rest of the country, so we now offer special flights (three samples)in our locations outside California.

"Our chefs mind their inventories and their bottom lines. They will invent a special dish to use odd bits, and we borrowed from this idea to create a "Last of Vintage" list. We may have just one or two bottles left of a wonderful wine, and this selling point emphasizes both its special character, and that this may be the last chance to experience it.

"Another way chefs manage their inventories is to cross-utilize ingredients. We also cross-utilize the lemonade concentrate and fruit purees we use in our Zero Proof drinks in alcoholic versions: the refreshing Blood Orange Madras (Domaine Charbay Blood Orange Vodka, fresh orange juice and cranberry juice) and the Meyer Lemon Drop (Domaine Charbay's Meyer Lemon Vodka and lemonade), and we mix the white peach puree with sparkling wine for a White Peach Bellini.

"Innovation and invention? We're thinking about Zero Proof and Meritage Martini drinks featuring pomegranate and ginger."

Aurora Gallagher is a writer based in Austin, Texas.