Uproot Wines Launches: Reimagining Wine for a New Generation

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Jay Levy, a venture capitalist, and Greg Scheinfeld, formerly a Wall Street financier, have announced the launch of Uproot Wines, a modern, innovative and unique wine brand designed to engage a community of globally-minded, tech-savvy wine drinkers through a new approach to wine, where cutting-edge branding meets traditional winemaking. Sourcing from multiple vineyards throughout California, Uproot utilizes the best quality fruit and winemaking technology available, to produce delicious and unconventional wines. Through a color-based visual identity system that provides a clever way to see the wine’s flavor profile directly on the front label of the bottle, Uproot is shaking up the way a new generation thinks about and drinks wine.

Winemaker and co-founder Greg Scheinfeld produces wines sourced from top sustainably-farmed vineyards throughout California, with a focus on Napa Valley and the Central Coast, including Somerston Vineyards, Camp 4 Vineyards, Montgomery Vineyard, and Beatty Ranch. Uproot makes its debut with a 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, 275 cases of which were produced. The wine is clean, fresh and vibrant, with balanced fruit and acidity and notes of citrus and melon. Uproot will release a Grenache Blanc in spring 2013 and a Cabernet Sauvignon in September 2013.

“We believe that making a great bottle of wine begins with passion, an open mind, and the best available resources,” says Uproot co-founder Jay Levy. “We launched Uproot through expert collaborations, seeking out the most creative minds, the best craftspeople, the best fruit, and the best technology. Our mission is to curate exceptional experiences for people through the wine, defined by each person’s taste, personality, and lifestyle – and not by one tasting room or vineyard.”

A modern approach not only to winemaking but to wine labeling, Uproot has created a first-of-its-kind color bar, which serves as a visual representation of the wine’s tasting notes on the label, offering a guide to the flavors and aromas to be found in the bottle. Uproot leaves the tasting experience open to individual interpretation, and while the label will change with each vintage according to the wine’s flavor profile, the design will retain the brand-specific color bars and overall aesthetic.

A classic “east meets west” tale, Greg, a former Wall Street financier who “uprooted” his life to move out west and pursue his passion for wine by doing more than just drinking it, gained cellar experience at Cakebread, Joseph Phelps and Vineyard 29 before co-developing Uproot with Jay, who works as a venture capitalist at Zelkova Ventures in NYC, investing in early-stage technology companies. The Uproot brand reflects both partners’ shared passions and distinct personalities – Jay’s meticulous attention to detail and entrepreneurial spirit driving the business, and Greg’s steadfast approach to crafting modern, fresh, and delicious wine.

Setting a new benchmark for the next generation of wine drinker by demonstrating that a great wine doesn’t need to be “rooted” in one place or appellation, Uproot takes a hands-on approach to both the winegrowing and winemaking processes. Sourcing grapes from top vineyards throughout California, Uproot manages a low cluster count, keeping all shoots to no more than two clusters to ensure the outcome is an exceptional, high-quality wine with great structure and concentration.

Uproot’s barrel selection method is another example of its scrupulous attention to detail. Through this process, Uproot identifies several cooperages producing barrels that achieve its desired flavor profile for the wine, including a combination of new French oak, lightly used French oak, and stainless steel, depending on the wine.

Uproot Wines is currently available for purchase via direct sales through its website, www.drinkuproot.com. The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc costs $42 per bottle and $504 per case. Uproot believes its mission begins and ends with a positive customer experience and the ideal way to guarantee that is through direct customer engagement and the delivery of a superior product. With a unique, positive customer experience always in mind, Uproot offers three-day express shipping in order to ensure its wine always arrives in pristine condition. Shipping is included for customers who order four or more bottles.

More information can be found on Uproot’s website, www.drinkuproot.com and Facebook page, www.facebook.com/drinkuproot. Interesting content, visuals and tips can be found on Twitter via @DrinkUproot.

About Uproot

Launched in 2013, Uproot Wines is a modern, innovative wine brand pioneering a new approach to winemaking, where cutting edge meets traditional craft. Founded on the belief that great wine is about the quality of the fruit, not the location of the vineyard, Uproot aims to shake up the way Generation Y thinks about and drinks wine by curating exceptional experiences for people through the wine, defined by each person’s taste, personality, and lifestyle – and not by one tasting room or vineyard. Uproot produces wines sourced from top sustainable vineyards throughout California, with a focus on Napa Valley and the Central Coast. The name “Uproot” is a reference to root and rootstock, and also refers to co-owner Greg Scheinfeld’s uprooting of his life in New York to move to Napa Valley.