On a recent business trip to the USA, Thacks Awards panelist Anita (who has visited many, many wineries in her lifetime and did some keen research on this one) covered a few US states and cities – and she was most impressed with this gem in her outing to Napa Valley.
“Luck was clearly on my side when I recently found myself in California with time to visit just one wine farm in the whole Napa Valley and I ended up at the breathtakingly beautiful Chateau Montelena right in the northern end of the valley.
Named after the nearby Mt. St. Helena and on the outskirts of Calistoga, the winery is housed in a majestic castle built into the hillside overlooking luscious gardens and a scenic lake. My hostess, Julia, was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable.
Each of the five wines available for tasting seemed to impress more than the previous one, only to then have my socks blown off by an older vintage of their flagship wine, the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, which I was fortunate enough to try because they happened to have a bottle open. And I’m clearly not the only one impressed by their produce – the 2008 movie Bottle Shock tells the true story of how Chateau Montelena’s chardonnay beat every French competitor in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, considered unthinkable at the time.
I would go back again in a heartbeat! They offer three tasting experiences, as shown in the pictures, and I had the Taste of Montelena for $55. The fee is waived with wine purchases of at least $100.
Due to covid restrictions at the time of visiting, tasting reservations were required.”
2022 Top 5 Winner – Chateau Montelena Winery written by Anita W – one of the seven 2022 international Thacks Awards panelists, who lives and works in the coffee industry in Austria. When not drinking wine (or coffee), Anita and her husband love traveling or spending time with their fur kids.
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