2008 Montelena Estate Zinfandel
For me I like it with an Irish beef stew. But will always go for a glass on its own. What is your great pairing with this wine?
New Connecticut Distributor
We’re pleased to announce that Slocum & Sons is now distributing our wines in Connecticut!
John Slocum and Bo Barrett
For more information, visit our distributors page.
Napa’s Best Secret: The Calistoga AVA
Any true wine geeks out there? OK it’s a little long for our blog, but it’s one of the best summaries of what makes the Calistoga area (an official American Viticultural Area, or AVA) such a great place to grow wine grapes. This was written for a local journalist by winemaker Cameron Parry, and provides a link to the actual petition – authored by Bo Barrett – that led to government approval of the AVA. Here goes, hope you like it:
The Calistoga AVA has a lot of great sloping/hillside and higher elevation vineyards and the well recognized concentration that they bring, along with a relatively small amount of “flat” valley floor land. That valley floor land has a lot of alluvial influence, so even though it is flat, it is not that heavy – lots of stony, well drained soils. There are 3 different soil origins, and numerous classified soil types, which bring in a great complexity as well. But, it’s not just the dirt! One of the most defining features of the Calistoga AVA is the influence of Mt. St. Helena, which acts like an air pump: drawing air up (pulling cooler air in from the Knights Valley gap) during the day as the mountain warms, and sending cool air sliding down slope at night. This near constant air movement helps keep temperatures in check and reduces the mildew pressure. It also contributes to a large diurnal swing (as much as 40 degrees a day on a regular basis), which (without getting into too much grape physiology) helps preserve the natural acidity in the grapes resulting in wines with great balance, complexity, and longevity. Many people think that Calistoga is the hottest of the AVA’s in Napa, but in reality the hottest part of the valley is just north of St. Helena. The other often overlooked aspect of the Calistoga AVA is the orientation of the valley. Most of the Napa valley runs about 340°, but right around Larkmead Lane, the valley turns West by about 20-25°, running about 305°. The result is that the Calistoga AVA has a very different solar exposure than the rest of the valley. The result, here at Chateau Montelena, is that we see earlier ripening/earlier harvest dates than many other locations, which often means that all of our fruit is in before the fall rains. Somehow we also seem to have better solar capture even in the “difficult” years, meaning that we always get ripe fruit.
Much of this is outlined in the TTB petition that Bo wrote back in 2003, so that would be a great reference as well.
Bud break is here…
…the growing season has begun! After a rainy, wet March, the last week has been beautiful. The vines just couldn’t wait to bud. Below is a picture of a new bud on one of the Cabernet Sauvignon vines from block A, planted in 1972. This picture was taken Thursday afternoon. By next week, the whole vineyard will be sprouting with green shoots. This is my favorite time of year!
In a few weeks the vines will be cloaked in green shoots. It all happens so fast.
“Re-Imagine Our Chateau” Design Contest
Win Two VIP Tickets to Franc&Blanc on June 25, 2011
Introducing our First Annual “Re-Imagine Our Chateau” Design Contest. Submit the winning design and earn two VIP tickets to Franc&Blanc, the just-for-the-fun-of-it event at the Chateau on June 25, 2011. The image above of the iconic stone castle, emblazoned on all of our wine labels, has been the most-widely recognized depiction of the winery for generations. How would you re-imagine it for a new generation? Be as creative as you like. Whether you render a whole new drawing, get fancy in Photoshop, build a sculpture, paint a picture, or invent something totally wild and unpredictable – we want to see it. Post an image of your creation(s) on our Facebook Page, anytime between now and May 11th. The winning design* will be announced on Friday, May 13th.
*The winning design remains yours. We only ask for the right to use it in our promotions.
Please Note: We welcome entries from all geographic locations, but please keep in mind that the prize includes two (2) VIP tickets for admission to the Franc&Blanc party only. Travel, lodging and other costs are not included.
Montelena Family Hard at Work
BEFORE: Daisy eager to start her tasting assignment.
Sometimes it can be quite exhausting tasting the new releases. Why in fact, take a look at Daisy here. She is completely worn out after trying the recent release of the Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
AFTER
(Thank you, Daisy, for allowing us to take these photos of you with these props).
2010 Riesling; Killer
Have you ever tried our Riesling? If so, hopefully you can back up my blog. If not, you’re missing something special. When we do have it in stock (only about 1600 cases made; sold out in December), we have it in our tasting room lineup for tasting. A lot of people see our flight, and say, “you know, let’s just skip the Riesling.” After insisting they try, 9 out of 10 are amazingly surprised! It’s not the sweet, boring wine that gave Riesling a bad rap over the past 30 years. Germany, France, Austria, and even Australia have been making some wonderful off-dry Rieslings the rest of the world has appreciated far more than us Americans.
Well, mark your calendars! We release the 2010 Riesling in May, and after previewing it, this stuff is gonna fly out of our tasting room. The good news: we made more. The bad news: only 300 cases.
You can get the Riesling: at the Chateau, if you’re a club member, from some of our select restaurant and hotel accounts, or at our tasting room at the St. Francis in San Francisco. Perfect Summer wine (assuming we have a “normal” warm Summer here!); don’t let the initial press on 2010 as a vintage fool you. More on that next week.
Sneak Peak: Franc&Blanc
We’re really looking forward to our upcoming #Franc&Blanc party, here at the winery, on June 25th. What’s not to love about delicious wine, fantastic food, great music and plenty of entertaining games?! We can barely contain our excitement. We’re encouraging guests to wear red (franc) or white (blanc) to declare their wine preference, but we’re also encouraging guests to dress up with fun props, let loose and have fun in our photobooth. The event is still a few months away, but Nyk is already getting ready for his close-up:
What’s your favorite part of a party? The food? The drinks? The games? Tell us what makes an awesome party.
Here comes the sun…finally…
…for the next few days at least.
It’s been a wet few weeks here in Calistoga, but the trend changes tomorrow.
What’s the weather like in your area? Comment and let us know.
The sun will finally shine this week after about 3 weeks of rain.
Meet the Cellar Crew – Eddie Salomon
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be highlighting our cellar crew. These highly skilled behind-the-scenes workaholics keep production moving along, and make it look effortless. Most of their time is spent doing work in the caves and the warehouse. I thought it was overdue getting them some face time. Keep up the good work fellas!
This is Eddie “El Gato” Salomon. First off, congratulations Eddie on your new beautiful baby girl Victoria Salomon! Mr. Salomon has been with Montelena since 2007, and is the jack-of-all-trades guy in the cellar. Eddie’s nickname is “The Cat” – he demonstrates this every harvest when he crawls around preparing the equipment for crush. What nickname do you go by?
