Beaulieu Vineyard


Beaulieu Vineyard is a vineyard near Rutherford, California, belonging to the appellation Rutherford AVA. It was established by Georges de Latour and his wife Fernande in 1900.

History

Initially a purchase of of land in 1900, Beaulieu Vineyard derives its name from the French phrase "Quel beau lieu" which translates to English as "What a beautiful place". Legend has it that Fernande uttered these words when she first saw the land. The following year, Joe Heitz of Heitz Wine Cellars, and Robert Mondavi. By the 1940s, Beaulieu wines were served at all major White House functions.
In the mid-1940s, Beaulieu was owned by Marquis de Pins, whose wife was a member of the French wine-making de Latour family. This was noted in Life Magazine in an article on the debut ball at which their daughter was a debutante.
In the 1950s and 1960s Beaulieu was considered one of the "big four" Napa Valley producers, along with Inglenook, Charles Krug, and Louis Martini.
In the Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981, the 1970 vintage of Beaulieu Vineyard George de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon received second place.
The winery was purchased by international conglomerate Heublein Inc., in 1969. Heublein was later acquired by RJR Nabisco, then sold to Grand Metropolitan in 1987. Grand Metropolitan became Diageo plc in 1997 through a merger with Guinness, and is now the largest multinational beer, wine and spirits company in the world. In 2016 Diageo sold Beaulieu Vineyard to Treasury Wine Estates.