Napa's long Italian love affair rolls on

"Our minestrone is the best. I use my mother-in-law's recipe - people come in and buy it by the quart. I can't tell you what's in it, because then I'd have to kill you," Negri's proprietor Evelyn Negri laughs before continuing to extol the virtues of the restaurant's heirloom Italian family dinner dishes.

"We also have home-made ravioli and gnocchi; everyone tells us that they're the best."

Negri's has been serving hungry patrons in California's wine country since the late 1930s. It is located in Occidental, a town 100km north of San Francisco on the highest point of the old narrow gauge railroad which once hauled giant redwood logs to the mills. When it first opened Negri's Occidental was a pitstop for many travellers on the San Francisco-Eureka "Iron Horse". Theresa Negri cooked and Joe Negri ran the bar; today, Theresa's daughter-in-law Evelyn Negri and her daughter Sandy Negri manage the homespun dining room.

Couples cuddle up in front of the fireplace; Italian paintings depicting wine and cheese, some painted by sister-in-law June Rossini, adorn the walls. Favourites such as Noni's "world famous" home-made meat ravioli - a blend of beef, pork, swiss chard and herbs - are still made from recipes passed down from Theresa's family in Lucca; every main course comes with minestrone soup, a green salad, antipasto, ravioli, zucchini pancake, salami and a baguette and is served with fries, mashed potato or seasonal sautéed vegetables.

"We also have a delicious duck on our menu," says Evelyn. "We roast it in the morning, get all the fat off it and serve with an Italian-style brown gravy."

Napa and Sonoma might be most famous for their wines and high-end dining, but there are also myriad old-school Italian eateries catering to those who like it homespun rather than haute. Thousands of Italian immigrants settled the region in the 1860s to work in the quarrying and timber trade; many of their descendents still live in the valleys' charming towns and most Italian eateries are steeped in local history.

Ca'Bianca - set in the Marshall House, built by Californian pioneer James Marshall in 1876 - evokes a provincial family mansion. The villa - family-owned and operated for 35 years - feels like it could double as a mob boss movie set.