By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
Photos courtesy of Jamesport Vineyards
Getting in touch with winery owners and grape growers is always a challenge this time a year. They've got more pressing (pun intended) things to do than respond to the enthusiastic (okay, incessant) requests from me for harvest data.
But, little by little, the the reports are coming in, including a few emails from Jake Perdie, tasting room manager at Jamesport Vineyards, owned by veteran grower Ron Goerler.
They picked all of their chardonnay last week, at 22.5 brix, and 5 tons were sold to Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn.
Before that, they picked pinot noir on the 13th at 23.5 brix. The quality is good, according to Goerler, but they don't have very much, which isn't surprising given the fruit set problems most every Long Island winery dealt with this year.
The same is true in the sauvignon blanc vineyard, where the fruit that did come in was 23.5 brix and has "incredible mango, apricot aroma."
In the riesling vineyard, Goerler is waiting for more botrytis, so we are portion picking, breaking up the harvest into different lots. "We have 4 new acres for this year and will produce 2 to 3 different styles of riesling," Jake told me in an email, adding that "Ron is very happy with the quality of riesling and feels the riesling had a much better fruit set than other whites. What we have picked so far has come in at 24.5 brix."
Yesterday, they were making rose of cabernet franc, merlot and syrah, portion picking because of uneven ripening. "We will allow the rest of the grapes to mature. Together the grapes are at 21 brix and we are destemming and crushing and pressing the rose today," Jake said yesterday.