By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief When most New Yorkers hear "Windham" they think about the popular ski slopes there. But James Bateman, owner, vineyard manager and winemaker at Windham Vineyards, is growing grapes and making wine there instead. Of course, with those ski slopes, its no surprise that Bateman, an Englishman, presides over the highest elevation vineyards in the east — at 2000 and 2200 feet above sea level. I've tasted and reviewed two wines made with estate-grown grapes, his St. Pepin and Frontenac Gris. Both showed potential and were interesting explorations for me because I'd never tasted those hybrids before.…
Posts Tagged“windham vineyards”
Windham Vineyards 2008 Estate Select Frontenac Gris
Earlier this week, I introduced you to Windham Vineyards and the unique hybrid grape St. Pepin. Today, I've got another new-to-me grape to talk about: Frontenac Gris. Wikipedia doesn't have a specific listing for Frontenac Gris (just Frontenac), but I was able to dig up a little information about it on the University of Minnesota site (where it was developed): Frontenac gris, the white wine version of Frontenac, started as a single bud mutation yielding gray (thus named gris) fruit and amber-colored juice. The vine exhibits the same optimum growth characteristics as Frontenac, and requires the same cultural practices. Arching…
Windham Vineyards 2008 St. Pepin
Never heard of the St. Pepin grape? I hadn't either until James Bateman, owner, vineyard manager and winemaker at Windham Vineyards in Windham, NY sent me a couple of his wines — including this Windham Vineyards 2008 Estate Select St. Pepin ($15). Windham is perhaps best known as a skiing town and not surprisingly Bateman, an Englishman, presides over the highest elevation vineyards in the east — at 2000 and 2200 feet above sea level. As you can probably guess, it gets cold up there in his vineyards, which is why he is growing varieties like St. Pepin, which is…