“If you are engaged in wine, you are engaged in life.”
Michael Richmond, General Manager and Winemaker at Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa Valley, shared those thoughts and many more during our recent conversation about everything you can imagine! With intellectual interests ranging from education to travel to winemaking to business, Richmond has achieved what many have not: an accomplished career path reflecting his passions. This man is actively engaged in producing the best wine possible at Bouchaine and from what I have discovered, his involvement in life is like none other.
“Through tension comes creativity.”
Michael Richmond admitted that all of us must revisit and challenge our assumptions…this often leads to looking at a situation in a different light and finding a creative solution. He did just that. As a young man, he taught troubled teens after graduating from college with a degree in Special Education. Although he loved working with challenging students, the highly structured classroom environment was not for him and Richmond knew another path was beckoning.
After an eighteen month cross country bike trip during which at one point he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (he was tear gassed in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention), Richmond arrived in Napa Valley. He toured wine country, picked grapes and worked at low paying jobs until he began a nine year stint at Freemark Abbey where he worked in all aspects of the business, took classes at UC-Davis, and tasted wine, wine, and more wine.
In 1979 Michael Richmond had the opportunity to co-found and become the winemaker at Acacia Winery. The Chalone Group purchased Acacia in 1986 and Richmond exercised his business acumen as Chalone’s Vice President of Sales. Winemaking life beckoned and in 1993 he managed Chalone’s Carmenet Winery for five years yet Richmond returned to the corporate culture of Acacia Winery. But more change was in the air.
“Wine quality is embedded in its context.”
Educator, traveler, winemaker, businessman – Michael Richmond brought all of these skills and plenty of enthusiasm to Bouchaine in 2002 when he became General Manager and Winemaker. From the beginning, he and Bouchaine owners, Gerret and Tatiana Copeland, saw a “shared vision and purpose” and Richmond felt a sense of destiny.
Located on 104 rolling acres in the southernmost part of Napa Valley’s Carneros region, the team at Bouchaine vows to produce wines that are anything but ordinary. The Carneros region is noticeably cooler than other upper Napa Valley appellations and the vineyards encompass over twenty microclimates. Using the most current methods and techniques, the team makes a consistent effort to discover new ways to achieve sustainability and balance.
Richmond is particularly proud of its Bacchus Collection which features wines from estate grown vineyards. I must admit that I am, too. I was sent samples of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier and was quite impressed with their balance and complexity, palate profile and drinkability. As Richmond stated, “You can try new things with a small production.”
What does the future hold for Bouchaine according to Michael Richmond? “Hopefully, it will have viti-llectual curiosity” and the team will continue to “explore new wines, farming techniques, and regimes.” Winemaking is “very dynamic and fluid” and it’s important to explore new technologies and new ideas. However, Richmond feels that it is not prudent to “stray too far from the norm” and compromise the quality of the wine. Of course. “Wine quality is embedded it its context. The circumstances of the assessment as well as the relationship of the wine to its peers determines the perception of quality. Quality is a human construct not an innate property.”
With humility, Michael Richmond considers Larry Brooks, co-founder of Acacia Winery, one of his mentors. He credits not only Dick Graff at Chalone as someone with “passion and conviction to the industry” but the people at Freemark Abby “for their dedication in building the industry.”
Yet, Richmond has done his part in inspiring others with the 1980 inception of the Steamboat Pinot Noir Conference, started by Stephen Cary, an Oregon winemaker, along with his co-founding efforts and support. Annually, Pinot Noir producers gather to share information, work to “improve the breed”, and re-ignite their love for this noble grape. Michael Richmond is proud of his role in helping to bring together winemakers “who are very respectful of each other” and others who express the desire to adopt and maintain “an open tolerant position which is critical to improve wines”.
“A renaissance palate is eclectic, forgiving, inquiring, curious.”
I asked Michael Richmond if there have been any wines that provoked an “ah ha” moment. He was quick to share that in 1975, a “revelatory experience” occurred. While dining at a café at the Tate Gallery, he and his then wife splurged on two half bottles of wine that they had always wanted to taste: 1961 Lafite Rothschild and 1961 Mouton Rothschild, two iconic wines from the vintage of the decade. His remark? “Ah ha! They were too predictable.” You see, Michael Richmond prefers wines that that are somewhat different, that when tasted offer a surprise to the palate. In essence, “if the wine doesn’t deviate from expectations, you don’t learn from it.”
“Be critical, intelligent, but ecumenical in its acceptance.”
With these words, Michael Richmond was referring to his thoughts when tasting a glass of Pinot Noir. Yet, I believe they refer to his philosophy in life. Richmond is an intelligent man with a spirit of adventure and discovery. He has a penchant for “thinking out of the box”, trying new techniques, and being fair and critical when it’s time for the final assessment. With a broad set of experiences, successes, and challenges, this man embraces life. And wine.
Michael Richmond is the Renaissance man at Bouchaine Vineyards you’ll want to meet.
Cheers~ Cindy
