The Bouchaine Falconry Experience Is A Wine Tasting Like No Other

On the southern tip of Napa Valley, in the famous Carneros Region, lies Bouchaine Vineyards & Tasting Room. These vines enjoy breathtaking views all the way to the San Francisco Bay. This is where the Bouchaine Falconry Experience & Wine Tasting takes place atop the hillside for lucky visitors.

This experience provides an exploration of the site where the wines are produced, views of the architecturally exquisite new tasting room, taste of the wines and of course lessons in the practice of falconry… Awesome. An experience like no other offered here in Wine Country, California. And something I highly recommend to visitors planning a trip to Napa Valley.

Bouchaine’s Falconry In The Vineyards Experience is an educational, not to mention fun, time spent outdoors.

Falconry is an ancient sport, began over 4,000 years ago, but still one used today. Wineries use this tactic in order to keep smaller migratory birds and invasive species like Starlings from eating the grapes. The experience showcases both the sweeping views from the vineyard and the number of skills taught to these majestic raptors. Plus, it is “hands-on”. Guests have one on one interactions with the falcon and learn more about what it is like to work with them through their trainers. Plus, it is is fun! Our Falconer lead was fabulous, knowledgeable and humorous. It was also a fun group of people taking part.

The birds seem both excited and eager to show off these skills to visitors as they are presented to guests. This is a day where the knowledge and interests of each guest match. Birding and wine tasting it turns out, are a winning combo for many folks, including me. I was on a raptor team in my 20’s for several years and also worked on an Andean Condor team, so this was right up my alley! Readers already know how much I love Wine!! Haha.

During my visit to Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, I participated in this interactive demonstration of falconry. This included a free-flight demonstration, a simulated hunt with visitor participation even, and an opportunity for the majestic bird to land on my hand! More than once. This talented animal even had some other tricks up his sleeve. Check out the videos!

The falcon of choice for our Bouchaine experience was a Harris Hawk. The handler starts with an introduction to this breed, to the ancient birding craft, along with a review of proper falconry technique. There is a lot to learn. Each guest has their own glove and the fun begins! The Hawk seems to enjoy the show as much as the guests. He was well trained and a proper representative to teach us all about this historical sport. And he was just having fun!

We gloved up and each had a few turns interacting with the bird, with plenty of photo opportunities both during the session and at the end, where guests have the option to pose for their own photo with this beautiful and intelligent animal. He was just doing what he was trained to do. A day at the office, if you will.

Harris Hawks have often been called “the most versatile bird of prey”. They are a medium sized long legged raptor and is the only bird of prey that are social hunters. In the wild, they will hunt together in packs using cooperation. The bird cooperates with the falconer and even has been known to “tell them” that there is prey spotted. They have a real social nature and love the daily interaction with their falconer and it also seemed with the guests during my visit. We actually had the pleasure of hanging with two Harris Hawks, a juvenile female and an older 7-8 year old male named Diego, who was the star of the show.

Originally, falconry arrived in the U.S. in the early 1900s and was more of an elitist sport. There are very few offerings even today where the public is invited to enjoy learning and experiencing hands on these birds in action. After the flight portion of the day, guests are transported back to the winery, for wine of course, and also to learn more as the Falconer brings out many other birds of prey to display and educate visitors. These birds are placed on raptor stands and act as docents for native wildlife in the area.

The Falconry In The Vineyards Experience at Bouchaine is a real treat for tourists and locals alike. The winery offers falconry in spring, summer and fall and is by reservation in advance only. A memorable day.

My additional THANKS go to Falconer and owner of West Coast Falconry, Kate Marden for a fabulous time and being such a fun and gracious host and educator and of course a big thanks goes out to the Harris Hawks with a special shout out to Diego, a pleasure.

Of course, this visit also includes wine tasting flights after the vineyard bird flight! Bouchaine Vineyards is the oldest continuously operating winery in Carneros offering guests history, award winning wines and a stunning new hospitality center as well. There is a lot to see and do after your falconry experience. This winery is off the beaten path in Napa Valley and a great place to relax and enjoy the countryside views and what is in your glass.

They are a family-owned winery producing less than 20,000 cases per year which allows them to do very unique things like the falconry program. The owners of Bouchaine Vineyards, Gerret and Tatiana Copeland have invested lots of time, effort and love into renovating this historical vineyard site and estate. They craft estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnays and also offer many more varietals as well.

I really loved the Bouchaine sparkling wine and the Las Brisas Vineyard Riesling knocked my socks off, wow.

The 2016 Pommard Clone Pinot Noir was another favorite of mine. This is a clone close to my heart and I love finding a new winery that produces it. Bouchaine offers it for a fabulous price point too for this sought after Pinot. Another favorite on my visit was the Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay which shows true sense of place in the glass and represents the Carneros region perfectly with each sip. I also enjoyed a Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Wines from this mountain are hard to find but soo worth the journey, what a treat!

On site, they have 87 estate planted acres, 31 Chardonnay, 46 Pinot Noir, with the remaining 10 devoted to Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Syrah. Come have a taste paired with sweeping views of hillsides covered in vines. This is a special place.

At Bouchaine, they care about the land and it shows. Using methods like falconry to handle pest management instead of pesticides shows visitors one of the many steps that they have chosen to sustain the land for future generations. They use sustainable farming methods at this winery.

They also use Integrated Pest Management. This consists of bird boxes placed throughout the vineyards. These boxes attract bluebirds and owls which feed on pest populations when the falcons are not on site. They also installed these cool raptor perches which encourage hawks to mitigate gopher damage. Cool, right?!?

The Carneros region is perceptibly cooler than the rest of Napa Valley. For those of you who enjoy cool climate wines, this is a great place to visit. From the website: “Due to Bouchaine’s diverse topography and the cooling influence from nearby San Pablo Bay, the vineyard encompasses almost 20 distinct microclimates. On most afternoons, the Carneros winds sweep across the hills, and on most evenings, fog rolls in off the Bay.”

20 micro-climates! Awesome. What fun to taste through and compare. The diurnal temperature fluctuations highly contribute to the bright acidity and structure of Bouchaine wines. These are small production wines with many bottles only produced in quantities of a few hundred. My kind of place.

Bouchaine is off the beaten track and yet still in the heart of Northern California Wine Country. In the southern part of Napa Valley, the Tasting Room is one of the closest Napa wineries to San Francisco – how convenient for a day trip for Bay Area residents too.

“The vineyards include two hilltop terraces which overlook the San Pablo Bay, and rise 200 feet above the surrounding land. On a clear day, the city of San Francisco is visible 40 miles to the south, as are the Bay Area’s two highest peaks: Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais.”

They offer walk in tasting, or tours and tastings and many different experiences like the Falconry as well as private pourings. There is even a new “Virtual Tasting Experience” in the works for wine country fans that can’t make it out to the winery to visit, how cool is that?!? Stay tuned and sign up for the Bouchaine mailing list to keep updated on more.

The new visitors center atop the hillside and overlooking the vineyards and winery facility below is stunning with a radius configuration providing a more welcoming experience to guests. Form meets function. The building features 80-year old redwood planks from the site’s historical wine tanks in the construction fashioned into vertical shade fins on the front of the structure.

The finished product evokes that wow factor as guests approach for a tasting.

This new space has many cool features like a tasting bar, lounge area, an outdoor terrace with landscaped gardens as well as a world class contemporary design kitchen space. Plus, a double sided and large format fireplace to add that cozy touch.

The building also houses beautiful works of art and paintings purchased by the Copeland family itself and on display for guests. It is a modern facility and features crisp lines and stunning views through the massive glass facades. The tasting room bar is a work of art in itself and is cut from a singular tree, made from reclaimed solid cypress slabs.