Notes on our Spring 2016 Release

Last year our winemaking team grew with the fortunate hire of Dave Hendrickson. A Wine Spectator scholar at UC Davis, Dave trained with the finest minds in modern winemaking. He followed his formal training with internships at important wineries in Sonoma, where he learned the art of wine crafting. The 2015 vintage is Dave’s initiation to Occasio winemaking, and I am excited to release the first of these wines with our 2015 Rosé of Pinot Noir.

Destined from the outset to become a rosé, our Pinot Noir fruit was harvested ahead of the Valley on August 18, 2015. Only half a ton was selected, providing us with a scant twenty-one cases of this wine. I am releasing it for Valentine’s Day, not only because it is the perfect wine for the occasion, but also to provide our members an opportunity to purchase additional bottles of this wine before it is released to the general public in May.

Accompanying our rosé are the most recent vintages of our Founder’s Syrah (2013) and Heritage Petit Verdot (2012). When asked to name one of the better regions to grow Syrah, famed winemaker André Tchelistcheff picked Livermore Valley. He always believed that the climate and soils of our valley were superior for growing a Syrah that could rival the best of the Northern Rhone. Indeed, when you taste our Syrah you will notice the aromas of the “old” world accompanied with the bright fruit of the new world. This is, simply, a wonderful wine – a testament to André’s judgment.

To this day, Occasio still produces the highest rated examples of varietally labeled Petit Verdot in Livermore Valley, if not the state. Predominantly a blending grape to add flesh to Cabernet, we bottle a small amount of this wine each year for our enjoyment. A century ago, Livermore winemaker Theodore Ghier heralded Petit Verdot as one of the finest cultivars to grow in our Valley, and I think you’ll agree with him when you taste it.

Technical Data

Founder’s Rosé of Pinot Noir

Vineyard: Del Arroyo

Harvest Date: 18-August, 2015

Alcohol by Volume: 12.9%

Cases Produced: 21

Founder’s Syrah

Vineyard: Ghielmetti

Harvest Date: 17-October, 2013

Alcohol by Volume: 14.5%

Cases Produced: 58

Heritage Petit Verdot

Vineyard: Del Arroyo

Harvest Date: 25-October, 2012

Alcohol by Volume: 13.8%

Cases Produced: 70