Vitus News

VACAVILLE, Calif., February 18, 2010 – Today, Vitus Wine Group, announced the appointment of Brenna DeMartini to the position of Sales Director.

This move follows a 6-year career in banking, most recently serving as Vice President at North Valley Bank. Brenna’s sales background stems from a lifetime in the food and beverage industry, working for her family business Solano Baking Company. Brenna managed the Company’s wholesale and retail sales and grew the company to be the largest purveyor in Northern California with over 3.5 million in sales.

“Vitus is currently sold at Fuso’s in downtown Vacaville and we plan to expand to several other local restaurants, as well as outside of the Solano area from Sacramento to Saint Helena. I’m excited to join such a focused team of wine lovers,” explained Brenna.

Brenna is a Solano County native and is active in the community. She is active in the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of its Leadership Vacaville program, a member of Solano EDC, serves as a current board member for Vacaville Rotary and is a past board member of the Vacaville Boys and Girls Club. To reach Brenna or to schedule a tasting at the Vitus tasting bar inside Winestyles, call (707) 416-7421.

About Vitus Wine Group
Vitus Wine Group harvests its grapes from vineyards in Oakville and Oak Knoll in Napa Valley and offers an award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as its newest varietal, Pinot Grigio. For more information on Vitus or to join the wine club, visit www.vitusnapavalley.com.

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VACAVILLE, Calif., February 2, 2010 – Today, Vitus Napa Valley announced its 2006 Vitus Cabernet Sauvignon has been ranked 15th in the inaugural Top 100 Cabs of Napa Valley tasting.

World-renowned wine judges were gathered by event organizer and owner of The Wine Guy, Nelson Tucker to conduct a blind tasting of all 2006 Cabernet Sauvignons submitted by Napa Valley wineries. During a two-day period judges narrowed down the list of submitted wines to the top 100 best and from that the top 25, which they named the “Best of the Best.” Wines submitted ranged from ten to hundreds of dollars and came from both boutique and large scale wineries. Complete results can be viewed at www.top100cabs.com.

“When I look at the list of winning wines, I recognize many wonderful and well-known wineries, we are thrilled to be listed among them. Our 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon has been a favorite among our friends and wine club members and we hope its place on the Top 100 Cabs of the Napa Valley list will entice others to share in its delight,” said John Gilpin, Winemaker.

There will be a public grand tasting of the top 100 ranked wines on February 13, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Bayleaf Restaurant in Napa. To taste Vitus locally, visit Winestyles in downtown Vacaville.

Vitus 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested in the second week in October from the vineyard in Oakville. It is a big, bold wine with loads of black currant, chewy tannins, violets on the nose and cedar undertones and is aged for 2 years in new French Oak barrels. Unique to the Vitus Cabernet Sauvignon is its hand blown Italian glass bottle.

About Vitus Wine Group
Vitus Wine Group harvests its grapes from vineyards in Oakville and Oak Knoll in Napa Valley and offers an award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as its newest varietal, Pinot Grigio. For more information on Vitus or to join the wine club, visit www.vitusnapavalley.com or call Sales Director, Brenna DeMartini at (707) 416-7421.

• Download Press Release (pdf)

(Oakville, CA) VITUS Wines announces California State Fair Wine Competition results. There were 192 Merlot's entered into the California State Fair Wine Competition and VITUS received a Silver Medal for its 2006 Merlot. VITUS 2006 Merlot was harvested at the end of October from the Smith Family Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Exhibiting a dark inky color, Vitus Merlot is full of body with velvety tannins, loads of dark fruit and a hint of dark chocolate, espresso and vanilla. The Merlot is aged for 2 years in new French and American barrels.

“The California State Fair Wine Competition is not only a ranking of the state’s best wines as viewed by our judges, but also a reflection of the growing quality of wine as we continue to have a wide impact on all Californians, and on the rest of the country.”- Norbert J. Bartosik, General Manager/CEO California State Fair. The California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition is the oldest and most prestigious wine competition in North America. The competition is open to all California bonded wineries selling retail and each year, thousands of California wines are entered into the competition for the chance to win one of many coveted awards from the State Fair’s panel of expert wine judges.

For over 150 years, the California State Fair has recognized the best wines of the state and the dedication of wineries and vintners in the Golden State’s viticulture and enology industry. More than 600 wineries entered nearly 3,000 wines into the annual judging contest. The winners are determined by panels of judges that come from a wide range of backgrounds and are reviewed before they are permitted to evaluate the wines. From wine educators, wine makers, wine journalists, retailers and wholesalers to wine collectors and those from the restaurant trade, these knowledgeable judges share their personal opinions before reaching a consensus to determine the award winning wines.

To learn more about VITUS and how to purchase our wine visit us at www.vitusnapavalley.com. VITUS 2006 Merlot is almost sold out and is only available to Wine Club Members. To become a VITUS Wine Club Member email us at jamie@vitusnapavalley.com.

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Vitus was featured in Long Ashes, Baby, a new book by cigar ambassador Joe Sweigart, better known as Joe the Cigartainer. The book details stories about Joe's travels around North America, teaching groups of people about the art of rolling premium cigars and the philosophy he calls "Enjoying life's long ash moments."

Following is a excerpt from his new book:

There are a lot of people who think that only cognac goes with cigars. But of course, aficionados know that cigars can go with any drink . . . Personally, I like cigars and wine. I drink cabernet and have never had a problem mixing the two.

As a matter of fact, I just got back from the inaugural release of VITUS wines at the Bourassa Vineyards in Napa Valley for our friends, Fred and Diane. These guys had seen us at a few IMI events, most recently in Cabo San Lucas on behalf of Hacienda. They were there with their very cool son, A. J.

Fred told me about the release and asked if I would come out to host his cigar station for the event. Fred and Diane have great partners and wonderful friends. They have all the ingredients to be successful in the very competitive world of winemaking.

Following is a selection from The colors of their music by Richard Rico, published by The Reporter on June, 22.

AS THE legend will someday say, Fred planted some grapes on Gibson Canyon Rd. John had studied viticulture at UC, Davis and one day asked Hearn to taste a wine made from Suisun Valley grapes. He was blown away. For fun, he asked Gilpin if he'd show him how to ferment. His first vintage: "Horrible." By some miracle and a bumper crop, two acres planted to cab-ernet next to vaunted Silver Oak became available. Did the local boys want them? Plus, as Providence would have it, would they be interested in merlot grapes from my Biale friends? You guess. Before they knew it, the partners had 7 tons of world class grapes to process. Their nature and personal drive took their course: They got the permits to take their robust reds public. A cool label was designed. They were in the biz, and we had a grand party.

This year, Hearn marked 30 years as a Vacaville contractor. He got big. At one point he wanted to downsize, but his reputation wouldn't let him. A Reporter re-model was one of his first jobs. Now he's bidding on a $40 mil Healdsburg resort.

Yeah, wine started as a hobby. Already they hope to keep production below 1,000 cases. Everybody knows these guys. None would be surprised if someday a Hearn-built winery appeared on the horizon. It's part of their palette, the colors of their music. I can already taste the sausages.