Serving wine country cuisine with Tuscan accents, Siena is Napa's newest eatery -- located in the recently opened upscale Meritage Resort at Napa.

Occupying a sunny corner of the pastoral hotel -- which will open the nation's first subterranean spa early next year -- Siena serves three meals daily at the direction of executive chef Jeffrey L. Longenecker.

Seating 100, the indoor dining room celebrates one of Italy's best known events, Il Palio, the colorful horse race held every summer in southern Tuscany's picturesque medieval town.

The backbone of Il Palio are Siena's 17 contrade, likened to city wards or administrative districts. These well-defined neighborhoods were designated in the Middle Ages, basically to aid the many military companies hired to defend Siena's fiercely-earned independence from Florence and other nearby city-states.

Over the centuries, the contrada has lost its administrative function and become an area held together by its residents' commonality. Its role has broadened, so that all important events -- baptisms, deaths, marriages, church holidays, victories, even wine and food festivals -- are celebrated by, and only by, the contrada.

The colorfully decorated banners of the 17 Siena contrade adorn the walls of Siena, adding to the Tuscan-colored decor and large paintings of the famous horse race that brighten the room.

Patrons can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner in the main dining room or on an adjacent 50-seat outdoor patio. Just off the hotel lobby, the Meritage Bar also offers a limited menu (pizza, burgers, steamed mussels, sandwiches and such) throughout the day and late night.

Offered from 6:30 to 11 a.m., breakfast at Siena provides relatively traditional early morning fare, ranging from Irish oatmeal to buttermilk pancakes. "We decided not to reinvent the wheel at breakfast," said chef Longenecker with reference to fare that includes a $15 buffet of berries, seasonal fruits, granola, muesli, muffins, croissants, scones, pastries, bagels, cheeses and yogurt.

A la carte breakfast choices ($9-$12) include Belgian waffle, two eggs any style with breakfast potatoes and poached eggs Meritage (on grilled artichokes with shaved truffle), all served with a choice of applewood smoked bacon or country pork sausage.

A quartet of pizzas is offered at lunch, served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. They include Roma tomato with fresh mozzarella and basil, eggplant and summer squash with roasted garlic and fresh mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma and chorizo with Serrano ham and fontina cheese, plus roasted fig, caramelized onion and blue cheese. All are $12.

Mid-day sandwiches ($12-$16) include barbecued pork with spiced onion rings, Dungeness crab cake with Yukon gold potato chips, grilled Angus burger with white cheddar and fries, smoked turkey and avocado club as well as the ultimate comfort lunch -- grilled cheese and tomato soup, made with goat's milk cheddar on black olive batard served with roasted tomato bisque.

Luncheon entrees ($12-$28) range from Cobb salad with spit-roasted chicken and smoked bacon to grilled New York steak with five onion fondue and baked Peruvian potato, from ahi tuna Nioise with heirloom potatoes to fennel-crusted Alaskan halibut in wine country cioppino. Strozzapreti pasta with freshwater prawns comes with an interesting story. The name translates to "priest stranglers." The name comes from a story about a priest who ate so much pasta he choked. The pasta is made from short, twisted pieces.

At dinner, food and beverage director Sean Dempsey offers wine pairings for all of the menu options. For example, a Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse is recommended with pan-fried "drunken" baby abalone ($16) with grilled fennel and pickled red onions, while Rombauer chardonnay is teamed up with Dungeness crab cakes ($12) with a cucumber, red onion and mango relish.

Other starters ($7-$15) include chilled oysters with lemongrass, pickled ginger and lime juice mignonette, pan-seared Sonoma foie gras, oven-roasted mussels, smoked duck breast and hearts of romaine salad with prosciutto di Parma and creamy garlic dressing.

Served from 5:30 to 10 p.m., dinner features main courses that range in price from $18 for pinot-glazed Fulton Valley chicken with Yukon gold mashed potatoes to $34 for Meyer Ranch filet mignon with roasted Peruvian potatoes with Taleggio cheese and leek fondue. Other options include herb-roasted Alaskan halibut, prime rib of Niman Ranch pork, braised lamb osso buco, pan-seared scallops with black truffle risotto and lobster Fazzoletti, served with golden chanterelles, sheep's milk ricotta, squash blossom beignet and lobster bisque.

Desserts (all $7) include Valrhona chocolate budino, buttermilk panna cotta, white chocolate/mascarpone cheesecake, tiramisu and bing cherry and walnut crostata with pistachio gelato.

Siena's wine list contains more than 275 selections, allowing guests an opportunity to choose from producers in both Old and New World, with special emphasis on California, Oregon and Washington. More than two dozen wines are available by the glass. Corkage is $15, which is waived with each bottle purchased from the restaurant's list.

A native of Lancaster, Pa., chef Longenecker first came to the Napa Valley in 1995 when he served as banquet chef at Meadowood Resort. He spent the last six years as both executive chef and culinary director of the Sea Ranch Lodge on the Sonoma coast. He also spent two years as executive chef of the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort.

Siena is located in the Meritage Ressort at Napa, 875 Bordeaux Way, which is just west of the intersection of State Routes 29 and 221. For reservations, call 251-1950.