Moving forward in May

This is the time of year when the vineyard changes daily! We have started the 'walk in the vines' series and they have been different from week to week. This is a great time to visit the vineyards and wineries. Go on a slow day or a slow part of the day if you want some extra time and attention with the winemaker and tasting room staff. This is also festival season - that means you have the best of both worlds!! Go to the festivals to see the visiting wineries that you may not get to otherwise. At the festivals, be smart - take snacks and water so you are stay hydrated and are resetting your taste buds in between wineries. If you love a wine at the festival, BUY IT but make sure you don't stash it in a warm car for the day. But festival season also means the crowds are at the festivals so the tasting rooms have a little lighter traffic. Use this time to ask about the wines, viticulture and nuances of the wines you are tasting. This is also when wineries are releasing their spring wines. So, if you love a wine from a previous vintage, BUY IT. The few cases the wineries have left might be it as wines tend to change from year to year based on the grapes, the season and the particular choices the winemaker made. We are LOVING the reactions folks are having as they revisit us - it's a balance between the curiosity of the new building and folks that want to visit the original building before we move because they have memories in this building and want to visit it one more time! It is a very heart warming reaction and our current plans are to leave the original building alone. We have very warm memories of the place we started as well and we aren't ready to transform it into anything else at this time. Stay tuned for more and in the meantime, hit the festivals and visit the tasting rooms for a fresh spring perspective!! Cheers & Make Friends!

Reflections

We haven't put anything out here in a year - we got busy 'doing' and if you are reading the newsletters and are watching on Facebook, we have had a very busy year with the new building! However, as we were getting ready for our anniversary weekend, we took some time to revisit where we started and realized just what a journey this has been (and more to come). The very cool part of the journey has been the discovery (the land, the grapes, the wines, the guests, the partnerships - the entire experience). It is interesting how the questions in the tasting room have changed along the way - early day questions were more like "really? a winery here?" and "do grapes really grow here?". As the wine industry has grown in this area, the guests have become much more educated and the questions have evolved. Questions now are about the type of grapes, the wine style and the nuances of American oak versus French oak! More and more guests relay preferences based on grape varietals, sugar levels and even the type of glass they like to use. It is very exicting to see this growth and to have been a part of it. With so many more wineries and wine trails in the area, there are so many more options for guests to enjoy the wine experience and share the experience with friends and family that visit from other areas. We are grateful for the support we have had in our journey so far and look forward to growing with the industry and continuing to be part of the wine experience for our guests!

PTD

Pardon The Dust

It has started - we are continuing to follow 'the plan' and broke ground today -

Long time coming and lots of planning involved but, we broke ground today!  That means, you will need to Pardon The Dust but it will be worth it.  We will have a PTD campaign with and will post rules on facebook and on our web page.  Lots of exciting changes to come and if all goes well, the new facility will be ready in time for harvest!! 

Stay tuned for updates and pictures!

Wine & Weather - Spring

We have had all four seasons in the last month alone but ask any winery and they'll tell you - the weather in the last two years has created some challenges (and opportunities)!  Weather has an influence before we even plant - we need to consider the weather in the growing zone to make sure the right vines are selected.  But, that is the easy part.  Once the vines for the right region are selected and planted, the real stress begins.  Vineyard managers and wine makers start to track number of days of sun, degree days, inches of rain, frost, wind, moisture in the air, etc.  No two growing seasons are the same so accurate logs are kept for trending, analysis and fretting over! 

Each season has it's challenges - for the spring it is, when to start pruning and can we finish before the sap flows?  After a dry year like last year, will we get enough moisture to replenish the soil?  Too much or too fast and it will just run off.  For vineyards that count on ponds for irrigation, will the ponds refill?  We want the snow before we start budding but no frost after budding.  For rain, we want it in a soft gentle fashion if it is after budding (with limited wind) so it doesn't knock the buds off.  April showers lead to May flowers - well, okay, but want to make sure we don't impact the buds (and gentle rain please).

In the winery, a lot of weather impacted decisions have been made all winter - harvest was affected by last year's dry weather (last year was an early harvest and impacted grape flavor and quantity) but that just starts all the wine making impacts and decisions!  So as you start to taste the new releases, take the time to ask about the harvest, the impact of the weather and see if you can taste the difference.  Many wineries in large growing years will include the vintage year and vintage charts will help guide you to comparing the differences from year to year but at the end of the day, every winemaker will work hard to make the most of that year's harvest and make the best wine possible.  So, be adventurous, try the new releases and think about what the season provided!

Weather impacts each part of the growing season - so keep watching here for additional discussion as we experience 2013.

Winter Work

We've been busy in the winery bottleing - after our first full harvest, there is a lot of wine to bottle!  If you've been in lately, you will have seen the transformation - the patio room and barrel room have become case goods storage.  The bottling line is squeezed into the winery and we have all the botteling done (except for the Viagem and the soon to be released Deliciar - a white port style dessert wine).  The vineyards have also gotten a lot of attention - we have completed pruning the Seyvals, Vidal Blanc, Vignoles, Noiret and Chambourcin - just the Concords to go.  And with only a month away from spring, we are snowed in this weekend so we will be closed BUT this will give us a chance to write new tasting notes, update the website, catchup on paperwork & plan all the release parties - Seyval is the first one ready the first weekend of March. 

We are also working on planning our spring lineup of events and are very excited to having patio events! Funny - it's been warm and dry for months and the one weekend it is cold and snowy, we can't stop thinking about all the fun we will have when we can use the patio again!

Getting ready for spring!

It seems odd to say that in December but as we wrap up this year, we are already doing the planning for 2013.  2012 was our first full harvest and we have learned a lot from this harvest.  Challenged by the drought and the full fruit we carried, we are going to be extra careful with pruning decisions this year and we start that in about two months.  As much as we are loving this unseasonably lovely weather, we would like moisture to replenish the ground and the ponds.  In the winery, we are working on barreling (Seyval is now in the barrels) and blending trials.  While we try to keep the flavour profiles similar to the blends we have today, we do want to celebrate each vintage and what the grapes are imparting so if you love the blends, be sure to try them again. 

Where did the summer go?

The last blog was about an early spring.  That is nothing compared to the early harvest we are facing!  What a year.  Where did the summer go?  Oh we know, it is still 100+ out there and summer for intensive purposes but the grapes have moved along fast this year and we are in a early harvest situation.  We have already harvested one varietal and will harvest two additional varieties in August.  This will be an interesting year to watch the harvest and the wineries. 

Lots of new challenges (and opportunities).  Will we get the same amount of juice?  Will the flavors be more concentrated?  What happens if we now get rain?  How about the birds - they are already present in the vineyards this year?  Will the chemistry be the same or will we face new challenges?  Will vineyards drop the fruit to save the vines?  Will anyone risk a 'late harvest'?  If vineyards choose to let the fruit hang longer, will we have higher alcohol wines due to the higher brix?  Will there be a shortage of grapes?

Stay tuned - the ride is about to start....