This Extended Tribute was graciously prepared by Ann's brother Timothy O'Brien....

Christian Troussieux, 61, of Napa, California, passed away on December 22, 2023. Christian was born in Cannes, France, on July 18, 1962, to Lucien and Concetta (Janet) Troussieux.

The Troussieux family immigrated in 1964 to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Christian spent his formative years. Christian is predeceased by his father Lucien and he is survived by his mother Janet, his brother Luc, his wife Ann (née O’Brien), his children Remy and Claire, his son-in-law Ryan Andre, and an extensive network of close friends and extended family.

Christian attended Sacramento State University and was a proud member of Lambda Chi. Fraternity brother and roommate Chris Hyers notes that “much of what happened in those years cannot be recalled or should not be shared since he grew up to be a successful and reputable member of society, but for sure we were each the reason the other did not graduate as fun was our major, be it random target frisbee golf working our way from the neighborhood to a watering hole or our short but mighty career as air guitar gods.” Christian’s friendship extended to academic assistance, when he purposefully failed the placement test to take introductory French with Hyers…“The professor was suspicious from the first roll call and Chris correcting him on the pronunciation of 'Troussieux', but, in the end we pulled it off AND I got the higher grade than my French speaking friend.”

Christian’s antics at Sac State led to a transfer to San Jose State University, where he met the great love of his life, Ann, and formed a closely knit group of friends. Wendy Riedel fondly remembers attending Spartan football games and tailgate parties, the Gilroy Garlic Festival, trips to Pajaro Dunes, and visits to Christian’s parents’ cabin at Lake Tahoe, where he patiently taught his friends how to ski. Upon graduation, Christian, Ann, and their friends all moved to San Francisco and took full advantage of the City’s offerings. Wendy recalls that “each month each of us would take a turn planning a day of fun. We’d go to dinner, the Museum of Arcade Games at the Cliff House, we’d go the Hyatt for New Year’s Eve, we’d go to the top of the Mark and the Tonga Room for drinks, we’d spend St. Patrick’s Day at Pat O’Sheas, or get brunch in Tiburon. We were having so much fun and living our best lives.”

One of their group outings is particularly noteworthy—a hiking trip to Yosemite National Park. Along the trail, Ann drew herself a moustache with charcoal from a burnt tree branch. After she and Christian had gone to retrieve the car at the end of the hike, Ann was waving her hand excitedly upon their return to the group. Christian had proposed marriage, moustache and all. Wendy recalls that Christian had coordinated with friend Victoria Paul to have champagne packed on ice “so we all could share in their good news and toast them. I think they got their own cabin that night! They could have chosen a romantic weekend away, just the two of them, but they did it where they could share it with all of us. We were all so happy for them.”

Christian began his career in the sales of circuit boards at the dawn of the tech boom. He and Ann moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, when it was first becoming a tech hub. Although Ann recalls their time there as a wonderful experience getting to know New England, New York, and each other, they were terribly homesick for friends and family. They returned to California to make a home for themselves on the Peninsula—first in San Mateo, then in Belmont, and finally in Redwood City, where they added yet another group to their growing constellation of friends. Close friend Jamie Holden remembers meeting Christian for the first time “as one of those rare people who take a genuine interest in others…really wanting to get to know me.” She fondly recalls his loud contagious laugh and how he treated their children as his own. Jamie’s husband Rob was struck by his “extraordinary generosity, his innate intelligence, and his passion to try new things and share his knowledge with friends.” Among those things at which Christian was an early adopter—mountain biking, snowboarding, and riding an electric scooter on his commute in San Francisco before just about anyone else.

When Christian lost his job due to a downturn in the tech industry in 2002, he was encouraged by Ann to follow his passion and he turned to the wine industry. With no industry contacts to rely upon, Christian joined the tasting room at Napa Valley’s Cuvaison winery. He first commuted from the Benicia home of his sister- and brother-in-law Maureen and Tom Carroll, who remember this time with great fondness. Tom notes that “Christian was best ‘tenant’ we could imagine…returning to our home each evening with fabulous wines, great conversation, and insight into the wines and their makers.”

Now looking to pivot to Napa full time, Christian contacted Mike and Claudia DeBlauw, whom he and Ann had befriended when they lived in Redwood City. They agreed to house Christian above their garage while Ann stayed back home with Remy and Claire until they could sell the house and figure out school for the kids. Mike recalls “how pleasant it was to have Christian stay with us, having a friend over was the farthest thing from a burden, it was fun. It was like having our own private tasting, in our own kitchen. He was never in a bad mood, always a positive attitude, even as I’m sure it was not an easy transition to the wine business, and especially being away from his family.”

Within six months of joining Cuvaison, Christian was managing their Wine Club and his family was reunited in Napa. Cuvaison had one of the largest wine clubs in the valley at that point and the marketing skills and extensive spreadsheet knowledge that Christian brought to the job were refreshing to an industry not yet touched by technology. He then moved to Saddleback Cellars in 2005 to work with Nils and Kirk Venge. After Kirk worked to restore and build Venge Vineyards at the historic Rossini Ranch property, Christian joined him, becoming General Manager in 2006.

Meanwhile, Christian was establishing a unique tradition with a private venture to bottle wine. With investment from family and friends enticed by the opportunity to secure a high-quality Cabernet. The group purchased a couple of barrels of wine made from the grapes of an esteemed vineyard and then all got together to bottle in the DeBlauw’s garage, followed by a great party of course. According to Mike, “Let’s just say that wine left a lasting impression as we did not quite filter it properly and it left a rather dark red moustache over our lips.” The experience motivated Christian to “do better next time,” and better he did. With persistence and improved skills, time, and equipment, the event grew over the years to involve “several dozen friends sharing in the envious experience of bottling” a very excellent wine. The final 2018 vintage was bottled in 2020.

A key factor that allowed Christian to thrive was the remarkable partnership of his marriage. Ann recalls, “It all started when he supported me going back to school to get an MBA…and then me supporting him when he left a six-figure salary to start over in a new industry and a new town,” away from the network of close friends they had formed. In 2007, Christian established Mobile Wine Services, later merging the company with VinPure, which he founded in 2011. His business serviced wineries from Southern California to Eastern Washington. In 2015, Christian had an idea for installing a counter pressure bottling line into a trailer, partnering with winemaker Eric Gordon to cofound Brut Bottling—one of the first mobile bottling companies that provided wineries an opportunity to make sparkling wine. Eric recalls that “Chris and I were a great fit. We had complimentary skill sets, Chris with sales and financing, me with winemaking and operations, and both of us with good mechanical skills. Neither of us minded getting our hands dirty, so we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Working with Chris never felt like a co-worker situation. It was two friends hanging out, telling jokes, some appropriate in polite company (most not), and just getting done what needed to be done.”

Christian was a true visionary. Good friend Craig Richardson remembers that as they became closer, “he would always bounce ideas off me. After each discussion, I thought to myself, this guy must not sleep and he sure as hell should be on Shark Tank every week pitching his ideas! From THC infused carbonated drinks to Brut Bottling—Chris was always coming up with an idea, product, or service to start a business.” Christian recognized opportunities and established new companies that provided many young people with their first jobs, including his nieces and nephews. Amidst the rigors of running several businesses, he always made time for others, and in conversation, he made them feel as though they were the only ones who mattered. He forged close friendships across every sector of the wine industry.

And in his personal life, he knew what he wanted and had the vision and confidence to make it happen, no matter the odds. As his parents aged and became more isolated on the Peninsula, he searched for a home that would allow him to move them to Napa. Seeing a rundown property at the northeastern edge of Napa that was completely overwhelmed both inside and out with the discards of its prior occupants, Christian knew it had the potential to become that home he and Ann envisioned as a joyful gathering place for their large and ever-growing circle of family and friends. While remodeling the backside of the house, there were a few raised eyebrows at the sheer scale of the back patio Christian was laying out, but he knew exactly what he was doing. He even had good friend and engineer Russ Eberwein draw up plans to assure it would withstand the dance parties that would eventually ensue. Lovingly dubbed “Deckistan” and seeming to merit its own area code, that patio was absolutely filled with friends and family during the Troussieux’s many events.

While Christian’s home life was charmed, he may have been happiest when he was in France. He had a great number of cousins whom he knew and loved deeply from spending so much time there in his youth. Due to the privileges his mother earned while working for United Airlines, one parent would take him to France at the beginning of each summer to leave him with the families, and the other parent would retrieve him at the end of summer. It was childcare for working parents on an international level, which resulted in Christian’s lifelong bonds with family in Antibes and Marseille. As an adult, Christian utilized the miles earned from earlier business travel in Asia to travel with his family to France about every other year. In turn, Ann and Christian hosted the children of his cousins for months at a time so they could refine their English while acting as companions and caregivers to their children Remy and Claire. In a thoughtful condolence message to Ann, Christian’s cousin Henri Samozino wrote, “Words lose all their meaning and what we feel is written deep within each of us, in the silence of our memories. The memories we evoke are always in our present. The moments we shared in France or California are always and forever alive.”

Christian possessed highly refined taste in food and wines and was unintimidated by cooking for large groups, traits he likely took from his mother Janet. After moving from France, she had served as a cook for a family in Hillsborough, living above their garage. She would eventually host New Year’s dinners for the French expat community on the Peninsula who had become like family, gathering each weekend for boisterous games of pétanque in Menlo Park.

Wine was central to Troussieux gatherings and Christian took great pleasure in assembling a world class cellar. But he was no collector. His wines were vehicles of enjoyment, not totems of status, and his cellar was open to all who visited. Although a master of gastronomy with brilliant recall of food and wine, he was free of pretension and did not tolerate snobbery. He expertly prepared everything from Beef Bourguignon to ratatouille, and from Duck Confit to the most amazing Coquilles St. Jacques you’d ever tasted. He took great pleasure in introducing others to new foods and wines—elevating the dining experience of all those in his company and creating indelible memories. Friend Rob Holden recalls one afternoon when his wife Jamie made a passing comment about never tasting a French wine she liked, “and within ten minutes, Chris showed up on the deck with two trays filled with glassware and a case of French wine to lovingly set us straight.”

Inspired by his mother, the New Year’s dinner-dance parties hosted by Ann and Christian are legendary. Beginning with a party in 1990 for childhood and college friends at the home of Christian’s parents in Belmont, they became more elaborate affairs as the years went on and the locations evolved to Redwood City and then to Napa. The common thread was an emphasis on good company. Close family friend Laurent Dhollande recalls Christian as “the great matchmaker who would take people of varying backgrounds and viewpoints and have them become the best of friends…who made everyone feel like family.” The main feature was Christian’s multicourse gourmet meal, frequently featuring French regional dishes, all expertly and adorably served by Christian’s nieces and nephews. At the end of each course, every other guest was asked to rotate to a new seat in keeping with Ann and Christian’s desire to have everyone get to know and enjoy each other. Among the highlights were a black-tie, James Bond-themed affair with film-inspired cocktails, and one year in which ransom notes were hand-delivered to every guest’s mailbox informing them that the chef had been kidnapped—the ransom being a good bottle of red wine brought in a brown bag to be held and shared the following New Year’s. The party was the event of the year for Ann and Christian’s family and friends for more than two decades.

Christian was exceedingly generous, and this extended to how he perceived others, encouraging and eliciting qualities that they themselves could not easily identify. He was someone who would give the shirt off his back to whomever needed it, but with such graciousness that one never felt as though they were receiving charity. Relatedly, his skill at finding and sharing bargains for both himself and others was renowned. He enjoyed scanning the listings of auction houses, which led to some interesting purchases—with events on the wane due to COVID, a truck-full of tablecloths for $100.00 that were used at his daughter’s wedding and every family event since; a pair of electric scooters; a celebrated hot dog machine that has fed hundreds at this point; and the purchase of what he thought were a couple of boxes of martini glasses that turned out to be several hundred, which he naturally put to good use.

For all of Christian’s personal accomplishments and interests, family was always a priority. Christian was the American cousin to his French family, the fun uncle to his eight nieces and nephews, indeed the fun brother-in-law to his wife’s siblings and their spouses. A devoted husband, he was a cheerleader for his wife Ann in all her personal and professional endeavors. He was the dutiful son who, as his parents began to age, built a home for them on his property, cared for them, and made them an integral part of the many celebrations they hosted. Always there for his children Remy and Claire, he was a coach, a mentor, and as they matured into adulthood, a friend. Remy notes that with his dad’s support and encouragement, he knew he could accomplish anything. And he remembers his favorite quote from Christian, ‘why do when you can overdo?’…”I think this phrase encapsulates how he lived his life every day. No matter what he was doing, he was going to go over the top. It could have been hanging with our family, but he was going to go above and beyond. That’s what made my dad who he was, his willingness to help anyone will be something that I will drive to replicate for the rest of my life.”

Health issues began to plague Christian several years ago, but a diagnosis proved elusive. He learned he had a rare form of bladder cancer in November of 2022. Christian’s strength and stoicism were remarkable. His cancer caused tremendous discomfort nearly every waking moment for the last year of his life, and he would be forgiven for wanting to escape a pain that would be unbearable to most. But his illness would sap neither his optimism nor his will. He fought for more life to the very end—to host one more party; to make one more friend; to come through one more time for any number of loved ones. At his final party this past Thanksgiving, he mustered the strength and clarity of mind to select wines from his cellar for the dinner. At the end of the evening, he smiled and pulled his brother-in-law Chris O’Brien aside with only one question—"Did everyone enjoy the wines?”…Of course they did.

Psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm wrote “to die is bitterly poignant, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.” To say that Christian Troussieux lived is a vast understatement. He seized every day and appreciated every moment of joy—as a husband and father, as an entrepreneur and businessman, and as a friend to just about every person who ever had the privilege to meet him. Christian will be remembered for his generous spirit, his one-of-a-kind laugh, and his genuine love of life. He lived as he wished, with a fearlessness that we should all envy. And if a person’s life is valued in the quality of friendships made and the good times shared, the value of Christian’s life is inestimable. His passing reminds us that while we all share the eventuality of death, we should do all in our power to live, in the truest sense of the word.

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