Dear Sokol Blosser Wine Drinker/Supporter,
I am writing to all of my favorite people: team members, wine buyers, consumers, cellar club members, wine writers, my wife and boys and family members. One thing I have realized since Alison handed me the keys to the winery on February 1st, is how many things we do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. We are farmers, we then make wine, then we sell and market that wine while at the same time being in a heavily regulated industry. The stories I have to tell about all the aspects of our business are pretty vast. Can I try to touch on some of these stories with a monthly letter to you all?? I dunno. Tough task, but one I would like to attempt as our team creates threads that are weaved into the tapestry that is a bottle of our Pinot Noir. This is fascinating to me, and just might be to you too.
This March newsletter starts in London and will end with a baby. We sell our wine in the United Kingdom through our wonderful importer, Les Caves De Pyrene. I recently got an email from Doug Wregg who helps run Les Caves and he reminded me that we have been working together for pretty close to 20 years (2005). Our first meeting was over a plate of kidneys at a London Restaurant called, St. John, which specialized in “Nose to Tail,” cuisine. Doug liked me and mom (Susan Sokol Blosser), liked our wines, and the rest is history. We now sell over 1,000 cases a year in the UK and Alison and Mom will be heading there next month and plan to do a winemaker’s dinner at Galvin La Chapelle on April 13th, just in case you happen to be there. 😊
I joined our team this month in greeting and meeting with members of our winery Cellar Clubs. We have a very active Cellar Club and as winemaker, I would make special wines just for them and we always launch our new releases to our club members first (accepting Guinea Pigs maybe?). It was fun to see the 1200 or so local club members at our winery and Portland pick-up parties and fun to hear how much they enjoyed our newest release: 2021 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir. Robin Howell (Winemaker spectacular) was very happy to hear this positive feedback! I joined Robin this month in finishing the blending of our 2022 base wines for our Brut, Brut Rose, and Bluebird Brut. These wines will be going into Tirage next month in April!
On St. Patrick’s Day, the weather did something amazing! It actually got above 60F for the first time this year! Is spring coming? Maybe? Bud Break next month which will kick off the vintage. Big news around the winery these days is that Mario (Cellar Foreman) is a grandpa. Welcome Penelope!
Cheers,
Alex Sokol Blosser
2nd Generation Winegrower & President
