Vic Bourassa

At some point during that memorable lunch Bourassa uncorked a bottle of his own homemade Napa Valley Pinot Noir and after a few evidently pleasurable sips Mondavi began to encourage the novice winemaker to enter the winemaking field as a professional, not just as an amateur, and it was at that very moment that Bourassa Vineyards was born, though it was not official, from a business perspective until two years later, in 2001.

The first wine produced under the new ‘official’ Bourassa Vineyards label was a traditional Bordeaux blend called Harmony3. It received tremendous attention from both consumers and the media and all of the 400 cases produced sold out very quickly, and Bourassa Vineyards was on its way. A Napa Valley Zinfandel followed the Harmony3 bottling, and on it went, without pause.

Today, with a total production of a respectable 5,000 cases, Bourassa Vineyards is able to devote their attention to five carefully chosen varietals: Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and their one white wine, a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc. In addition to that there is a Port made from the Primitivo grape that is, as the proprietor says with obvious pride, “an absolute favorite of everyone that gets to try it.” And that wonderful blend, the Harmony3, is still just as popular and still winning just as many awards and medals as ever.

It is the fact that the wines – no matter what the varietal – are so painstakingly hand-crafted in small lots that is such an important factor, and the winery carefully creates rich, complex blends using fruit from premiere, self-maintained Napa Valley vineyards. “This insures that our award-winning wines display the distinct varietal characteristics that are winning over critics and wine drinkers alike,” Bourassa said.

Winemaking at Bourassa Vineyards means other things as well. The harvested fruit is handled delicately, and there are non of the pumpovers that are standard at most wineries. Here the juice is sprayed gently onto the cap to submerge it. It is time consuming and requires more work, but the proof is right there in the bottle.

A visit to Bourassa Vineyards is a unique experience as well. Set in a complex of offices and warehouses in the southern part of Napa County, a tasting here is unlike any other.

The tasting room itself could actually be far beneath ground, or on a hill in Bordeaux or in an ancient villa in Tuscany. Rust-colored walls, silver candelabra, dark wood, a wall of barrels and antique winemaking gear transform the space into an elegant den for sampling the wine. “It’s a wine room,” Bourassa said with obvious pride. “A warm, wonderful room... And here you don’t have crowds, and you get to sit and taste wine with the proprietor, which is a rarity.”

Vic Bourassa believes that his responsibility as vintner and winery owner is two-fold. First is to educate, then to promote, albeit he does both in a low-key, comfortable manner. Want to know about what toast means when it comes to oak barrels? He shows you a cross section of a barrel, each stave toasted to different degrees. Curious about the importance of cork? He bring out a section of cork tree and begins to talk about the important and harvesting practices of cork. And so it goes, the educational experience and the tasting experience seamlessly and enjoyable commingled.

As they say at this unique Napa Valley winery, “We look forward to sharing with you our passion for wine, as well as the Bourassa Vineyards’s commitment to quality, class, and a celebration of life!”

The tasting room at Bourassa Vineyards is open by appointment only from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day. They are located at 190 Camino Oruga (Unit H) off of North Kelly Road not far from the Napa Airport, near the intersection of Route 29 and Jameson Canyon Rd. For information and directions, call 1-800-499-2366 or look them up on the Internet at www.bourassavineyards.com.