Futo 5500 Stags Leap District 2012

The history of Futo Wines began in 2002 when Tom Futo and his wife Kyle purchased their first vineyard - Oakford in the western foothills of one of the appellations in Napa Valley - Oakville AVA and the Oakville Estate. The Futo family hails from Kansas. Tom, whose sports career was cut short due to an injury despite having all the chances to become an excellent basketball player, sold shares in wine trading companies while in college, earning a reputation as one of America's youngest investors (since age 13). However, this was just business; his love for wine came later when Tom and Kyle, along with their friends, began gathering every weekend to taste wines. They selected wines from different countries and regions, both varietal and blended. Tom recorded his impressions and later analyzed them carefully, noting the special quality of Napa Valley wines, with Cabernet Sauvignon becoming their favorite variety. In the 90s, a friend of Tom's bought 1.5 hectares of vineyards in Oakford and invited Tom to become a partner, but Tom declined the idea of partnership. Soon his friend divorced, and his wife managed the vineyard for a while, but shortly after, she decided to sell it and offered Tom the chance to buy it. Tom seized the opportunity, and in 2002 he and his wife became the owners of the estate and vineyards in Napa Valley. They invited Napa Valley wine stars to assist them, including marketer David Abreu and winemaker Marc Aubert (who worked at Futo from 2002-2010, later succeeded by Jason Exposto). The first thing they did together was to replant part of the existing vineyards. In 2004, they decided to expand their holdings and soon purchased about 4.5 hectares of additional vineyards. Today, the total area of the estate's vineyards exceeds 6 hectares, consisting of five vineyards with 25 distinct plots, each no larger than 0.4 hectares, located at an elevation of 75-150 meters above sea level. The majority of the vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. All wines produced are always blends based on this variety, with the addition of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Each variety is vinified separately, as well as the same variety from different vineyard plots, and during the blending stage, the wines are mixed. An important fact in the estate's history is that Tom decided to build a new winery, and construction began in 2002, finishing only in 2008. In California, many producers do not have their own wineries and rent equipment and facilities for vinification at other wineries. Often, they are forced to adapt to rental schedules rather than when it is best to do so. But Tom and Kyle decided that this recipe did not suit them. Today, Futo has one of the most modern wineries in California, built on the principles of gravity and equipped with the latest technology. Tom took the construction very seriously, believing that what happens to the wine at all stages is extremely important, and the ability to control these processes is the key to the quality of the future wine. Futo's first wines were released in 2004, totaling less than 1000 bottles. The next vintage, 2005, brought Futo fame. Today, the estate produces its best wines under the name Futo - F on the label (Futo Oakville and Futo 5500 SLD), while the so-called second wines of the estate are labeled OV (Oakford Vineyards). For many other producers, such a second wine would be a first! Each year, Futo produces a very limited quantity of its wines, largely defined by the principle: Better less, but better! Each of the first wines is produced in quantities ranging from 3500 to 9500 bottles. The wines are distributed by reservation.