André Tchelistcheff

1901–1994
Beaulieu Winery and Vineyards, Rutherford

André Tchelistcheff came to America at the invitation of Georges de Latour of Beaulieu Winery and Vineyards,whenAndréwas38.

M. de Latour had met André in Paris, where André was working in an enological research laboratory after finishing a course of study in winemaking at the Institute of National Agronomy. Having been carefully brought up in Russia, fought in the Crimea, sought refuge in Turkey and Yugoslavia (now Serbia), and studied winemaking in France, Andre was versed in seven languages—Russian, Greek, Latin, German, French, Italian, and English. His undergraduate studies had been in agricultural science at the University of Brno in Czechoslovakia. Now he was to be winemaker at Beaulieu.

André was at Beaulieu from 1938 to 1973. He then became a consulting winemaker for dozens of wineries, old, new, near, and far, wineries such as Buena Vista and Niebaum Coppola (now Rubicon Estate), Firestone and Stags’s Leap Wine Cellars, and, ultimately, again for Beaulieu. André retired in 1993.While at Beaulieu as winemaker,he was assisted by Joe Heitz,Theo Rosenbrand, Mike Grgich, and Dick Peterson. André insisted on a number of European practices, including malolactic and cold fermentations, the use of barrels in élévage, and improved sanitation, but, above all, he brought a discerning, refined palate to wine tasting in California. André was also unstinting in his help to young winemakers and became a founding board member of NVWLA.

When André and his wife Dorothy moved to Napa, they became a neighbor of Dick Lyon’s on Stone Crest. Dick regularly quizzed André on winemaking and got to know him pretty well. He says André was a real gardener at heart, that he loved his roses. What with wine and roses, Dick never did make a formal portrait of André. This image was taken while they were at a party at their neighbors,Tom and Lorrain Kongsgaard. Dick says it is “anything but purposeful, but wonderful to have.”