Ca’ Momi Napa Valley has purchased two premium vineyards in the Carneros Appellation of Napa Valley. Ca’ Momi recently closed on the purchase of a 10 ½-acre Pinot Noir vineyard from Napa winemaking legend Kent Rasmussen. According to Mr. Rasmussen, the majority of the vines now on the property were planted in 1973. They are therefore among the oldest continuously producing Pinot Noir vines in the Carneros AVA, making them likely among the oldest in California.
This purchase complements Ca’ Momi’s purchase of a neighboring 9-acre vineyard planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Merlot.
“The grapes from these vineyards have been a part of our Napa Valley wines for some time,” says Dario De Conti, C.E.O. and Winemaker for Ca’ Momi. “We love the fruit, and the wines have been very successful. We really believe in the future of Napa Carneros and are thrilled to join the fantastic family of wine producers in the region. These vineyards will secure continuity of style for our Napa Reserve Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for decades, if not generations to come.”
The Pinot Noir vineyard is fully permitted for a winery and tasting room. “We are moving forward with plans for a winery on that property,” says De Conti. “It will give us additional winemaking capacity, and will also give us a beautiful location for hosting visitors.”
“We call our first-acquired vineyard ‘Cercando.’ Cercando means ‘searching’ in Italian. We chose the name because our acquisition of this vineyard was the culmination of our initial search to go from production winery to estate winery. Cercando is planted with nearly 9 acres of Chardonnay,” said De Conti. “Prior to our purchase, Cercando had been a private residence with vineyard. It had fallen into decline under the previous owner. We have spent considerable time and energy bringing the vineyard back to life. In fact, we established a vineyard management company in large measure to attend to the rehabilitation of the Cercando vineyard. That rehabilitation is a source of great pride to us and to our vineyard manager. Cercando produces the fruit that we use to make our (approximately 2,000 cases) of Ca’ Momi Reserve Chardonnay.”
“We call our second-acquired vineyard ‘Crescendo’ which means ‘growing’ in Italian,” continued De Conti. “The acquisition of this vineyard represents the first growth of our vineyard lands. Crescendo is planted with nearly 11 acres of Pinot Noir. The majority of this is the stock planted by Kent Rasmussen in the 1970s. Crescendo produces the fruit that we use to make our (approximately 2,000 cases) of Ca’ Momi Reserve Pinot Noir.”
Cercando and Crescendo lie almost exactly one mile apart on Cuttings Wharf Road in the Napa Carneros district.
About Ca’ Momi Winery
Ca’ Momi is owned and operated by three Italians – Dario De Conti, Valentina Guolo-Migotto and Stefano Migotto – whose work is a tribute to the land of their birth and the food and wines that they love. Ca’ Momi’s owners came to the Napa Valley to blend the spirit of their Italian heritage, the obsessive care of their Old-World winemaking style, and Napa Valley’s wine grapes – which they believe to be the world’s finest. Ca’ Momi Winery has been named one of the Top 10 Hot Small Brands for 2012 by Wine Business Monthly – a list that honors wineries that are innovative, curious, adventurous and, most of all, producing delicious wine.
To learn more about Ca’ Momi, visit their website at www.camomi.com and find them on Facebook.
