Food & Wine contributor Jonathan Cristaldi asked several industry experts to share their favorite wine & cheese pairing, and also offer tips to help readers pick their own winning combinations at home. With so many outstanding cheese options easily accessible at stores today (not to mention wines), it is easy to become intimated – especially as one thinks about balancing out acidity, creaminess, nuttiness, age and so many other nuances. Chateau Montelena Winemaker Matt Crafton offers great context with his recommendation to pair the 2017 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay with Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam. He explains, “Though the style of Chardonnay, which is really fresh, with integrated oak spices and zesty acidity, really lends itself to both the triple cream and comté. The creamy, buttery quality of the Mt Tam seems to imbue the Chardonnay with richer floral, fruit, and mineral qualities, while the comté, rich with nutty, earthy notes, is something to enjoy with an aged Chardonnay…” Read the full story and more of his explanation HERE
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Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017
Napa Valley, California
A true icon. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley at the forefront of the wine world in 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris.” To great disbelief, the Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays. And as they say, the rest is history.
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Chateau Montelena
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine establishment gathered in Paris for a blind tasting of French and American wines. When the scores were tallied, the top-ranking white wine was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay. Montelena today continues to be a quality benchmark in Napa Valley, producing some of the finest Cabernet and Chardonnay in California.