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Mission Codename: All is Illuminated

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Infiltrate Paso Robles winery, VitaLuce, and return with their signature Tuscan-inspired red blend, Luminous.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: VitaLuce

Wine Subject: 2004 Luminous

Winemaker: Paul Vittori

Backgrounder:

Paso Robles has long been established as a wine producing region that give other California regions a run for their money. With a climate and soils that make for perfect growing conditions for grapes, it is no wonder. Today’s blend is a delicious and food-friendly treat, delivering a Tuscan-Cali wine blend that delivers big character.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark and foreboding, with a color that reminds us of the darkest red plum. The wine has a slightly inky core, and a rim of Burgundy hues. Swirl the wine and watch skinny legs streak down the glass, right when you stop.

Smell – Spiced red cherry jump out of the glass to greet your nose. This great aroma is accompanied closely by earthy blackberry, soft sweetwoods, fresh sage, a hint of dried rosemary and black plum.

Feel – Full and voluptuous on the entry, then the wine becomes quickly – but softly – grippy, as fine tannins usher a spreading dryness that begins at the back palate, and works its way forward. Eventually, the cheeks, tongue and lips feel grippy and dry.

Taste – Black cherry, tart red plum skin, blackberry and boysenberry are at the forefront on the palate. Then, the wine evolves, revealing Bing cherry, soft spice, chocolate dust and hints of smoke and blueberry.

Finish – Long and softly dry, the wine and its flavors and feel evolve, long after you take a sip. At the tail end, soft black pepper and black stonefruit linger.

Conclusion – This is a delicious wine that we found ourselves taking sip after sip of. It somehow encouraged rapid imbibing, which we found most interesting. With potent Paso character, and a Super Tuscan backbone, we were well intrigued by this delicious blend. It possesses great flavors and the sort of high acidity that makes it a wonderful companion for must foods. We enjoyed ours with a fresh herb salad and fresh pesto penne. The combination was perfection. This 2004 is fantastic now, and it will probably continue to progress nicely for the next few years. Enjoy!

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Paul Vittori

WINE EDUCATION: UC Davis Viticulture and decades old connoisseur

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: VitaLuce Cellars is a boutique winery with operations in the heart of the famed Paso Robles, California winemaking country. The business was envisioned and founded in 2001 by three guys and a girl–all accomplished entrepreneurs and executives who share a passion for fine wines and celebration.

Two of the partners come from wine making families in Italy and Hungary and had a lifelong dream of returning to the business when the time was right. In 2001, the time WAS right. As a successful entrepreneur, I had spent the previous two years scouring the hillsides of Italy for fine Italian red wines to import, and came to the conclusion that it would be more rewarding to make my own “Italian style” reds right here in California. I began sourcing fruit to pursue his dream of making a Super Tuscan style wine that even the Italians would admire.

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Wine connoisseurs around the world will appreciate our exacting winemaking methods. The use of French oak barrels, cutting-edge vinification, hand-selected, premium fruit grown to our specifications, our state-of-the-art winemaking practices, and extended aging in the barrel and bottle simply make our wine unsurpassed in quality.

Our vision is to bottle “a little bit of adventure” into every wine we make by crafting wines in the unique styles of the great wine making regions of the world. We source our fruit, refine our blending strategies, and adopt the “best of breed” winemaking techniques to produce outstanding wines year after year. In the process, we open international doors and establish friendships and partnerships around the world so, ultimately, we produce a limited series of premium wines for our families, friends and aficionados, such as yourself, who appreciate the difference between a product borne out of pride versus a wine whose integrity is dictated solely by the “bottom line.”

Our goal is to bring our wines to as many people as possible using a combination of traditional and new channels of distribution. The wine industry, like many industries, is in the midst of tremendous change. The internet has challenged traditional thinking and broken down barriers in getting wine to consumers. We embrace these changes. Our objective is to make this process as user-friendly as possible, whether you are a customer or a valued trade partner. We also greatly appreciate and support our partners in the traditional channels. They have a big job to do and we thank them for doing it.

Our name, VitaLuce quite simply means “The Brilliance of Life” and we look forward to enhancing the brilliant moments in your life!

WINEMAKER QUOTE: Quality is not a relative term. It’s the result of vision, focus and the painstaking dedication to details that transforms a concept into a respected, tangible reality. At VitaLuce Cellars, we’ve spent what many might consider to be an inordinate amount of time focusing on the elements necessary to surpass the definition of “quality.”

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: October 2004

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Paul. We are thrilled to be showing your 2004 Luminous blend today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

PAUL: Buona giomata (Good day in Italian), Agent Red! We are excited about our new affiliation with The Wine Spies!

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

PAUL: Wine has always been a part of my family tradition. As a second generation Italian, life itself is inspiration for the enjoyment of wine!

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

PAUL: My grandfather. When I was only 9 years old, I worked in the winery of my Italian Grandfather. My first duty was cleaning up around the stemmer. After I “put in my time,” my Grandfather allowed me to help with the harvest. There is nothing in the world quite like the excitement of harvesting grapes in Italy. It was there I developed my love of rich red wines. And, when selecting VitaLuce’s first varietals, I focused on just that. I have a great passion and a great drive,…all combining to create great wine.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

PAUL: At the present, I am completely dedicated to the wine making of Vita Luce. We work with over 8 varietals, and that keeps me pretty busy. I’ve also dedicated a fraction of my time to practicing vitaculture with a number of other west-Paso Robles wineries.

The hardest audience that I strive to please is my family and close friends. I started in the wine industry inspired only to create something worthy of my family heritage. I’m thrilled to be able to share a little of our experience through The Wine Spies.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

PAUL: This wine is produced in the traditional Super Tuscan style, a blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 30% Sangiovese, and 15% Syrah. The Sangiovese is the backbone of this modern-styled Super Tuscan. It is blended with a Bordeaux varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon) and aged in French Oak barrels. The fantastic result is similar to traditional California cabernet, with an oaky, high-alcohol, and a ripe, jammy, fruit forward profile.
The grapes are grown on the limestone hillsides of West Paso Robles. This area is well known as an ideal wine grape growing microclimates; it has the ideal warm days and cooler nights. This great area produces over 40 wine grape varietals. The Franciscan Friars were the first to produce wine grapes in the Paso Robles area beginning around 1790, and the area is fast becoming one of the better producers of wine grapes in California. Since 2000, the wine production business of Paso Robles has gone from 50 winemakers to 180. The appellation’s burgeoning reputation is only reinforced by Vita Luce’s 2004 Luminous!

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

PAUL:Italian tomato-based pasta dishes work beautifully with the Luminous. Note that tomatoes are high in acidity, so a wine must have enough acidity to match or the tomatoes will overwhelm the palate and make the wine taste flat and dull. The Luminous has just enough of a tangy acidity and bright fruit, making it a harmonious companion to tomato-based pasta dishes.
The Luminous is also a natural accompaniment with most red meat dishes.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Paso so special?

PAUL: As I mentioned, the West side of Paso Robles is one of the great growing climates of California. We’ve seen consistent hardy and flavorful Rhone style grapes produced here for many years. Only recently, however, have the techniques been mastered for producing consistent high-quality super premium wines.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

PAUL: Keeping up with orders and preparing for harvest!

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

PAUL: Likewise, Red. Stay undercover.

Wine Spies Region Check:

Paso Robles, where today’s wine was grown and made, can be seen in this satellite photo.