Jean-Charles Boisset
Jean-Charles Boisset is a leading producer of luxury wines in France, California and Canada. His parents, Jean-Claude and Claudine, founded the family winery in 1961 with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in one of the most traditional winegrowing regions in the world. Today, the family collection includes wineries that share more than 20 centuries of combined winemaking heritage and tradition in some of the world’s most prestigious terroirs, from Burgundy to the South of France, to California’s Napa Valley and Russian River Valley, including Domaine de la Vougeraie, Jean-Claude Boisset, Raymond Vineyards, Buena Vista Winery, DeLoach Vineyards, and many more.
Jean-Charles has expanded from the world of wine and spirits to include a lifestyle vision; he has created namesake collections for jewelry, perfume and the JCB Passion Collection by Baccarat — the first glassware line the historic French crystal company has ever done with a vintner. In addition, the JCB offerings include home accessories that exemplify the JCB world of hospitality and entertaining. As a natural extension of his growing influence in the lifestyle realm, in June 2019 Senses by JCB, a fashion and fragrance boutique and medi-spa debuted in the JCB Village in Yountville. Senses showcases high-profile luxury fashion, accessories and skincare products from around the world, with highlights including a selection of vintage handbags as well as an osmologue machine that enables guests to blend custom scents.
Jean-Charles’ sets forth a vision of the wine and luxury worlds centered on family, passion, history, innovation and a commitment to sustainability. Decanter magazine has included him on its “Power List” of the 50 most important people in the wine world each year of its publication since 2007; in March 2008, he received the Meininger’s International Wine Entrepreneur of the Year; and in December 2008, he was named “Innovator of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast. The French-American Foundation awarded him their first-ever French-American Partnership Award in 2013, bestowed upon an extraordinary individual or organization that has contributed to creating a strong and enduring French-American partnership in business, government or academia. Haute Living named him to the Haute List San Francisco, recognizing the 100 most influential people in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was honored with the 2014 Jefferson Award by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which celebrates the museum’s historical connection to wine. Also in 2014, JFK University in Concord named Jean-Charles and his wife Gina Gallo its “Entrepreneurs of the Year.” In 2015 Jean-Charles was named an Honorary Co-Chair of that year’s Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction, which broke all records by raising a staggering $4.5 million. In March 2017, Jean-Charles and Gina received the Mondavi Food & Wine award Robert Mondavi Wine & Food award by The Collins College of Hospitality Management in honor of their vision and leadership to advance the wine industry. In May 2019 Jean-Charles accepted the Wine Country Business of the Year French American Business Award from the French American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco.
3 words to describe Nature?
Inspirational. Generous. Beautiful
3 things Nature taught you?
Respect
Authenticity
Truth
3 most treasured Nature spots?
In the vineyard
On the ocean
In the air
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Energized
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Oxygenated
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
On fire
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Reflective
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Excited
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Inspired
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I have this vivid memory when I was 7 years old. Growing up in France, roaming the vineyard, we were always connected to the land, to nature, and the rhythm of the seasons. I felt the pendulum of life, being in touch with all the forces and the vibrations of the universe. I felt this energy pulling me in, it was magnetic. Winemaking, creating from the earth and nourishing our spirit, is for me a celebration of this memory I felt as a boy.
Nile Zacherle
Nile Zacherle is the co-Founder of Mad Fritz Brewing Co and Director of Winegrowing at David Arthur Vineyards on Pritchard Hill in the Napa Valley.
Nile first began his journey into fermented beverages in 1990 at the age of 18 when he and his father brewed their first batch of beer at home. What began as a father/son home project continued to evolve until he transitioned his schooling from a focus in art and design to a BS in Fermentation Science at UC Davis. While at UC Davis, Nile completed the Master Brewers program passing the 2 day exam issued by the IOBD (Institute of Brewing and Distilling based in the UK) in 1996.
After an internship at a Napa Winery doing small lot winemaking and research enology he returned to UC Davis to finish his degree. From winemaking positions in Napa Valley’s Barnett Vineyards and Chateau Montelena to roles at Western Australia’s Pierro Margaret River Vineyards and Bordeaux, France’s Chateau d’Arsac, Nile built a career producing award-winning wines from Burgundian and Bordeaux varietals.
In 2014, together with his wife, they started, Mad Fritz, named after their two children Madeleine and Fritz. Their focus is on malting and brewing beers with a ‘Farm to Foam’ approach. The sourcing of single variety barleys that are craft-malted with an origin, as well as hops and water sourcing defines the beer styles in what they call ‘Origin Beer’.
3 words to describe Nature?
Inspiring. Powerful. Subtle
3 things Nature taught you?
Respect
Patience
Gratitude
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The ocean/waves at Kailua Beach in Hawaii
The forest/trails at Moore Creek in Napa
The rocks/geology at Yosemite Valley
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm yet tentative -aware
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Excited yet unknowing - insignificant
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Inspired yet scared
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Impatient
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Helpless
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Curious
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest/Mountains
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 (living around it and exploring regularly keeps me sane)
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Moving to Hawaii and learning to duck the waves as a young boy, feeling safe in ocean as big surf rolled in rather than scared. Accepting and swimming towards the monster rather than away