Recognized for the better part of this decade as creator of exquisite wine country desserts, Nicole Plue is one of five nominees for the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s award of best pastry chef in the nation.

Pastry chef at Redd — Richard Reddington’s haven of haute cuisine and nonpareil wine — Plue held down the same post at Julia’s Kitchen for several  years before relocating to Yountville.

She is one of five nominees for the Outstanding Pastry Chef Award this year. Fellow nominees include Gina DePalma (Babbo Ristorante e Entoca, New York), Pichet Ong (P*ONG, New York), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate, Chicago) and Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson (Tartine Bakery, San Francisco).

A native of Los Angeles, Plue spent three years in the pastry program at David Gingrass’ Hawthorne Lane and was opening pastry chef at Danny Meyers’ 11 Madison Park in New York. At one point in her career, San Francisco Magazine named her Pastry Chef of the Year.

Covering all aspects of the industry — from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors and food journalists to restaurant designers and architects and more — the James Beard Foundation Awards are the highest honors for food and beverage professionals working in America. The awards are presented each spring at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. This year’s ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, June 8.

Another Napa Valley nominee this year is Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani’s St. Helena restaurant, Terra, in the Outstanding Service Award category. The nominees are restaurants that have demonstrated high standards of hospitality and service for at least five years. Additional nominees are Canlis (Seattle), Spiaggia (Chicago), Vetri (Philadelphia) and La Grenouille (New York).

Slated to receive a 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award come June is Fritz Maytag, owner of Spring Mountain’s York Creek Vineyards, where he grows more than a dozen varietals and last year celebrated his 39th harvest.

In 1965, Maytag acquired San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Company, becoming a pioneer of American microbrewing. Since then, he has not only preserved the traditions of Anchor Steam beer production but also made it a national brand. In 1993, Maytag launched the Anchor Distilling Company whose Old Potrero Rye Whiskey and Junipero Gin quickly became models for a burgeoning artisanal distilling movement in this country. On top of that, since the 1960s Maytag has been in charge of his family’s Maytag Dairy Farms in Iowa. Produced since 1941, Maytag Blue Cheese was created by Fritz’s father.

More nominees

In the category of Best Chef in the Pacific region (California, Hawaii), Douglas Keane, chef/partner at Cyrus in Healdsburg, is one of five nominees. Also a partner in Market in St. Helena with Cyrus partner Nick Peyton, Keane shares the nomination with two San Francisco chefs, Craig Stoll (Delfina) and Michael Tusk (Quince), along with David Kinch (Manresa, Los Gatos) and David Myers (Sona, Los Angeles).

In the Mid-Atlantic region, Eric Ziebold, former chef de cuisine at The French Laundry in Yountville, has been nominated for his efforts at CityZen in Washington, D.C.

Two San Francisco restaurants are among those nominated as best restaurant in the nation this year — Boulevard (Nancy Oakes, chef/partner, and Pat Kuleto, partner) and The Slanted Door (Charles Phan, chef/owner). Other nominees are Los Angeles’ Campanile and Gramercy Tavern and Jean Georges, both in New York.

Nominated in the Wine and Spirits category of the James Beard Foundation’s book awards this year is “The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty” by Julia Flynn Siler. Also nominated in this  category are “Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar” by David Wondrich and “To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science and the Battle for the Wine Bottle” by George Taber.