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Technical spoTlighT winemaking February 2015 Wines&Vines 41 The appeal extends beyond the visitor cen- ter to the newly planted vines, fruit trees and gardens to the inviting production winery and unusually expansive caves. B Cellars may be the only winery in Napa Valley where the elegant wine tasting room is built around a demonstration kitchen, a reflec- tion of its emphasis on pairing food and wine. And the room itself—with floor-to-ceiling win- dows that can be opened to the vineyard— seems the epitome of wine country luxury with its polished concrete counter and distressed hardwood floors. It's more like a living room adjacent to an open kitchen in a Napa Valley estate than a typical tasting room. Neither Keys nor Borsack had been in the wine business before they founded B Cellars. They met at a Fourth of July barbecue in 2002, when both were exploring new career inter- ests in the wine industry. In addition to shar- ing the same tastes in wine, the duo discovered they were on parallel missions to acquire vineyard property. Borsack spent more than 30 years as co- owner of El Portal, a chain of designer leather goods, handbags and luggage stores with 125 stores worldwide. He also orchestrated the rollout of the entire Swatch watch franchise business. In 2000, he sold his share of El Portal to learn viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis Keys had been a senior-level executive with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. He oversaw operations, marketing, public relations and finance in the United States, Canada and the Asia-Pacific region. He later studied viticulture and enology, also through UC Davis. In spring 2003, the partners formed B Cel- lars (B for Brix) based on two principles: to produce artisan wines from multiple vineyards and to develop distinct flavors by blending wines from complementary varieties. They soon met Kirk Venge, son of veteran Napa winemaker Nils Venge and an accom- plished winemaker in his own right. Kirk Venge was named "One of the top 20 new winemakers in the world" by Food & Wine magazine in October 2005 and has been B Cellars' wine- maker from the beginning. B Cellars made wine at Robert Pecota Win- ery before the Jackson family bought the prop- erty, then for 10 years at Silenus Winery near the city of Napa. Meanwhile, the partners opened a tasting room at the Silver Rose Inn in Calistoga as the public face for the resort proposed by Bald Mountain Development. Four Seasons, which would manage the property, wanted a working winery at the resort, but unfortunately existing entitlements had KEY POINTs New facility in Oakville, Calif., targets direct-to-consumer business with diverse hospitality offerings and 14 different wines. Tours, seated tastings, pairing lunches, cooking demonstrations and more are offered to visitors by appointment. The wide range of wines are sourced mostly from Napa Valley and produced with creative twists including concrete tanks. The partners formed B Cellars (B for Brix) based on two principles: to produce artisan wines from multiple vineyards and to develop distinct flavors by blending wines from complementary varieties.