Greetings! Changing of the guard at Voss Vineyards

Summer 2006
Number 2
Changing of the guard at Voss Vineyards
W
e are very pleased to welcome a new friend to Voss
Vineyards - our winemaker! Brian Mox has taken
the reins from Steve Fennell for 2006 vintage.
After 7 strong vintages, Steve has moved from Napa to the
rolling wine country of Santa Barbara. Steve and Brian first met
at Napa’s fledgling custom-crush facility, Laird Family estate as
Brian set up the winemaking and Steve was a client with Voss
Vineyards.
Greetings!
Welcome to our second ‘occassional update’ on the
vines and wines of Voss Vineyards! We look forward
to keeping in touch, and please keep your feedback
rolling in!
Cheers! Brian
Brian shares Steve’s vision for distinctive, aromatic white
wines and luscious, well structured Syrah. They worked closely
together to complete the 2005 releases and continue what we
do best - delivering high quality Napa wines for tremendous
value.
Brian will continue to work closely with our vineyard management team on our small vineyard, maintaining low yields for
maximum balance and flavor. Our limited production will still
hover around 8,000 cases, depending on vintage yields.
We welcome Brian’s new set of workboots in the doorway, and
thank Steve for years of tireless vision and work!
B
orn and raised in the Midwest, Brian has family
roots in farming and food production. As he studied
Electrical Engineering at MIT, he realized his interests
lay in food, science, history and agriculture, so he investigated
winemaking.
His first harvest was in 1989 on Long Island, New York.
Arriving in Napa in 3 years later, Brian worked in the cellar at
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and then as Enologist at Pine Ridge
Winery. Further study at UC Davis led back to his true passion
for commercial winemaking with notable Napa wineries.
Voss Vineyards
1862 El Centro
Napa CA 94558
www.vossvineyards.com
Tel 707.259.0993
Fax 707.259.1510
info@vossvineyards.com
Pruning 2006
O
ur vineyard manager
is Alex Vyborny. He’s
called Napa home for the last
20-some years, and is well
known for his farming, along
with business partner, Jim
Decker.
The team started pruning at
Voss’s Rutherford estate vine�
yard early in 2006, and were
most recently tilling the rows
in June. Here’s what they
worked on.
PRUNING Syrah vines in the
simplest and most consistent
form that works well with vig�
orous vines - CORDON prun�
ing. Syrah is pruned by ‘bilat�
eral’ cordon with 7-8 spurs on
each cordon. Think of cordons
as the larger permanent arms
of the vine. Each spur has
two buds of growth from the
previous year.
As eutypa or ‘dead arm’
occurs when it creeps into the
pruning cuts of older wood, we
don’t prune in rain as spores
get released when wet.
Our SAUVIGNON BLANC
vines are cane pruned,
encouraging more buds that
are fruitful and avoiding eu�
typa by cutting newer wood.
The canes are newer growth
that could eventually grow
into cordons.
Cane pruning promotes the
annual regeneration of that
growth. You leave two spurs
for next year’s canes. Cane
pruning requires that you
think about the shape of the
vine. Choice of canes is im�
portant because some will not
be as fruitful as others - espe�
cially those canes that grow in
the shade.
Great to see you!
Ownership changes
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at the collective tasting room ‘Esquisse’
in Napa Valley in
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July 2006 mean no more tasting room for
Voss Vineyards. Thanks to the Esquisse team for great support
over the last 2 years
You CAN still enjoy our wine though - ph 707 259 0993 to re�
serve an order, buy clothing or for directions to a local retailer.
Online sales coming soon to vossvineyards.
com
W
e grow a ‘COVER CROP’ within the vine
rows to deliberately compete with the vines�
for water. This encourages greater flavor
concentration in the grape, and also return valuable
nutrients to the soil as they are tilled.
Join our Club
Join our online Club for the inside scoop on
news, new releases and updates from the cellar
Join now to enter a draw for fine stemware,
caps and great Voss-branded clothing
www.vossvineyards.com/
Join The Club
Summer 2006
Fresh and lively ruby red grapefruit, guava
and passion fruit flavors are carried through
the lingering finish by lively acidity.
Robert Parker calls our distinctive style
“one of the finest California Sauvignons I
have tasted recently”
California Grapevine VERY HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED for 04 vtg
‘Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc of the Year’
Florida’s WINE NEWS awards
GOLD medal SF Chronicle Wine Competition 06
Viognier, Carneros
Our third bottling using the Stelvin screw cap closure
2005 Sauvignon Blanc
Rutherford, Napa Valley
new release - 5,794 cases
2005 coming soon, only 264
cases
Typical aromas of apricot, nectarine,
papaya and flowers complement rich,
unctuous texture balanced by lovely
acidity.
The Stelvin closure for the third year in
a row retains lip smacking crisp finish
and freshness.
2004 available now
“... elegant .. good freshness ...
surprising de-lineation ...” WINE
ADVOCATE
Robert M Parker, Jnr “Refreshing
summer white” BON APPETIT
“... long, brightly fruity finish” Connoisseurs’
Guide to California Wine
2002 Syrah, Napa Valley
2,267 cases
2002 Ocala Syrah , Napa Valley
650 x 6 per cs
Big blackberry and cherry fruit, rich
and mouth-filling with supple tannins,
this is tremendous value at rrp $20.
Our third release of this special
wine, the 2002 Ocala is brimming
with opulent fruit.
This wine has “the structure of a
Northern Rhone … with generous
Napa Valley fruit.”
Aromas of blackberry and
Kirsch invite you to the black fruit
palate, which is supported by rich
velvety tannins.
California Grapevine “HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED”
“... high-toned aromas…” International Wine Cellar
GOLD MEDAL San Francisco
Chronicle
Drinking beautifully now, this
Syrah should gain more complexity over the next 10 years.
“ ... excellent concentration
...” Robert
Robert M Parker,
Parker, Jnr WINE
ADVOCATE
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED California
2006 vintage: roll on!
T
W
G
his year has sailed ahead with all the excitement we
need to keep us busy! We welcomed
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our new winemak�
er, were visited by a mountain lion, and bottled our 2005
Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.
ood press? We’ll take the compliment! Our Syrah 2002
was Best of 2006 California Rhone-style wines’ from
local East Bay publication, The Piedmont Post. We
thank Gray Cathrall for his great taste!
e returned to the bottling line on March 7th, to bottle
2,696 cs of 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. After harvesting
in August 05, the grapes were pressed as whole clus�
ters with skin contact. Each grape lot was fermented separately
in stainless steel at 45F for one month, then racked off gross
lees and aged in tank. The heavy clay soil on our estate vine�
yard is ideally suited for perfumed Sauvignon, and the beautiful
even and cool growing season from 2005 resulted in high acid
and delicate flavors.
Fellow supporters were California Grapevine’s “HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED” and GOLD medal SF Chronicle Wine
Competition.
O
n June 23rd we bottled 264 cases of 2005 Viognier.
Harvested entirely from ‘Cold Creek’ vineyard (in the
South East corner of Carneros), the yield was less than
1 ton per acre. This temperamental vine was as finicky as ever
during during flowering and set, hence the very small yield. It
is wonderfully intense with apricot and floral notes and great
concentration - don’t miss it!
Both white wines were sealed with a screwcap closure to elemi�
nate the risk of ‘cork taint’ and to preserve the delicate crisp and
fresh fruit characters. Contrary to common belief, it is actually
MORE expensive to seal a bottle with a screwcap closure, rath�
er than a cork. It’s worth every cent for our peace of mind that
you receive a perfect wine - just as our winemaker intended!
B
ig
thanks to everyone who visited us at
‘Rhone Rangers’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
Turnout was busy and screwcapped wines were every�
where as we proudly sampled:
• 2002 Syrah, with a delicious 2% splash of viognier
• the ever-rich and complex Viognier, 2004 vintage
• our very special reserve 2002 ‘Ocala’ Syrah.
A
mountain lion ambled down the main path of our vine�
yard one cool January night. The next day new prints
appeared, heading down the same lane. Now moun�
tain lions are not rare around here, sometimes seen in the hills.
But this was the first time we had seen signs of a big cat right
down on the valley floor!
Voss Vineyards 1862 El Centro Napa CA 94558 www.vossvineyards.com
Tel 707.259.0993 Fax 707.259.1510
info@vossvineyards.com