Chateau Montelena, the Napa Valley Winery, was established by Alfred Tubbs in the year 1882. He started planting vines in the empty plots nearby his locality and within a decade, the Chateau Montelena Wines became the 7th biggest winery in the entire area of Napa Valley. This winery came into prominence when the Chardonnay white wines crafted here went on to win the very reputed “Judgement of Paris” wine competition.
In the year 1958, Tubbs sold his winery to the Chines couple, Yort Wing Frank and Jeanie, because of wine production was prohibited in the USA. This couple went on to make the vineyards an excellent garden resort, where you could go on a picnic if you were a member of the exclusive Chateau wine club.
In the year 1968, Lee and Helen Paschich bought this property from the Chinese couple with the sole objective to resume winemaking here. They then completed the legal formalities and set up the winery formally with all the winemaking equipment in place. In the year 1972, they appointed chief winemaker, Mike Grgich as the first step towards crafting popular wines here. The winery started making wines again in a full-fledged manner in 1972.
The results were visible very soon as four years later, its Chardonnay wine won this reputed prize, making the world sit up and take notice of this brand. It was adjusted the best out of a list of whites and burgundies that participated in the competition. The vintage bottle that was adjudged winner in the “Judgement Of Paris” competition, can still be found in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the special varietals grown in the vineyards here, because the soil used for cultivating it is one of the most unique in the world. In the same vineyard, you will get to notice sedimentary, alluvial and volcanic soils.
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