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 Nestled in the hills of northern
Sonoma County at the edge of picturesque Healdsburg, the winemaking
facilities of Bouchon are situated among the estate vineyards. The
winery's five buildings, including fermenting, barrel storage, laboratory,
bottling and warehousing, and administrative offices, are part of
a 52 acre site. 32 acres are planted to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
 Looking into picturesque valleys,
one sees the prime and fertile viticultural areas of the Russian
River Valley and Dry Creek Valley with the Russian River flowing
through the center of Sonoma County.
 Lush clusters of grapes ready
for harvest, which typically takes place in September.
 The grapes, hand-picked from the Bouchon
estate and from selected vineyards along the California coast, are
hauled to the winery for crushing.
 The process of making wine begins at
the hopper, into which grapes are emptied. The giant corkscrew gently
conveys the grapes to the crusher/stemmer which removes the grapes
and leaves.
 White grapes are gently pressed to extract
the juice or "must" and their skins are discarded; red grapes proceed
direct to the fermenting tanks, where the red color is extracted
from the skins during fermentation, as well as tannin and other
natural essences.
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