MEET JAKE MARTINEZ Jake’s passion for wine started back in his home town of Placerville, California when he was given the opportunity to work in fine dining alongside sommeliers of all levels. Their knowledge and passion for wine intrigued his interest enough for him to pursue a career in the wine industry. In 2015, he moved to Sonoma County to work as an intern during harvest at Martinelli Winery. He quickly learned all about the labor of love while making great wine. “I find the wine industry to be thrilling and a never-ending source of knowledge, as every harvest brings something new.” In 2016, Jake was hired at Kokomo to work behind the tasting bar but was also given the chance to work harvest. “It was a blessing to work for a young enthusiastic winemaker who is producing over 20 different varietals, learning how he handled each grape differently was incredibly educational.” After harvest he quickly became more and more passionate about the wines Kokomo produces, and in under a year got promoted to Tasting Room Lead. “Now I get to interact with, and educate, our amazing wine club family on a daily basis. Working at a winery filled with such passion about what goes into the bottle is amazing!” J A K E M A RT I N E Z  K O K O M O W I N E S . C O M team kokomo kokomo NeEd To Know DRINK PINK SOCIETY IS FULL BUT YOU CAN STILL GET ROSÉ NEXT SPRING Wecan’tthankeverybodywhojoinedtheDrinkPink Societyenoughforhelpingtomakeitsuchasuccess! AllofourRoséfanaticsnowhaveguaranteedaccess ofuptotwocasesofthepinkstuffperyear. Forthose whodidn’tgettosignupintimetomakeitintothe DrinkPinkSocietyhavenofear,thesocietyisn’ttheonly wayforyoutogetRosé! Whileourproductionisvery limited,aslongasyouorderinconjunctionwithyour SpringClubAllotmentyoushouldbeabletogetupto acaseofRoséwhilesupplieslast. Simplycallusat 707-433-0205oremailwineclub@kokomowines.com. VARIETAL FOCUS In2004,Kokomowinerywasbornwiththebottlingofa DryCreekValleyCabernetSauvignon. Ofcourse,since thatinitialrelease,ourCabernetproductionmovedin 2008toRuth’sVineyardintheAlexanderValleywhere ourwinerypartner,RandyPeters,plantedthesevinesin thelate80’s. Thisistheonlyvarietalweproducefrom AlexanderValley,andwefindittobeaworldclassplace togrowCabernet. Whilethenotorietyofthewinery hasshiftedfocusmoretoourmultiplebottlingsof PinotNoir,Zinfandel,andRosésinceourinitialrelease, wedidn’twanttoforgetourroots. The2014vintage markedourtenyearanniversaryanditseemedfitting tocomefullcircleandpayhomagetothevarietalthat starteditall. Wedidsobybottlingascanttwobarrels ofourfirsteverReserveCabernetSauvignoninaddition toourregularCabernet. Thechallengeinrunninga winerywithsomanyvarietalsisgivingeachoneitsdue time.Withtheseotherwinesreceivingsuchoutstanding pressandaccolades,wedecidedthetimehadagain cometofocusonmakinganameforKokomoCabernet. Thatdecisionseemstobepayingoff,asour2014 CabernetSauvignonwasrecentlyfeaturedinRobert Parker’sWineAdvocateasoneoftheTop5Sonoma CountyCabernetstorivalourneighboringNapaValley!.