Category Archives: Winery News
Where To Stay for House Party 2012
If you don’t have plans yet for the last weekend in January 2012, make some – quickly – and join us for House Party 2012. If you love wine, you can rest assured that we’ll be pulling out some incredible bottles from our cellar: current release wines, winery-only-wines (those that you can find only here at the winery) and even some special, older bottles that we’ve been saving for a special occasion. We’ll also have slow-roasted meats and the musical talents of the Bay Area’s own beloved Wonderbread 5 (if you know this band, you know we’re going to have a blast!). So I hope I’ve given you enough information to make it an easy decision that you need to get tickets and come party with us, but I understand you may be undecided about whether or not to stay here in Calistoga for the weekend or head back to the city. To make the decision a little easier, we’ve partnered with a few local hotels so you can not only enjoy our party, but you can enjoy all of Calistoga, too. Mention the “Chateau Montelena House Party” when you call to make reservations at either Stevenson Manor or Solage Calistoga.
So get your tickets, mark your calendar and come to party with us on January 28th. Then stay and take advantage of all that Calistoga has to offer – great food, mudbaths and spa treatments, fantastic wine and a down-home vibe that makes everyone feel right at home.
The Creative Castle
Last Saturday, a group of tasters joined us at the winery along with their families. While the adults tasted through the current release wines, the children exercised their creative sides. The talented young artists left us with some of their artistic renditions of the Montelena Chateau. See for yourself below:
- Julia's Castle
- Ellie's Castle
- Anika's Castle
- Alex's Castle
- Robert's Castle
Stop the Presses…Please!
Ok, I know I commented on this in a blog a while ago, but I’ll re state it since it is important to know. The press will unmercifully declare the 2011 vintage in California a disaster. Yes, the weather has been less than optimal for growing wine grapes, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. We’ve had late June rains, followed by a mild Summer and then a few October rains. Some wineries continue that panic of “bringing in grapes” before the rains hit. Well, they’re basically saying “we’ll sacrifice optimal time for picking to avoid a total disaster.” We, on the other hand, let nature run its course. Over the decades, Mother Nature has really found ways to correct herself. Our winemaking team continues to prove to us how good this year is shaping up. We sampled juices of recently harvested fruit, and it’s as deep and rich as always. Now, I may not be the best judge to taste wine in its infancy and be able to declare it a stellar product, but I have a pretty good sense of recognizing great wine by trying the juice over the years.
Will this year be one for the ages? It’s too early to tell, but don’t be too quick to write it off. In the winemaking circles, this vintage will test the mettle of who really knows what they’re doing in trenches. I have all the confidence in our team….and proof has always been in the bottle.
The 1998 vintage was recognized for less than optimal growing conditions, but has proven to be a star over the years.
Once upon a time in a cellar in a hill….
Back in the 1880′s under the direction of Alfred Tubbs, the building known as Chateau Montelena was constructed. Facing almost due north and dug into the hillside, the Chateau was well suited to its mission as a barrel aging cellar with a naturally cool inside temperature (thanks to being partially underground). At the time of the passage of the 18th amendment, Chateau Montelena was one of the largest wine producers in California. Following the repeal of prohibition (the 21st amendment), the winery was re-started and the cellar re-invigorated, however, this was not to last and the winery slowly fell into disrepair, passing out of the Tubbs family and ultimately being re-discovered in 1970 by a young Irish attorney from southern California named Jim Barrett. Jim fell in love with this beautiful old structure and set about restoring it to its former glory and purpose. So began the construction of the second cellar in the history of the Chateau. Using the technology available at the time, the lower floor of the Chateau was turned back into a fermentation and barrel aging cellar. This cellar performed admirably for 39 vintages, producing an unbroken series of world class wines with very few changes to the physical plant. In order to continue to improve on the legendary quality of the wines, starting in 2008 the wine-making team decided to make a philosophical shift in how the wines were being made – instead of picking enough grapes to fill the tanks to capacity we would pick only those grapes at their optimal ripeness, no matter what the quantity. The result being many more small lots which was quite a challenge to accommodate in the existing cellar.
So it was that we began working on a complete redesign of the wine production cellar in 2008. Over the last 3 years the design of the new cellar evolved thanks to hours of brainstorming and plenty of time with a glue-stick, cutouts of tanks, and photocopies of the old cellar plan. The engineers and architects were brought on-board, the details resolved, forensic structural investigations conducted, and finally a contractor hired. During this time the project expanded to include structural enhancement and seismic reinforcing – Tubbs really did it right in the 1880′s and the Chateau withstood all the various shakes and shimmies over the last 125 years, but we wanted to make sure that it will last for at least another 125 to come.
At the beginning of the second week of February 2011, construction (or rather demolition) began on the 6,600 square foot interior. At night. In fact almost all the work involved was carried out in the early morning hours before the tasting room opened and the tourists arrived. Considering the scale and complexity of this project – removal of the tanks, complete demolition of the existing slab, new post footings, addition of structural steel reinforcement, new slab, all new electrical, all new plumbing, all new tank cooling, all new lighting, all new trench drains, and more – for the project to be completed in 7 months (at night) is remarkable. Yesterday we received our final inspection and the project was signed off with absolutely no comments from the county inspector, a rarity in itself, marking the formal completion of the third iteration of the cellar in this historic building – the physical component of the philosophical shift mentioned above.
In addition to the physical and philosophical changes involved with this project, there is another equally important facet: Chateau Montelena will now be recognized as a National Historic Place by the the U.S. Department of the Interior for its contribution to the history of wine making in California both during Tubb’s time and during the current (Barrett) era.
Below is a collage of images from before, during, and after the project showing (clockwise from upper left) an artist’s rendition of the new cellar, the new cellar prior to the installation of the tanks, some of the new fermentation tanks, the cellar during demolition, and the former cellar full of barrels. Please also have a look at this 360° panoramic tour of the new cellar. But what is better than any of these images is first hand experience, so come on out and visit our new old Chateau in the hill!
SF Party Oct 13: Did You Get the Golden Ticket?
So this Thursday, Oct 13th, at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square in San Francisco, we’ll be celebrating the unveiling of our new tasting room in the city which is situated in the lobby of this historic hotel. This hotel has a special place in my heart for a few reasons:
1:I used to work there.
2:It defines San Francisco and its storied past.
3:There are some wonderful people who work at that hotel; and have so through decades.
US Presidents, foreign dignitaries, movie stars, sports teams have all passed through the hotel’s doors. So, it was only natural that one of the historic wineries of California should partner with this hotel to be the first (and only?) winery to have a remote tasting room in the city. The party will celebrate the opening in style with current and library wines, an amazing array of canapes from the Culinary team, and all our closest friends at the winery.
Sorry to say it’s by invitation only, but if you have one of the golden tickets, be sure to RSVP now before it’s too late (which it will be tomorrow morning). The tasting room is open to the public from 1-8pm Wed-Sat. If you’re one of our Cellarmaster club members, your benefits will apply at our new location just as if you were visiting us here at the Chateau! Be sure to say hi to Ryan or Jonnie when you stop by…
Napa Cab is Finally Here…
Today is the day; 2008 Napa Cabernet can now be yours. If you thought the ’07 was good, wait till you try this wine! The only problem: so little was made of it. Such a bummer.
Come see us and get a few bottles before it’s gone…
House Party 2012 – Rock & Rotisserie
We’ve been hard at work planning a new bash for the New Year. Introducting: House Party 2012 – Rock & Rotisserie. On January, 28, 2012, we’ll open up the Chateau for our first-ever House Party, where our guests will have the run of the place (and the first glimpse at our newly renovated cellar). Upstairs, downstairs – there will be food and wine around every corner. We’ll be featuring slow-cooked rotisserie meats (think: pig, lamb, poultry and beef) to enjoy along with the Montelena classics, a special collection of older vintage wines from our library, and even a few limited-production winery-only wines. Join us to eat, drink and be merry and then stay to party the night away, dancing to the music of San Francisco’s Wonderbread 5, at the first great party of the New Year. Rock and Rotisserie 2012 - we hope to see you there.
Tickets are on sale now – reserve yours today. It’s a perfect gift for someone special; a perfect occasion to celebrate once all the holiday parties have died out; a perfect excuse to come enjoy the beautiful Napa Valley for a weekend getaway; a perfect opportunity drink some great wine, dance to your favorite 80′s and 90′s hits and be merry. Whatever your reason for joining the party, we can’t wait to see you here!
Good Ideas; Bad Decisions
Up here at Chateau Montelena, we like to think that we know a good idea when we see one, even if it sometimes takes us awhile to get on board. So, in what is proudly a blatant rip-off of the Schramsberg “Harvest Dress”, we present to you the “Harvest Hat!” A real gem that I found in Chinatown and just couldn’t pass up – who doesn’t love a fuzzy white pig? The rules are the same as for the dress – wearer must have done something to deserve it. In this instance one of our interns (Matt Johnson), in a case of bad judgment, failed to hang the “man in press” sign on the outside of the press while cleaning it, so now he gets to wear the hat as a reminder to himself and the rest of the staff to follow the rules for their own safety. Goes nicely with his outfit, don’t you think?
On the more serious side, today was our 3rd day of fruit this year, and we’ve got just shy of 60 tons in so far. All white grapes to this point (Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc), but we’re looking at potentially harvesting the first few tons of Estate Cabernet Sauvignon tomorrow. Today’s hot weather is moving everything along quite nicely, and should help push several blocks into pickable condition. Rain next week? That’s the next big question…
Stay tuned and happy harvesting!
Giants Are Done; Life Can Go On
As the avid sports fan, I’m in a quandry at this time of the year. Yes, I’m a Bay Area sports fan: 49ers, Raiders, Giants, A’s, Warriors (it is possible to like both sides of the Bay). This time of the year, I would never have to worry about the Giants going too deep – well, until last year, that is. Normally, they’re done by what – say, August? I can then get on with my life – worrying about the high season at the Chateau, harvest and holiday preparations. Last year was tough; the Giants went all the way to the World Series, so I had to balance my time between them and the Chateau. Sadly, this year the Giants are already out of the running. It’s funny how our expectations of them are so great now that they’ve won; their failure to get in to the post-season is a horrible let down (when in the past 40 years, having a +500 season was an achievement). Even at the point where there were 14 games left and they were like 8 games out, people were still optimistic that the Giants could pull it off. Come on! Let’s be realistic. Now it’s time for me to move on.
Anyways, I can rant all day about sports…but, I now get my life back early and can concentrate on the harvest and activities around the Chateau now.
That is, until the new Fall season of shows started back! Damn that tv addiction….
First Crush, 40th Vintage
Crush for our 40th vintage started today. The first bin of Chardonnay from the John Muir Hanna vineyard arrived and we wasted no time getting a video of sorting table activity for your enjoyment. This is always an exciting time here, more so this year with our newly retrofit cellar. Enjoy.
