Spring Mountain Vineyards
Encyclopedia
Spring Mountain Vineyard is a 225 acre (0.9105435 km²) vineyard
consisting of 135 different vineyard blocks scattered over the 845 acres (3.4 km²) estate in California
's Napa Valley
.
The elegant Victorian
mansion
, known on the estate as Miravalle, was commissioned by Mexican-American businessman Tiburcio Parrott in 1884, and designed by architect Albert Schroepfer. Schroepfer designed several other homes in similar elegant style, for example The Rhine House at Beringer Winery.
The original winery was also established in 1884 by Parrott. The current vineyards are on the eastern slope of Spring Mountain at elevations varying from 400 feet (121.9 m) to 1450 feet (442 m). Spring Mountain Vineyard achieved international recognition when it achieved fourth place among French and American wines at the historic Judgment of Paris wine competition
in 1976. It also won a Gold Medal (the only California wine to win a Gold) for its flagship wine, '05 Elivette, and a Silver Medal for its '06 Cabernet Sauvignon in Decanter magazine's 2010 World Wine Awards.
The estate now includes four adjacent vineyards including the 435 acres (1.8 km²) La Perla, 257 acres (1 km²) Miravalle, 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) Chevalier, and 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) Streblow (Alba). La Perla Winery and Vineyard were originally established in 1873 by Charles Lemme. The La Perla Winery building is still standing. This property contained the first Cabernet Sauvignon
on Spring Mountain. The adjacent Chevalier and Miravelle properties were also established during the 19th century.
drama series Falcon Crest
. Cast and crew would film exterior scenes here for six weeks each summer before relocating to Los Angeles
to shoot interior scenes. The mansion, as well as the many acres of surrounding vineyards, served as the fictional home of ruthless matriarch Angela Channing, played by the late Jane Wyman
.
The series centered on two factions of the same family fighting for control of the family wine making business, and was created by The Waltons
producer, Earl Hamner. It ranked in the Neilsen Ratings Top 30 for six out of its nine seasons (three of which were in the Top 10).
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
consisting of 135 different vineyard blocks scattered over the 845 acres (3.4 km²) estate in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Napa Valley
Napa Valley AVA
Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, United States. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States...
.
The elegant Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
, known on the estate as Miravalle, was commissioned by Mexican-American businessman Tiburcio Parrott in 1884, and designed by architect Albert Schroepfer. Schroepfer designed several other homes in similar elegant style, for example The Rhine House at Beringer Winery.
The original winery was also established in 1884 by Parrott. The current vineyards are on the eastern slope of Spring Mountain at elevations varying from 400 feet (121.9 m) to 1450 feet (442 m). Spring Mountain Vineyard achieved international recognition when it achieved fourth place among French and American wines at the historic Judgment of Paris wine competition
Wine competition
A wine competition is an organized event in which trained judges or consumers competitively rate different vintages or bands of wine. There are two types of wine competitions, both of which use blind tasting of wine to prevent bias by the judges....
in 1976. It also won a Gold Medal (the only California wine to win a Gold) for its flagship wine, '05 Elivette, and a Silver Medal for its '06 Cabernet Sauvignon in Decanter magazine's 2010 World Wine Awards.
The estate now includes four adjacent vineyards including the 435 acres (1.8 km²) La Perla, 257 acres (1 km²) Miravalle, 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) Chevalier, and 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) Streblow (Alba). La Perla Winery and Vineyard were originally established in 1873 by Charles Lemme. The La Perla Winery building is still standing. This property contained the first Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
on Spring Mountain. The adjacent Chevalier and Miravelle properties were also established during the 19th century.
Falcon Crest
From 1981 until 1990, Spring Mountain Vineyards became internationally famous to television viewers as the setting for the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
drama series Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
. Cast and crew would film exterior scenes here for six weeks each summer before relocating to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to shoot interior scenes. The mansion, as well as the many acres of surrounding vineyards, served as the fictional home of ruthless matriarch Angela Channing, played by the late Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
.
The series centered on two factions of the same family fighting for control of the family wine making business, and was created by The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
producer, Earl Hamner. It ranked in the Neilsen Ratings Top 30 for six out of its nine seasons (three of which were in the Top 10).
Further reading
- Taber, George M.George M. TaberGeorge M. Taber is a journalist and entrepreneur.Taber was a reporter and editor with Time magazine in the United States and Europe for 21 years, working in Brussels, Bonn, Houston, Washington, DC, and New York...
Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: ScribnerCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, 2005.