If I were to ask anyone familiar with Chateau Montelena what this winery is well known for, I would most likely hear about the 1976 Paris Tasting or the movie Bottle Shock. The winery prides itself, rightfully so, with the fact that its 1973 Chardonnay was chosen as the number 1 white wine in the 1976 tasting in Paris beating out some of the most prestigious French wines.

The 1976 Paris Tasting, also referred to as the “Judgment of Paris”, was organized by a British wine merchant Steven Spurrier. At the time, little was known about California wines and no one in France, including Spurrier himself, believed that California would beat out the French. The panel of judges was made up of some very well-known names in the French wine industry who blindly tasted top quality Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California and France. To everyone’s disbelief, California wines came out on top for each category putting the California wine industry on the world map.   This was viewed as such an important achievement in United States history that a bottle of the 1973 Alexander Valley Chardonnay sits in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.* There is a copy of the Time magazine story announcing California’s victory at the Judgment of Paris in the Chateau Montelena tasting room.

In 2008 the movie Bottle Shock was released which tells a dramatized story of Chateau Montelena and the Judgment of Paris. Although the movie is based on the true story, some parts of the movie do stray from actual events, including the fact that the winemaker of the 1973 Chardonnay, Miljenko (Mike) Grgich, was left out of the movie entirely. Mike Grgich left Chateau Montelena in 1977 to start his own winery with partner Austin Hills in Rutherford, CA. For fans of the movie, Chateau Montelena offers a Beyond Paris and Hollywood Experience that allows visitors to taste the famed Chardonnay and see where the movie was filmed. Visitors who are not up for the tour can still stop in to see the Chateau and sample the Chardonnay and other current releases in the tasting room. There are other tours and private tastings available by appointment.

The historic Chateau Montelena founded in 1882.

Despite all of the focus on the Paris Tasting and Bottle Shock movie, the winery does have an interesting history. The chateau was founded in 1882 by an entrepreneur named Alfred Tubbs. He purchased 254 acres in Calistoga, planted the vineyards, and built the chateau on the property. Tubbs stopped making wine during Prohibition and sold his grapes to other winemakers. In 1958, the winery was sold to Yort Frank, a Chinese electrical engineer, and his wife. They built the Chinese garden called Jade Lake that today serves as a sanctuary to fish, swans, and other wildlife. The winery changed hands again until Jim Barrett purchased the winery in 1972.  Jim reformed the winery and was actively involved in operating it until his death in March 2013.  His son Bo became the winemaker in 1982 and is still the winemaker and chief executive.

Visitors can view the Chateau with its original façade and Jade Lake. Wine club members are welcome to walk across the footbridges of Jade Lake but it is not open to the general public. Inside the Chateau there is an Estate Room open to the public containing numerous artifacts highlighting the winery’s history and a display of the soil varieties of the Montelena Estate vineyard.

*Reference from Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.

Jade Lake at Chateau Montelena