About

The Boisset Insider - April 2020

In This Issue:

JCB Live | Wine Styles
► Sommelier Select Cabernet Sauvignon
Virtual Tasting With Our French Winemakers

In The News:

Buena Vista Winery Featured in Wire Story Published Internationally
► Bride Valley Bubbling Up in the Press
 Boisset Invites Wine Pros to Join Ambassador Program in Partnership with The SOMM Journal 

 


 


JCB Live | Wine Styles

Starting Tuesday, April 28, we invite you to experience the world of wine with Boisset Collection in our newest series JCB Live: Wine Styles. Available live on Youtube, these fun and passionate segments are an exploration into the world of wine and Boisset’s Franco-American portfolio available at retailers across the country.

New episodes will air every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00pm PST and will cover everything from sabering to adventures in grilling to understanding the French American connection and much more!

Tune in live or catchup on episodes at JCB Live by Jean-Charles Boisset on Youtube. A full schedule of wines can be found online here.

To help promote this series in stores, we have created a downloadable shelftalker. We also have neckers available, just ask your Boisset Sales Manager.



Sommelier Select Cabernet Sauvignon

For the first time ever, Boisset Collection is making its 2017 Raymond Vineyards Sommelier Select Cabernet Sauvignon available directly to retailers and consumers and is donating a portion of the proceeds to The United Sommeliers Foundation.

The wine, which has an SRP of $20 and is usually only sold to on-premise accounts (restaurants, bars, nightclubs, etc.), is crafted by rotating teams of sommeliers from around North America that Raymond brings to its Napa Valley winery each year. Given the unprecedented circumstances that has led to the unemployment of countless sommeliers and wine professionals, Boisset is inviting customers and retailers from around the country to purchase the wine in an act of solidarity and to help support them while they are unable to work due to business closures.

“We felt it was important to give back to these dynamic and knowledgeable members of our world who are usually on the floor every day sharing their love for our family of wines,” said Jean-Charles.

The Sommelier Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties. It has aromas of cherry and plum with floral undertones and lush flavors of raspberry, black currant, nutmeg and a sweet cocoa characteristic that is compliment by white pepper. It has an elegant mouthfeel with a juicy finish and is an excellent pairing with many hearty dishes. Join Raymond winemakers Stephanie Putnam and Thane Knutson on Wednesday, May 6 at 1:00 pm here to hear more about the Sommelier Select Cab during their weekly virtual session.



Virtual Tasting With Our French Winemakers

Everyone, including Boisset sales managers, distributors, accounts and consumers are joining together virtually for tastings of our import portfolio! Our very own Neil Ruane is hosting the tastings and our French winemakers are guiding us through the presentations of the brands and wine flights as well as fielding questions from viewers. Join our French colleagues who are staying up late to provide valuable guidance during these sessions! The series has already kicked off this week with a session on Bonpas with Jean-Philipe Perrin, who guided viewers through an explanation of the terroir of the southern Rhône Valley as well as a flight of the wines. Marcel Combes, Director of Boisset Sparkling Wines made us thankful for Friday as he discussed sparkling wine production and presented homemade pairings. Laurent Sauvage, Winemaker for Fortant, prepared us for the weekend with everything you need to know about Boisset Rosé. There are more sessions covering Burgundy from Bouchard Ainé & Fils, Fortant wines from Southern France and Louis Bernard with Rhône Valley wines.

If you can’t make the sessions, look for the recorded videos on the Boisset Collection youtube channel.

Go here for the full line up of import sessions as well as links to register for them

 



In The News



Buena Vista Winery Featured in Wire Story Published Internationally  

The Count of Buena Vista was featured in an Associated Press story on virtual wine tastings that went international! The news service's Eric Risberg visited our historic winery and took photos of the Count in action during one of his Facebook Live sessions that he has been doing every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at noon on Buena Vista's Facebook page. The Count has also been busy doing virtual sessions for wholesalers and accounts, appearing in online sales meetings, happy hours and event prep meetings to ensure those in our network can still enjoy his hospitality and education. We invite our distributors and account partners to also join in on the more casual, public sessions as well. Cheers!

 


Bride Valley Bubbling Up in the Press 

Our English sparkling wine brand, Bride Valley, has earned some nice mentions recently in the press. The project from renowned wine critic and educator Steven Spurrier and his wife Bella, has received attention as the trend of bubbles from England continues to rise. UK publication Luxury Lifestyle Magazine called the 2014 Bella Rosé “An English rose of a wine” and “incredibly drinkable at just 11.5% abv too!” UK drinks blog Vinspire recommended Spurrier’s memoir “Wine – A Way of Life” as a wine book to read during quarantine, calling it a “fascinating story… told with a wonderfully beguiling nonchalance.” On this side of the pond Connecticut Magazine dubbed the 2014 Brut Reserve “…one of the better British bubblies out there” and recommends pairing it with fondue au crémant, creamy smoked salmon pasta with arugula, and fish and chips.

 


Boisset Invites Wine Pros to Join Ambassador Program in Partnership with The SOMM Journal 

Boisset Collection is inviting sommeliers and other wine professionals to join its Ambassador program, a direct-to-consumer sales channel of independent contractors who sell Boisset wines to their personal networks of colleagues, friends and family. Boisset is getting the word out through a partnership with trade publication The SOMM Journal, which has a full-page ad in its April/May issue and featured the opportunity in an email with a link to the digital edition.

In an effort to make it easy and affordable for industry professionals to get started, the fee to join the program is only $1. Boisset provides its Ambassadors with their own personalized website, handles all the financial transactions, and conveniently ships wine orders on their behalf. Ambassadors earn generous commissions of 10% to 35%.  Industry professionals can learn more about the opportunity here and watch Jean-Charles explain the program further on Thursday April, 30 during the “Global Terroir” seminar at 9 a.m. PST hosted by The SOMM Journal and SommCon; register here. Webinar registration is free, but there is a “Pay What You Want” option to help wine professionals, with 50% of all contributions benefitting the SOMM Relief Project, which provides aid to wine professionals and grants to organizations including The United Sommeliers Foundation, a non-profit organization created to help wine professionals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic cover basic necessities including costs associated with housing, medical care, family support and child and adult care.