2023 Naples Winter Wine Festival honors vintner Philippe Sereys de Rothschild

The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) has announced that legendary Bordeaux estate owner Philippe Sereys de Rothschild will be the 2023 winter wine festival's "Honored Vintner."

Château Mouton Rothschild completes the set of Bordeaux premier crus (first growths) previously participating in the Festival since its 2001 inception.

What's "first growth"? According to Wine Spectator, the term is particular to the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, when wine brokers ranked châteaus based on reputation and price, from first to fifth. The original classification included four first-growth châteaus: Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Haut-Brion.

In 1973, Mouton-Rothschild was elevated to first-growth (premier cru) status, something no other winery has accomplished. The achievement inspired Baron Phillipe's motto "First I am, second I was, Mouton does not change."

Read More: Naples Winter Wine Festival returns in 2023: What to know

Also: Naples Children & Education Foundation awards $22.6 million to Collier children’s services

Sereys de Rothschild — chairman and CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA — also serves as the Naples Winter Wine Festival's vintner for The Vintage Cellar wine tasting and lunch Feb. 2 at Bleu Provence, Wine Spectator magazine’s only Grand Award-winning restaurant in Naples. Tickets are $3,500 per person.

Next year's wine festival is Feb. 3-5. The NCEF founded the event more than two decades ago.

Living history

Founded in 1853 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, Sereys de Rothschild's parents were actors Jacques Sereys and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. Grandfather Baron Philippe de Rothschild also co-founded Opus One, the joint wine-producing venture initially created with Robert Mondavi. The Baroness forged a partnership with Chilean winery Concha y Toro in 1997 to produce Almaviva, a Bordeaux-style wine. Both now fall under Sereys de Rothschild's purview

According to fine wine consultant Christopher Shipley, Mouton was the first chateau to estate bottle their wines. Previously all chateaus would sell their wines "in barrel" to merchants, primarily in England who would then bottle the wines.

Mouton was also the first to refuse to bottle a substandard vintage under the Mouton-Rothschild label, instead opting to sell the wine under a separate label called Mouton Cadet. Today all chateaus in the Medoc have second — and in many cases — third labels.

Avec une personne de plus?

Might Naples see one of the world's most chic celebrities at the Festival? According to the Financial Times and Bloomberg News, Sereys de Rothschild’s companion is iconic Cesar Award-winning actress Carole Bouquet. Photos of them walking the red carpet at 2022’s Cannes Film Festival in May circulated across the globe.

American audiences know Bouquet best from the Bond thriller, “For Your Eyes Only.” Women of a certain age will instantly recognize her as the face of Chanel No. 5 perfume for more than a decade. She is also a winemaker, helming Sangue d'Oro in Pantelleria, Italy.

As previously reported, 2023’s theme is “In Perfect Harmony.” The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in North Naples plays host. Co-chairs are Nena and Bill Beynon, Libby and Rick Germain, and Julia and Robert Heidt Jr.

“Philippe Sereys de Rothschild has sustained a powerful legacy for a legendary wine producing family and has served in a leadership role in the industry for many years,” said Bill Cary, NCEF Trustee and Vintner Committee chair, in a statement.

“His participation as our Honored Vintner underscores the planning that is underway to present a Naples Winter Wine Festival that is more exhilarating than ever before.”

Since 2001, NWWF has raised nearly $244 million for Collier County's charitable programs for children.

Diana Biederman is the food and restaurant reporter at Naples Daily News. Contact her at diana.biederman@naplesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples Winter Wine Festival announces honored vintner for 2023