Michael Kennedy has launched a hotel collection with hotels, private residences and wineries in Napa Valley and Tuscany. The Giovanni Bonelli Collection went public on 21 October. Its first hotel, a restored Tuscan hamlet, is due in 2028.
The announcement names three projects. The Yount Leap Estate in Yountville, California opened earlier this year. Calistoga Farms in northern Napa Valley opens in spring 2027. Borgo Bonelli in Tuscany follows in 2028.
Two markets, one model
Each property sits inside a wine region. The release describes a focus on restoring and repositioning properties with established histories.
The collection site adds a third market. A Saint-Émilion property in France sits under the hotels tab as coming soon.
The Borgo Bonelli winery site lists four 2022 releases. La Caccia di San Giovanni appears there as the estate flagship Super Tuscan red blend.
The Yount Leap Estate sells one-eighth stakes
The estate runs along the Silverado Trail above Yountville. The release describes a residential co-ownership model. Buyers take one-eighth ownership interests and receive six weeks of annual stays.
Estate operations sit inside the deal. Owners reach estate Cabernet Sauvignon made by winemaker Marc Gagnon, along with gatherings on the property. The estate site puts the allocation at 24 bottles a year. The collection site names Gagnon as director of winemaking, with earlier roles at Bryant Family Vineyard and Screaming Eagle.
The estate site describes winemaking, hospitality and estate operations run for the owner.
Calistoga Farms plans a cellar and caves
Calistoga Farms is scheduled for spring 2027. The release describes a winery with a cellar and 25,000 sq ft of underground caves. The caves are designed for private dinner parties and wine tastings.
The release gives no room count for Calistoga Farms. It gives no investment figure for any of the three properties.
Borgo Bonelli: nine suites in five stone buildings
Borgo Bonelli becomes the first hotel in the collection in 2028. The property occupies a restored 16th-century hamlet in the Val d’Elsa countryside. The release sizes it at nine hotel suites inside five restored stone buildings, across 10 acres of vineyards.
The amenity list runs to two restaurants, a library, a spa, a fitness centre, a pizzeria and a winery. Residences are planned for later years. The release calls the format an enclave resort.
Sommelier, then operator, then owner
Kennedy is founder and chief executive of the collection. The collection site traces his path from certified sommelier posts with The Ritz-Carlton in Washington DC and Grand Cayman to beverage director at Blue by Eric Ripert. He founded Component Wine Company in 2014, then Fraîche Wine Group, which the site lists as a partner of the collection.
The release credits Kennedy with more than a decade in luxury hospitality and wine. It dates the collection build to 2024.
“Throughout my career in hospitality and wine, I have come to believe the places we remember most are not created; they are cultivated,” Kennedy said in the release. “This collection honors that belief, with hotels, residences and wineries that share a commitment to thoughtful stewardship, terroir and genuine human connection.”
Kapil Sharma, chief operating officer, put the model in one line. “Giovanni Bonelli Collection is not defined by a single destination or property type. It is defined by a philosophy,” he said.
What the announcement leaves out
The release carries no portfolio total, no Calistoga Farms room count and no capital figure. It also leaves out the Saint-Émilion pipeline that the collection site lists.
Naming drifts between surfaces. The site and the release both style the business as the Giovanni Bonelli Collection. Browser titles on the brand site read Giovanni Bonelli Group.
Borgo Bonelli opens in 2028 as the first hotel carrying the name. The release publishes no general manager, no rate and no reservation date.