Chateau St. Jean, the iconic Sonoma County estate winery, held an intimate dinner in the chateau and gardens of the historic Kenwood property on Saturday evening, October 5th.
Chateau St. Jean’s recently appointed winemaker Lisa Evich hosted the dinner which was attended by wine club members, community leaders and media. Evich was previously Director of Winemaking at Simi and held winemaking leadership positions at Pine Ridge and Arrowood. Evich also oversees winemaking for Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, producing Sonoma County wines for 120 years.
Family-owned Foley Family Wines & Spirits (FFWS) acquired Chateau St. Jean in 2021, celebrating the winery’s 50th anniversary in 2023. FFWS modernized the production facility and reinstated on-site winemaking with the 2022 vintage.
“Thoughtful stewardship of this winery and brand is important to my family, and we are proud of our ongoing efforts to restore CSJ and our winemaking operations to reflect what put the site on the map, to begin with,” noted Courtney Foley, EVP and second-generation vintner for FFWS. “We hired Lisa to guide CSJ through the next phase of its story and are excited to see her impact on Chateau St. Jean’s wines – especially Cinq Cépages.”
Chateau St. Jean helped solidify Sonoma County as one of the top wine regions in the world with Cinq Cépages, the winery’s flagship wine. The red blend has consistently earned the respect of wine critics and consumers since its inaugural 1990 vintage. Cinq Cépages is French for “Five Grape Varieties” denoting the five classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
Visitors can experience the Cinq Cépages’ legacy with a newly launched vertical tasting at the Chateau St. Jean hospitality center for $180. Consumers can purchase Cinq Cépages at the chateau, online, and in fine wine shops and fine dining establishments for an SRP of $100 (current vintage).
Chateau St. Jean also produces single-vineyard wines that are available nationwide, including a Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $55 SRP, a Carneros Chardonnay at $45 SRP and a selection of small-production DTC wines through the wine club and website.
