Dipping wine bottles in wax is an age old tradition, stemming from monks in monasteries trying to keep their wine fresh. More recently sealing your bottle with wax ensures that it will be tamper proof and it looks really amazing. Adding to our already stellar collections of labels, VML started to put wax on all of our Single Vineyard and Barrel Selection wines with the 2011 vintage. While the wax tops add aesthetic appeal to our bottles, it became glaringly apparent that these beautiful bottles are difficult to get open. After many trials of opening our wine in the tasting room we thought it would be helpful to share our expertise with you at home. Below we have outlined some tips for opening your favorite VML wine. We also created a short video for a visual reference. 1. Do not attempt to remove the wax with a sharp object! 2. Drive the corkscrew (the VML preferred wine key is a double-hinged corkscrew) directly through the wax on top of bottle in the center of the monogram (VML) 3. Brace the lever firmly against the rim of the bottle 4. Pull up on the handle of the wine key cracking the seal of wax and removing the cork. One last note about the wax enclosures… The 2012 Single Vineyard and Barrel Selection wines will have a slightly different closure. The new packaging will be beautiful as always… but much easier to open! Please download a QR code scanner app for your mobile device such as QR Reader or Scanlife in order to scan the QR code on the left to view the instructional video. Visit our blog! Read the “Wax on, Wax off” blog at www.vmlwinery.wordpress.com for the video and instructions on opening our waxed bottles. While you are there see what else is new around the winery! 2011 We are pleased to announce the last release of our three part series: The 2011 Moon Pinot Noir. Virginia handcrafted 3 very different Pinots to express the multiplicity of flavors in the Russian River Valley – Earth, Moon and Stars. We loved this Barrel Selection series so much we are continuing it going forward. The Moon is all about the delicate balance of winemaking. Powerful, but still Pinot-like, elegant backbone of acidity that gently carriers to the finish. Somewhere between the power of the earth and the elegance of the stars… FLAVOR PROFILE Aromas of dried cherries, vanilla bean, fresh blueberries and chocolate cosmos lift from the glass. Flavors of silky caramel, winter spice and ripe Santa Rosa plums fill the palate. This wine finishes round and velvety and with a hint of star anise and cocoa nibs. $48 (club price starts at $38.40) A simple guide to removing wax from your favorite wine 2013 SEPT/OCT NEWSLETTER 4035 WESTSIDE ROAD HEALDSBURG, CA 707.431.4404 WWW.VMLWINE.COM