challenges and opportunities. It’s really a matter of making certain that you’re prepared for transition. That just takes time. HL: What’s the 40-year plan, Will? WH: I really see the next 40 years being about deepening our understanding of the properties [Harlan Estate, Bond, and Promontory], deepening our connection to them, understanding the underlying identity and character of these places. And to elevate our ability to translate that purely into the wine. From a wine-growing perspective, 40 years or so is not a very long time. We are still relatively new to the world stage compared with some of these older wine-growing regions. It does take a long time to really understand a piece of property. Growth for us is more about elevating what we have rather than taking on more projects just for the sake of taking on more projects. HL: What are the innovations that you’re bringing to the family business? WH: Just like any industry, there are new and very creative ways of connecting with people, especially people far from where we are. Having an international presence has always been really important to us. Not only spending the time in these markets getting to know these cultures, these people, finding ways that our wine can really play a part in their lives. Harlan Estate is a different animal from Bond, and that’s different from Promontory. Each one has its own identity and philosophy; therefore, I think [we] should be willing to explore what feels right for that property to connect with people. For instance, with The Mascot, we have a little more freedom to try new things and be involved with social media and things like this. We don’t feel that’s quite right for Harlan Estate, being at the other end of that spectrum. It’s really about tailoring that for each one of the properties and not just prescribe the same strategy for everything. HL: What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your dad, Will? WH: I think it’s this element of always being willing and ready to take risks. Not just any risks, but the right risks. Without those, you stagnate and therefore fall behind. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a bigger risk overall not to take risks. There’s been a lot written on the imbalance of people’s perspective on what is risky and what’s not, and if we can continue to be on the leading edge of understanding what that means for us and our business, then we can continue to not just maintain our position but increase it in the grand scheme of things. HL: Are you surprised with his answer, Bill? BH: I would say these things may not all happen overnight. But as time goes on, I’m not surprised as much as I feel fortunate that some of these things rub off. It’s not always totally easy, ever so often there’s a little friction here and there. But when we go back and think: What are we really up to? Why are we really doing this? What are we trying to create? What are the satisfactions we think that we will experience if we’re able to accomplish these things? No matter what happens and how heated things get, we go right back to why are we doing this. We’re working on something that has a meaning beyond any of us as individuals and working on something longer than a lifetime. HL: Did your goals start as one thing and transform into something else? BH: Each year, you learn things that work and things that don’t work and things that are maybe a better idea than your original idea; we adjust and evolve over the long term here. But I feel that the underlying core values, the idea here is we’re in a business that we think is an art of man and nature. We work to become more and more at one with nature and produce a product that purely expresses the character of the land. So, like Will says, it’s always working on getting closer to the soul and the essence of what we’re trying to do here, which is getting closer and closer to the threshold between great craftsmanship and the realm of art. As we work toward that place, will we ever get there or not, who knows? That seems like it will be ongoing and throughout life, there’s always a missing piece. And that missing piece is what draws us onward, and I feel that’s really part of the next generation and listening to them and the things that they’re going to be able to do, way beyond what we’ve accomplished so far. The outlook and dream are even getting more exciting along the way. 28 HAUTE LIVING hauteliving.com
HL: What would you say sets your wines and the company apart? WH: They’re inextricably linked. If we’re talking about the wines, it’s really the pieces of land that we have identified and found a way to capture and work with. It’s always going to come down to the land as the primary driver of the wines. But speaking to this human element, it’s how you assemble a team that has a capability, willingness, and humility to put in the time to understand these properties. When you’re trying to build something on the time scales of not just one generation, but multiple, and hundreds of years, you have to realize that what you’re working on is bigger. The other side of it is this humility is important from a cultural aspect to our company because it’s really what keeps you open-minded and willing to learn. Once you lose that you stagnate, and you stop improving. HL: Bill, I’d like to ask what you hope your legacy will be. BH: I think the idea of doing our part in bringing wine, and this art of man and nature through wine, closer and being more included into the realm of art. That’s an important part of it. We also know that there are a lot of definitions of art. One that resonates most closely with us, with me for sure, is one of Picasso’s definitions of art, “It washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” And if we can bring that to people in a certain way that they really feel it and experience it, that would be a legacy for me and the family, and [it] is really the underlying purpose of why we’re doing this. HL: Speaking of legacies, one was Meadowood. It must have been devastating when your hotel burned down, but you rebuilt it, and people are coming once again. What attitude did you need to have to move forward? BH: Our original vision for Meadowood was to be a common ground for the Napa Valley. The property has been a club for the growers, vintners, and members of our community since the 1960s. The Napa Valley is about two main things: wine growing and hospitality. The leadership of the Napa Valley community asked us if we would keep Meadowood as a club, a gathering place. We built the facilities at Meadowood with the idea of hosting Auction Napa Valley, which we did for 39 years before the pandemic and the recent fires. We have been committed 100 percent to the Valley, wine growing, and hospitality at a level on a par with the quality of the wines we produce here. Today, we absolutely remain focused on [those values], and we want to be able to continue to make contributions as an ambassador for the Valley. We will remain aligned with and supportive of the needs of the Napa Valley over the next 40 years, as we have been for the last 40. We have no plans to change that. HL: What do you consider to be the greatest luxury in life? BH: I would say having a home base, a place where you love to live. The most important thing is to have a place where our family gathers. Not only our immediate family, but our friends and extended family, our colleagues we get to work with. From this place, we can create something that has global reach, have a global perspective, and be able to travel throughout the world. I would say living in a great country, a pioneering spirit, family, friends, and health, obviously. WH: I will just state it as one of the things that I really enjoy about what we’re up to and that is being able to move around the world to do business in these different places. Visiting a place as a tourist, or just to enjoy it, is very different from being able to do business there; being able to interact with people who are passionate about wine and are really aligned with our philosophy. You learn so much more about the culture and the people. Usually, you don’t think about business as a soulful and culturally enriching thing because it has this connotation of commerce and transactional. But we sell wine in 39 countries and just the friendships, the partnerships, and the people that we’ve gotten to meet around the world through the business, I don’t think we ever would have gotten to be in front of had we just been visiting from a pleasure standpoint, so I really appreciate that. Being able to move around this world in this way is a pretty wonderful luxury.
