Montague

The Montague Vineyard just to the West of the Mokelumne River in Lodi was planted circa 1927-1930. It has been farmed by generations of the Shinn family who first settled in the area in the 1850s. A short walk from Bechthold, it is planted in the same Tokay Fine Sandy Loam soils, and despite its advanced age , it consistently produces a healthy crop of quite robust bunches and generously-sized berries that lend themselves to inclusion in a broad array of wines. An early pick becomes part of our Vin Gris and Rosé Pet Nat, and later picks adapt themselves to carbonic maceration as well as traditional native ferments. Unlike the reputation of Old World Carignane, oft disdained as a rough and rustic variety best ripped up, Montague charms us with its easygoing Californian nature.

Sunrise image of three pickers bent over three full half-ton bins of Carignane at Montage Vineyard in Lodi planted in the late 1920s, with the tractor driver wearing a red cap visible at top, backlit by the brilliant pinks and oranges of sunrise.

Sunrise image of three pickers bent over three full half-ton bins of Carignane at Montage Vineyard in Lodi planted in the late 1920s, with the tractor driver wearing a red cap visible at top, backlit by the brilliant pinks and oranges of sunrise.

Pickers at Montague Vineyard at sunrise dumping their picking boxes into half ton bins with leaf-pullers inspecting the fruit as it falls, and the tractor driver’s red LED headlamp looking like a laser beam cutting diagonally across the image.

Pickers at Montague Vineyard at sunrise dumping their picking boxes into half ton bins with leaf-pullers inspecting the fruit as it falls, and the tractor driver’s red LED headlamp looking like a laser beam cutting diagonally across the image.

Four pickers at Montague at Sunrise, with two pickers prominently figured at left in iridescent yellow and green shirts with their grape bins full and perched atop their heads, and with their LED headlamps creating lens flare and sending bright whit

Four pickers at Montague at Sunrise, with two pickers prominently figured at left in iridescent yellow and green shirts with their grape bins full and perched atop their heads, and with their LED headlamps creating lens flare and sending bright white lines across deep blue, pink, and purple clouds overhead.