Bouchaine Vineyards Takes Regional Wine Tourism Honor, Heads to Global Final
The Carneros winery was named the 2027 Napa Valley/Bay Area regional winner for Innovative Wine Tourism Experience and will represent the region in New Zealand this month.
CARNEROS: Bouchaine Vineyards has been named the 2027 Napa Valley/Bay Area regional winner in the “Innovative Wine Tourism Experience” category of the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism awards, the winery announced Oct. 8.
The honor recognizes Bouchaine’s tasting and visitor experiences, built around hospitality rooted in the winery’s trademarked motto that wine makes you happy. Bouchaine will now represent Napa Valley and the Bay Area in the global competition, sharing its 2023 Estate Pinot Noir with attendees at the Great Wine Capitals Annual General Meeting in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, where the international winners will be announced this month.
Eriksen said the winery sees every visitor as an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with Bouchaine, Napa Valley and the wider wine world, crediting proprietor and chairman Tatiana Copeland for championing the estate as a place where people gather, celebrate and share in the beauty of nature, wine, music and art.
a place where people can gather, celebrate and share in the beauty of nature, wine, music and art
We’re thrilled to receive this recognition from the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.David Eriksen, Director of Direct-to-Consumer, Bouchaine Vineyards
The regional awards were announced Sept. 29 by the San Francisco/Napa Valley delegation of the Great Wine Capitals, which includes the County of Napa, Napa Valley Vintners and Visit Napa Valley. Napa Valley is one of 11 wine regions in the global network and the only one in North America. Tourism and hospitality businesses self-nominated in August across seven categories, and winners were chosen by a judging panel drawn from the county, the vintners association and the destination organization.
The other 2027 regional winners are Okaeri Calistoga for Accommodation, Beaulieu Vineyards for Architecture and Landscapes, Lewis Cellars for Art and Culture, Robert Mondavi Winery for Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices, Charlie’s Napa Valley for Culinary Experiences and the Napa Valley Car Club for Wine Tourism Services. Bouchaine follows Sterling Vineyards, which won the Innovative Wine Tourism Experience category regionally in 2026 and went on to take the global title.
Falconry, amphorae and a new cave
Bouchaine’s guest programs include “Falconry in the Garden,” where visitors get close to the raptors the vineyard uses to mitigate bird damage and protect its grapes, led by master falconer Rebecca Rosen of Authentic Abatement. Its “Vine to Vessel” tasting walks guests through the estate’s high-touch viticulture and then compares wines aged in clay amphora, French oak and concrete egg vessels.
The winery’s new tasting room features a demonstration kitchen, an outdoor terrace, fire pits and landscaped gardens. This fall, Bouchaine plans to debut a wine cave designed by Backen and Backen Architecture and built by Wright Contracting. The space will serve as both a barrel-aging facility and a hospitality venue, opening onto a courtyard with panoramic vineyard views over the bay.
Founded by Gerret and Tatiana Copeland, Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Carneros District, originally planted in the 1880s. Its 104-acre estate vineyard is sustainably farmed in the Carneros AVA, where cool maritime breezes and fog favor Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery says it was the first “Fish Friendly Farming” certified vineyard in Napa Valley and is Napa Green certified for both land and winery. The 2023 Estate Pinot Noir it will pour in New Zealand was made by President and Winemaker Chris Kajani from a blend of clones grown on the estate.
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