It’s a classic name in Napa, made ever more famous by the fact that Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay won in the historic “Judgment of Paris” tasting held in 1976. This legendary tasting pitted top Napa producers against the best winemakers in Burgundy and Bordeaux, and much of California came out triumphant. The 2008 film Bottle Shock delved into some of the tast...
The Chateau Chateau Montelena's rich history began on a chilly fall morning when Alfred L. Tubbs spaded over and inspected the soil where he thought of planting estate vineyards.
He had heard the Napa Valley was the best place to grow grapes in California. A deal was struck, and in January of 1882 the San Francisco entrepreneur owned 254 acres of rugged land just two miles north of Calistoga at the base of Mount Saint Helena. The soils are ...
The terroir
The Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Montelena Estate Zinfandel are grown in one of the world's most unique winegrowing properties. The site's diversity of soils and slopes translates directly into the layers of complex flavors in our wines.
The Estate vineyard is comprised of varied terrain, from flat to steep hillsides. The vineyard gently slopes downward towards its base, where a small patch of sedimentary soil was ...
Philosophy in winemaking
Although the combination of perfect soils and climate are indispensable, it takes the hand of man to realize a vineyard's full potential to produce a world-class wine. At Chateau Montelena, we have a dedicated team of individuals with decades of experience working in our vineyards and handcrafting our wines.
There are hundreds of decisions that go into making a bottle of wine and it all begins in the vineyar...
1976 Paris Tasting In 1976 Chateau Montelena helped put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine and food establishment gathered for a grand tasting at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Paris. Four white Burgundies were tasted against six California Chardonnays. When the scores were tallied, the French Judges were convinced that the top-ranking white wine was one of their own. In fact, it was Chateau...
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