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Elevator Pitch – Napa Valley Chardonnay

In 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris”, Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays in […]

Elevator Pitch – Potter Valley Riesling

Riesling is a hidden gem within the Chateau Montelena portfolio. Many people don’t know it exists, and once they do – they keep coming back for more. Stylistically, it is […]

Elevator Pitch – Calistoga Zinfandel

Zinfandel is California’s heritage grape, and as anyone who has tasted long-lived examples from the 1970s, it can produce wines of tremendous quality, both immediate pleasure and age-worthiness, and all […]

Elevator Pitch – Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is Chateau Montelena’s flagship wine and a quality icon of Napa Valley. The winemaking team works obsessively and passionately with each vintage to capture the best […]

Elevator Pitch – Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the balance of Montelena, classic “old-world” structure with ripe California fruit.  It is crafted from fruit coming from the Montelena vineyard and several prime neighboring […]

Elevator Pitch – The Decade Release Program

Bo Barrett explains Montelena’s Decade Release, an aging program meant to highlight the evolution and cellar-worthiness of their Napa Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Elevator Pitch – OVR Red

A groundbreaking combination of grape varieties and multiple vintages first produced in 1982, OVR has blazed the path for red blends for decades.

Elevator Pitch – OVR Rosé

Made in a Provençale, direct-press style from some of the oldest Syrah and Grenache vines in California, OVR Rosé is nuanced and perfectly balanced to enjoy with food or on its own.

Elevator Pitch – OVR Riesling

Originally intended as a gift for Scot’s partner, Lisa, who is German, this bone dry style of Riesling became a fan favorite and permanent addition.

Elevator Pitch – Román Zinfandel

One of the grape varieties that Marietta is famous for, this wine captures the bright, juicy character of Zinfandel, and hearkens to an era before dark, thick and oaky styles of Zinfandel took hold.

Elevator Pitch – Armé Cabernet Sauvignon

Stylistically balanced between modern California and Old World, this wine is dense with fresh, dark fruit and tempered with a savory, earthy character.

Elevator Pitch – Christo Red Blend

This Rhone varietal blend is gentle but powerful, pleasurable but deep, and refined while raw. An ode to Scot’s father and founder of Marietta Cellars, this blend is largely Syrah from the McDowell estate, blended with Petite Sirah from the Angeli Estate and Grenache from the Yorkville Highlands Estate.

Elevator Pitch – Angeli Zinfandel

Known as Angeli Ranch after the family who originally settled there in 1886, the property’s vineyards connect gravel swales from the Russian River to terraced knolls invisible from the valley floor. The extremes of this site create a wine that is powerful but has surprising elegance and clarity.

Elevator Pitch – Game Trail Cabernet Sauvignon

From a high elevation site in the Yorkville Highlands with coastal influence and large diurnal shifts, the Game Trail Cabernet offers an intense, fragrant, savory, and fresh style of Cabernet that speaks of site and demands to be paired with food.

Elevator Pitch – Gibson Block Syrah

Made from the oldest Syrah vines in California, in the heart of the McDowell Valley AVA, this wine reflects the hidden property where it is grown – quiet, obscure and profound. Limited in production due to the unique grape source, this wine is built to enjoy with food.

The Back Label E03 – Scot Bilbro, Marietta Cellars

Scot Bilbro is the owner and winemaker at Marietta Cellars, a California wine institution since 1978. Marietta farms nearly 400 acres of vineyards, including some of the oldest Grenache and Syrah plots in the country.

The Back Label E01 – Bo Barrett, Chateau Montelena

In our very first episode, Jesse Levine sat down with Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena. Having been at the forefront of the winemaking scene in Napa Valley since the 1976 Judgement of Paris, Bo had plenty of stories to share about the history of the estate and explains why it took just about fifty years to figure out he was “doing it right.”

The Back Label E04 – Theresa Heredia, Gary Farrell Winery

“My approach to winemaking is very much about taking advantage of specific vineyard and fruit qualities,” says Theresa. “I like to tailor the winemaking techniques specifically to each block of fruit that we receive separately. My job is to treat it as gently as possible so that we end up with a balanced wine.”

Elevator Pitch – Russian River Selection Chardonnay

The Russian River Selection bottlings are quintessential Russian River Valley wines blended from some of the winery’s top vineyard sources. They are beautiful expressions of their varietal type and of the appellation’s unique terroir, each blend capturing the richness, purity and elegance that are Gary Farrell Winery’s trademarks.

Elevator Pitch – Olivet Lane Chardonnay

The combination of low temperatures, regular fog intrusion and well drained soils at Pellegrini’s Olivet Lane Vineyard create an excellent environment for growing Chardonnay that develop cool-climate characteristics and impeccable acid at fairly low sugars.