Lygia Chappellet
Lygia Chappellet
Owner, Board Member
Lygia Chappellet moved to Pritchard Hill with her parents when she was 14 years old. “I remember driving up the mountain for the first time with my family,” says Lygia. “My father turned to us and said, ‘The only way this will work, is if we work it together.’ I took those words very literally.” Throughout her teen years, Lygia helped out at the winery doing a variety of tasks including picking grapes, bottling wine and labeling. At the same time, as she explored the mountain property, Lygia began to develop a deep appreciation for nature and agriculture—an appreciation that would help to shape her life, and her future work as an artist.Leaving Pritchard Hill, Lygia first studied biology at Lewis & Clark College, and then a combination of enology, viticulture, languages and liberal arts at the University of California, Davis, before graduating from the California College of Arts and Crafts with a degree in fine art. After college, she decided to make her home in Big Sur, were she lives today with her partner, Carlos Volpini, on a shared family ranch that is also inhabited by a milking goat, a herd of sheep, cows and horses.
In addition to having reared three children and working the ranch, Lygia has also established herself as a respected artist. Exploring her talent in an array of mediums, including oil, silk, watercolor, pastel and sculpture, Lygia strives to portray the power and grace of nature and animals, in a manner that elevates their standing in society and encourages their preservation. Lygia’s art has been displayed widely, with shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Napa Valley, Monterey County and Idaho. It has also graced the labels of several Chappellet bottlings, and will be featured on several of the winery’s upcoming Artist Series wines.
As a board member, Lygia contributes in many ways, from her passion for aesthetics to her belief in the preservation of Chappellet as a family-owned winery. “I see achieving the full potential of our family’s winery as the work of generations.” In keeping with this sentiment, all three of Lygia’s children are already active in the winery. Her eldest daughter, Sequoia, has interned at the winery in a variety of capacities, from working in the sales and marketing department to pruning the vineyard. Lygia’s other daughter, Lukie, and her son, London, are also involved at the winery, regularly organizing and helping to lead family meetings. Sequoia, Lukie and London represent part of an inspired and promising third generation of the Chappellet family poised to make their mark on the winery in the years to come.
To view Lygia’s artwork, visit www.chappelletstudios.com.
