Chateau Montelena is a winery located in the Napa Valley region of California. It is known for producing high-quality wines and for its role in the “Judgment of Paris,” a tasting event in which California wines competed against French wines and shocked the wine world by outperforming their French counterparts.
Chateau Montelena was founded in 1882 by Alfred L. Tubbs, a San Francisco businessman who purchased the property and built a Victorian-style winery on it. In the late 1960s, the winery was purchased by James L. Barrett, a lawyer who was passionate about wine. Barrett invested heavily in the winery, replanting the vineyards and upgrading the winemaking facilities.
One of the key figures at Chateau Montelena during this time was winemaker Mike Grgich, who was hired by Barrett in 1972. Grgich, who had previously worked at several wineries in California and Croatia, was a skilled winemaker with a particular talent for crafting Chardonnay.
In 1976, Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay was selected to participate in the “Judgment of Paris,” a tasting event in which California wines were pitted against French wines in a blind tasting. The event was organized by wine critic Steven Spurrier and was intended to determine whether California wines were capable of competing with the best wines of France.
To the surprise of many, the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay outperformed several highly regarded French Chardonnays and was declared the best white wine at the event. This result was seen as a major victory for California wines and helped to establish the Napa Valley as a premier wine-producing region.
Chateau Montelena’s vineyards are located in the Calistoga and St. Helena areas of the Napa Valley. The winery grows a variety of grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel.
Chateau Montelena’s winemaking process begins with careful selection of the grapes, which are hand-picked and sorted to ensure only the best fruit is used. The grapes are then crushed and fermented in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, depending on the type of wine being produced.
After fermentation, the wines are aged in oak barrels for varying periods of time, depending on the specific wine. Chateau Montelena’s wines are known for their complex flavors and balance, which are achieved through careful attention to detail during the winemaking process.
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Joshua Oswalt
4 months agoWine Country 🍷 • Chateau Montelena Winery you were amazing! Scheduled a tasting with Lin and learned a lot about the history of your life. She was very informative and catered to our tasting needs. From the castle you see when walking up to the Asian style gazebos on the lake, the views surely do impress. If you are in the Napa Valley and specifically Calistoga, I urge you to go have some chats, some sips and don’t blame me if you leave with 3 or more bottles of wine as we did 🤭 HIGHLY recommend the #Chardonnay. I’m not a fan of a Chardonnay but this French style changed my tune on what to expect when going to a tasting. Very impressed.
Rodd Riesenberger
4 months agoVery accommodating, even without a reservation. We were able to get in early and had a private tasting in the “club room”. It was very nice and the service was excellent. The grounds and mansion are beautiful.
Katie Logan
3 months agoBeautiful grounds and lovely employees. Highly recommend a tasting experience at this estate. Jay was very friendly and informative.
Andrea Nevermind
5 months agoBeautiful grounds!!! Lin was fun! She handled two tasting groups at once, as we were late due to Uber issues. Wines were good, and the tasting was informative. Their Chardonnay was my favorite of the wines we sampled there. (This is the vineyard behind the story line of the 2008 movie Bottle Shock)
Robert Baker
12 months agoFirst visit to this winery. We took the tour and tasting. Tasted 6 wines including one desert wine. Bought a 200 dollar Cab. I have to say one of the best Cabs I personally have had. Beautiful grounds and alot of history to be had there. Staff was nice and informative.