Napa Wine Country June 17-21, 2022

We took a family trip to CA – family being my daughter, Robin, her husband Jim, their two daughters, Grace and Claire, and me.  We went to see the grapes and enjoy wine tastings. First vineyard we visited was Chateau Montelena Winery located in Calistoga, California. This is the California winery that won for its Chardonnay in the historic 1976 Paris blind tasting that put California wines on the map, and is the subject of the film Bottle Shock. It is was established in 1882 and is a beautiful castle.

We had a private tasting in the library conducted by a gentleman who explained the history of the winery, the soil and the conditions necessary to raise the perfect grapes.  For example that the vines need to suffer, not be watered to much to produce the perfect grapes for the perfect wine.

There was another Napa winery that also won the 1976 Paris tasting so we set out to find it. We went unannounced to Stags’ Leap winery, another beautiful location and drank a bottle of their wine on a lovely porch. Robin Googled Stags’ Leap and found no mention of their win.  Seemed strange. Than she Googled 1976 Paris Tasting which discussed Chateau Montelena’s win and also the Stag’s Leap win in 1976.  It went on to explain that there were two wineries in the same area, incorporated in the same year by that name. There had been litigation but because they were started in the same year there could be no determination of which used that name first. So the distinction between them was the placement of the ‘. Went on to say that wine tasters  often visited the wrong Stags’ Leap and were duped into believing it to be the winner.

We looked at our bottle of wine and saw it was Stags’ Leap, not Stag’s Leap.  We too had been duped. We laughed like crazy.

When we left and went about a mile down the highway, we saw the sign Stag’s Leap.  We laughed again as Jim blew the car’s horn in greeting.

Stories like that are more fun to tell the folks back home than when everything goes as planned.  Hope you enjoyed this post.  Stags’ head was beautiful and had quite a history of its own.  It is worth Googling.