A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an evening with Margrit Mondavi and the just one-month young Modus Ristorante. Margrit Mondavi is the widow of Napa Valley wine pioneer Robert Mondavi. Modus Ristorante is owned by Sam Genkov who you may remember from Restaurant Makeover (“I’m watching you”) where his Bravi restaurant near St. Lawrence Market got a renovation.
This event came about when Sam was vacationing in Napa Valley and when he met Margrit, he offered to dedicate a private dining room to the memory of Robert Mondavi when Modus opened. Sam delivered, Margrit showed up and the evening was filled with making new acquaintences, sipping on Mondavi wines paired with a steady stream of hors d’oeuvre, a trio playing classical music with the elegant Modus Ristorante as the backdrop to this well-organized event.
This evening was cool and wet with Autumn leaves blowing down York Street, where Modus is located (SW corner of King) I checked my coat and umbrella in a spacious but discreet coatcheck room and soon after began to mingle, take photos and alternate between Mondavi wines and hors d’oeuvre. I first became familiar with the Mondavi family back in the mid-nineties when I left the financial field to run a cigar store during that whole “cigar boom” at wrapped together cigars, wine and other spirits. The Mondavi family was already entrenched in the wine business and they quickly gained a reputation for making premium hand-rolled cigars.
My curiosity in attending this event was compounded by my visit to the San Francisco area (and Napa Valley) in the Spring of 2002. For those that have been to the San Francisco area – you’ll agree that this region is one of the most beautiful and most bountiful in the world with the Pacific Ocean nearby and the San Francisco Bay offering an array of local fish and seafood and the surrounding lands offering a locavores wet dream of fruits, vegetables all year ’round.
The area around San Francisco is truly blessed and it’s immensely beautiful. The two wine regions associated with area are Sonoma and Napa and to get to these valleys, one has to drive north and out of the city, passing over the Golden Gate Bridge and soon after you pass the gorgeous and ‘one of a kind’ seaside town of Sausalito. Remember that tune by Diesel?
After Sausalito you drive further north through Sonoma then you’ll soon be in Napa Valley – where the Mondavi Winery is located. If you go (when you go) to San Francisco you must dedicate at least one day to seeing Napa Valley, hopping from one winery to another. Napa Valley runs north-south with wineries hugging the main road that runs through the valley. There’s a train and for those that don’t want to drive – you can rent a limo and go visit Napa without getting behind the wheel.
After we noshed on the small bites we were ushered into the Mondavi room where Margrit Mondavi was introduced by the Vincor President Eric Morham and soon after listened to Mrs. Mondavi as she related how the Mondavi winery got its start and a little bit about the beauty and ‘feel’ of Napa. Mark de Vere Mondavi’s Master of Wine soon after introduced the wines that were paired with the creations of Chef Bruce Woods.
The first course of our sit down was a pan-roasted diver scallop with cauliflower purée and pepperonata which was served with the Mondavi Fume Blanc.
The next course was a ravioli of Foie Gras, chestnut and sweet potato with a Porcini-truffle cream sauce. Mondavi’s Chardonnay Reserve 2008 is not too oakey and the slight acidity of in the wine came forward.
Our third course led off the first of three reds, this one being the Mondavi Pinot Noir 2009, paired with a duck prosciutto and fig chutney, caramelized onion and Port reduction.
The Mondavi winery is located in Oakville, Napa and we now sipped on the Oakville Cabernery Sauvignon 2008. This course was exquisite, my fave of the courses with a pairing of roasted venison loin with smoked bacon and sour cherries.
The last course was a house made cocoa cavatelli pasta with some braised oxtail and a sweet, fruit and light tannin Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2008.
Modus Ristorante is located on the SW corner of King and York Streets in downtown Toronto and Mondavi Wines are available at your nearest LCBO stores.
Special thanks to Enterprise Canada for the invite, Sam Genkov and the staff at Modus, Margrit Mondavi and Mark de Vere from Mondavi wines.
Looked like a lovely evening…..now you have me wanting to go to San Francisco :)