2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

APRIL 2020 FORBES AFRICA| 61

FORBESAFRICA

CONTRARIAN• JEAN-CHARLES BOISSET

FORBESAFRICA.COM

Photos by Tim Pannell for Forbes; Photo by Scott Chebegia

VineDining

Theeleganttasting

roomsattwoof

Boisset’svineyards,

BuenaVistaand

Yountville

producerbyvolume,E.&J. Gallo.Duringtheirengagement,they

madea wineofthesameoriginstogether—blending,bottlingand

corkingbyhand—andthenservedit attheirweddingasa symbolof

herhistoricCaliforniarootsbecomingintertwinedwithhisfamily’s

ownBurgundianheritage.

“Halfofit is madeinBurgundy,sothat’s49%oftheblend,”

Boissetsaysina thickFrenchaccentbeforepausingdramatically.“I

needtoconfess.I willtellyousomethingverypersonal.Mylove likes

tobeontop.So51%is California.”

Sexis clearlythethemeofthisBoissetsoirée,wherethe

innuendo-filledjokesflowasfreelyasthewine.Leopard-printsilk

napkinssitona redvelvettablecloth,anda mirrorhasreplacedthe

ceiling(“Ladies,becareful,becauseI canseeeverything!”).Dates

neversittogether,andBoissetencouragestouching(“Youcouldstill

caressthepersonnexttoyou.I seea lotofthatis alreadyhappening,

whichI’mdelightedtosee!”).

The50-year-oldBoissetis blithelyoblivioustothe#MeToo

era,andhisguestsseemtoappreciatethesingleentendres.A few

monthsearlier,RobMcMillan,founderofSiliconValleyBank’s

winedivision,describedBoissetas“thewineequivalenttoRingling

Brothers—he’sanentertainerwithflairandflash.He’salsoa great

businessperson‚abletotakea tarnishedpennyandshineit up.”

Alongwithhisoldersister,Nathalie,Boissetpresidesover

closeto 30 wineriesworldwide,includinga goodportionof

Burgundy’svineyards.Annualsalesareabout$200million;Forbes

conservativelyestimatesthecompanytobeworthsome$450

million.If thecollectionweredividedupatauction,manyassets

wouldlikelysellformorethanaspartofthepackage.“Buyersare

lookingfora trophypurchase,”saysMichaelBaynes,executive

partneratVineyards-BordeauxChristie’sInternationalRealEstate.

“There’sa lackofsupply.TheBoissetCollectionwouldgeta very

premiumprice.”

BackatBoisset’sLastSupper,heintroducesJCBNo.81,a

chardonnayinspiredbythemomentin 1981 whenhefirstbecame

fixatedonCaliforniawines.Asthestorygoes,it wasduringa trip

toSonomawithhisgrandparentswhenhewas 11 yearsold.After

visitingBuenaVistawinery,foundedin1857,Boissetturnedtohis

sisterandprophesied,“Onedaywewillmakewinetogetherin

California.”

Nearlya decadelater,Boisset’sparentsacquireda patchworkof

propertiesthroughoutsomeofthemostvaluablepartsofBurgundy

througha combinationoflocalbankloansandsheerluck.Becauseit

wassohardtocombineparcels,fewotherseventried.

HebroughtthatmaverickphilosophytoAmerica.In1991,Boisset

startedleadingthefamilyimportbusinessinSanFranciscoand

searchingforfamily-ownedwinerieswithhistorytoacquire.Buena

Vista,afterretreatingfromnationaldistribution,lookedpromising,

buttheownersrebukedBoisset’soffer.“Itwasveryinnovativeatthe

time,veryiconoclast[ic]froma strategystandpoint. No one looked at

California the way we looked at it,” he says.