Ca'Momi
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The
Italian Winery and Enoteca in Napa Valley
When I'm asked who has the best deal for price as well as taste,
I have to say CA' Secco wine, a product of CAMOMI winery and enoteca
found in downtown Napa. Here is a place for strictly authentically
Italian wine and foods to capture the Northern Italian style trattoria
in a family environment. There, you can select takeout or sit
down service, all accompanied by the wonderful Italian styled
wines of Ca'MOMI.
CAMOMI,
a relatively new winery and restaurant located in the Oxbow Market
Place in downtown Napa, is strictly Italian, authentically Italian,
and let's not leave out, deliciously Italian. In fact, owners
Valentina Guolo-Migotto and winemaker Dario De Conti have gone
to a lot of trouble to transport their culture from Italy to the
world's best wine making region, Napa, all on a hunch. A hunch
that they could have a better life, make fabulous wine, connect
with their constituency, and have a future.
That
says a lot about America. We listen to many stories about the
decline of the American economy and subsequent way of life, but
according to Valentina and Dario, the uprooting of their family
and way of life in Italy was worth everything they had to go through.
They still feel, even now, after being here first as a winery
since 2006, and then a restaurant since 2010, that their chances
for success are far superior here in the Napa Valley than in their
native land of Italy.
Many
wineries when starting out, choose to go the route of land, crops
and winery production. Owners Valentina and Dario decided to make
their authentic Italian food the focal point, and promote their
wines by pairing them with authentically prepared recipes, and
wines made by CEO and winemaker Dario De Conti. Every recipe is
an authentic Italian recipe handed down by either generations
of being in the family. Although there is a minimum of grape growing
going on with CA MOMI the majority of wines are made by carefully
selected premium grapes grown in the Napa Valley, and then carefully
crafted by experienced Italian wine maker Dario De Conti.
We
opened up our tasting with a selection by Dario di Conti, the
Ca'Secco.
Ca'
Secco is a fun, light and refreshing Frizzant , a soft sparkling
wine with fruit and flower notes and a hint of minerality that
makes it incredibly easy to drink, especially when served very
cold. The hints of a light lemon zest with accents of stone fruit
from the apricot family make this wine something to keep on hand
for those unexpected visitors. The zesty mouth feel comes from
the unusual mix of grapes: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, Gewürztraminer,
and muscat which the winemaker fermented a second time in pressured
temperature controlled tanks, where it comes sparkling before
bottling. It was a nice way to open up our gathering, as we were
about to taste a lot of really wonderful Italian food.
Ca'
Momi Enoteca is one of the few Italian restaurants in the country
that is VPN certified, meaning it specializes in truly authentic
Pizza Napoletana. Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) is an organization
that certifies the authenticity of Pizza Napoletana.With an emphasis
on very few ingredients, this simple pizza is cooked at 900 degrees
for 90 seconds. This certification is given to pizzerias who meet
strict requirements that respect the tradition of the art of the
Neapolitan pizza making. This means when you taste Pizza Napoletana
at the Enoteca, you are enjoying pizza, exactly how it would taste
as if you were in Naples.
We
use premium, locally-sourced, organic ingredients whenever possible.
We support and work with They work with local purveyors for the
fresh and perishable ingredients, and they import Italian products
when possible and available. "Our goal is to grow our business
ethically and mindfully while offering the highest quality obsessively
authentic Italian foods.
Our
visit there was about sampling the highlights of the menu paired
with CA Momi wines. Our first presentation was the MISTO, a selection
of house cured meats paired with a selection of cheeses, and fresh,
marinated artichoke hearts.
This
was beautifully paired with a 2012 Bianco di Napa. Perfectly chilled,
this fruit forward flavor profile had the warmth of a light, creamy
vanilla fruit friendly chardonnay accented with orange blossoms
and lemon as it served as the perfect accompaniment to the cured
meats. The freshly marinated artichokes that accompanied the meats
were a triangular point the pairing, offering an additional taste
of anti pasta to the strictly Italian presentation.
We
were next served the authentic Pizza Napoletana, a 3 ingredient
pizza made of cheese, tomato sauce and basil. This was cooked
quickly for 90 seconds in a 900 degree oven, to insure that it
met all VPN qualifications. The delicious cheese was a Mozzarella
du Buffalo imported from Italy, and the tomatoes were from Mount
Vesuvio, the volcano located behind Naples. The resulting flavor
of the pizza was tender, not crispy, but a little bit moist due
to the moisture in the ingredients, and deliciously flavorful,
especially when paired with the 2010 Rosso di Napa, a bright strawberry
and raspberry blend of reds with a velvety texture and full mouth
feel.
Next
on this incredible taste test through Italy was the Insalata Pantesca
con Polipo. Consisting of a warm salad with octopus as the star,
surrounded by Yukon gold potatoes with cherry tomatoes, taggliasca
olives, capers, red onion and parsley in a white wine vinaigrette
we paired again with the 2012 Pinot GrigoThis pinot was strong
and skily, all at the same time, rich in aromas of almond, orange
rind, tangerines, apple, pear, peach, lavender and violet. Tones
fo citrus, melon and honey are balanced by an acidity that makes
this a crisp and delightful wine. This was served as an accompaniment
to the main course still to come, but you could eat that as a
meal in itself.
Next
we had the Spezzatino and Polenta paired with 2011 CAMOMI Zinfandel.
The Bianco di Napa beef stew consisting of a slow roasted, soft,
melt- in- your-mouth tender beef, with an organic tomato sauce
surrounding a well of creamy, organic polenta was deliciously
savory with a full mouth feel. A full mouth feel for the stew,
just like a full mouth feel for the beautiful rich berry, black
cherry and bramble berry that you tasted in this CAMOMI zinfandel.
This is a lovely wine, all berries and spice. It captures a full
mid palate with a long rich finish. While it captures the imagination
of a faithful Italian ancestry, it also captures the great fruit
and aromatic richness of the Napa Valley zinfandel grape. The
combination was rich and slightly glorious and had we wandered
in to this enoteca with no help at all, sans guidance, we would
have been satisfied to have stumbled upon only this stew beautifully
paired with such a beautiful zinfandel.
Burrata
and Verdure Arroste
Burrata is a typical product of the Murgie in Puglia, a region
in the south of Italy. It is produced from Italian buffalo's or
cow's milk, rennet and cream. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese,
made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella
while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it
an unusual, soft texture. It is also defined by some sources as
an outer shell of mozzarella filled with butter or a mixture of
butter and sugar. It is usually served fresh, at room temperature.
This burrata, as you can see in the photo, was served along side
beautifully roasted fresh veggies, such as onions, mushroom, carrots,
peppers, and various sprouts. The mouthfeel of the combination
was rich and fulfilling, especially for vegetarians, when in fact,
it was a healthy and balanced meal.
The
Gnuddi
This tender bite of spinach gnocci with a bellwether jersey ricotta,
seasoned with butter, sage and parmigiano reggiano paired beautifully
with the 2010 Rosso di Napa, a blend of reds with strawberry and
raspberry flavors with a velvety texture and full mouth feel.
Its fruit forward flavors blended beautifully with the velvety
cheese of the spinach gnocci.
The
Spaetzle Allo Speck
Just as we began begging for mercy, they brought out the Spaetzle
Allo Speck. This delicious, flavorful pasta consisted of flour
dumplings sautéed with chopped speck and cream. I needed
to find a good definition of what speck is, because we don't use
it that much in American cuisine. According to the website www.yumsugar.com,
speck is an Italian cured, smoked meat native to the Alto Adige,
a region that straddles Northern Italy and Southern Austria. To
make speck, a boned pork leg is cured in salt, and spices like
laurel and juniper, then intermittently slow-smoked, using pine
or juniper wood for several months.
It
tastes like a spicy ham, or pancetta. It is a deep red color with
heavily marbled traces of fat, speck is served thinly sliced as
an appetizer, or used in to flavor cooked dishes. Note that speck
from Alto Adige or Tyrol, which enjoys a protected designation
of origin, should not be confused with the German usage of the
word, which refers to lard.
This was a delicious regional dish which was a standout. We moved
into drinking the CaMomi Chardonnay, a luscious wine with intense
pineapple, tropical fruit, citrus and pear. Complex touches of
butterscotch balanced a bright acidity with a long oaky and buttery
finish.
Conclusion
The large restaurant is decorated with a barebones but trendy
look, featuring polished concrete floors, a beautiful bar, large
shopping area for takeout , numerous areas for friends to congregate
and find a nice place to sit down and order. We had a wonderful
time, drank great Italian wine, with greatly committed owners
and at great Italian food. Who could ask for more?
By
Mike and Ellen Walsh