Jean-Charles Boisset

His father and mother founded a winery in Burgundy, France, in 1961.

When a young Boisset visited Buena Vista Winery, in California, with his sister and grandparents, the 11 year old Boisset shared with his family that he wanted to live in the United States one day.

Jean-Charles Boisset is the son of Jean-Claude and Claudine Boisset, who founded their family winery, Jean-Claude Boisset, Burgundy, France in 1961.

In 1964, the winery acquired its first vineyard, Les Evocelles in the Gevrey-Chambertin commune.

Jean-Charles Boisset (born 1969) is a French vintner and the proprietor of the Boisset Collection, which operates 28 wineries in California, France, and Canada.

Boisset comes from a viticultural family.

Boisset was born in Vougeot, France in 1969.

When Boisset was seven years old, he tried two wines from Burgundy: a 1969 Clos de Vougeot and a 1964 Bonnes Mares.

He would eventually name a wine under his JCB label "No. 7," as a tribute to the first time he tried wine.

Boisset's grandparents were part of the French Resistance and his grandfather would go on to fight in World War II.

His grandparents' involvement in the war led to their having a strong admiration for US citizens, and as a child, Boisset remembers his grandparents telling him stories about the US soldiers who helped free France.

His grandparents encouraged him to visit the United States and to dream to live there one day.

At the age of 11, Boisset and his sister Nathalie visited the United States in 1981 for the first time with his grandparents.

They visited California, specifically Monterey, San Francisco, and Sonoma.

Their grandparents took them on a tour of Buena Vista Winery and later that day, Boisset's grandparents let him and his sister try a Buena Vista Winery Chardonnay that they had purchased during the winery visit.

Regarding that wine, Boisset said "I was transfixed - such pure, elegant, and tropical notes that we did not know in Burgundy!"

After their visit to the winery, Boisset suggested to his sister that he hoped to one day own a winery in California.

Boisset moved to California in the early nineties and purchased his first winery, Lyeth Estates and in 1999 he co-founded Domaine de la Vougeraie with his sister, Nathalie.

In 1999, Boisset and his sister, Nathalie Boisset, created Domaine de la Vougeraie from the family's estate in Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune.

Boisset and his sister Nathalie founded Domaine de la Vougeraie in 1999, consolidating their family's vineyards in Burgundy.

This consolidation included vineyards in the Clos de Vougeot.

They also focused on maintaining, or introducing, sustainable farming to each vineyard.

In 2003, Boisset purchased DeLoach Vineyards in California's Russian River Valley AVA, followed by Raymond Vineyards, located in Napa Valley, California, in 2009 and Buena Vista Winery, located in Sonoma, California, in 2011.

In 2003, Boisset purchased DeLoach Vineyards in California's Russian River Valley AVA, followed by Raymond Vineyards, located in Napa Valley, California, in 2009 and Buena Vista Winery, located in Sonoma, California, in 2011.

In total, the Boisset Collection includes 24 wineries in Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Rhône Valley, the South of France, Napa, Sonoma and Monterey, California, and Quebec.

The family's estates are certified biodynamic and/or organic wine.

Boisset is interested in small production wines that are made utilizing Burgundian winemaking techniques, including the use of pigeage, open-top fermentation, and terroir.

His business style has been described as being a "more consumer-driven, New World approach."

As a wine drinker, Boisset has cited Pinot Noir as his favorite varietal and on his death bed he would drink a 2006 and a 2003 Clos du Vougeot Blanc.

Lyeth Estates was the first American winery purchased by Boisset.

In 2011, he would purchase Buena Vista.

As a young man, Boisset was less interested in wine than other pursuits.

He almost became a professional footballer.

He studied business and finance at the University of London, followed by graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Boisset was exposed to the wine industry at an early age.

He was raised in his family's home near Clos de Vougeot and spent considerable time in the family's vineyards.

In the early nineties, the Boisset family sought to close the office of Boisset America (now called the Boisset Collection) in San Francisco.

Boisset chose to operate the office, relocating to San Francisco.

Shortly thereafter, Boisset purchased his first California winery, Lyeth Estates.