On Wednesday, April 1, 2015, Buena Vista Winery is unveiling a first-of-its-kind museum in California dedicated to the history of winemaking and its tools. The museum features a collection of rare and authentic 19th and 20th century European viticulture tools that are theatrically arranged and displayed against the winery’s historic cellar walls, which date back to 1864. Visitors will be guided through a twenty-minute show that presents the story of winemaking through the use of these tools from vineyard to bottle, while also learning about the life of the vivacious and eccentric founder, the self-proclaimed “Count of Buena Vista”, Agoston Haraszthy. Tickets for the museum are $25 per person and include a tasting of four wines plus a guided tour.
Boisset purchased Buena Vista Winery in 2011 and immediately began a significant restoration to preserve and protect the winery’s cellars and caves. In 2012, a seismic retrofit was completed that allowed the cellars to re-open to the public after closing due to the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. That same year, the building was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2013, Buena Vista Winery was awarded the California Preservation Design Award for using innovative center-core drilling technology, which made it possible to restore and preserve the original character of the building from 1864. It is thanks to this restoration that the building is standing in perfect condition today following the recent Napa earthquake in August, 2014. While other historic buildings toppled, the Champagne Cellars at Buena Vista Winery suffered no structural damage. The creation and opening of the Historic Wine Tool Museum is another milestone, and for Boisset, a crowning achievement in the revitalization of the property.
The tools on display include: picks, secateurs, grafting knives, presses, a dramatic presentation of pomace cutters, as well as the tools used in barrel making, such as batissoires, adzes, doloires, and more. From the pioneering zeal of Count Haraszthy through the devastation of phylloxera, the collection guides guests through the the evolution of the wine world through its tools.The museum is an extension of the Boisset family’s collection in Burgundy, France, which is housed at the Imaginarium at Louis Bouillot in Nuits-St-Georges.
Guests may reserve in advance at www.buenavistawinery.com, via 800.926.1266, or at the Buena Vista Winery Tasting Room. Museum Tours are available daily by-appointment at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM (walk-up visitors will be accommodated as availability allows; groups of eight or more require advance reservation). In addition to the $25 tour and tasting, families will also be offered a choice of a museum-only experience for $10 per person, and children with paying adult are free. The winery offers additional guest experiences that include: “Be the Count” wine blending experiences, private tastings, barrel tastings, winery tours, tastings of a wide selection of award-winning, small-production wines, and beautiful picnic areas.
About Buena Vista Winery
Buena Vista Winery is California’s first premium winery and was founded in 1857 by Hungarian immigrant, Agoston Haraszthy, the self-proclaimed “Count of Buena Vista.” Possessing a deep regard for the significance of Buena Vista’s place in California wine history, Jean-Charles Boisset purchased Buena Vista in April, 2011 and added the winery to the Boisset Collection. Today, Boisset is returning Buena Vista Winery to its original glory with the complete restoration and re-opening of the historic property. The wines are achieving new heights under Winemaker Brian Maloney and Consulting Winemaker David Ramey. Buena Vista Winery is located at 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma, CA.
About Boisset Collection
Boisset is a family-owned collection of historic and unique wineries bound together by a common cause: authentic, terroir-driven wines in harmony with their history, their future and the land and people essential to their existence. With more than twenty historical and prestigious wineries in the world’s preeminent terroirs, including the Côte d’Or, Beaujolais, Rhône Valley, California’s Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley, and the Napa Valley.
WWW.BUENAVISTAWINERY.COM
WWW.BOISSETCOLLECTION.COM
WWW.JCBWINES.COM
MARYAM COPE, VP OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AT AMERICAN HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION – EVIDENCE OF MAJOR FRAUD IN HOTEL BOOKING SITES
With prime travel season right around the corner, it is the perfect time for consumers to be scammed by these seemingly-trustworthy third party booking sites and many times they are even led to believe they are booking from the hotel directly, when in fact, it is just rogue booking sites using the hotels logo, trademark, and copyrighted pictures. And what’s even more surprising that most consumers are unaware of – is that, while these sites market themselves by saying you can save up to 40 or 60% - the truth is, most hotels have a lowest price guarantee if you book direct!Thought booking a hotel online was the most convenient and cost effective way to secure a room? With $145 billion spent on online travel each year, so does everyone else.
Buyers beware! It’s a market full of scams, rife with rogue vendors, false advertising and consumer abuses.
Here’s what we are up against:
- Deals Disguised as “Discounts”: Most people don’t know that when you book a hotel room online, you’re often going through a third party vendor who is tricking you into thinking it’s a sale directly from the hotel. Vendors will often mislead the consumer into believing they are charging the lowest available price, which often times is actually more expensive than the price offered directly through the hotel.
- Need to Cancel? Too Bad: When you book through a third-party, you can’t cancel your reservation and amenities like handicap access in the room are not honored.
- Irresponsible Privacy and Data Protection Practices: When you book through a third party, where is your credit card and personal information stored? Who is responsible for keeping this information secure? This makes the consumer vulnerable.
- False Reward Programs: A rewards program may be presented as if it’s affiliated with the hotel or hospitality company, but in reality, it is often times nothing more than
- worthless points to a third party dealer.
- Deceptive Links and Misrepresented Identities: Third party booking services, some of which will intermittently change names in order to dodge legal repercussions, will use trademarked logos and pictures to give the impression that you’re purchasing through an approved agent, if not directly through the hotel, but you are not. And you’ll end up on the website of a third party dealer—without realizing until it’s too late.
- Bad Customer Service: Call centers at third party bookers falsely purport to work directly for the hotel companies. An off-brand online booking agency has very little incentive to improve your trip, as the hotel itself does, since they know it’s the hotel that will absorb any criticism and negative reviews.
AHLA.COM