Last weekend the prestigious James Beard Foundation came to town to pay tribute to a pioneering wine family, proprietors of Calistoga’s Chateau Montelena Winery.

Led by foundation president Susan Ungaro, visitors and locals gathered together to taste the outstanding wines made by father and son, Jim and Bo Barrett, for more than three decades.

This was the fourth year in a row that Ken and Sherylle Frank have hosted the Beard Foundation’s “Legends of Wine” at their restaurant, La Toque. However, this was the first time the event was held in the restaurant’s new digs, located within the Westin Verasa in Napa.

The Barrett family welcomed guests last Saturday at the imposing castle-like winery for an extended tour, tasting and lunch. The following evening, chef Frank invited all to dine at La Toque for a lavish dinner (paired with Chateau Montelena current release and library wines) prepared by some of the best chefs in the country.

If you’re a little short on wine annals, you should know that Chateau Montelena’s storied history began more than a century ago when Alfred L. Tubbs inspected the soil where he thought of planting estate vineyards. He’d been told that Napa Valley was the best place to grow grapes in California. A deal was struck and in January of 1882 the San Francisco entrepreneur became the owner of 254 acres of rugged land just two miles north of Calistoga at the base of Mount St. Helena.

 It took less than a decade to turn his dream into reality. First Tubbs planted his vineyards, then built an imposing chateau, and in 1886 he imported a French-born winemaker. By 1896, his winery, christened Chateau Montelena (a contracted form of Mount St. Helena), was the seventh largest in the Napa Valley.

 Winemaking at the Chateau came to an end with prohibition. After prohibition was repealed, the Tubbs family continued to harvest the vineyard, making a little wine and selling grapes to other wineries and home winemakers until the property was sold in 1958.

 The next chapter began with the renaissance of Chateau Montelena Winery and its estate vineyards. In 1972, under the leadership of Jim Barrett, the vineyard was cleared and replanted, and the Chateau outfitted with modern winemaking equipment.

Some four years later, the world learned that the Napa Valley could produce wines that could compete with the best in the world. A 1973 Chateau Montelena chardonnay was judged the best of all chardonnays tasted by renowned French winemakers and authorities during an event hosted in Paris, beating out some of the most celebrated houses in Burgundy.

At dinner last Sunday night, guests were pleased as well to see how well Chateau Montelena’s cabernet sauvignons age.

A lush, ripe ‘92 cabernet sauvignon — a well-balanced, juicy glass of Bing cherries and Santa Rosa plums with aromas to match — proved a perfect pairing for chef Frank’s flavorful cut of Wagyu beef served with a savory slice of wild mushroom and potato terrine.

That was followed by a vibrant ‘86 cabernet sauvignon — the ripe black fruit was as fresh as the day it was picked, a real powerhouse whose components had come together to provide the perfect glass of Calistoga cab. It was paired with grilled Sonoma lamb with white carrot puree and crispy squash blossom prepared by Neal Fraser, chef/proprietor of Grace in Los Angeles.

The meal began with chef Sandy D’Amato’s seared sea scallop with glazed corn and bacon, complemented by an elegant, well-balanced 2007 chardonnay that exhibits enticing tropical fruit on both nose and palate, with underpinnings of stone fruit and citrus. This one’s in current release and is surely one of the valley’s finest chardonnays from the ‘07 harvest. It has a lush finish that lingers and lingers on the palate, proving a fine pairing for the dish from the owner of Sanford in Milwaukee.

One of the nation’s best known chefs, Michael Richard, who mans the stoves at Citronelle in Washington, D.C., prepared a very tasty dish, squab en croute with eggplant emulsion. (San Francisco chef/restaurateur Gary Danko joked that the guest chef had taken KFC to the level of haute cuisine.) Richard’s dish was paired with a 2003 Chateau Montelena zinfandel, a variety we often forget is indeed produced yearly by the Barretts. This soft, round, ripe zinfandel, with a mouthful of blackberries and plums, proved to be one of the evening’s best pairings.

Another local chef, Stephen Durfee, a Beard Foundation award winner now instructor at CIA Greystone, sent all home on a glorious note. He served Blenheim apricot panna cotta with intensely flavored apricot sorbet and almond cake. It was a WOW dessert, paired with a wine most didn’t know the Barretts produce, a late harvest sauvignon blanc, this heady offering from the 2005 crush.

Sommeliers Scott Tracy and Yoon Ha — two of the best in the valley — share in the credit for the evening’s exceptional wine pairings. All were outstanding at this well-deserved tribute to a family that helped put Napa Valley on the world wine map.