Chateau Montelena defeated its first growth French counterparts at the tasting of Paris in 1976 and quite frankly, the winery will always be a tourist destination because of it.  For good reason, that tasting literally put American wine on the map and helped to create the Napa Valley that we know and love today.

The winery and vineyard date to the original plantings in Napa back in 1882, but let’s talk about those wines that went to France in the 70’s.  They were made by Mike Grgich, who of course created his own Grgich Hills label shortly thereafter.

Through a different set of winemakers over the years (a surprisingly small number to be honest) Chateau Montelena has stuck itself at the upper end of the quality spectrum.  It’s a high end Napa name, with scores to continually back it up.

During a visit to Napa Valley, Chateau Montelena is almost a required stop, even if their pedigree is simply too big for any of our online wine clubs, we can’t help but marvel at both the quality and longevity of both the vineyard, as well as the brand itself.