LA VITA Wines
LA VITA ("the life" in Italian) is a unique blend of Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Refosco, all Santa Cruz Mountains estate grown northern Italian red varietals. This wine is a complex wine of elegance and structure. The wines were fermented in small wood bins, hand-punched during fermentation and pressed with a small basket press. Depending on the vintage, the wines are aged separately in oak barrels for two to two and a half years. Towards the end of cellar aging, the wines are blended to create a unique wine consisting of the three Italian Varietals.
2008 LA VITA
The 2008 LA VITA is a blend of Santa Cruz Mountains varietals grown in the Regan Estate Vineyards. The wine is produced from a blend of Dolcetto, Refosco and Nebbiolo grapes and aged for two and a half years in oak barrels, then aged for an additional year in the bottle prior to release. The label this year honors Michelangelo Buonarotti. Price: $60.00 a bottle Double Gold–Florida State International Wine Competition Gold–Monterey Wine Competition
2007 LA VITA
Bargetto Winery's 2007 LA VITA is a blend of 56% Dolcetto, 35% Refosco and 9% Nebbiolo. This hand–crafted wine was aged for 25 months in oak barrels and then aged for an additional one year in the bottle prior to release. This wine has aromas of dried cherries, black pepper and a touch of cedar. The palate explodes with an abundance of cherries and plum and balances with Northern Italian acidity and big, rich tannins. Price: $60.00 a bottle Double Gold Medal–-2011 Amenti Del Vino Wine Competition Gold, 92 Points– 2012 Los Angeles Int'l Wine and Spirits Competition

What Makes Our LA VITA Wine Series So Unique

“LA VITA wine is our finest effort in winemaking, from growing the grapes,
to producing the wine to designingthe unique package."   –John Bargetto

The Vineyard
Nestled atop a knoll in the Santa Cruz Mountains, overlooking the Monterey Bay, sits Regan Vineyards. Within the fifty-acre Regan site is a three-acre section dedicated to northern Italian red varietals: Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, and Refosco. These varieties have never before been grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The cool micro-climate at Regan vineyards affords a long growing season, thereby allowing for full flavored, rich wines.

A hilly site with thin, rocky soil within Regan was chosen for these Italian reds with the goal of restraining the natural vigor of the varieties. With a combination of shoot and cluster removal, 75% of the crop is thinned, thereby yielding wines with deep color and depth of flavor. All three reds produce large, majestic clusters.

The Package

LA VITA meets the world in a brand new package that showcases wine in art. For thousands of years wine has been an integral part of life in western civilization economically, religiously and perhaps most importantly, aesthetically. Part of the wonderful legacy of wine is that down through the ages, wine has been proudly portrayed in art, from the Egyptians to the present day. With the dawn of this new millennium, LA VITA SERIES, each year will showcase one masterpiece in which wine has been portrayed.

Each year a release party is held to unveil the new label design. Part of the proceeds from the sale of LA VITA goes to a non–profit organization in Santa Cruz County. We are pleased to be able to, in a formal way, give back some of the proceeds to the Santa Cruz community, which has been so supportive to BARGETTO WINERY and the Bargetto family through the years.

Below is a gallery of past and present LA VITA labels including artist and title information.

The 1997 LA VITA honors the Italian painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) and his wonderful rendering of Bacchus-the Roman god of wine.	The 1998 LA VITA is titled Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881 (oil on canvas) by Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)	The 1999 LA VITA features a cubist painting by Spaniard Juan Gris (1887-1927) titled “Wine Jug and Glass.”	The 2000 LA VITA label features a 13th century mosaic from Venice, Italy titled Noah Amidst the Vines.
The 2001 LA VITA label features a 20th century painting (oil on canvas), Vineyards Villa Trasqua, by Margaret Loxton.	The 2002 LA VITA label features Vendangeuse (the Grape Picker), an oil painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.	The 2003 LA VITA label features founders and brothers John and Phillip Bargetto shown in front of winery October 1933.	The 2004 LA VITA label is from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" (Autumn) Portrait of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) (oil on camvas) by Italian School, (18th century)
The 2006 LA VITA is titled The Grape Harvest, by Francisco Jose de Goya (1746-1828) Spanish painter of the Romantic era.	The 2007 vintage LA VITA honors Nina de Garis Davis (1881-1965) for her copy of this Egyptian tomb painting, circa 1400 BC.	The 2008 vintage LA VITA honors Michelangelo Buonrotti (1475-1564) for his marble sculpture of Bacchus.

Visit our BARGETTO Wine Shop to order these and other fine wines.

---