PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Borra’s got Intuition

New wine breaks rules and boldly turns pre-conceived notion about Lodi on its head.

Lodi — July 18, 2012 — Inspired by a wine from his native Switzerland, Borra Vineyards winemaker Markus Niggli went about some serious breaking of the rules in creating the brand new 2011 Intuition Lodi Field Blend White ($22, 146 cases produced) – a very rare and unique white “Swiss blend.”

Niggli took traditionally cool-climate German varietals grown in a warm Lodi vineyard and savagely reduced yield to one ton per acre, intensely concentrating the fruit. The final blend is about 60% Kerner, 20% Gewürztraminer and 20% Rieslaner, all from Mokelumne Glen Vineyards alongside the Mokelumne River. In fact, Lodi is the only source for Kerner in California, with 3.2 tons crushed in 2011. (Borra bought 1.8 tons, earning the distinction of being the biggest Kerner crusher in the state.) And Rieslaner is so rare that the U.S. Federal Government doesn’t even permit it to be printed on wine labels.

Though 2011 provided in most ways an excellent growing season in Lodi, yields were even lower than expected, partly due to huge volumes of water released from the upstream damn, which allowed two-foot-long catfish to swim in and out between the vines on the first of July.

Tradition dictates that German varietals should be free of the taste of oak, and made only in concrete or stainless steel tanks, or large oak casks which have no extractable oak. Niggli broke that rule by putting grapes in brand new oak barrels and stirring the young wine on its lees every two weeks (known as battonage) – a process that can round out the edges and reduce the bitterness you can get in varietals such as Gewürztraminer.

Per Niggli, “People should understand how sick it is to put German varietals on oak. We’re used to dry whites and dessert wines made in all stainless steel. You never make wine from your own personal liking, but I made this wine from my own personal liking. I think it’s killer.”

Niggli continues, “The winemaking is very basic: nine months oak, heat and cold stable, sterile filtered and bottled June 3rd with no R.S. (residual sugar) and not one single gram of acid added. (The pH is 3.06.) This is what this region can make. Pure vineyard. The wine has an intense freshness to it.”

Noted wine writer Randy Caparoso agreed, “The 2011 Borra Intuition Lodi Field Blend White is a beautifully perfumed white wine, with white tropical flower (suggesting Hawaiian plumeria, or frangipani) and rose petal/peppercorn spices, with undertones of fresh cream and Chinese lychee fruit. The wine is even better when you taste it – bone dry, feathery light in its medium body (just 12.8% alcohol), and a pointedly tart, clean, lemony edge that makes the palate cry for more (more wine, or for some great summery foods!). Meanwhile, the spiced fruit flavors signaled in the nose channel through the mouth like soft, silky waves upon tropical shores. Very sleek, contemporary, and as refreshing as a dry white wine can be.”

Recalling the 1984 hit music video “Take on Me” by A-ha, the new label designed by local artist Michael E. Leonard is a fitting tribute to Steve Borra’s decades of dedication to avant-garde winegrowing.

Borra will be staging the world-wide release of Intuition on Saturday, July 28 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at their winery tasting room located at 1301 E. Armstrong Road, between Lower Sacramento Road and West Lane. The usual $5.00 tasting fee will be waived. For more details visit www.BorraVineyards.com or call 209-368-2446.


Steve Borra started Lodi’s first tiny bonded boutique winery behind a backyard shack in 1975 on Armstrong Road. Wines are “made” in the vineyard, with prime vine rows ingeniously planted in alignment with the afternoon sun for optimal ripening. The majority of their own estate vineyards have been certified sustainable under Lodi Rules. In the winery, winemaker Markus Niggli uses natural yeast from the vines and natural ML, along with complete bypassing of the press altogether to make the smoothest, most complex wines. Stop on by the tasting room, BorraVineyards.com or Facebook.com/Borra-Vineyards and become a fan.

#########

For more information, contact: 
Markus Niggli, Winemaker
209.810.8659, Markus@BorraVineyards.com
www.BorraVineyards.com