Annual Newsletter
Bee-ing Interdependent: Bees, Biodiversity, Business, B Corp, and Belonging
At Spottswoode we have four bee colonies. One at the winery, in the knot of one of our native Valley Oak trees. One on the front lawn at the Estate, in a log hive strapped to our historic Deodar Cedar. Another along Spring Creek, also a log hive, this one strapped to a Live Oak. And one in our vegetable garden, a standard hive from which we will be able to harvest honey.
Looking Forward to Our Next Fifty Years
2021 marks our family’s 50th year of stewarding the Spottswoode Estate. Having achieved this milestone, we ponder our next half century with optimism. Here in Napa Valley – and throughout California and all across the American West – with climate change bringing more extreme weather events, we consider our past, our present, and our future, hopeful for what is yet to come.
First We Are Farmers
Here it is, 2020, the year that marks our family’s 49th year of farming the Spottswoode Estate. That we are nearing a half century of stewarding this land seems somehow impossible, yet our deep connection to the soil and to our property gained over the passage of time has honed the singular realization that, before anything else, we are farmers.
A Perfect Score
While we are told that true perfection does not exist, a 100, be it on a wine or on an exam, is a remarkable achievement. That our 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon—and our 2010 and 2002 Cabernets—have each achieved 100 points from the Wine Advocate is something that we are still processing. We are elated—and truly grateful—that the Spottswoode Estate Vineyard and the Cabernets that we produce from its fruit are so highly regarded and have achieved such heights!