It takes more than grapes to make wine

At a ripe old age of 158, Buena Vista Winery is already in the history books as the oldest commercial winery in California. However, the winery, which was purchased by Boisset Family Estates in 2011, has been getting more in touch with not only its own history, but, the history of winemaking.

Earlier this year, the winery opened the Historical Wine Tool Museum – the only one of its kind in the United States.

On a recent visit to Buena Vista, I took a tour of museum, which is located on the second floor of the newly renovated and re-opened Buena Vista Champagne Cellars building (which is a remarkable space in its own right).

The majority of the tools are European, however, the same type of tools were used in America, including by staff at Buena Vista back in the day. The Boisset family has the largest private collection of winemaking tools in the world and has a museum for the collection in France.

As a former museum curator, I’m always curious as to how private collectors handle exhibition design – they either have tons of money or no money, and go over the top of shove everything into one room and it ends up looking like an antique mall, rather than a museum exhibition.

Buena Vista has done a great job at designing the Historical Wine Tool Museum.

In the center of the room is a table representing the “Wedding of the Century,” when General Vallejo’s two daughters married Count Haraszthy’s two sons (the mannequins are a bit creepy). The table is surrounded by four walls of tools, beautifully displayed, and four televisions that guide guests through the history of wine making around the world and in California.

Rather than wander around the room on your own, you are guided on a tour of the space via big screens that display a film about the history of winemaking and recordings of voice actors, including the Count, who guide you through the displays. The museum uses the tools to keep your attention about a subject that is hard to describe as “sexy” – the tools move up and down and all around, including some super cool effects to describe how barrels are made.

As you enjoy the exhibit, you are poured estate wines to sip, making the experience even more enjoyable (I didn’t get that type of treatment at the whisky museum in Scotland!).

Overall, the tour is interesting and full of fun-facts to impress your friends with on winery tours. It’s about 20 minutes long, making it easy to digest (the wine helps, too) and not time consuming.

My only complaint? The at times hokey, cartoon like voices tended to make the subject matter into a Disneyland exhibit rather than a smart exhibit for wine geeks interested in winemaking history. But, the beautiful displays, interesting history, and torture device-like tools, paired with tasty wine, make it worth a visit for tourists and locals alike.

Visits to the Historical Wine Tool Museum is by appointment only. The tour is $25 and includes a wine tasting. If you just want to experience the museum, sans wine, it’s $10 and free for kids. Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Rd., Sonoma. 800-926-1266. buenavistawinery.com