My first experience with a wine from Ca’Momi was the Ca’ Secco sparkling wine offered by the glass at Uncorked in the Sovereign North Plaza. Ca’ Secco is a fun, simple, refreshing, light sparkling wine that is made in California with the same method as Prosecco made in Italy. While I have seen other wines on the shelf made by Ca’ Momi, I took little notice until a recent trip to Jamaica by Kathy Oates, Ca’ Momi’s director of export sales, who was here visiting clients and conducting wine tastings with their wine importer Select Brands. After Kathy’s passionate presentation, which included the story of the owner’s journey from Italy to the Napa Valley, USA, I wanted to try all their wines.

The Definition of Ca’ Momi

Ca’ Momi is Italian for “House of Momi. Ca’ = Short for “Casa” pronounced “ka”,

Momi = Short for Momi dea Bionda pronounced “moh-me”. This is the name given to the Migotto family home in the Veneto region of Italy. The home’s nickname comes from local legend (and prior owner of the house) Momi dea Bionda. Ca’ Momi is owned and operated by three Italian immigrants to the United States – CEO and winemaker Dario De Conti; Chief Evolutionary Officer Valentina Guolo-Migotto and Production Director/Winemaker Stefano Migotto.

Food and wine are very important to Italians and they wanted to produce wines that not only reflected their roots, but more importantly, wines in the Napa Valley that you’d want to fill your glass with more than once!

Ca’ Momi Portfolio

There are three lines of wines in addition to the Frizzante line. The House Wines: two of their most popular wines are the white Bianco di Napa (a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Viognier and or Gewurztraminer blend) and the Rosso di Napa, a red Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. The Passion Wines include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Their top tier is the Reserve line, which consists of a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon.

What we tasted

Kathy poured both house wines which were playful, fun and approachable. We were very privileged to taste the 2011 Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir which is the first vintage of the Reserve Pinot Noir – a most elegant light-bodied expression of Carneros Pinot Noir. I thoroughly enjoyed the two wines from the Passion line, which included the 2013 Chardonnay – a creamy lush, refreshing well-balanced Chardonnay and 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon – a rich spicy round, powerful but still approachable.

Having been in search of a pouring Chardonnay for home, I suspect I’ve found it!

The partners also own Ca’ Momi Enoteca, which is a full-service Italian restaurant that uses fresh, local, organic and Italian ingredients to create authentic Italian cuisine, and is located inside the bustling Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa. The McConnells of Select Brands dined at the Ca’ Momi Enoteca on a recent visit and have declared it one of the most memorable meals of their entire trip.

Christopher Reckord – Information Technology Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter: @Reckord