Chateau Naboth
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV Cycle C
Bob and Patty Brower had a dream. The dream came to them in the '70s after they had visited and enjoyed some of the chateau wineries in a number of the wine regions of France in 1982. Originally from the East Coast, the Browers headed to California to fulfill their dream of beginning a winery. They found sixteen acres in Monterey County at the foot of the beautiful Carmel Valley mountains. There they built a French country chateau to create an Old World atmosphere of warmth and hospitality. The building itself is a replica of a home on the French/Swiss border. The warmth and hospitality exude from the moment guests enter the chateau. A magnificent grand fireplace, open beam ceilings, and well-appointed antiques set the stage for tasting Private Reserve wines. A hand-blown stained glass window sits majestically at the opposite end of the tasting room, or "Great Hall." There is no tasting bar in the Great Hall, but rather an eighteen-foot antique mahogany table for tasting wines. A comfortable, inviting atmosphere is extended to each and every guest.
Chateau Julien Wine Estate's initial production in 1982 began in a Monterey warehouse. Today, the winery is open to visitors daily for wine tasting and tours, and all guests are welcome to enjoy the ambiance of the garden cobblestone courtyard off of the chateau.
I visited Chateau Julien the summer of 2002, and took a tour of the estate, walking through the vineyards themselves, inspecting the French oak barrels in which the chardonnays were being aged, and heard the winemaker explain how the grapes are brought from the vine to the barrel to the bottle.
Getting started in the wine business requires an enormous financial investment, not to speak of congenial weather and suitable soil.
I can only imagine the chagrin -- or outrage -- the Browers might feel if they were asked to sell their vineyard to a wealthy neighbor so that the neighbor could rip out the vines and grow instead -- vegetables.
Yet, this is the outrageous proposal that King Ahab offers to Naboth, with predictable results.
Chateau Julien Wine Estate's initial production in 1982 began in a Monterey warehouse. Today, the winery is open to visitors daily for wine tasting and tours, and all guests are welcome to enjoy the ambiance of the garden cobblestone courtyard off of the chateau.
I visited Chateau Julien the summer of 2002, and took a tour of the estate, walking through the vineyards themselves, inspecting the French oak barrels in which the chardonnays were being aged, and heard the winemaker explain how the grapes are brought from the vine to the barrel to the bottle.
Getting started in the wine business requires an enormous financial investment, not to speak of congenial weather and suitable soil.
I can only imagine the chagrin -- or outrage -- the Browers might feel if they were asked to sell their vineyard to a wealthy neighbor so that the neighbor could rip out the vines and grow instead -- vegetables.
Yet, this is the outrageous proposal that King Ahab offers to Naboth, with predictable results.
