Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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A Memorable Anniversary
Ridge Vineyards is celebrating an anniversary this year and we recently emailed a special offer on some of their new releases, so I thought it appropriate to reprint an article written in 1942 about the property that they so famously occupy.
This article appeared in the ABC of America's Wines, written by Mary Frost Mabon and published by Alfred A Knopf. The book was long out-of-print when I found my copy in a used bookstore in Santa Barbara, California, in the late 1970s. The book has two-page summaries of the prominent wineries of the era, of which there were a surprising number considering this was only a few years after the repeal of Prohibition.
Ridge was founded in the 1960s in the hills above Cupertino, reviving the vineyards that had previously been farmed by the Montebello Wine Company. It is interesting that they produced both bulk and premium wines, with the flagship being Estate Cabernet. From the book:
Montebello Wine Co.
[St. Helena, California]
The Montebello Wine Co. was founded in 1894. The company, with producing winery at St. Helena, also still owns the historic old Montebello cellar picturesquely situated atop the hills between the Bay and the Pacific near Cupertino in the Santa Clara Valley.
A good deal of the output of Montebello is sold in bulk, but its bottled-at-the-winery wines appear on better wine lists in California (as on the Bohemian Club list) and are rapidly becoming more widely distributed. The red wines are really excellent. You might remember, in addition to the Cabernet listed below, its Montebello Burgundy and Santa Clara Barbera
Brands and Prices
Montebello is the best brand for drys and desserts. Santa Clara is the secondary brand for drys and desserts.
Approximate prices: around $1.00 for the top brand, both dry table and dessert; around 50 cents for the secondary brand; ditto. Distribution in New York, New England states, Oregon, Nevada, and Maryland.
Outstanding Wines
Dry Table Reds
Montebello Cabernet. This is easily the vineyard's best wine, blended with enough Cabernet to give distinction and quality. Medium-bodied, it is robust enough to stand up with strong-flavored food; Italian restaurants around the Bay area like to serve it with pizza or chicken cacciatore.