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 As Brian and Lori Nuss grew up in The Sopranos part of New Jersey, they joked about leaning on Brian's Italian heritage for brand recognition of their Napa Valley wines. "You know, in a 'You better buy my wine — OR ELSE!' kind of way," smiles Brian.
But the truth of the matter is, their wine, Vinoce, is so good, and in such small supply that they don't have to twist anyone's arm to buy it. It moves off the farm by itself.
Ahh, what a farm! The view from their Mount Veeder living room is expansive, looking east into five distinctly different, mountainous valley ridges, all front-lit, or back-lit, depending on the time of day you are lucky enough to be standing here. About half the 40-acre ranch is planted with vines, and where there aren't grapes, there are shapes — most of them grazing cattle. "They make good lawnmowers for fire control," quips Brian. You'll also find horses on the farm.
Their neighbor, on the adjacent 600-acre parcel is comedian and actor Robin Williams for whom Brian built a large house. But the story is getting ahead of itself….
Speaking of story… Brian and Lori's reads like the script from a bad daytime TV soap; no one would believe their rags to riches tale could be true.
It is 1976 and Brian ups and leaves New Jersey, thinking he will head west to find his fortunes; Lori, who lives nearby but whom he does not yet know, also decides that she will head to California to pursue her dreams. Hey! These were the 70s — and everything was possible!
Independently, they showed up in Colorado on their respective journeys westward. They met… and must have shared a lot of things in common other than a vision, because they left Colorado together and have not been apart since.
Brian forged a career as a building contractor in Venice Beach, southern California; In the early 80s, Robin Williams engaged his services to build a home in Napa Valley atop a crowning ridge of Mt. Veeder. Brian and Lori wound up moving to the ranch and stayed on for 12 years, to act, in part, as caretakers and to raise their two infant sons.
During this period, Lori dusted off her food and beverage skills, used earlier in New York, and became the Food & Beverage Director of the Sonoma Mission Inn, in Sonoma. When she tired of that, she opened a Napa Valley-based catering business.
Her largest catered affair? "Oh, we served an Argentine beef dinner once to 2,200 guests at a Highway 29 winery," Lori recalls, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, "it was nothing." One begins to get the sense that for Brian and Lori, nothing is impossible. Now in their late 40s, both are vibrant, inquisitive and youthful).
In 1990, the couple planted their first vineyard, a mixed patch of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. "We wanted to produce a Bordeaux-style blend… and knew that with our peppery, deeply colored Cab Franc we wouldn't need to plant any Petit Verdot," recounts Lori. (P. Verdot is one of the classic Bordeaux cepages, used largely for color and a tweak of flavor.)
The couple thought about naming their wine Nuss, their surname. They realized that in German, the word 'nuss' means 'nut.' And since Brian has a Italian roots, they opted to use the Italian equivalent — 'noce."
"If you think about it, the word 'Vinoce' translates as 'wine nut,' which is exactly what each of us is," says Brian.
You may have to be nuts to make it, but you don't have to be nuts to drink it. In a 2002 story in Food & Wine magazine, Vinoce was selected as one of the "Top 10 bottles" to be sought in Napa Valley.
If one is judged by the company he/she keeps, then there must be something special about Vinoce because others on the magazine's Top Ten list included Saddleback Cellars, Duckhorn and Chateau Montelena, all super-star wines.
And if you had any qualms about the $60 price tag for the supple, focused, richly flavored Vinoce, look at it this way: when the wine was launched in 1996, it was $60 a bottle. "The price has never gone up," says Lori. "It's still $60 seven years later."
In the world of banking and commerce, money is thought to double by compound interest approximately every seven years… which means that with Vinoce, you're really getting a $120 wine for half price!
"It's about sharing our passion, not about making a fortune
or ripping off the public, "says Brian. Amen.
2000 Vinoce Rutherford, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc
There are two camps of Sauvignon Blanc drinkers; those who want it to have juicy-fruit top-notes like Chardonnay and those who want all that grass, asparagus and cat pee that are stylistic components of the best Sauvignon Blancs from France or New Zealand.
Park this beautifully made, polished wine in the former camp. The Chardonnay-flavors are inherent in the blend, which is 3 percent by volume premium Chardonnay. The wine is a bright straw yellow, has pale fruit aromas and a juicy, liquid fruit core.
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ilovenapa.com Rating:
$15 |
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2000 Vinoce Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, Red Table Wine
Because there is not a sufficient percentage of any one variety, this wine cannot be called a "Cabernet Sauvignon," or a "Cabernet Franc." But both these grapes, from the Vinoce Mt. Veeder estate, along with Merlot, are in the final blend.
Vinoce is really a pat-your-head-and-rub-your-stomach-at-the-same-time kind of wine; it is damn hard to smile while you are swishing wine around in your mouth, gurgling the juice back into your throat, attempting to swallow. But this is exactly what you want to do when you put Vinoce into your mouth — it makes you just want to smile!
This is an elegant, plush wine with warm berry flavors in the middle palate, lots of spice at the core; the texture is velour-like and it runs for the entire length of the taste and swallow. Lots of spicy, red and blue fruit flavors on the finish.
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ilovenapa.com Rating:
$60 |
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