Category Archives: Wines
Fall’s Arrival
We’re kicking off the last, official week of summer (though the temperatures in Napa Valley yesterday didn’t seem to indicate the change in seasons!) and transitioning into fall…which makes me very happy. It’s not that I don’t enjoy summer and sipping great, light wines on the patio, because I definitely do! I just happen to love fall a little bit more. I like everything that fall represents – Halloween, Thanksgiving, cooler weather and cozy weekends, pumpkin spice lattes, boots and coats, warm soups and stews and the beginning of ski season. Most importantly, as a wine-lover, I am looking forward to the change in seasons because we’ll soon begin harvest here at the winery and that’s always the most exciting time of year. Sure, we’re a little late this year, but we’re expecting another great vintage as the grapes begin to come in. Fall of 2011 also marks the completion of the cellar upgrade and the Barrett family’s 40th vintage – so there’s a lot to celebrate this year! As the days begin to get a little shorter and the nights begin to get a little cooler, I’ll be embracing this new season and putting my patio wines away. I’m now looking forward to hearty meals, comfort foods and comfort wines. For me, that means our Estate Zinfandel – a great partner for chili, soups, roasted meats and spicy pastas (just a few of my favorite cool-weather meals). What are you looking forward to as summer turns to fall? What is your comfort wine in the cooler months?
House Party 2012 – Save the Date!
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.
2nd Annual #Cabernet Day
This Thursday, September 1st, marks the 2nd annual #Cabernet Day social media extravaganza. In 2011, it’s an international party with #Cabernet headquarters scattered all over the world. Check out the official page to find a #Cabernet HQ in your neighborhood. We’ll be celebrating with our Napa friends at the Napa Marriott…and we’ll be featuring a delicious older vintage of our Estate Cabernet. Join us in toasting this internationally celebrated grape on Thursday, Septemeber 1, 2011.
American Dream
We have a new face on the blog! Lynn Pedone will be working in the vineyard, with Dave Vella and his crew, as she pursues her studies in Viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College. A little background on Lynn: she’s a recent East Coast transplant, has lived all over the world growing up in a military family and has previously worked in the world of business and finance. She’s now hoping to settle into her “last career stop until retirement” in the wine industry and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about vineyard maintenance with Dave. Lynn will be writing a weekly blog post about her experiences working in the Chateau Montelena vineyards. Read her latest post below:
Placido Garcia Hernandez, Montelena’s vineyard foreman, tells the quintessential story of the American dream. I sat down with this integral member of the Chateau Montelena team to learn more about his life and work in the vineyards. Placido, whose birthday is on July 4th, came to California from Mexico in 1961. As a teenager, he worked hard picking tomatoes, melons, pears and peaches in the fields and orchards of Sacramento, eventually working his way west to his first grape harvest in the Napa Valley. He has been with Chateau Montelena for 37 years, since 1974. When I asked Placido what the best thing is about working at Montelena, he replied without even thinking about it – “every day.” Every day he is happy to be here, and thanks God he still has the energy to work. He explained that Montelena is a very special place, a “nice place to work,” where there is good communication and support, and where it feels like family. Most of all, Placido told me, Montelena is what enabled him to realize his American dream: that of buying a home and sending his children to school. He is proud that he has been able to share his dream with his wife Maria and their family of four girls (including a set of twins) and a boy, all grown now with children of their own – his six grandchildren. He is also very proud of the fact that he has been a part of the many changes that have taken place here since he started. He told me how different Montelena looked back then (fewer vines) and also how different Calistoga was – he can remember when you could buy a pitcher of “cerveza” for one dollar! I was curious to get his take on the Paris tasting and what happened in 1976; Placido remembers that it was a “big deal” – but not just for Chateau Montelena. That event put Napa on the virtual world wine map, and everyone who made wine in the Napa Valley was forever inspired to strive to make the best wine they possibly could. Placido admits he doesn’t really know much about making wine or even describing wine – he “can only say if it’s good” – but he does know about grapes and vines. I’ve admired his expertise and have been fortunate to have his guidance and support this summer. It would be hard to imagine Chateau Montelena without Placido!
Placido in the Vineyard
Veraison
We have a new face on the blog! Lynn Pedone will be working in the vineyard, with Dave Vella and his crew, as she pursues her studies in Viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College. A little background on Lynn: she’s a recent East Coast transplant, has lived all over the world growing up in a military family and has previously worked in the world of business and finance. She’s now hoping to settle into her “last career stop until retirement” in the wine industry and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about vineyard maintenance with Dave. Lynn will be writing a weekly blog post about her experiences working in the Chateau Montelena vineyards. Read her latest post below:
Today, Montelena’s vineyard signaled the first sign of veraison – every year, one of the most important events in the vineyard that starts the countdown to harvest. Exactly what triggers this remarkable event isn’t fully known, but it may have something to do with seed maturity. Veraison means, literally, the “change of color of the grape berries” – basically, the onset of berry ripening. During this period, the vine switches its resources to ripening the fruit, and leaf and cane growth subside. The berries soften, seeds turn from green to brown, acids decline and sugars accumulate and fruity aromas develop. Not coincidentally, this is nature’s way of making the fruit appealing to animals! This morning’s assignment was leaf pulling in the fruit zone – to increase air circulation around the berries and give them more sun exposure. It was during this exercise that I pulled away leaves on one cluster to reveal, for the first time, purple berries. I ooh’d and aah’d with delight, and had to run back to my car to get my camera, afraid if I went back later and tried to find that exact bunch, I wouldn’t be able to find it. The vineyard crew carried on, unphased – though I think they were somewhat amused at my enthusiasm for something they have all seen already many times. The result of that effort is the photo, below, which I think you’ll agree is a thing of beauty!
Cellar Reconstruction Progress
An earlier post by Nyk mentioned the complete reconstruction of our cellar, only its third incarnation since the winery’s 1882 beginnings. It’s a project symbolic of our continuing commitment to world-class winemaking. Beautiful new catwalks and a recently completed floor give the 6,600 square foot interior a sleek appearance. There are a lot of additional finishes to complete before the fermentation tanks are installed, and everything is on schedule. We thought you might like to see how things are coming along.
Clean Your Glasses
If you live in an area where hard water runs from the tap, you most likely discover that, with time, your stemware starts looking cloudy. This results more quickly when you clean your stemware in the dishwasher. Very hot water enables the minerals to adhere to the glass, giving that etched, hazy look, and even a rough texture. Wine served in cloudy glassware is less appealing, as the mineral build-up grabs the wine and prevents the pretty “tears” or “legs” from streaming down the inside of the glass. Highly pigmented wines appear to “stain” the inside of the glass, further diminishing the visual experience.
There is a way remove the cloudiness that is simple and inexpensive. Household white distilled vinegar, added to hot water in the sink and left in contact with your stemware for a few hours can often completely rid your glasses of the annoying haze.
Start by running very hot water into the kitchen sink. (You may want to boil water and pour it in the sink if your tap water doesn’t run really hot). Add 2 quarts of white vinegar to the water and gently submerge the glassware. Leave to soak for 3-4 hours, then rinse thoroughly and repeatedly before drying with a lint-free towel.
You can prevent the haze from re-occurring by regularly soaking clean glasses briefly (30 minutes) in this solution before rinsing and drying. Washing your stems by hand in tepid, not hot water also prevents mineral build-up.
For super stubborn hazy glassware, soak paper towels in full-strength white distilled vinegar and wrap around the inside and outside of the glass. Let the glasses sit for an hour, then rub well and rinse before toweling dry.
Montelena’s Happy Vineyard Crew
We have a new face on the blog! Lynn Pedone will be working in the vineyard, with Dave Vella and his crew, as she pursues her studies in Viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College. A little background on Lynn: she’s a recent East Coast transplant, has lived all over the world growing up in a military family and has previously worked in the world of business and finance. She’s now hoping to settle into her “last career stop until retirement” in the wine industry and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about vineyard maintenance with Dave. Lynn will be writing a weekly blog post about her experiences working in the Chateau Montelena vineyards. Read her latest post below:
My co-workers – the people who make up the great, hard-working vineyard crew at Chateau Montelena – really help to make my time in the vineyard enjoyable. They are also good, patient teachers, and a lot of the fun for me has been practicing my Spanish. We carry on conversations as we work, and somehow I know about their lives and they know something about mine. Last week I was partnered with Jose for the morning and he showed me a very efficient way to do leafing in the fruit zone. Clusters are getting big now, and it’s important to allow appropriate sun exposure and adequate ventilation around the berries. Jose demonstrated how to lift the canopy with one hand, kind of like looking under the hood of a car, and using the other hand to “comb” through and pull off leaves, working fast but taking care not to accidentally pull off a cluster of grapes. With experience it is possible to work quickly and avoid the fruit, but the key of course is to end up allowing enough sun exposure on the clusters but not so much you risk sunburn. I told Jose he was “muy rapido” but that I was “lento(a)” – slow. Somehow he made me feel that I was still doing a good job. Today, I was part of a small team tasked with dropping fruit from some young vines. Even knowing why this has to be done (keeping vine yields low to produce grapes with more flavor and intensity) still doesn’t make it any easier to snip off a perfectly beautiful cluster and throw it in a pile where it will shrivel and die in a matter of hours! Depending on the size of the shoot, I was told to leave two, one, or no cluster. The heat was back with us today, and the work was hard. But I continue to be impressed and amazed that my coworkers are always smiling, singing, and happy. Amidst their laughter and chatter, I can sometimes pick out a word or two or a phrase I understand. Most of all, listening to them passes the time and makes me smile, and I am grateful for this experience.
My Favorite Vineyard Day
We have a new face on the blog! Lynn Pedone will be working in the vineyard, with Dave Vella and his crew, as she pursues her studies in Viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College. A little background on Lynn: she’s a recent East Coast transplant, has lived all over the world growing up in a military family and has previously worked in the world of business and finance. She’s now hoping to settle into her “last career stop until retirement” in the wine industry and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about vineyard maintenance with Dave. Lynn will be writing a weekly blog post about her experiences working in the Chateau Montelena vineyards. Read her latest post below:
One day last week I spent my morning at Chateau Montelena working on some Petite Syrah vines. The Montelena Estate vineyards are exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon and old Zinfandel; the Petite Syrah vines are experimental (maybe the winemakers will try them in some new blend?). Arriving at the vineyard at 5:50 a.m., I learned that the rest of the crew was working offsite. I wondered what I would be doing, since that meant I would be working alone. Did they actually trust me to work on my own in the estate vineyard with no supervision? Beto asked if I would like to work on the four rows of young Petite Syrah vines that needed a little “tidying up” – vines creeping out into the row middles needed to be tucked into the catch wires and trimmed above the top wire. Sure! I said, happy to have any opportunity to use my pruning shears. I love pruning and cutting and trimming and snipping – as someone who has never really worked in a garden of any kind before, I had no idea how empowering it is to “discipline” a vine….maybe it’s because I can’t seem to establish the same control over my two obstinate Pugs. At this stage, when the vineyard seems to be growing like crazy, the vines are like unruly children. Fortunately, and unlike my dogs, they respond well to just about anything you do to them! It was a glorious day in Calistoga – very warm, but not too hot – with a soft breeze and a postcard-blue sky. As I was talking to the vines in the peaceful silence and listening to the birds chirping, Mr. Barrett rode by on his little motor scooter, and it made me happy to see him out and about. After a bit Dave Vella, the Vineyard Manager, stopped by to ask how things were going for me. In addition to what I was already doing, Dave suggested I start “dropping” berry clusters – in effect, pruning to leave just one cluster per shoot. When vines are young, this allows them to put their energy and resources into producing berries with more concentrated flavors. Montelena purposely keeps their vine yields low because smaller crop yields produce wines with more intensity and complexity. I was excited about this new task, until I started trying to decide which clusters would live and which would die. The problem, I discovered, was that by and large, all of them were beautiful and soon I realized I was spending far too much time trying to pick and choose and that it probably was not an effective use of my time. Where there were clear and obvious choices, I snipped off the “lesser” bunches, but I have to say that I did not enjoy murdering those little clusters that will never grow up to become fine Chateau Montelena wine! All in all, though, a perfect day. Next week I plan to focus on my co-workers – the people who make up the great, hard-working vineyard crew at Montelena. See you then.
Lightened-Up Caprese Salad…For Sauv Blanc Lovers
Now that Heirloom tomato season is here, I’m planning meals around the ultimate tomato dish in our house…the Caprese Salad. But our summer meals with Caprese on the table most often go to Mediterranean flavors. Lately, I’m loving sipping our 2009 Sauvignon Blanc before sunset, with its crisp refreshing acidity and bright citrus notes. So I had to tweak the Caprese to pair with this wine and the light summer fare I serve along with it. It was an easy variation, of course. Instead of fresh mozzerella and snipped basil, I use deliciously salty and acidic fresh local sheep’s milk feta and fresh garden mint. Along with a splash of balsamic I layer a squeeze of lemon, and drizzle all with a lively green olive oil.
For four servings, you’ll need:
2 medium to large ripe heirloom tomatoes
6 oz. fresh sheep’s milk feta cheese
½ cup fresh mint leaves, washed and patted dry, then snipped
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
A splash of aged balsamic vinegar
A squeeze of ½ lemon
Fresh “green” olive oil, to taste
Slice the tomatoes and pepper liberally. Sprinkle the feta over the tomatoes, then top with snipped mint. Splash with the balsamic and lemon, then drizzle with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.
