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Wineries · Calistoga · Napa Valley · California
Château Montelena
Château Montelena opens two different Napa stories: a Chardonnay celebrated in Paris and an estate closely associated with Cabernet Sauvignon.
Photo: Grendelkhan, 18 September 2016,. Original photograph and credit · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; no generative changes.
The quick profile
- Where to begin
- Calistoga · Napa Valley · California
- The producer
- Historic winery
- A useful time marker
- Established 1882
An old building, an influential tasting
The winery dates its establishment to 1882. A much later chapter brought international attention: its 1973 Chardonnay took the highest placing among the white wines at the 1976 Paris tasting. The Smithsonian’s account places that event within the changing reputation of American wine. One result from one tasting is a historical event, not a permanent ranking of whole countries.
Follow the winemaker to the next chapter
Mike Grgich made the celebrated Chardonnay at Château Montelena before co-founding Grgich Hills in 1977. Keeping the winery names and dates straight matters. The 1973 Montelena wine was not a Grgich Hills bottling. It is a particularly good example of how a person’s career can connect different producers without making them the same business.
A broader picture than a single Chardonnay
The producer’s resources distinguish Napa Valley Chardonnay and estate Cabernet Sauvignon among its wines. Read each wine’s origin separately. Montelena’s Calistoga estate and the geographic sources of a particular Chardonnay should not be collapsed into one claim. Its estate map also shows several soil types: even a single property can contain considerable variation.
Three things to notice
- 1973 is the wine’s vintage; 1976 is the year of the Paris tasting.
- The white-wine and red-wine results were separate parts of that tasting.
- “Estate” in one wine’s name does not automatically describe every wine from the producer.
Try a little discovery
Make a three-date timeline: the Chardonnay vintage, the Paris tasting and the founding of Grgich Hills. Then compare the origin statements for a current Montelena Chardonnay and estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
A few questions worth uncorking
Was the Paris wine a Grgich Hills Chardonnay?
No. It was Château Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay. Grgich Hills was founded later, in 1977.
Does the Paris result prove every Napa Chardonnay is better?
No. It records the results of a particular blind tasting with particular wines and judges.
Follow the connections
Discover another winery
Behind this introduction
Sources checked 15 October 2026. Producer accounts are first-hand sources for their own history and wines; discovery questions are Talk to the Cork editorial interpretations. Wine ranges, methods and visitor arrangements can change. Use the producer’s official information for the particular wine, vintage or visit.
- Château Montelena: wine resources
- Château Montelena: winery brochure (PDF)
- Smithsonian: the Judgment of Paris