Chalone Vineyard

The first glance at labels from this Chalone Vineyard may not help you know what it is all about. All of the labels from this Monterey County, California feature a peculiar silhouette without any explanation of exactly what it is or why it is so important that it appears on every bottle of wine they produce.

They mystery clears up quickly once you know a few basic facts about the winery. It is located in the Salinas Valley, sometimes called Steinbeck Country, named after the Nobel Prize winning author that wrote extensively about life in this beautiful area. The valley is surrounded by mountains and the one pictured on the label is called Chalone Peak, named after the native Americans from this area.

A photo of the peak from almost any direction is recognizable as the drawing on the label. The winery itself has an interesting history too because it dates back to the early 1900s. It changed hands several times over the years, almost went bankrupt during the depression, was rescued a few times by enthusiastic owners but really did not become a financial success until taken over by the present owners led by Dick Graff since 1965.

The vineyard has grown since then, now over 1,000 acres producing grapes for their estate bottled wines most notably the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The silhouette drawing is sometimes featured rather large sometimes, small other times but it is a symbol of the unique wines produced in the limestone soils amid spectacular beauty of California countryside.

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