In 2009, ten sisters arrived at the newly-rennovated property of Holy Assumption Monastery (OCA) on Washington Street, in Calistoga. Only two weeks before, a priest had been newly-assigned to the tiny St. Simeon Parish (ROCOR) on Cedar Street, two blocks away. In such a small town, it only made sense for the two communities to work together, and the bishops blessed cooperation.

It also made sense to utilize the location of both communities in the Napa Valley to explore the possibility of making canonical Orthodox chalice wine. The parish and monastery thus founded a joint-venture, Calistoga Orthodox Wines, with the goals of providing parishes with a high-quality wine for use in the Divine Liturgy, and thereby also supporting both the monastery and the parish financially. With the help of a local winemaker, we crush 3-7 tons of grapes for each vintage, producing ~300 cases per harvest.

It is a privilege to be making a traditional Malbec (Kagor) chalice wine that connects parishes today with the wine beloved by Peter the Great and Tsar Nicholas II. Our Premium Chalice Wine has received the highest praise from both clergy and wine afficianados, while our California Chalice Wine is appreciated as an extremely affordable yet robust alternative.