Calistoga Orthodox Wines was founded in order to bring Russian Orthodox sacramental wine back to the original quality that the Empoer Peter the Great found on his journey to Cohors over three centuries ago, using the highest quality California fruit.
The general guidelines of the Orthodox Church, as determined by the Ecumenical Councils, state that the wine must be “sweet, pleasing to the taste, red like the color of blood with no additives and not fortified”.
Furthermore, the fruit must have the proper blessings read over them at harvest, and at crush as an offering to the Lord as specified by the Priest’s Service Book (Book of Needs). The entire production process of the wine is overseen and has the blessing of Orthodox clergy so that those who use the wine in the Divine Liturgy can be confident they are using wine of the highest quality made to the specifications of the Ecumenical Councils.
Wine is made from 100% Organically grown California Malbec (Cahors) grapes, making it, perhaps, the only wine in the world which is being made according to Tsar Peter the Great’s mandate, and the local Russian Church Council of 1915.
All proceeds of wine sales go to support the parish of Saint Simeon Russian Orthodox Church and Holy Assumption Monastery, both in Calistoga CA.