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Notes from the Osteria — Italian food, wine, and the slow pleasure of a long table in Santa Rosa wine country.

Italian Food Blog Santa Rosa — Capriciano Journal

Notes from our kitchen and our cellar — on Italian cooking, on Sonoma wine, and on the evenings worth planning. The Capriciano Journal is our Italian food and wine blog, written from our osteria at 505 Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa. Browse Special Occasions for our celebration guides, or Wine Country Dining for eating and drinking well in Santa Rosa.

Italian Culture

Hosting a Corporate Dinner in Santa Rosa Wine Country

Inside Our Italian Food and Wine Blog

Our Italian food and wine blog stays close to the table. We explain the Italian wine regions behind our list, why handmade pasta differs from dried, how the antipasti course works and what makes wood-fired pizza its own craft. We also write about aperitivo and digestivo, pairing wine with seafood and with pasta, the difference between an osteria, a trattoria and a ristorante, and planning a date night or an anniversary dinner in wine country.

Close-up of Burrata Salad with grilled peach, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and arugula, from our Italian food and wine blog

Hand turning a pizza with a long peel inside the flaming wood-fired oven at Capriciano Osteria

Close-up of Risotto ai Frutti di Mare with clams, shrimp and basil, seen from above, at Capriciano Osteria

Round cream-topped dessert with a cocoa dusting and three spoons, seen from above, at Capriciano Osteria

Where should I start if I’m new to Italian wine?

Start with our beginner’s guide to Italian wine regions, then read our piece on pairing Italian and California wine with pasta. Both connect straight to the list at Capriciano, where Sicily, Piedmont and Tuscany sit next to Sonoma County and Napa Valley. At dinner, a flight lets you taste three wines side by side: choose the Sparkling, Italian White, Italian Red or Vin Santo flight.

Does your Italian food and wine blog cover pasta and pizza?

Yes. Our posts on fresh versus dried pasta, the Italian antipasti course and the art of Italian wood-fired pizza explain the traditions behind three parts of our dinner menu. When you visit, you’ll find them on the table: antipasti served cold and warm, a pasta list that includes Ravioli al Limone and Rigatoni Mezzi, and pizzas baked in our firewood oven, from the Margherita to the Pizza Capriciano.

What are aperitivo and digestivo?

They are the two drinks that frame an Italian dinner: the aperitivo opens the appetite and the digestivo closes the meal. Our posts on each explain the ritual. At Capriciano both are wine-based, from Cocchi Americano and Cappelletti Spritz before dinner to Vin Santo, Moscato d’Asti and Recioto after it, because we serve beer and wine only. Our dessert wines come in small 2.5 oz and 5 oz pours.

Do you have guides for special occasions?

Yes. The Special Occasions category gathers our celebration guides, and the Wine Country Dining category covers eating and drinking well in Santa Rosa. Among them are guides to planning an anniversary dinner in Sonoma County and an Italian date night in Santa Rosa. When you’re ready to plan your own evening, our event pages for The Long Table, Corporate Dinners and Birthdays & Milestones take it from there.

Read, then taste: reserve a table online or on OpenTable, and get directions to 505 Mendocino Ave for dinner from 5 PM.