VINEYARD & WINERY
MONTOLIVA
Latest News
Hours
We will be open Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm (last pouring starting at 4:00pm).
Can American Wineries do Justice to Italian Varietals?
By Paul Gregutt, December 3, 2022
Open Hours
We will be open Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm (last pouring starting at 4:00pm).
What’s Coming Up at Montoliva? Everything is coming along rather quickly here. Spring budbreak came a month early, which leads to the question, “is harvest going to be a month early?” It sure looks that way right now, but as I always like to say, Mother Nature always bats last, in the meantime..
What do you get when you mix a warm foothill evening, wine and outdoor movie? Montoliva Vineyard & Winery Saturday Night Movies in the vineyard of course. This is season… hmm, I think this may be our 15th year showing movies in the vineyard. It has always been a pretty low keyed affair. Bring your lawn chairs, beach blankets and a mild sense of adventure. We provide a gorgeous setting, high quality 8ft x 10ft movie screen and state of the art sound and of course, wine. Gates open at 7pm, the movie starts at dusk, around 8:15 in mid-july. The cost is only $18 for a glass of wine and a movie ($15 for members of the Chicago Park Wine Society.) A bargain at twice the price. We even provide popcorn!
25th July- Somm our annual “wine” movie. If you love wine, you’ll love this well made documentary following 5 young people as they prepare to take the Master Sommelier exam. Smells like freshly cut garden hose!
15th August- French Kiss our annual “date night” movie. Kevin Kline as a loveable scamp of a Frenchman. Oh yeah, and it’s got Meg Ryan in it!
1st August- Montoliva Vineyard & Winery Customer Appreciation BBQ. Music provided by The Swiss Trip, undoubtedly the best 50s-60s Jazz trio in the region.
The food is, as always, catered by La Fornaretta, the finest Sicilian restaurant in all of the Northern California. The piece de resistance, our newest release of Mark’s Magia and our first ever estate grown Montepulciano. Great food, great music, great wine, all free. Just our way of saying thank you to our Chicago Park Wine Society members.
Can American Wineries do Justice to Italian Varietals?
By Paul Gregutt, December 3, 202
We are currently pouring some very interesting and compelling wines, come visit us this weekend! No reservations required. Cheers, Mark Henry
Mark Henry is the owner, vineyardist and winemaker. Julianne Henry’s official title is “Wine Muse”, a designation that belies her efforts at keeping things under control. Together, they welcome the opportunity to walk you through the vineyards, fountains, “go-ahead, pick some” herb garden and, of course, the winery.
A true Garagiste, the estate home and winery are one-in-the-same. In the winery, Mark takes his cue from the esteemed wines of Montalcino, Tuscany. Long, slow fermentations using special Tuscan yeasts, extended macerations and barrel aging all play to the strengths of Sangiovese and Aglianico grapes.
Join the Chicago Park Wine Society
The Chicago Park Wine Society is a special release club, offering exclusive opportunities to sample and purchase pre-release and limited release wines.
Club Members also receive a 20% discount on all of our other wines – this means you are paying $13.50 for our multiple-award-winning Sierra Bella!
Your commitment is 2 bottles each of two different wines, four times a year. Join the club and enjoy wines nobody else makes, or can obtain.
We’d Love to Have you Visit Us Soon!
Tasting Room days & hours
- Friday – Currently closed
- Saturday 11am - 5pm (Last Pouring Starting At 4:00pm)
- Sunday 11am - 5pm (Last Pouring Starting At 4:00pm)
Our WINES & TASTINGS
As anyone who has ever visited us will tell you, sampling wine at Montoliva is a unique experience, as we go into a great deal of detail about the grapes we grow and the wines we make. This takes some time, and for this reason, we cannot begin a pouring session after 4:30pm (otherwise we are wrapping up at close to 6, which cuts into family time). We are pouring:
More weekends than not, we also open something we’ve found in our case storage, usually something we’ve forgotten about, and maybe have a case or two of. This upcoming weekend, that is likely to be either our 2012 Sinistra (a Teroldego/Barbera blend), or our 2013 Aglianico. We only open one each weekend, so it may not be available for sampling by Sunday afternoon.