Tasting Chateau Montelena’s Napa Valley Zinfandel 30 years ago was an epiphanic moment for Napa Correspondent, Alan Goldfarb.
Zinfandel In Napa
Say Napa Valley and Zinfandel does not come to mind but it is still a strong player where Cab is king.
by
Alan Goldfarb
January 18, 2007
In 1976, I had my own epiphanic moment with a bottle of Chateau Montelena wine. Instead of the Paris Tasting -- in which a 1973 Montelena was chosen by French oenophiles as the best Chardonnay, thus signaling the most important moment in California wine history – we’ll call my experience the Glen Park Tasting after the sleepy San Francisco neighborhood where my little flash of understanding took place. On that momentous occasion, I tasted a 1974 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel, which was the greatest California wine I had yet put into my mouth. The memory lingers.
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