Posts Tagged“harvest”

Harvest 2011: Wild Ride for Niagara So Far

Pinot Noir grapes still hanging at Freedom Run Winery in Lockport, NY By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor For Jonathan Oakes, winemaker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery and Schulze Vineyards and Winery, the 2011 growing season can be summed up in one word: wild. “It’s been one of the wildest rides I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. Thanks to Mother Nature, of course. It started with a cool and excessively wet late spring followed by an intensely hot and dry July. The good news for Oakes is that all that heat enabled the vines to catch up to…

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2009 Harvest Update: Peconic Bay Winery’ Rose Components are In

Vineyard manager Charlie Hargrave brings rose-bound 2009 cabernet franc to the Peconic Bay Winery crush pad. By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief "It’s barely ripe. It’ll be awesome rose, or mid-line quality red. We went with rose." That's why, according to Peconic Bay Winery's general manager Jim Silver, the 2009 edition of their second-label Nautique Esprit de Rose will be 60% cabernet franc. He added "The cabernet franc was beautiful and clean, but not ripe enough for red wines." Yesterday, they sorted 16 tons of cabernet franc (just under 4 tons per acre)  that came in at 20 brix from a neighboring…

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2009 Harvest Update: Aromatic Whites Stand Out at Red Newt Wine Cellars

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photo courtesy of Red Newt Wine Cellars Why is David Whiting smiling? More importantly, why is he smiling while holding what appears to be a pitchfork? We might never know the answer to the second question, but he's happy to explain the first. Harvest has wrapped up at Red Newt — at least, the final grapes came in to Red Newt Wine Cellars one week ago. Crush has finished, and Whiting is already working with assistant winemaker Brandon Seager to assess the 2009 vintage. It will take time, but Whiting is fired up to…

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2009 Harvest Update: Peconic Bay Winery 2009 Riesling

Vineyard workers picking riesling at Peconic Bay Winery yesterday By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos Courtesy of Peconic Bay Winery In an effort to bring as many harvest pictures and as much harvest information to the site as we can, we'd like to invite any and all New York wineries to send us pictures and data from their 2009 harvest. Jim Silver, General Manager at Peconic Bay Winery sent me a few pictures from their 2009 riesling harvest, which took place yesterday under sunny skies in Peconic.  They picked around 8 tons, which means about one ton per acre, half of…

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Niagara Escarpment: Harvest 2009 is Underway

The harvest moon over Freedom Run Winery By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Escarpment Editor Harvest came early for me this year as my lovely wife gave birth to our son Wyatt Calandrelli on September 29, 2009, a full 12 days before he was due. Both he and mom are happy and healthy. As for myself I am exhausted from a long night and day of labor, a long night of celebrating, a seasonal cold and several sleepless nights of diaper harvesting.  So when I got invited to harvest grapes on Monday, I couldn’t resist dusting off my nippers and running my…

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Finger Lakes 2009 Vintage: Working Hard for a Happy Ending

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos by Morgan Dawson Just as hailstorms and cold snaps are destructive to a vineyard, sweeping generalizations are destructive to a harvest report. This year, more than any in recent memory, it is nearly impossible to describe the Finger Lakes pre-harvest conditions in one or two declarative statements. That's because Mother Nature did some — let's just call it like it is — weird, weird stuff this year.  Take the case of Hermann J. Wiemer, which utilizes three vineyards on Seneca Lake. One of them, the HJW vineyard behind the winery itself, endured a recent…

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Long Island’s 2009 Vintage: Quantity Down. Quality…to be Determined.

By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief The downfall of the 2009 Long Island wine vintage has been greatly exaggerated. Especially with regard to quality-focused producers. Yes, 2009 has been a difficult year for grape growers on Long Island. Very difficult. So difficult in fact that David Page, co-owner of Shinn Estate Vineyards told me that “there has never been a more frustrating spring since we started growing grapes.” A Smaller Crop That cool, rainy spring — particularly an overcast June lowlighted by 20-plus days of rain — wreaked havoc on flowering vines and invited a condition known as coulure. Caused…

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2008 Harvest Report: Finger Lakes

By Melissa Dobson, Finger Lakes News Correspondent This fall, I was given the opportunity to pack up my cameras and notebook to get out to some of the wineries here in the Finger Lakes to compile a report on the 2008 Harvest for Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association. I wish it had been possible for me to get out to all of the wineries in the region in person, and want to thank those who submitted their photos for our Flickr photostream. The report was compiled and observations made during the height of harvest season and the following…

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Tropical Storm Hanna No Big Deal for Long Island Wineries

Hurricanes, and their remnants, are a hazard that very few wine regions need to worry about. But as harvest approaches each season, Long Island vineyard managers and winemakers always have an eye set on tropical systems as they develop in the Atlantic and build steam in the Caribbean. Sometimes the can, and do, make their way north and the results can devastating. Growing fine wine grapes on Long Island is a delicate balancing act. Growers are always trying achieve the most ripening that the growing season will allow—trying to eek out every last bit of sugar—while ensuring that they get…

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Finger Lakes Harvest 2007: Excellent for Reds, Hopeful for Whites

By Finger Lakes Correspondent Jason Feulner  "The intense flavors just burst in your mouth," explains Phil Davis of Damiani Wine Cellars, describing the qualities of the red vinifera grapes he harvested and tasted in the fall of 2007. "The juice is dark and complex and shows a lot of potential." Davis is one of many Finger Lakes winemakers who are extolling the virtues of the 2007 harvest, which they claim may lead to one of the best Finger Lakes vintages in many years. The weather certainly was unique. A dry spring led to a very dry summer; the growing season…

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