Discover Chateau Montelena: An Established Wine Brand That Won The 1976 Judgement Of Paris

It was long said that only fine wine came from Europe. In 1976, that was put to the test at the Judgement of Paris, where American winemakers went against their European counterparts. The nine French judges blind-tasted wines and graded each of them, and the white wine winner was the Chateau Montelena‘ Chardonnay. The score was 132 points, the highest total score of any of the wines—red or white—in the tasting. This historical moment put American wine and spirits on the map, changing the winemaking industry.

The winery, founded in 1882 by Alfred Tubbs, has been around for more than 50 years and, in many respects, is the vision of American luxury and a true all-American success story. Chateau Montelena began as a small family business that was built on sweat and dedication. While the brand has evolved over time, Chateau Montelena sticks to its core values.

“I think the values that the company espouses have always remained the same and they’ve really galvanized our success,” Matt Crafton, Chateau Montelena’s winemaker, says. “There are certain ideals like how we always conduct ourselves with integrity and honesty that never go out of fashion. Then likewise, the environment we work in that really encourages free thinking, exploration and independence in an environment [that] allows us to continue to improve and come up with new ideas. I think people still want a connection.”

The worlds of wine and luxury intersect. In terms of how Chateau Montelena fits within this transversion, Crafton says: “Our wines are recognized as fundamentally unique outside the traditional way of determining value. Our wine is a single creative expression, something that can’t be copied or recreated. From that standpoint, it’s the product of an exceptional place with decades of know-how that have been forged over time. I think that that sense of heritage and lineage really has to be earned.”

Wine has long been thought of as a worthy investment, however, American wines have not always been included in this. Chateau Montelena has made waves as an investment quality wine. The winery looks at each vintage as a singular year that will never happen again, Crafton says, making each wine an embodiment of a place in time.

“Our wines present a pretty rare perspective and I think that’s one piece of looking for wines as investments—do they present a rare perspective?” he says. “On top of that, we’re blessed with vineyards that have the ability to yield fruit and eventually wines that age extremely well. The second part of looking for an investment is…you’re really betting on the brand you have delivered year after year. Do their wines improve with time? Is the bottle that you buy, is it going to be better 10 or 30 years from now? Do the brand and its wines in general stand the test of time? Do they endure and improve? That’s the way I look at wine as an investment—it has to check off those boxes.”

While Crafton is younger than most of his winemaker counterparts, he believes that having a forward-looking approach to an established brand aids him in this sense. His perspective on being a winemaker is also to honor the past and try not to repeat it, which he says he takes very seriously. The role of winemakers, he says, has evolved over time from punching checks and sending barrels out for distribution to being part of the harvesting process.

“At this level [in] why making extends beyond the traditional walls of the cellars and more into the vineyard, there are hundreds of decisions that have to be made, beginning with planting the vineyard that carries through, how we train and how we farm,” he adds. “Then likewise, in the winery itself, there are tons of what I call one-way doors—once you walk through, you can’t go back.”

As for what makes Chateau Montelena different from other wineries, Crafton says: “Quality is really the first and only consideration. We don’t have a marketing department, we don’t have focus groups, we don’t have outside investment. Our success and how it’s endured have been built through the trust of our customers and consistently delivering beyond their expectations. It sounds really simple, but it’s really hard to achieve. I think that’s one of the guiding principles of the brand and it is outside a short-term payday or a vanity project. We believe in what we do.”