"Quelle beau lieu" - as legend has it - was Fernande de Latour's exclamation when she and her husband Georges saw the now world-famous Rutherford vineyard in Napa Valley for the first time in 1900. A short time later, Latour sold his wine business in Burgundy in order to acquire land in "this beautiful place" (beau lieu) and subsequently write wine history.
In the next step, Latour imported pest-resistant, grafted vines from his homeland and even founded his own nursery near Paris. When Prohibition brought the Napa Valley to its knees, Latour sold bulk wine for a short time and expanded production capacity in an anti-cyclical move.
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The next milestone was his meeting with André Tchelistcheff, a Russian-born oenologist with European winemaking expertise. With his innovations, Tchelistcheff brought both the winery and the entire Napa Valley forward. "He established the philosophy of continuous innovation in the vineyard and winery that Beaulieu Vineyard is still committed to today."
One of his achievements was to establish the Cabernet Sauvignon "Georges de Latour Private Reserve" as the estate's flagship from 1941 onwards. Today - 80 years later - the wine is considered a Californian Cabernet icon.
Trevor Durling has been the head winemaker since 2017. He is only the fifth person to hold this position - and has done so since 1900. Combining tradition and innovation and continuing to develop the brand at a contemporary level is the challenge for the whole team.
photos: Beaulieu Vineyard