Harvest Newsletter

Harvest is the most magical time of year in wine country. The smell of fermenting grapes fills the air and the hum of anticipation of another year’s bounty can be felt throughout the valley. With vineyards crews working tirelessly through the night to harvest this year’s crop, and truckloads of grapes being transported all over our two-lane country roads, you can’t miss the hustle and bustle! As the vineyards begin to change color and the days become shorter, you will witness some of the most breathtaking sunsets…ones you must see to believe. I encourage you to experience the magic that is harvest at least once in your lifetime.

This year will mark our 18th harvest for VJB. It doesn’t seem real. I feel blessed to have been making wines to honor my brother for almost two decades. They are wines I believe he would have loved, had he had the chance to enjoy them.

After an incredible harvest in 2015 and 2016, we cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for us. This year the 2015 Estate Negro Amaro, 2015 Primitivo, 2014 Wellington Grenache, and 2014 Wellington Estate Zinfandel all received medals at the LA International Wine Competition in June. But the 2014 Wellington Estate Malbec was the show stopper with 96 points, a gold medal, and best of class award!

As you know, in April we opened our brother winery, Wellington Cellars. It is off to a great start! For those of you who have been able to stop by for a tour, taste the wines, and many of you have joined the club – thank you! We are very proud of the wines and the experience our team at Wellington is providing. If you stop by in the coming weeks, you may have the chance to witness harvest first-hand, as Wellington is home to our productions facility for both wineries – but be prepared, we may put you to work!

As harvests concludes this year, we will be supporting the US Marines’ efforts in providing Toys for Tots. We will begin accepting toys in October with a goal to provide over 300 toys this year! For anyone who brings in a new, unwrapped toy, we will honor 30% off your wine purchase that day – just in time to stock your cellar for the holidays!

As always, thank you for your continued support of our family! We couldn’t do it without you!

DOWNLOAD OUR 2017 HARVEST NEWSLETTER

Summer Newsletter

Spring has finally arrived! With a winter filled with heavy rains, we are welcoming the warm sunshine with open arms. As you can imagine, the rains have replenished our lakes and reservoirs leaving us refreshed, with rolling green hills and what will likely be a plentiful harvest!

The year has kicked off with the excitement and planning of our new project, Wellington Cellars. We will begin selling our portfolio of predominately French varietals in mid-April while we start our transformation of the property into a countryside chateau. We invite you to come by, sample some wines, and see the work in progress.

Our annual March barrel tasting was a huge success. We featured the long-awaited Primitivo which was well loved by both members and guests and it’s looking like it will be one for the books! The Estate Sangiovese and V’ Estate Cabernet we also featured and were as delicious as ever. For those of you awaiting the release of our Tocai Friulano and Rose, they have arrived and are ready for summer. With only 200 cases of the Rose produced I suggest that you get some now before we sell out!

Now that the sun is shining, we hope to see you out on the piazza with a bottle of wine, a fresh wood-fired pizza and a smile on your face! For those of you who can’t visit on a whim, we hope you find a sunny spot to enjoy your favorite VJB wine and celebrate summer!

As always, we can’t thank you enough for your continued support of our family dream!

DOWNLOAD OUR 2017 HARVEST NEWSLETTER