Harvest 2001

As I write this I can look out of my office & see trucks loaded with bins of harvested grapes arriving at the winery. I hear the sounds of a gondola of grapes being tipped into the hopper. Then I hear the sounds of the crusher-stemmer going round & round and finally the “ker-chunck, ker-chunck” of the “Must” pump –(the “Must” crushed grapes & juice are being pumped into the winery for fermentation). These are the sights and sounds of Crush time at Chateau Montelena for the Harvest of 2001. This is our 30th Crush! What memories they bring to mind for me ….

When I first saw the Winery in 1971 it had a faded elegance; tired and forlorn. The winery was vacant except for ghosts and spiders; Jade Lake only lacked Humphrey Bogart and “the African Queen” to complete the jungle scene; the vineyards were in sad shape; a hopeless mess.

But … being an incurable romantic, I fell in love with it. It was “love-at-first-sight”. I put together the people and wherewithal to purchase the property and bring the winery and vineyard back to life. In nine (9) short months we made our 1st Crush – the Harvest of 1972. Chateau Montelena Winery, the dream of Alfred Tubbs in 1882 was, after all those years, again humming with activity. We were pursuing the same goal many years later that Senator Tubbs had in 1882 to establish Chateau Montelena as a World-Class Winery.

All of us here at Montelena are justly proud of the wines we’ve made for you over these many, many years; but I’ve got to say that the wines Bo and his winemaking team have been making since 1990 are on a plateau over and above the wines we made in the past as good as they were. This is not Nepotism or dear ole Dad talking - it’s the Wine World that is talking – the people who buy our wine and those who write about it.

I believe I can say 30 years later, without fear of contradiction, that we have, in fact, established Chateau Montelena as a World Class Winery.

Time flies when you’re having fun … but those 30 years sure went by fast. It has been a thrilling and sometimes exhilarating feeling to have been a member of “Team Montelena”. People who worked here have gone on to other things. Many of our “graduates” have become well-known winemakers in their own right. Still others have joined our family o’er the years, but “Team Montelena” – (the family) remains intact and has the same Esprit-de-Corps! A passion to make great wines and maintain Chateau Montelena’s Reputation as a World-Class Winery is our motivation.

So here’s a toast we at Montelena make to all you wine lovers - “that you continue to enjoy drinking Montelena wine as much as we enjoy making it”. Your enjoyment is truly our enjoyment.