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Despite its climatic similarities to Italy, California is producing a new and different set of wines with its Italian varietals, a panel of American and European experts said at a seminar in Calistoga this month. "We have a Mediterranean climate but we have very different microclimates," said Brooks Painter, winemaker at Castello di Amorosa, which...

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by Lisa Carley   Sometimes you meet people who seem to have a great story. I had dinner a couple of weeks ago at L'Artusi with Valentina Migotto and Dario De Conti from Ca' Momi in Napa Valley, thoroughly enjoyed their story, the food and their wine.   Dinner was a fun and festive evening pairing their wines with L'Artusi's creative I...

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By Bill St. John Beginning shortly after the unification of their country in 1861, millions of Italians immigrated to this country and to Canada and countries in South America. Many brought grapevine cuttings with them.   Never be surprised to see an Italian surname among the descendants of those immigrants making wine in the Americas today...

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Robert Mondavi was always convinced that California's wines could compete with the European heavy weights and he set out to prove it.   In 1966, Robert Mondavi and his eldest son, R. Michael Mondavi, founded the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley, California. And today, the company has grown to international proportions, having embarked on...

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Italy has given American wine lovers a lot of gifts over the centuries. Most of those produced in California are the result of Italian and French pioneers investing in and bringing their knowledge to places like Napa Valley.   The Italians have enjoyed sparkling wines of all varieties as part of their cultural wine experience for many years....

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With the recent demolition of two exhibit halls and the structure housing six nonprofit food booths, the August earthquake will have a long-lasting impact on the Napa Valley Expo.   Napa's Sons of Italy Lodge has had a food booth at the fair since 1956. Losing its stand is less about how it impacts the organization financially and more about...

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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 t...

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by Paul Franson   For the founder of a wine import company, Brian Larky's love for adventure travel is a great perk. He worked as a river guide to pay for college, and he's ventured down many of North America's, Europe's and Asia's major rivers.   Other water trips include a three-month stint as head whitewater guide on the Afric...

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Stefano Masanti, a Michelin-star chef from Italy, was in St. Helena last week to lay the groundwork for a guest chef residence he'll be doing at V. Sattui Winery from April 11 to Nov. 6.   Masanti and his wife, Raffaella, are the owners of Il Cantinone restaurant in the ski resort village of Madesimo in the Italian Alps. Longtime friends of...

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Fifty years ago this month, the landscape of Napa Valley changed when Robert Mondavi opened his winery along California Route 29 in Oakville. The winery's Mission-style archway quickly became an iconic symbol of California wine, and Mondavi and those who worked with him forged a revolution not only in Napa but also across the country, transforming...

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