kokomo Winery

The other day I had lunch with the Mauritson Family to discuss our block of Zin at Rockpile.  Rockpile is a unique Sonoma County AVA situated at a high elevation above the fog.  A combination of micro-climate and gravely soil - this chunk of land produces much revered fruit.  Part of what I love about my job is meeting with folks like the Mauritsons - multi-generational grape growers.  This family has been cultivating grapes in Dry Creek Valley for five generations succeeding at growing ultra-premium fruit.  During lunch we talked about prices of grapes, yield per a

I get a lot of questions about oak in wine and its role in the process of aging wine.  At Kokomo we have this saying: "We oak our wine to taste, similarly to salting our food to taste".  We don't want the salt to overpower the dish, but, rather to accent the flavors of the dish.  Same goes for accenting wine with oak.  I have found that you need a percentage of new oak on wines, especially for crafting ultra-premium wines.  However, the amount of new oak to be used varies from varietal to varietal and vineyard to vineyard.  We also like a bolder Eastern Europea

One of the most common questions I get is “how did you learn to make wine and only be 35?”  After I mention my post grad UC Davis studies everyone seems to be satisfied with my formal learning process.  As to my hands-on learning evolution, I started in the cellar and learned from the ground up.   I wanted to take the time on this particular blog to give a nod and a thank you to fellow winemakers who take the time to engage in conversation and answer my questions about their challenges and experiences that are simi