BARGETTO WINERY TO RELEASE
2011 LA VITA on June 7, 2015
BARGETTO WINERY TO RELEASEThe Bargetto Family has a winemaking tradition in the Santa Cruz Mountains that dates back to 1890. The Bargetto Family’s first commercial winery, South Montebello Vineyard and Wine Company, was founded in San Francisco in 1910. Bargetto Winery in Soquel was founded in 1933. Thus, this year Bargetto Winery celebrates 82 years of winemaking in Soquel and remains one of the most historical wineries in California.
On June 7, the new 2011 LA VITA will be released. LA VITA is a blend of Santa Cruz Mountains varietals grown in the Regan Estate Vineyards. The release party will take place in the winery’s creek-side courtyard, and will showcase the new LA VITA Room with its heritage redwood walls and dramatic views of Soquel Creek.
This fourteenth release of LA VITA (“life” in Italian) comes from the 2011 vintage. LA VITA is produced from a unique blend of 57% Dolcetto, 35% Refosco and 8% Nebbiolo. This hand-crafted wine was aged for two and one half years in oak barrels and then aged for an additional one year in the bottle prior to release. The 2011 harvest yielded just 4,020 bottles. With 50% of the vintage pre-sold, a limited number of bottles remain for sale.
Each year LA VITA is released with a brand new wine label that showcases “wine in art.” For thousands of years, wine has been an integral part of life in Western civilization: economically, religiously and perhaps most importantly, aesthetically. Part of the wonderful legacy of wine is that down through the ages, wine has been proudly portrayed in art from the Egyptians to the present day.
The 2011 vintage LA VITA honors a contemporary Russian artist named Ira Tsantekidou. Her piece being featured on the wine bottle is named Dame Mit Glas and is a colorful and dramatic oil on canvas painting.
Each year, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of LA VITA goes to a non–profit organization. At the release party, Tandy Beal & Company will be recognized as this year’s LA VITA beneficiary. Tandy Beal is celebrating its 40th anniversary of bringing dance to the Santa Cruz community and is now interacting annually to 20,000 kids in Santa Cruz and neighboring counties. The Camaldolese Benedictine monks of Big Sur will receive their payment from the last year’s LA VITA. (Previous beneficiaries were Jacob’s Heart, Siena House, Hospice, Santa Cruz County Search & Rescue, Good Shepherd School, St. Francis Soup Kitchen and Porter Memorial Library, CASA, YMCA.)
John Bargetto, director of the LA VITA wine says, “LA VITA wine is our finest effort in winemaking, starting from growing these unique grapes, to producing the wine, to designing the art-series label. Each year the wine gets richer and more complex. The wine series has won numerous gold medals, and the 2006 won “Best Italian Blend in California” award. We are very pleased to be able to, in a formal way, give back some of the proceeds to the Santa Cruz community, which has been so supportive to Bargetto Winery during our past 82 vintages.”
The LA VITA release party is set for Sunday, June 7, 2015 from 3-5 p.m. at Bargetto Winery. The release party features the unveiling of the new LA VITA label, tasting of the new wine, live music with Nora Cruz and light appetizers. Tickets are limited to 80 wine club members and 80 general public (cost $25). Tickets can be purchased online at www.bargetto.com or by calling Bargetto Winery at 831.475.2258 x10. LA VITA retails for $60 per bottle.
Bargetto Winery, the oldest winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, produces ten SCM Regan estate wines: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay (and Reserve), four Pinot Noirs, Merlot (and Reserve) and LA VITA.
