Retirement Vineyard

 

I had forgotten that Picard had a vineyard upon retirement - Chateau Picard. Somehow, I discovered the Star Wars fan site last week. There I discovered a treasure trove of facts, merchandise and episodes to satisfy the greatest fanatic. I also discovered that Admiral Picard has got quite a merchandise collection as the StarTrek.com website reveals. 

In January 2020, the actual location and identity of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s vineyard in the latest Star Trek series, Star Trek Picard, was revealed and it is not in Burgundy as was suggested in the trailers. It is in California. Supposedly, the series takes place in Burgundy, where former Starfleet officer Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) has retired to his family domain.

The vineyard is in fact Sunstone in the Santa Ynez Valley. Although meant to be located in La Barre, viewers may have twigged that the vine training and low-density plantings looked rather more Californian than French and it is indeed the case. The villa is an authentic-looking French château within driving distance of LA and includes architectural features and materials from the south of France. Most of the inside scenes were filmed either in studio or in another home in LA.

There are two other iterations of Chateau Picard. There is a real Château Picard located in Saint-Estèphe in Bordeaux. And I spotted ‘official’ Star Trek: Picard wines, the result of a collaboration between the producers of Star Trek and the château-owners, Mähler-Besse. 

Alas, despite growing up on the estate, being a vintner did not really suit the former Star Fleet Admiral. 

"I tried my best to belong to this place, but I don't think I ever truly felt at home here."

– Jean-Luc Picard regarding Château Picard, 2399 ("The End is the Beginning")

And just for fun, here is a Star Wars timeline infographic.