Château Montelena · 3 wines

This Napa Valley winery, founded in 1882, produced the white wine that won the 1976 Judgment of Paris — a blind tasting where California wines beat France's finest and changed the wine world forever. Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay took first place, and a bottle now sits in the Smithsonian.

In 1976 a British merchant staged a blind tasting pitting Californian wines against top French Burgundies and Bordeaux, judged by French experts. To everyone's shock, Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay (made by winemaker Mike Grgich) won the white category — a result so significant it inspired the film Bottle Shock and helped launch the modern American wine industry. Today the estate is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon.

UK delivery is free on orders over £125. For smaller orders, standard delivery is £3.99 for a single bottle (2–4 business days). Faster 1–3 business day delivery is priced by order size:

• 1 bottle — £3.99
• 2–3 bottles — £6.99
• 4–6 bottles — £7.99
• 7–12 bottles — £8.99
• 13+ bottles — £15.99

We offer a 365-day return policy — a full year to return unopened bottles, which is far longer than most independent merchants. To be eligible, items must be unopened, unused and in their original packaging. Return postage is arranged by you (we recommend a tracked service), and once we've received and inspected the return we'll refund your original payment method within five business days. Sale items and gift cards can't be returned.

Every order is packed in specialist wine packaging built for safe transit, so breakages are rare — and fully covered when they do happen. If anything arrives damaged, take a few photos and send them to hello@vinoshop.co.uk. We'll send you a return label and get a fresh replacement on its way as soon as the return reaches us. No fuss.

Yes. If you're within 10 miles of our Winscombe shop, delivery is free on orders over £49, or £3.99 below that — usually within 1–3 business days.

Yes — collection from our Winscombe shop is free. Choose local pickup at checkout and we'll email you when your order's ready, usually within about four hours (the next day if you order late in the day or after hours). Bring your order confirmation when you collect.