Rethinking Pays Off – Opportunity 94 Points and Editor’s Selection

Our unrelenting efforts to recreate the great port-styled wines of Livermore’s past are bearing fruit. Today, Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced it has awarded our Opportunity Port 94 points, and has listed it as their Editor’s Choice for the August, 2017 issue. This is the highest rating given to any California port-styled wine in the past ten years. It is a testament, not only to our Valley, but to the hard work and creative energy of our winemaking team.

Last June, I discussed how we were rethinking the way we make Opportunity (article).  Later that same year, I wrote in detail about what we had learned from our research, and what we feel are the important elements in a proper Livermore port (article). The result of this effort was the release of the first of our Opportunity ports made using the traditional methods of our past – a wine we feel coaxes out the best qualities of our vineyards.

The exceptional rating bestowed on us by the editors of Wine Enthusiast means more to me than just the high score. The recognition provides an outside confirmation of the belief on which Occasio Winery was founded: that Livermore Valley once made the finest wines in the world, and can do so again if we are willing to spend the time and effort to research our past and learn from it.