Chateau Montelena changed wine world history in 1976 by defeating four French and six California white wines with their 1973 Chardonnay during a blind tasting in Paris, France. Thus, in regards to setting a “standard of comparison” ~ I begin my BC2BC wine tour exploring 4000+ wineries from Baja California to British Columbia with a review of their “world class” Chardonnay. In my next article (BC2BC-3) I’ll set the same standards for red wine with a visit to Stag’s Leap winery. Their 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon defeated French and American reds during the infamous 1976 Judgment of Paris, when and where California wines first conquered the world of wine.

Serious wine lovers on a sojourn to the premier wine country of Calistoga, California might consider beginning their wine adventure at Chateau Montelena. Historically, this is a “first growth” California vineyard established in 1886. The original Chateau is stunning, further enhanced by the surrounding landscape, including Jade Lake, making it a “must visit and taste” destination for casual or serious wine enthusiasts. As a grape grower and winemaker myself, walking their estate vineyards along the Napa River tributaries near the base of Mt. St. Helena makes it apparent where the layered flavors come from, contributing to the dynamic character of their skillfully crafted red wines. Their Estate Cabernet and Zinfandel vines are grown in a diverse range of soil types, including alluvial soil, with gravelly subsoil, allowing deep root penetration with good drainage. Their vineyard soils include areas laced with volcanic soils, formed by ancient lava flows, providing soil conditions that translate into aromatic, rich and full-bodied red wines, characterized by the unique earthy-berry and spicy, ripe berry flavors.

The premium fruit for Chateau Montelena Chardonnay comes from leasehold on 55 acres of vineyard located in the Oak Knoll District at the base of Mt. Veeder. The soil here is of Haire-loam soil, containing sedimentary material, mostly decomposed shale and blue/gray clay, with moderate drainage. About 50% of the fruit in the 1973 Chardonnay that captured top honors in the famed 1976 Paris tasting were sourced near here from Bill Hana’s vineyard. In addition, Chateau Montelena produces about 1,500 cases of Riesling from purchased grapes grown in Potter Valley. Key elements in the success of growing “world class fruit” for their wines are: superior vineyard locations, correct rootstock and clone selections, precise soil management, and incorporating intensive management practices.

BC2BC ~ 1 The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me as I explore 4,000+ wineries from Baja California to British Columbia. My focus is to introduce wine and culinary lovers to the many wonderful people working within the wine industry of North America. This will include a review of good wines, great culinary delights, artisan creators of gourmet coffee, craft beer, organic farmers, along with other characters encountered during my “endless” wine tour. Few people are aware that Ruta del Vino Grande extends over 2,000 miles from Baja California to British Columbia. I call this wine route; the Western Wine Region of North America. Together we’ll discover many of the best wines in the World, each grown and uniquely expressed in the various wine regions encountered along the way. One aspect of this tour will be discovering great “value” wines and making suggestions on what culinary delights to match with these “bottled treasures of delight.”

I’ve been exploring the Western Wine Region of North America since 1974. But, this new BC2BC project began in 2004 as I ventured to the southern tip into Baja California with plans to travel north towards the wine country of Okanogan Valley of British Columbia. By fate, I ended up staying in Valle de Guadalupe (Mexico’s premier wine country) for eight years where I wrote hundreds of articles about their wine industry, published tour guides, led tours, hosted events, grew Italian Nebbiolo grapes and made a limited amount of handcrafted wine. That experience gave me a new perspective as a winemaker, “looking at wine from inside the bottle, rather than as a critical, analytical outside observation.” Living in Mexico’s premier wine region allowed me to evolve along with an emerging wine and culinary culture, gaining valuable skills in Wine Culture Communications. Part of that journey included a filming tour of Italy’s Collio wine region, a cable TV show, photography and short film-making adventures via eight newspaper/magazine columns, three web sites, one blog, three Face Book pages, three Twitter accounts, Linked-in, You Tube and Vimeo channels. Thus, we now focus on spreading the word about wine and cuisine via social media communications. My business partner is web master and filmmaker Adrian Ruiz of Ensenada, Baja California. Together we own WineFoodGuide.com, Wine Culture Communications, and BajaWineandFood.com.

BC2BC ~ 2 starts with a visit to Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap wineries in Napa Valley, California. These two dynamic wineries sparked a global revolution with victory at the infamous Judgment of Paris in 1975, forever changing California’s wine industry. This pivotal event awakened connoisseurs, global wine lovers and consumers to the “World Class” quality and endless potential of California wine. On the 35^th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris, we’ll take another look at these two wineries as we began our exploration of the Western Wine Region of North America. We’d love to visit your winery, culinary venue, or artisan operations. Currently, I’m working along the Canadian border and into Washington State. BC2BC ~ 2 will focus on Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap wineries. Thanks for following our journey, and please feel free to contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Eduardo Liceaga Campos Memorial
2012 - Persons of the Year in Mexico’s Wine Culture

Tony Escalante and Christoph Gartner

We’ve been selecting this award for the last eight years, and this is the first time we’ve had a tie. The Wine Persons of the Year for 2012 are Anthony Escalante of Roganto winery and Christoph Gartner of Vinsiterra winery. Both of these boutique winemakers are intensely focused on creating “World Class” wine in Mexico, resulting in premium bottles of wine that validate their efforts. Roganto is a partnership of Anthony Escalante and Rogelio Sanchez del Palacio, Vinisterra is a partnership between Christoph Gartner and Guillermo Rodriguez.