FOXEN Newsletter
January 2018
Dear Members, Happy New Year! Although our winter rainy season has been off to a very dry start with unusually warm weather, we are hoping that the end of January and most of February will see much needed wet weather to replenish our soils and fill our reservoirs. As I write this on January 7, we are awaiting what could be a significant amount of rain in the coming week. We are keeping our fingers crossed! As most of you know, Santa Barbara County’s south coast and Ventura County were greatly affected by the massive Thomas Fire at the end of 2017. Now with rain on the way, we hope that dangerous mudslides don’t develop in and below the burned areas. Fortunately for the Santa Barbara wine community, our vineyards in the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys were not adversely affected by this devastating fire, other than a few days of smoky conditions when we closed our tasting rooms for one day. Our hearts go out to everyone who was directly or indirectly affected by the destructive and record-setting Thomas Fire. Back by popular demand, our SECOND SUNDAYS are set to begin in February. So, mark your calendars to visit our tasting room on Sunday afternoon, February 11, for our first SECOND SUNDAY of 2018. On the following weekend, February 17 at the Ritz Carlton-Bacara Resort & Spa, the 10th Santa Barbara Wine Auction will be held—once again benefitting Direct Relief. This amazing charity was of vital help in 2017 by providing aid to so many regions in this country (as a result of fires in Napa, Sonoma, the Thomas Fire, and hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria). Please go to www.sbwineauction.org for more information on the auction and Direct Relief. And, on March 2-3 the World of Pinot Noir will be held at the Bacara Resort Spa. Go to www.worldofpinotnoir.com for more information. As you can see, we are off to a busy start in 2018! As always, I encourage you to periodically check out our website calendar at www.foxenvineyard.com/events for information about other happenings--at the winery and on the road. January 2018 Payment Detail Billy, Becky, Jenny and I wish you a very Compass Club Shipping Members: happy, healthy and peaceful 2018! Cheers!
Sincerely, Dick Doré
$92.23 (including your 15% discount, CA state tax, and CA shipping) Compass Club Pickup: $69.61 (including your 15% discount, and CA state tax) Your state tax and/or shipping rate may be different depending on your location. Pick-up members are not charged a shipping fee.
FOXEN Vineyard & Winery • 7600 FoxenCanyon Rd • Santa Maria, CA • 93454 • Tel. 805.937.4251 • foxenvineyard.com
Calendar of Events
January 2018
February 11th - Food Truck and Live Music - Foxen Tasting Room - Santa Maria, CA
Starting February 11th and continuing every second Sunday of each month, we will have live music and a food truck on property from 12:30pm-3:30pm. The first “FOXEN Second Sunday” of 2018 will feature live music by Steve Meyers, and Joy by the Spoonful will be onsite with delicious food available for purchase. For more information contact our Events Coordinator Micaela Buchanan at
[email protected]
March 2nd & 3rd - World of Pinot Noir - The Bacara Resort and Spa -Santa Barbara, CA
This annual event takes place at the beginning of March and includes two days of in-depth tasting seminars, excursions, Grand Tastings, a Burgundy seminar and tasting, and gourmet, locally-influenced lunches and dinners. These extraordinary food and wine extravaganzas will be hosted by participating wineries and feature an outstanding panel of sommeliers from across the U.S. Join Dick and Jenny for the Grand Tasting on Saturday, March 3rd. For tickets and more information, go to: http://www.worldofpinotnoir.com/
Wine Club Clubhouse
Open Every Saturday 11am-4pm We have transformed the old barn into a clubhouse for our members. Club members and their guests can check in at the shack and head into our clubhouse where we will be pouring your current club shipment releases. We encourage you to bring food and lounge in this fun new location just for our members.
January 2018
Winemaker Notes - David Whitehair
2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Vogelzang Vineyard, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara:
Nestled in the warmest nook of Santa Barbara County, Happy Canyon continues to rein champion and gain popularity for its top-notch Bordeaux varietals. Having sourced fruit from the Vogelzang Vineyard since 1998, it comes as no surprise that it remains the core of our Bordeaux varietal program. Foxen retains two separate blocks for our Vogelzang Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc: Musque Clone coming in just over a half-acre, and Clone 1 which is slightly over one acre. Yields in 2016 returned to a more normal level (3 to 3.5 tons per acre) following a four-year drought. Both blocks were picked at night to ensure our Sauvignon Blanc fruit was brought to Foxen in a perfect cool state. After a gentle press-cycle, the juice was cold-settled in tank for 72 hours. Utilizing gravity, each lot is barreled down individually into two and three-year-old French oak barrels where both blocks fermented with indigenous yeast. We have found that barrel fermentations bring kind, mid-palate fatness and a generous mouthfeel to our Sauvignon Blanc. The wine rested in barrel for nine months “sur lie” (on the lees), and then the two lots were blended in tank and cold stabilized at 30° F before bottling. We meticulously bottled this Sauvignon Blanc after a minimal fining and delicate filtering. The 2016 vintage displays well-balanced aromas and flavors of guava, grapefruit, kiwi, wet stone, and lime zest all backed with abundant and mineral-driven acidity. I suggest pairing it with grilled shrimp and adding some heat (like diced jalapeño) and an avocado. Or you may just want to pair it with something simple like fresh goat cheese or hummus spread over a crostini. Drink now through 2023. PRODUCTION: 270 cases | RETAIL PRICE: $28 | COMPASS CLUB PRICE: $23.80
2014 Syrah, Tinaquaic Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley:
This was an exceptional vintage for our Tinaquaic Vineyard Syrah even though it was a relatively early harvest (September 11 & 12). The older dry-farmed Syrah vines, from our original vineyard block on top of the canyon, picked out at a mere one pound per vine (this was the second year of our four-year drought); while our newer Syrah vineyard block adjacent to the winery (which is semi-irrigated) picked out at four pounds per vine. We retained 10% whole clusters in the fermenters, and this seemed to give the wine some added extraction or “oomph.” The wine aged 18 months in François Frères 500-liter French oak puncheons (20% new), and was then bottled without fining or filtration. Our 2014 Tinaquaic Vineyard Syrah is big and seamless with lots of white pepper, lavender, and huckleberry notes, and a tarry, meaty mouthfeel to boot. I found it to be a perfect pairing with lamb Shawarma or Gyros. It also matched well with pepper and cumin-rubbed pork tenderloin. Drink now through 2026. • 93 Points - Wine Enthusiast • 91-93+ Points - Wine Advocate PRODUCTION: 625 cases | RETAIL PRICE: $48 | COMPASS CLUB PRICE: $40.80 FOXEN Vineyard & Winery • 7600 Foxen Canyon Rd • Santa Maria, CA • 93454 • Tel. 805.937.4251 • foxenvineyard.com
FOXEN
V I N E YA R D & W I N E R Y
January 2018 Current Releases Retail 2015 CHENIN BLANC, “Old Vines” Ernesto Wickenden Vyd 2013 CHENIN BLANC, The Good Year Ernesto Wickenden Vyd 2014 CHARDONNAY, Tinaquaic Vineyard 2015 PINOT NOIR, Santa Maria Valley 2014 PINOT NOIR, Sta. Rita Hills 2014 PINOT NOIR, John Sebastiano Vineyard 2013 PINOT NOIR, La Encantada Vineyard 2014 PINOT NOIR, Block 8, Bien Nacido Vineyard 2014 PINOT NOIR, Julia’s Vineyard 2014 PINOT NOIR, Solomon Hills Vineyard 2014 PINOT NOIR, Melville Vineyard 2014 CUVÉE JEANNE MARIE, Williamson-Doré Vineyard 2014 SYRAH, Tinaquaic Vineyard** 2013 SWEET ENDING, Late Harvest (375mL bottles)
$26.00 $45.00 $40.00 $36.00 $38.00 $48.00 $62.00 $62.00 $65.00 $58.00 $64.00 $44.00 $48.00 $30.00
Retail 2016 SAUVIGNON BLANC, Vogelzang Vineyard** 2014 PAJARITO, Vogelzang Vineyard 2014 RANGE 30 WEST, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara 2014 GUILLERMO GROSSO, Santa Ynez Valley 2014 LOS POTREROS, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara 2014 CABERNET FRANC, Tinaquaic Vineyard 2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, Mamére Vineyard 2014 MISSION, Barberena Vineyard (375mL bottles)
$28.00 $44.00 $46.00 $35.00 $72.00 $50.00 $100.00 $30.00
Compass Club (15%)
QTY
$22.10 $38.25 $34.00 $30.60 $32.30 $40.80 $52.70 $52.70 $55.25 $49.30 $54.40 $37.40 $40.80 $25.50
Compass Club (15%)
QTY
$23.80 $37.40 $39.10 $29.75 $61.20 $42.50 $85.00 $25.50
**included in shipment** TOTAL:
TO PURCHASE WINES Order Online Today store.foxenvineyard.com Email
[email protected] Fax | Phone 805-937-0415 | 805-937-4251 x107 Mail Katie Longoria c/o FOXEN Vineyard 7600 Foxen Canyon Rd Santa Maria, CA 93454
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