Posted on March 6, 2025 by heidi.arnold -
Château Montrose takes its name from a hill in Saint-Estèphe, once covered in heather – Mont Rose [Pink Hill] – overlooking the Gironde Estuary. The river, protective by nature, tempers the climate and carves the landscape into terraces with a distinctive rounded contour. This 130-hectare jewel, with 95 hectares of vines, features two elite viticultural cores: Terrace No. 3 & Terrace No. 4.
Amid challenges and triumphs, Montrose has rapidly risen to prominence, establishing itself as one of the gems of Bordeaux. As the youngest second Grand Cru Classé of 1855, it carries the legacy of four families that have shaped its history.
Since 2022, Charlotte Bouygues, president and daughter of Martin Bouygues, has taken up the mantle, continuing the vision of producing Great Wines with sustainable excellence. Alongside Pierre Graffeuille, this dynamic duo is guiding Montrose into a new era of innovation and environmental stewardship.
Under their leadership, the estate is fully committed to organic viticulture and regenerative farming practices, ensuring a harmonious relationship with its environment.
Château Montrose continues to shine, poised for even greater brilliance. Focused on the future, it is undergoing restructuring to address tomorrow’s climate challenges, while preserving its unique signature—the foundation of its legend.
Posted on August 27, 2024 by heidi.arnold -
Katherine Lugar is Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Hilton, overseeing the company’s global communications, government affairs, and environment and social impact functions. She also serves as the President of the Hilton Global Foundation. Hilton is a leading hospitality company with a global portfolio spanning 24 brands and nearly 7,800 properties. Lugar joined the company in 2023.
Prior to Hilton, Lugar served as the President and CEO of the American Beverage Association (ABA), where she was responsible for setting and executing the strategic vision for ABA and representing the industry’s voice on Capitol Hill, with the Administration and across the country. Previously, Lugar served as President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. In this role, she revamped the association, leading to record membership, tripling revenue, sharply increasing the focus on advocacy and ensuring greater industry alignment and engagement. Lugar began her career in Washington, D.C., as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lugar is the President of the Hilton Global Foundation and sits on the Boards of Directors of Bipartisan Policy Center Action and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She is also a Corporate Advisory Board member of So Others Might Eat (SOME). She has been recognized as a “Leader to Watch” by the Washington Post, a top lobbyist by The Hill and one of “Washington’s Most Powerful Women” by Washingtonian.
Posted on December 18, 2023 by [email protected] -
Auctioneer
Jamie Ritchie
Jamie Ritchie is a visionary leader and one of the most respected figures in the global wine and spirits industry. With a career spanning over three decades, he has consistently defined excellence and innovation in the industry.
Jamie was at Sotheby’s for 32 years, where he rose to become the Worldwide Chairman of Wines & Spirits. Under his leadership, Sotheby’s became the leading global auction house for fine wines and spirits, achieving record-breaking sales of $150 million in 2022. Jamie’s visionary approach drove international growth, expanding Sotheby’s wine auctions to New York, Hong Kong and France, and establishing the Spirits category in 2019. He also launched Sotheby’s Wine retail businesses in New York and Hong Kong and introduced the Sotheby’s Own Label Collection. He developed the Single Owner Sale format with auctions from the world’s greatest wine collectors such as Bill Koch and Don Stott, followed by direct from winery sales from the most important Bordeaux châteaux such as Haut Brion, Lafite, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Cheval Blanc. He also forged groundbreaking partnerships merging commercial and charity auctions with prestigious organizations like the Hospices de Beaune, Worshipful Company of Distillers and the Napa Valley Vintners.
Most recently, he brought his unparalleled expertise and innovative spirit to BlockBar, serving as their COO, where he continued to push boundaries in the digital marketplace for fine wines and spirits.
As one of the world’s most respected wine auctioneers, Jamie presided over sales of the most important collections over the last 30 years and held records for selling the most valuable wine and spirits ever sold, with a bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945 for $558,000 and The Macallan Fine & Rare 60-Year-Old 1926 for $1.9 million.
His expertise and insights are regularly featured in prestigious publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, and Wine Spectator.
Posted on December 15, 2023 by heidi.arnold -
Master Class Host
Neal Martin
Neal Martin’s career in wine began in 1996 as a wine buyer for Japan Airlines where he specialized in Bordeaux and Burgundy. In 2006 Neal was asked by the most influential wine critic in the world, Robert Parker, to join his team at The Wine Advocate where he was the first non-American to hold a position. In December 2012 Neal self-published a 600-page book, Pomerol, that became the standard text for the region, winning the inaugural André Simon John Avery Award and the Louis Roederer Chairman’s Award in 2013. He took over coverage of Bordeaux when Parker retired in 2014. In 2018 Neal accepted a position at Vinous where he covers Bordeaux and Burgundy to the present day. His reviews and scores are quoted by merchants around the world and over 25 years he has amassed considerable first-hand knowledge of mature vintages. In April 2023 he published “The Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide 1870-2020” that Eric Asimov described as “what every Bordeaux lover has been waiting for” in the New York Times. His book will be updated at the end of 2025.
