Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/26650
UP Jean-Charles Boisset Up Front With by Anthony Dias Blue At a recent meeting in snow- covered New York, Jean-Charles Boisset is far from home—both his original home, Burgundy, and his adopted home, California. Though pedestrians walk by shivering, Boisset is all smiles and warmth. He grew up in a room above a winery, the fi fth-generation of a family with a keen understanding and involvement in winemak- ing. Although his childhood involved tasting, winemaking and working in the vineyards, he distinctly recalls his fi rst Pinot tast- ing—at age seven. Assigned the chore of cleaning up the table after his parents’ dinner parties, the young Boisset noticed half-empty glasses of wine that smelled different from others he’d cleared in the past. Jean-Charles sniffed and tasted, and ended up quite woozy on Pinot Noir vinted in the 1940s and 50s. He woke up with a hangover, but also with an undying passion for wine. “At 11 years old, I had the opportunity to come to the U.S., which as a child in Burgundy, had been my dream,” Boisset grins. “The U.S. for me was the lifestyle that I dreamt about.” Jean-Charles Boisset takes a break from his busy schedule. Photographed at Baccarat’s New York boutique. 6 / the tasting panel / march 201 1