Rumors of the death of Redd, the relatively new restaurant in Napa Valley that showcases the delicious, Italian-inflected cooking of Richard Reddington, have been greatly exaggerated. Apparently the venue is shutting down from January 15, 2007 to cut down on its noisy acoustics, but will open again on the 24th.

Thank Bacchus for the resurrection. We visited this restaurant in late December and loved it. The food’s great, but the service … after being roundly mistreated at the trendy Myth Restaurant in San Francisco, we were so happy to have swift, subtle, and smart service at Redd. Highlights: a wine recommendation at nearly half the price of the bottle I was first considering, a Walter Hansel Vineyards “South Slope” Pinot Noir from Sonoma’s Russian River, that won us over with its vibrant fruit, round soft mouthfeel, and long long finish. Almost as rewarding was the help of General Manager Guy Rebentisch, who helped us find our afternoon wine tasting appointment, even to the point of printing out directions and a brief winery description from the Internet.