One of the most anticipated events early in the new year for wineries is the release of Silicon Bank’s Wine Industry Report. We at Croze want to share with our fans & customers a look at what to expect for 2016 and beyond.
2016 looks to be a very busy year for Croze and Smith Wooton. The year unofficially kicks off in February with Premier Napa Valley. This has been a favorite event of the Croze crew and this year will be no different. March is an extremely busy month with a new event First Press Dinner & Auction in Arizona, CabFest in Yountville and Flavor Napa Valley in Napa. April and May see the Croze team traveling in markets throughout the country. Check out the website Croze-cab.com to see if we are in your area.
In our opinion one of the most exciting challenges for a winery is to release a new wine and this year will see the release of 2 and possibly 3 new bottlings for the Croze and Smith Wooton brands. One of the new wines will be a new varietal for Smith Wooton, Pinot Noir. This varietal is a favorite to enjoy at dinner as well as to work with in the winery for winemaker, Daniel Benton. “I really love the complexities of the wine, having delicate flavors while having intense aromas at the same time is something I find captivating. I believe this also translates to the challenges in vineyard and winery while making Pinot.” The second release will be the first blended wine in the Smith Wooton lineup. “I make wines that I am passionate about and hopefully that shines through in the bottle.” Stay tuned for names and official release dates for these wines.
El Nino has finally arrived and that is great news for our drought plagued region. Smith Wooton has picked up more vineyard management clients and we are very optimistic about the 2016 growing season. These vineyards will give us access to great grapes in fantastic AVA’s in the Napa Valley. These grapes might not end up in a bottle for a couple of years as we like to see what the vineyard brings before releasing the wine.
Lastly we continue to increase production of your favorite Croze and Smith Wooton wines. As we have moved into new markets in Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and Texas we have to increase production to meets these demands. We have also taken on increasing production to meet the demands of our long term distributor partners as well. One item were are acutely aware of as we increase production is to not sacrifice quality and ensure that we meet the standards and Philosophy we have set at Croze.
2015 was a great year at Croze and Smith Wooton and 2016 looks to be our best yet.
Cheers,
Daniel, Kara & Warren
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