Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
Young’s Market CEO Chris Underwood and his wife, Piper, meet with new Buena Vista owner Jean-Charles Boisset. the outskirts of the quaint village of Sonoma, so steeped in history and so rich in inspiration. Bottles from Buena Vista’s long history are on display in the cellars of California’s oldest winery. Passion is what first gave life to Buena Vista, and then once again led to its rebirth. So we may be looking at the third great coming of the oldest premium winery in California, just on 42 / the tasting panel / august 201 1 “I’ve had my eye on her for a long time,” Boisset says of the winery, as he walks around the top floor of the beautiful, but charmingly antiquated, sparkling wine cellars. The building is 150 years old, constructed of stone and wood, and while it no doubt will need reinforcement, there is no mistaking Boisset’s intention when he says, “A building like this is like a beautiful woman—she needs to be loved and take care of; she needs to be kissed and adored.” There are many reminders of the winery’s glorious past gathering dust in the cellar tunnels. At the far end of a row of giant wine barrels, there is a life-sized picture of Agoston Haraszthy, a Hungarian immigrant variously described as a count, a colonel and an international man of mystery, who founded Buena Vista in 1857. Haraszthy began his winemaking career in Wisconsin. Not surprisingly, things didn’t go well in that harsh climate. Haraszthy eventually made his way to California, first to San Diego, and then to Sonoma. He declared that “the vine flourishes better [here] than the most favored regions of Europe.” Haraszthy subsequently planted the finest root stock from Europe and willingly shared his vines with other vintners in the area, virtually launch- ing the wine trade in California and earning recognition as the “Father of California Viticulture.” His focus on growing varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, which would grow well in the Sonoma region, helped spur the creation of Sonoma as a leading center for wine cultivation. He created the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society to expand the winery’s vineyard holdings and