Memorial Day weekend was a big weekend for the folks at Grand Cru Classes, the only wine education organization in Long Island wine country. You see, not only have the renovated their barn and converted it into a classroom, but last weekend they finished planting their educational vineyard.
The basics of the as-yet-unnamed vineyard are:
- Rows: 9 rows spaced 5-1/2 feet apart
- Vines: 11 per row spaced 4-1/2 feet apart
- Varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot
- Varietal Count: 3 rows (or 33 vines) each
- Total Vines: 99
- Fruit Yield: Roughly 2-gallons per row or a 6-gallon batch per varietal **
- Wine Yield: Roughly 35-bottles per varietal annually **
- First Vintage: Expected to be 2010 with the Chardonnay ready to drink in 2011 and the Cabernet Franc and Merlot in 2012
They even have their vineyard dogs on the job. There is no doubt that Sabrina and Annabelle are up to the task ahead.
Congratulations to both Jared and Tracy on what had to be an exhausting holiday weekend. I’m sure that the fruits of their labor (pun intended) will be well worth the work, however.
This is such a cool project and their education center is really taking shape. Read more about the vineyard and their bar renovations at Jared’s blog Vine Views.