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A Seahorse Smoking a Cigar?
Our vineyard crew is busy pruning the vines, so I visited with Bo in the Estate Vineyard to witness some of the trimming process, an annual task that takes weeks to complete. Important cutting decisions are made along the way. In one case, it involved literally sawing off a large branch on an older (1973) [...]
Replant of an Historic Block
The oldest block of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Estate Vineyard has been pulled for replant. Block 1A, situated in mostly sedimentary soil – in fact, the only area in the Estate Vineyard where sedimentary soil occurs – was planted in 1973, just after Jim Barrett acquired the property. For those of us who see the vineyard on [...]
Virgin America Video
Fliers on Virgin America in December and January will see this 2:00 minute video inviting them to visit us. It is actually footage we shot some years back and “re-purposed” for the airline, which did all of the copy. It was fun to revisit it. Back in those days, Bo had a mustache. Take a [...]
2011 Vintage – A Voyage of Endurance
No doubt the scribes are hard at work summing up their take on the memorable 2011 vintage for public consumption. Yes, it was an “interesting” year, the kind of growing season that builds character in growers and winemakers. It was also the kind of vintage in which outstanding wines can be crafted. Hot off the press, here is [...]
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.
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 [...]
Three Generations of Montelena Winemakers
We had a special guest here yesterday. Jerry Luper stopped by to say hello after many years of living in Europe, and just about 30 years after turning Chateau Montelena Winemaker responsibilities over to Bo Barrett, now our Master Winemaker. So it was fun to get them together with current Winemaker Cameron Parry for a group photo. What strikes me, other than [...]
Our New Pavilions
If you have ever visited Jade Lake to enjoy its tranquility – and especially if you are a CellarMaster Wine Club member who has reserved one of its two islands for personal use – you are familiar with our pavilions. These structures were originally built by Yort and Jeanie Frank, whose family owned and lived in the Chateau in the [...]
Logo-motive
We love our Chateau. It defines us in so many ways, and over time we have put it on mouse pads and coffee cups, temporary tattoos (called “Chattoos”), shirts and hats, trivets and coasters – the latter two items very popular sellers in our tasting room. Some years back, a toy train manufacturer now out of business asked [...]
A Symbol of Montelena History in Auction Napa Valley
Vintage 2007 of our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon represents the 30th bottling of the wine that fulfills Jim Barrett’s vision for excellence in winemaking. We thought it appropriate to offer a complete horizontal, six sizes from 375ml to 6 Liter, in the E-Auction of Auction Napa Valley coming up in early June. Each bottle is signed [...]
