John Goelet (1931-2023)

He was described as, "American by birth, French at heart" and was a graduate of Harvard (1953). His maternal grandfather, Daniel Guestier III, ran his family's wine merchant business established from 1735, Barton & Guestier, of Bordeaux. John inherited his passion for wine as well as his father's French estate, the Chateau de Sandricourt. In America, John and his equally passionate wife shared a vision of producing their own Cabernet Sauvignon "that would rival the world’s best" and in 1972 began producing Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon in California's Napa Valley. In France, they invested heavily in providing education for all and most notably they were great patrons of the French engineering school, UniLaSalle. Their gifts to the community were numerous and included giving 75,000 euros to the local village (Sandricourt) football club who had played on land donated by John's father since 1927. John lived between Sandricourt (acquired by his father in 1908) and Paris. In 1954, he married Henrietta, daughter of William Rogers Fanner, C.B.E. and was survived by two of their three sons.