Two companies rooted in style and heritage, Boisset Collection and Baccarat, have partnered to create the Passion Collection, a set of elegant crystal wine and Champagne glasses and decanters designed to elevate the enjoyment of wine and the art de vivre. For the first time in the 255-year history of Baccarat, the French crystal maison has brought to life the designs of a vintner, creating a collection of Jean-Charles Boisset, including one wine glass designed for white, red or rosé, a Champagne glass, and wine and Champagne decanters.
“Wine is the ultimate expression of the senses and art of living. It requires the most refined vessels to present itself. Our dream collection with Baccarat provides sensory experiences that unite the palate, mind and heart!” said Boisset, who has collected Baccarat pieces from a young age and is known for the impressive Baccarat chandeliers that adorn his wineries and tasting rooms.
The handmade glasses and decanters retail at $380 for a two-glass set of the wine glasses, $380 for a two-glass set of the Champagne glasses, $860 for the wine decanter and $960 for the Champagne decanter, which will be available this fall (pre-orders currently being accepted via phone at 707.934.8237 or by email to concierge@jcbcollection.com).
They are available through Baccarat’s boutiques, as well as JCB tasting salons in Yountville, St. Helena, Healdsburg and San Francisco, online at www.jcbcollection.com and www.baccarat.com, and at Boisset’s wineries in California and Burgundy, France, including Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley, Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Wattle Creek Winery in San Francisco, and La Maison in Vougeot, France.
The Passion Collection will be launched in Baccarat’s flagship boutiques with events around the world that began July 9 in Paris, with dates to follow in London, Milan, Moscow, Shanghai and Tokyo. The collection is also available for sale on Boisset’s U.S. tour, The Alchemy of the Senses, which presents Boisset’s The Alchemy of the Senses book alongside his wines, Baccarat collection and other signature creations through a series of intimate dinners and events: www.alchemyofthesenses.com.
“My lifetime dream has always been to create the most phenomenal glass — the one and the one and only. It is the only one you need for your enjoyment of your wine of choice,” said Boisset. “The glass provides the perfect aromatic expression, the perfect lip opening to guide the wine and the perfect directional to hit the palate, allowing the wine to grow expansive in the mouth, bringing balance and coating your palate beautifully. Rarely does a wine glass achieve all of this.”
The glasses and decanters feature a signature diamond shape in the center of the stem, signifying the “diamonds” that grow from the vine, the grapes that are transformed into wine. Even as Boisset’s business expands deeper into the luxury lifestyle realm, wine will always remain at the center of his world.
Like the wine glasses that can be used for any color of wine, the Passion Collection wine decanter is equally versatile and an essential companion for wine, allowing it to aerate in a stylish and sophisticated vessel. The Champagne decanter is the first of its kind and designed to release some bubbles during a 30- to 45-minute decant, leaving the ideal amount of to enjoy. Equally unique, the Champagne glass, not a flute, unites the perfect balance of style and wine presentation, its height met with a proportional rounded bowl that allows an ideal expression of aroma, wine and effervescence.
“You don’t want sparkling wine on the first sip to be offensive, or too carbonated or too strong—you want to be tantalized,” said Boisset, describing the inspiration for the Champagne glass and decanter.
