Napa Valley Grille is one of those restaurants that grabs you by the nose and doesn’t soften its grip until you’ve swilled down some wine and chomped into the irresistible bounty of foods indicative of northern California’s grape-growing regions.

Fresh slabs of warm foccacia, artisan cheese plates and a grill fed by peach wood are the preliminary sights and smells that leave you in disbelief that you’re dining in Horton Plaza. The wine list is copious, totaling more than 200 labels from the home state (about 40 percent of them from Napa). And the candlelit atmosphere is plush and contemporary, with a rotunda-like section in the back that pulls in partial views of the downtown skyline.

Executive Chef Joseph Barraco puts a rustic spin on his dishes, which essentially recapitulates the culinary activities of “wine countries” both in and outside of Napa Valley. The Harvest Platter, for instance, reads like the perfect come-on for sharing a bottle or two of pinot noir – smoked salmon, air-cured salami, prosciutto di parma and other savory pickings that sum up Barraco’s proclivity for hunting down top-quality ingredients.

My dining companion and I started instead with chunky, tender Dungeness Crab Cakes swathed in an original, silky-tasting paprika shrimp sauce. Strips of pickled mango further complimented the scheme with a finesse tang that breathes new life into this all-too-common appetizer. Equally arousing was a plate of baked brie effectively insulated in panko flakes to keep the innards warm and buttery. Alongside were two heads of squashy roasted garlic set atop pita triangles and onion confit braised down with honey and balsamic. More pinot, please!

Barraco proves that freshness isn’t compromised in the mid-winter season through his Scarborough Farms Organic Lettuces, featuring dark, peppery leaves and Blue Lake green beans tossed in a memorable vinaigrette of lemon, truffle and soy. My companion’s Hearts of Romaine with spiced pecans was also good, and drizzled with a gorgonzola dressing that was more creamy than it was sharp.

A lesson we learned here is to order at least one entrée from the peach wood grill, from which our amuse bouche (a small bit before the meal) originated in the form of two tiger shrimps set over black olive tapenade. The instilled smokiness from the wood tasted smoother than charcoal and sweeter than mesquite. Realizing that I could probably eat pigeons cooked over these darling flames, we were remiss to pass up such grilled items as Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast, Herb Rubbed Myers Filet Mignon, Cervena Venison Loin or Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin.

We gravitated instead to the menu’s other entrée section, where I discovered one of the best sautéed poultry dishes ever – Crispy Free Range Chicken. Barraco cooks the half bird with the skin side down, allowing the meat to render in its own fat. It’s then finished off in the oven, and the result is indeed crispy skin and a fiercely homey taste captured more often by the masters of French provincial cooking. The bonus ingredient was a bed of lentils soaked in a shallow layer of jus. Coincidentally, a customer at a nearby table ordered the same dish and we effused over it in unison.

Fettuccine with Maine Lobster would have been our replacement entrée for something off the grill. The chunked lobster meat was fishy rather than sweet and slightly tough. And the basil-cream sauce was too mellow for trudging through the entire mound of pasta.

A sampling of desserts quickly restored our Napa Valley fantasy. I’ve long been adverse to the flavor of goat cheese until trying Barraco’s rich and puffy Goat Cheese Cheesecake, balanced with just the right amount of sugar and encased with downy shavings of white chocolate. Incredibly refreshing was the trio of spiked sorbets – blackberry-raspberry zinfandel, pear-chardonnay and strawberry-champagne. Or if you’re seeking less mass, then just one bite of the chef’s assorted house-made truffles is like putting a whole slice of chocolate dessert in your mouth.

The restaurant, one of six in the country, is located at the top level of Horton Plaza near Nordstrom. Handsome wait service, big wine choices and gourmet preparations make this kitchen a shopping mall winner.