Local Wine Scene Recalibrates As Boisset Retreats And Small Winery Grows

NAPA VALLEY, CA — Jean-Charles Boisset, the French vintner behind some of wine country’s ostentatious tasting rooms, has closed two high-profile Napa Valley locations, pulling back from downtown Napa and Yountville after years of rapid expansion and experimentation with luxury hospitality.

The Boisset Collection closed Chateau Buena Vista in downtown Napa and the JCB Tasting Salon in Yountville. Online directories mark both venues as "permanently closed."

Patrick Egan, senior vice president, confirmed the closures to the San Francisco Chronicle. He said Chateau Buena Vista’s experiences will move to the Buena Vista Winery estate in Sonoma, while the JCB Tasting Salon closed after its lease expired.

Egan said the JCB brand will establish a permanent home in Rutherford and shift toward a more membership-driven model, describing the move as a strategic realignment rather than a retreat.
The closures follow years of Boisset’s aggressive growth in Napa and Sonoma, paired with new hospitality formats designed to attract visitors.

Branded as “where wine meets fantasy,” JCB tasting rooms are known for flamboyant design and theatrical experiences, featuring red velvet, leopard print, marble, mirrors, and crystal chandeliers. In addition to wine, the venues have offered caviar, chocolates, perfume, jewelry, and crystal glassware, along with elaborate themed events such as Gatsby and James Bond.

Staff said guests with reservations could cancel or rebook tastings at the JCB location in St. Helena.
From 2021 through 2024, Boisset expanded rapidly, acquiring Rutherford’s Elizabeth Spencer Winery, the historic Calistoga Depot, and the Ink House luxury inn. The company opened new tasting rooms in Napa and St. Helena, and launched a tequila brand.

Boisset’s pullback arguably underscores a broader recalibration in how wine country balances spectacle, real estate, and sustainable models.

However, company executives seemed to push back on suggestions that the closures reflect financial turmoil in the wine industry. Egan told the Press Democrat that the Chateau Buena Vista experience is being relocated, not eliminated, and that the JCB brand will focus on Raymond Vineyards, its Main Street St. Helena location, and a planned Rutherford outpost.

To that point, a Napa Fragrance perfume shop is scheduled to open in downtown Napa next month, according to the Chronicle, as the Boisset Collection shifts its emphasis toward curated, estate-based, and membership-style experiences.

Historic exemption at center of winery's expansion request

A St. Helena winery operating under a historic exemption asked Napa County to approve a major expansion, including increased wine production, larger events, and a new tasting room, putting land-use rules to the test.

On Jan. 7, Barnett Vineyards asked planning commissioners for a permit to double wine production, allow larger and more frequent events, and add a new tasting room and office at Barnett Vineyards Winery in St. Helena.

The owners, Hal and Fiona Barnett, wanted to add more events and tastings as well as increase their annual wine production from 20,000 gallons to 30,000 gallons. They asked for nine annual events: four with a maximum of 20 guests, three with a maximum of 60 guests, and two with a maximum of 100 guests.

Their plans also called for a new 1,700-square-foot tasting room and office. Among the other expansion plans, the new winery building would be atop an existing flat shelf on the hillside.
The family-owned winery was operating under a small winery permit exemption, which allowed operations that began before many regulations were put in place.

The exemption didn’t allow the activities and marketing the owners wanted — or had done. Wednesday's unanimous vote permitting the expansion brought operations into compliance.

MORE: Napa Wineries Push Growth Plans