Founded in 1857, the Buena Vista Winery was condemned after the 1989 earthquake, and Ariel described the state of the building with the champagne caves when Boisset purchased them, “It was in terrible condition. Had [Boisset] not restored and preserved it for historical purposes, the building would not exist at all. The recommendation was to resurface all the caves, and Jean-Charles said, ‘Absolutely not, there are no other caves like this in the area.’ These are the most historically significant wine caves in the state of California, if not in the US, and they’re high up there in the world.” Specialized restorers carved each stone individually and regrouted them for earthquakes. The original grout was very rigid,
a world in Europe and France that you live where you live because your family has; where the maps of the wine regions have already been created and established. You must deal with the system and the walls built before you. Here, everything is unique, and everything can be yours.” He recognized that the American wine country legacy, although short, was fascinating and inspiring. “What motivates me, in general, is the phenomenal idea that people came here with a dream and a world they wanted to create for themselves. Everybody has a chance to write a chapter [for the future], but we cannot erase the chapters of the past.” Less than 200 years ago, winemaking did not exist in California as an industry. Pioneers
and prospectors came here with dreams and the tenacity to build something new. This sense of exploration and innovation sets the American wine country apart in the wine world, and it melds well with two mainstays in Boisset’s life: wine and optimism. “I was raised in an environment that is very serious [about wine]. That could be very stifling and boring. I think the opposite of that. I think we can have fun and learn. I don’t talk much about technicality. I have done it all my life, and we have mastered the technical side. It is not what is going to bring people together. Fermentation is not going to bring people together. It is about emotions and feelings. We have a phenomenal team of winemakers so that nobody can challenge us on wine. So that’s why we have fun!”
“ I think we’re shareholders of history and shareholders of our future. It is essential to have historical landmarks and document history visually so people can feel it, touch it, and live it.” Buena Vista Caves // Photo by Scott Chebegia
and the building needed to wiggle and flow a little bit. The stones, so worn down that they leaked out as they filled the grout into the rocks, were each saved and reused. Today, all the building stones are original. Maintaining historic buildings connects people to the past with physical reminders of what came before them. So Boisset is understandably proud of the efforts to keep the original structure. “How cool is it at Buena Vista, to say, that is how they built it, look at it, and we preserved it, and in three hundred years, that’s what we’ll see. Like the Louvre, Tulum, Machu Picchu, old temples in China, and Petra,” Boisset gushed. As someone who grew up surrounded by and non-plussed by ancient history, Boisset may be the perfect person to bring a wave of restoration to Napa Valley. “I come from 34
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Oakville Wine Merchant and Oakville Grocery Photo courtesy of Boisset Collection