Ever since I heard the Judgement of Paris1976 story, I have longed to visit Chateau Montelena. It seemed like a perfect place to visit on a special occasion, so we chose Garrett’s mom Pat’s birthday as a
s good an excuse as any to visit. Brief history land background: Chateau Montelena was originally founded by Alfred Tubbs, the SF entrepreneur, in 1882. Tubbs purchased 254 acres of land two miles north of Calistoga at the base of St. Helena - the perfect location to grow vines with its well drained, stony soil. By 1896, Tubbs had built a Chateau, hired a French-born winemaker and named his winery Chateau Montelena - a contraction of Mount St. Helena.
Though Chateau Montelena became Napa’s seventh biggest winery, Prohibition brought its winemaking to a halt. In 1958, Yort and Jeanie Frank purchased the Chateau as an ideal spot to retire and excavated a beautiful lake surrounded by Chinese Gardens to pay homage to Frank’s homeland. Chateau Montelena’s next chapter included complete replanting and renovation of the winery under the leadership of Jim Barrett, who began making wine at Chateau Montelena in 1972 and still leads the winemaking efforts today. The famous year 1976 helped put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley on the map of the wine world. At a great gathering at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Paris, the greatest French Wine and Food Establishment specialists (aka snobs) gathered to determine the best wines of the world. Four white burgundies were tasted against six California Chards.
On the fateful day - the French Judges were arrogantly convinced that the top ranking white wines were French. When the blind taste results were revealed it was actually Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay that rated the highest of all, proving that California wineries could rival the French. When we pulled up to Chateau Montelena, it didn’t initially fit the picture I had painted in my mind - in fact, it didn’t look like much as we pulled off the road. My opinion changed rapidly as we drove up the driveway and the scenery changed rapidly to a beautiful sanctuary that I never could have envisioned. The first view you see as you approach the winery is a breathtaking Chinese Garden and fish pond, surrounded by weeping willows, and lush landscaping and Red Chinese bridges. As if in a fairytale, swans grace the pond, and there is even a basket of crusty bread at the water’s edge for visitors to feed the ducks as they stroll. There are little benches surrounding the pond, and bridges that lead to little Chinese teahouses perched above the water, complete with picnic tables.
I wanted to stay and bask in the peaceful harmony I felt looking out over Jade Lake, but also longed to taste the famous wines...so we ambled up a shady pathway, where wild strawberries and brightly colored wildflowers lined the path to the winery and tasting room. The winery looks just as I had imagined it - and probably because the image of the Chateau is imprinted on each bottle. It was still breathtaking and I truly felt like I was visiting the French countryside (although the Chinese Lake and Gardens initially threw me off). I could have sat outside the tasting room all day - with its peaceful water fountain, Coi fish pond, lush flora, and potted lemon trees, it offered the picture perfect image of tranquility and hospitality. The tasting room was definitely aimed more for the tourists that gathered there - some more pugnacious than others. Still, I enjoyed the photos and historic notes and memorabilia that lined the walls leading into the private tasting rooms and it did make me obsessed with renting the movie Bottleshock to learn more about the Judgement of 1976.
As for the wines themselves, they really truly as balanced, elegant and beautiful as I had hoped- each and every one. Below are my tasting notes:
* 2009 Riesling: Delicate and crisp, like a perfectly crisp white peach, yet warm and ripe enough to conjure up a chilled apple crisp - some toasted spice notes - honey crumble nuttiness, and lemon squeezed generously on top.
* 2008 Chardonnay: Made in the French style (naturally), this Chardonnay does not undergo malolactic fermentation, so is tastes less heavy and buttery than typical American Ch
* 2009 Riesling: Delicate and crisp, like a perfectly crisp white peach, yet warm and ripe enough to conjure up a chilled apple crisp - some toasted spice notes - honey crumble nuttiness, and lemon squeezed generously on top.
* 2008 Chardonnay: Made in the French style (naturally), this Chardonnay does not undergo malolactic fermentation, so is tastes less heavy and buttery than typical American Ch
ardonnay. A crisp, bright fruity blend of pineapple, green apple, guava, grapefruit, and lemon all combined into a beautiful symphony with a long silky finish - as delicious as a fresh fruit tart from a French bakery. No wonder it blew the French out of the water!
* 2007 Zinfandel: A delicate and perfectly balanced Zin that tasted more like Pinot, tasting of wild briarberries, soaked in sweet vanilla bean. This wine has a soft entry and is lower in alcohol and tannins than most Zins and is not overly ripe or jammy, but deliciously balnced.
* 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: Blended with Cab Franc and Merlot, this Cab is deep and delicious. Made in the French Bordeaux style, you can taste the earthy forest floor, dark cherry, cinnamon, chocolate and tangy briar berries. A very versatile wine that is tannic enough to cellar well.
* 2007 Zinfandel: A delicate and perfectly balanced Zin that tasted more like Pinot, tasting of wild briarberries, soaked in sweet vanilla bean. This wine has a soft entry and is lower in alcohol and tannins than most Zins and is not overly ripe or jammy, but deliciously balnced.
* 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: Blended with Cab Franc and Merlot, this Cab is deep and delicious. Made in the French Bordeaux style, you can taste the earthy forest floor, dark cherry, cinnamon, chocolate and tangy briar berries. A very versatile wine that is tannic enough to cellar well.
After our tasting, we were convinced to join the wine club simply to be able to gain the privilege to picnic on the premises, granted only to wine club members. Wine club members can also enjoy private tastings in the less touristy private - and beautiful- tasting rooms in the back of the winery, which I hope to try soon. We headed to Calistoga market, grabbed some fresh and local Napa picnic fare, and headed back to the Chateau for a late lunch. After purchasing a bottle of their crisp Riesling, we enjoyed a most delightful picnic in the middle of Jade Lake, which was the icing on Pat’s birthday cake - Definitely a must-visit and strongly consider bringing your picnic and joining the club.
l for 20 years! Only after phyloxera (which attacks only Zin in California) spread through Napa Valley did the family decide to take some precautions and plant 20% of the vineyard with Cab, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Viognier to insure against a deadly outbreak, which fortunately never harmed the precious Zin vines. However, the 20% non-Zin varietals are still grown and bottled at the Storybook Estate, but are given the name “Seps Collection” so that the Storybook names denotes strictly Zins.
rkers who are kept very busy throughout the year. The grapes are not necessarily harvested in neighboring order - Jerry Sepps was originally a science professor and takes great care and a hands on approach to determine exactly when the grapes should be picked based on the perfect ripeness, sending the the 4 workers out to pick the vineyard each day as if they were on a scavenger hunt. Once the grapes have been harvested, Jerry, his wife, and daughter hand-sort the grapes, removing any but the best from the final blending mix. Once the juice is pressed by part, the family again tastes each individual part to determine which ones will make it to the elevated status of “Reserve” Zin. Apparently, Jerry Seps takes copious notes on the subtleties he tastes, while his wife, Sigrid, simply rates them by number as her final answer. This “first pick” blend creates the most intense, balanced Storybook Zins which also have the best aging potential. The wines are then aged in parts in three types of oak - French, American and Hungarian, for 12 months before being blended together in the original Oval Barrel (see pictured). After the wine is brought together inside the neutrally flavored barrel for 1-2 months, it is finally bottled and though it ages well, is also a good young-drinking full-bodied wine - already complex and balanced in its youth.
Back to the subject of visiting the winery: Your tour begins with a stroll up through the vineyards, which is a truly wonderful way to begin, because you can really see the different parts of vines planted in a quiltwork of different directions that best capture the sun. The tour then leads you through the ancient caves built by the Grimms and still used today. The highlight here is realizing that these are the original 100+ year-old caves and there are places where you can actually see the original unenforced ceiling and walls - cobwebs and all, and truly imagine you are in a fairytale. The caves provide the perfect temperature for wine making and require no additional cooling. After a tour through the barrel labyrinth and past the large oval tanks, painted with the storybook emblem (Fox and Grapes) you alight at a tasting room, to sample a myriad of Seps Family wines - from Storybook Zins, to Seps Cab and Viognier (added to some of their syrahs and also bottled separately if there is enough of it left over). Below are my notes on a few of the tastings:
ally inclined will be instantly taken with Peju’s 50 foot Oxidized Copper Tasting Room tower (it is impossible to miss from Highway 29), surrounded by a reflective pool and fountains, antique 10’ x 20’ antique stained glass window, art collection and tasteful gift shop.So what’s the story behind the interesting architecture and massive tower? In 1980, Tony Peju commissioned an architect named Calvin Straub from Southern California to create a tower that resembled a French Provincial Tower. The structure encloses 1600 square feet, built from stucco and stonewith posts made from lumber reclaimed Midwestern barns. Tony Peju was also behind the uniquely-pruned sycamore trees that line Peju’s entrance. As youapproach, you’ll notice the trees all bend as if being blown in the same direction by a strong wind! 
ery is famous for its extraordinary “Big Cabs” that draw cult-like crowds which gather at the Winery entrance hours inadvance of their New Release partywhich occurs semiannually in Napa each year. Silver Oak’s name and shiny silver embossed bottle logo may be synonymous with imperious, and even wine novices know the bottles aren’t inexpensive, the tour at the winery itself was down to earth and jovial – you’ll find no skyward pointed noses here. While there’s an Alexander Valley location, I visited the winery in Oakville, which was easy to spot with its famous emblematic white water tower out front - the winery used to be an old dairy farm. Silver Oak Winery was founded by Ra
y Duncan and Justin Meyer in 1972. Duncan was an entrepreneurfrom Colorado who was lured into the wine business after visiting a friend in Napa Valley and purchasing 750 acres of orchards and vineyards within a year. The current winery is striking and impressive - a beautifully constructed stone building with stain glass grape-themed windows and copper statues adorning the landscape. We entered the winery into the gorgeous tasting room where I couldn’t help but be lured over to the custom glass-encased wine cellar that spans the width of the tasting room and displays Silver Oak’s vintages from 1972 to the present in varying bottle sizes.
ovide my best insight based on his responses. Silver Oak uses American Oak barrels, which are much more cost-effective for the winery ($350 each as opposed to $1400 for French Oak!). The American Oak is toasted and less harshly tannic than French oak, and also imparts a spicy vanilla note that compliments the Silver Oak style of American Cabernet. The winery is also very selective on the juice it uses. Grapes are hand picked, and free run juice is used first - the press juice and lees juice is only added to the blend if the winemaker feels it meets the Silver Oak standards – otherwise it is sold to other wineries. Napa Valley Silver Oak is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot (classic Bordeaux style), while Alexander Valley Cab is 100% Cabernet. The wine is racked for 8 weeks, spends 25 months in the barrel and then finlly is stored another 24 months in the bottle before being released.
