Jean-Charles Boisset and Gina Gallo-Boisset, the scions of two famous wine families, have purchased Flora Springs Winery in Napa Valley from the Komes and Garvey families, founders of the company. Though Gallo-Boisset and Boisset are industry veterans, this is the first winery collaboration by the couple. The sale includes the St. Helena winery, inventory and the flamboyantly designed tasting room on Hwy. 29. Neither party is disclosing the financial details of the sale.
“Flora Springs embodies the family spirit we adore and are committed to continue,” Gina said in a statement.
Jean-Charles added, “We intend to elevate their exceptional wines to a new dimension.”
Four Decades of Cabernet
Flora Springs was founded in 1978 by the Komes and Garvey families, who restored a dilapidated stone winery and ramshackle Victorian house once owned by Louis M. Martini. The winery is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon and blends such as Trilogy and Soliloquy.
In 2020, the families sold their winery facility and their 280-acre estate, including 58 acres of vines, to Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the owners of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Bordeaux. They retained the tasting room and brand name, downsizing production by more than half to 8,500 cases annually and shifting their primary focus to direct-to-consumer sales.
Third-generation family member Nat Komes is now stepping down as general manager to focus on Jon Nathaniel Cellars, the Komes family’s boutique winery in Rutherford. “I’m very excited to lead this new chapter of my family’s Napa Valley winemaking legacy,” said Komes, in a statement.
A New Collaboration
Enrico Bertoz will continue as winemaker, working with Gallo-Boisset, a veteran winemaker at her family’s company, E&J Gallo. The Komes family retained 30 acres of estate vineyards for their own use. “We have secured contracts with the Komes family and many of their key growers to continue the estate vision, while adding our own palate of exceptional vineyards to source that Gina and I both bring to the table,” Boisset told Wine Spectator.
Boisset is president of Boisset Collection, which owns wineries in France and California, including DeLoach, Buena Vista and Bouchard Aîné & Fils. The company also owns Oakville Grocery and the historic Calistoga Depot. Together, Boisset and Gallo-Boisset own the Ink House Inn in St. Helena.
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