Luca Paschina, general manager and winemaker for Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia, doesn't follow trends. "Wines are meant to be enjoyed with food, not by themselves, so you want to produce a white that has a good refreshing acidity to where it may taste too refreshing and acidic by itself, but with food is a perfect pairing. On the other hand, in red wines you want to have some astringency from the tannins, that will be mitigated and it will go so well with the food, a rich cheese or a steak," he says.
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June 2007
The past winter was kind to grapegrowers in Ontario, Canada. A long fall allowed vines to go dormant before the worst of the winter weather hit, and when the cold came, the vines were ready. Monitoring of vines in the major Niagara wine region indicated that bud damage due to cold was virtually nonexistent compared to that endured during the harsh winters of 2002/2003 and 2004/2005. In those years, temperatures that usually run around 17ºF in January and February plunged to below minus 4ºF for prolonged periods.
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May 2007
The snowscape that is Alexis Bailly Vineyard in the winter paints a vivid portrait of the conditions grapegrowers face in Minnesota and other far-northern regions.
When David Bailly first started growing winegrapes in Minnesota 34 years ago, he was a pioneer. And, according to wine experts he consulted at the time, he was embarking on a fool's errand. How could Minnesota, with winter temperatures that average in the single digits, and at night dip way below zero, ever be home to a crop as delicate as the grape?
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May 2007
Attendees at the Oregon Wine Industry Symposium sniffed, sipped and made notes at the technical tasting.
One of the most important accomplishments of the 3-year-old Oregon Wine Board (OWB) has been the continual enhancement of the annual Oregon Wine Industry Symposium. In the words of Oregon winemaker Gino Cuneo, "This year's symposium has been--from start to finish--the best run, most content-rich, and valuable industry meeting we've yet had."
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May 2007
Beyond the Sawtooth Winery vineyard and across the valley floor, the Snake River traces the base of the Owyhee Mountains.
Idaho's Snake River Valley has been designated as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The new AVA includes 10 Idaho counties and a small part of Oregon.
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April 2007
Viticulture 2007 attracted almost 1,000 vintners, growers and exhibitors to Rochester, N.Y., to attend it and the simultaneous 36th Annual New York Wine Industry Workshop Feb. 7 to 9. The symposium, the first ever to address the interests of both New York growers and vintners, was sponsored by the New York Wine & Grape Growers Foundation and the Cornell University Cooperative Extension.
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March 2007
In their constant search for ways to make better wine, many winemakers are turning to new fermentation technologies as a fruitful path to better quality. Often overlooked amid the myriad of other fermentation decisions--yeasts, temperatures, nutrients, additives, etc.--the physical methods of managing the fermentation cap during red wine production can be crucial to the ultimate product quality.
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March 2007
Nestled in the rolling hills south of Charlottesville, Va., Kluge Estate Winery has been replanting its vineyards with a goal of producing world-class wines.
To make a small fortune in the wine business, start with a large one--it may be an old saw, but it elicits wry chuckles from winery owners, who are all too aware of the high capital and labor costs in starting a new winery business. But if you're determined to produce a world-class wine in very little time, and in a region that is merely a footnote in any major wine atlas, the saying holds doubly true.
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February 2007
Wildflowers mixed with native grasses can provide an attractive cover crop, and can persist from year to year. They may help to attract beneficial insects.
As the growing season begins, the first plants in the vineyards to show growth are usually not the vines, but what grows between them. Cover crops have become more and more important to vineyard managers, and should be included when considering the entire ecosystem in sustainable production of quality grapes. Vineyard floor management can have a large impact on the microclimate and both beneficial and unwanted life in a vineyard, especially soil health. Here is a guide to cover crops, developed specifically for Pacific Northwest vineyards.
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February 2007
Mission Hill Family Estate, with a spectacular facility just south of Kelowna, was among the first wineries in Okanagan to charge for tastings. Visitors have held steady, but per-person spending increased 35%.
We've all seen the buoyant, bibulous crowds flushed with the fascination of fine wine at festivals. But a single tasting event can easily cost a winery in excess of $1,500 (all dollar amounts are Canadian dollars. CAD$1 = US$.86) when wine, staff, table décor and travel are added together.
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January 2007
Students at work in the spacious vinification and brewing laboratory at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, part of Cornell's ambitious new enology and viticulture program.
For several decades, Cornell University has been a major force in research into viticulture and enology in the United States, gaining world recognition for the work of the faculty at its Ithaca campus and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva. Now this hybrid public/private institution is expanding its mission to include training undergraduates for careers in the rapidly expanding New York and Northeastern wine industries. When the program is completely in place, flanking the top-notch research operation, Cornell will rank as a full-fledged East Coast counterpart to UC Davis and California State University at Fresno.
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January 2007
It was just about two years ago that Pat Prendergast started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It looked like his deal to buy Texas' biggest winery, Ste. Genevieve Winery, from France's Domaines Cordiers would actually come to fruition.
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January 2007
Missouri has a thriving wine business, but it's challenging when you're a new winery in a new wine region. The wineries in southeast Missouri are in that situation, and their strategies for competing offer excellent examples for other boutique wineries.
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December 2006
Finger Lakes vineyards on average produce only one physiologically mature crop every four years; problems include unevenly ripening grapes, like the Gewürztraminer shown here.
Photos: Thomas Pellechia
In the old days of the giants--Taylor, Great Western, Gold Seal, Penn Yan Wine Cellars and Canandaigua--the Finger Lakes harvest schedule was built Brix by Brix. When the sugar reading hit the right spot in the mostly native-American vineyards, the order came down to growers: harvest.
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December 2006
Producing ice wine is a real act of faith requiring perfect conditions and superhuman patience on the part of the growers, not to mention picking sparse crops in frigid temperatures.
The harvest is done, and yet one acre, maybe two, of vines remain untouched. The grapes are ripe but not yet ready to be picked, for this fruit has a different purpose. Some vines won't surrender their nectar until late in the winter, when frigid temperatures have frozen the fruit as hard as marbles. Others will play host to otherwise shunned botrytis, allowing the noble rot to shrivel the grape and concentrate its flavors.
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November 2006
Six years ago we embarked on an industry-wide study to determine the combinations of vineyard site conditions, varieties and management practices that lead to superior quality winegrapes in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. Ten years prior, the industry had transformed itself from a producer of mostly bulk wine based on French hybrids, to a highly reputed producer of
V. vinifera varietal wines. During the hybrid era, government specialists published an atlas showing the grapegrowing suitability of soils and climate in the region. Although geared toward hybrids and high yields, the atlas became a key resource for selecting
vinifera production sites and varieties. Our goal was to take a modern approach in evaluating vineyard sites by focusing on
vinifera quality and using geographic information system (GIS) and statistical tools to reveal the most influential components of
terroir.
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November 2006
A gravity-flow winery can undeniably be a thing of beauty, like Stoller Vineyards' new, Gold LEED-certified facility, but is it necessary, or even the best solution for handling fragile grapes?.
Photo: Mike Haverkate
Gentleness has long been the mantra for Pinot Noir producers. Sometimes referred to as the "heartbreak grape," Pinot Noir has a reputation for being difficult to work with, demanding of the winemaker extra attention and care--especially in the process of moving the delicate fruit, must and wine around the winery.
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October 2006
As Pierce's disease (PD) continues to threaten Texas vineyards, local researchers are stepping up their efforts to find a solution to the problem. PD is spreading to the north and western parts of Texas--areas thought to be resistant. The disease is growing more virulent, and the more scientists discover about its genesis, the more questions are raised about how best to treat it.
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October 2006
With the explosive growth of winemaking all over North America, it's interesting to speculate on which state will be next to emerge as a major producer.
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September 2006
Investing in a professional designer will provide the image your wines deserve, and can save you money on materials, and mistakes.
You've opened a winery. You've developed a sound business plan, put together a realistic budget and purchased quality equip
ment. But there's this one little problem: You're out of money.
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September 2006
Tourists are hot on the trail of New York's wine regions. The areas reported more than 4 million visitors in 2003, with New York wineries averaging a 54% increase in visitors between 2000 and 2003 (the latest year for which figures were available). New York's wine trails help attract tourists, and are an integral part of the New York wine tasting experience.
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September 2006
The $7.5 million New York Wine and Culinary Center (NYWCC) opened for business in June, offering public exhibits, interactive programs and educational activities including wine tasting, cooking demonstrations and garden tours, all designed to celebrate and promote the state's agricultural products.
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August 2006
As controversy over the use of cork closures continues to swirl, some Pacific Northwest wineries already consider the case closed--even if their alternative solutions differ. For these producers, the issue of wine quality overrides any consideration of market resistance, leading some of them to become pioneers of new wine bottle stoppers.
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August 2006
Despite some price resistance, Washington wines have made a favorable impression in the UK, thanks in part to promotional efforts by the Washington Wine Commission.
Every weekend in August, thousands of British families race through the Channel Tunnel for vacations in France. Most of these people return two weeks later with sunburned faces and as much French wine as they can squeeze into their (often German) station wagons. As a consequence, it seems strange to read that American wine is now the hottest commodity in the UK market. But the numbers from ACNielsen show exactly that: a 14% market share in 2004, 15% of the market in 2005 and a likely 16% share in 2006. By the summer of 2007, many analysts predict the U.S. will pass France to become the No. 2 source of wine (after Australia) to the thirsty British populace.
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August 2006
The three working partners who created Working Girl wines are (left to right) Libby Sweetser, Molly Rivard and Kathy Charlton, whose complementary skills have made the winery a success.
Located between Port Angeles and Sequim on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, and housed in a barn built in 1890, Olympic Cellars has a one-of-a-kind location. The story behind the winery is equally uncommon.
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July 2006
Ferrigno Winery in St. James has been shipping its wines to Napa Valley and San Francisco for years.
Missouri's days as the Rodney Dangerfield of the wine industry may be over. It seems the Show Me state's wines are starting to get some respect.
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July 2006
Birds and other pests can leave just a few remaining grapes available for ice wine when conditions are ready.
With all the extra hassle and risk involved in the production of ice wine--leaving grapes on the vine for months after the others are picked, in hope they will survive wind, birds and mold to eventually freeze solid--you might wonder why anyone bothers.
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July 2006
In a country where most people drink bubbly only on New Year's Eve, focusing on sparkling wine as an exclusive winemaking niche might seem rather risky. But for Larry Mawby, proprietor of Michigan's L. Mawby vineyard and winery, it has brought focus, critical acclaim and a singular identity to the Leelanau County producer. It is, in fact, the only wine Mawby produces--and has been since 2003.
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June 2006
Thick-skinned Muscadine grapes.
Three hundred and fifty years ago, the South's own grape, Scuppernong, (
vitis rotundifolia species of muscadinia), was discovered by a member of the Sir Walter Raleigh colony in Roanoke Island, in what is now North Carolina. Now popularly known as Muscadine, the "Grape of the South," this juicy grape with tough skin is native to the American East--but has rarely been favored by sophisticated winemakers or consumers.
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June 2006
New York's Merritt Estate Vineyards capitalizes on its award-winning wines with TV and radio advertising spots, partially financed with wine trade-outs.
The New York wine industry is booming. According to the 2005 Economic Impact report from MKF Research, farm wineries, (wineries producing less than 150,000 gallons annually), have been rapidly cropping up in New York's five major wine regions, bringing the current number of licensed wineries in New York State to 212. Despite a severe winter and reduced crop production in 2004, estimated winery sales were $420 million for the year. Wine tourism makes up the bulk of sales, with tourist visits peaking in the third quarter. When the temperature drops and tourists start to dwindle, New York wineries have created strategies to keep the frost of winter from biting into their brand awareness and sales.
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June 2006
It has been nearly three decades since Coca-Cola bought Taylor Wine Company in New York's Finger Lakes and sued Walter Taylor, its founder's grandson, to prevent him from using his own name on his Bully Hill Vineyards wine.
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June 2006
New barrels fill the completed barrel room.
Owning a winery conjures up images of tanned, relaxed "beautiful people" sipping handcrafted Cabernets around a harvest table groaning with gourmet fare.
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May 2006
Shiny new tanks await the first class of students at Seattle's Washington Wine Academy, the first school of professional winemaking in Western Washington.
A number of factors led to the creation of the first higher education winemaking program in Western Washington. The catalyst, however, was a special fundraising dinner hosted by South Seattle Community College (SSCC) several years ago. The benefit, aptly named "Gifts from the Earth," paired 15 Seattle-area chefs with 30 Washington wines and reminded school leadership and culinary faculty of the natural connection between fine food and fine wine.
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May 2006
Make a better wine and consumers will beat a path to your winery, right? Well, it is rarely that easy, but you wouldn't know it by the experience of Abacela Vineyards and Winery in Roseburg, Ore.
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May 2006
Andrés' head office is housed in this impressive chateau.
A quiet contender has been priming itself for the top spot in Canada's wine industry. Grimsby, Ontario-based Andrés Wines, Ltd. has invested more than CAD$100 million (CAD$1 = US$.85) in the wine business over the past decade, and with the impending takeover of Vincor International by New York's Constellation Brands, will become Canada's largest domestic winemaker.
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May 2006
Winemakers, growers and suppliers throughout the Pacific Northwest came together for two regional conferences in February that emphasized building on current successes to create a stronger future for the wine industries of Oregon and Washington.
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April 2006
In unseasonable cold, the San Antonio Express-News Wine Festival gave residents of the historic city a chance to try Texas wines--and compare them to wines from other parts of America and the world.
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April 2006
Most Californians would be surprised to hear that Franciscan missionaries planted vineyards in Arizona nearly 100 years earlier than the Spanish padres planted winegrapes in their wine-loving home state. By 1900, Arizona was home to numerous vineyards, as well as a significant commercial wine business. But that all ended with Prohibition, and it wasn't until 1973 that Arizona's first modern experimental vineyard was planted.
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April 2006
The Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association (TWGGA) met Feb. 23-25 for its 30th annual meeting. As always, its goals were to promote the production and appreciation of premium grapes and fine wines from Texas and to assist its members in creating strategies to achieve those ends.
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March 2006
Raphael winemaker Richard Olsen-Habrich inspects his signature Merlot grapes.
In little more than 30 years, the Long Island wine industry has mushroomed from 17 acres of vines planted in a former potato field to 39 wineries extending over some 3,000 acres. Vignerons on Long Island compare their position and maritime climate to that of Bordeaux and grow the same classic grapes--Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
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March 2006
Long Island's maritime climate normally provides ideal grapegrowing conditions, but vineyards, like Bedell, are vulnerable to flooding when the rain comes.
Seventeen inches of rain in eight days was more than John Levenberg, associate winemaker at Long Island's Bedell Cellars, could bear. After all, he had honed his craft in Napa, a place where, as he puts it, "it only rained when the sprinklers were on."
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March 2006
Vintner Tom Carroll, Jr. hand-harvests the crop at Crossing Vineyards and Winery.
Pennsylvania's moderate climate and rolling terrain provide some of this country's most favorable grapegrowing conditions. The state produces at least 70 varieties, more than most wine regions, and ranks fourth nationally in grapegrowing, with more than 14,000 acres under production. Pennsylvania is also the home of the two highest elevation vineyards east of the Rockies.
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February 2006
Though the Rhône varietals from Corus Estate Vineyards' Zefina brand are made in limited amounts, they are available in many different markets.
Masters of marketing can sell anything, from shoes to the sizzle on a slab of bacon. But it's not easy. Throw in a few extra challenges--for example, selling a product handcrafted in small quantities by hundreds of boutique manufacturers, all of whom compete within the same market--and you've got a recipe for the Washington wine industry.
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February 2006
Continued emphasis on wine quality and broadened consumer awareness were identified as two of the most important priorities for Washington winegrowers and producers at the Washington Wine Industry Summit held in Kennewick, Wash. at the end of November.
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February 2006
As the new millennium approached, Bob Duncan faced a dilemma. The fruit industry in the state of Washington had fallen on sour times, which meant that the pear orchard he operated on family land was failing to turn a profit. It got so bad he recalls sending harvested fruit to the warehouse, and instead of getting a check, being greeted with a charge.
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January 2006
"Doc" McPherson (left) is considered the founding father of the modern Texas wine industry; his son Kim carries on the tradition as winemaker at Cap*Rock and his own McPherson Cellars
Anyone who believes that good wine can't be made in Texas should spend some time with Kim McPherson. Winemaker for McPherson Cellars and Cap*Rock Winery, McPherson combines his family winemaking legacy and UC Davis education to produce some of the state's most impressive wines.
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January 2006
Flag Hill Winery is housed in a two-century-old post-and-beam-barn, passed down to Frank Reinhold by his father.
Frank Reinhold is an energetic retired military man who has done something that most would consider highly improbable--he founded a successful vineyard and winery on his father's former dairy farm in New Hampshire.
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January 2006
Monte Xanic Winery overlooks the vineyards of Guadalupe Valley.
If the United States had been a little less generous, Baja California might have been the 51st state--and its wines widely consumed instead of little known among Americans.
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January 2006
Patty Held-Uthlaut
Imagine the chief marketing officers of Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and GM getting together at a country retreat to discuss and share strategies on how to attract more buyers. Imagine them offering tips and tricks to their competitors, without a hint of hesitation or suspicion. Imagine they realize that because of an ultra-competitive consumer auto industry, they are rowing (or sinking) in the same boat.
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CURRENT COLUMN ARTICLES »
Ed Hellman, professor of viticulture at TexasREAD MORE »
Crews plant a 1-acre grape variety plot May 28 at the Michigan State University NW Station near Traverse City, Mich. A similarly sized plot was planted about 230 miles south, in Berrien County.Along with the rootstock, Michigan's wine industry this spring seeded hopes that its first grape variety trial in a decade would yield promising new varietals for a booming but still youthful industry. In May, researchers and volunteers with Michigan State University planted two 1-acre variety plots at MSU facilities in northwest and southwest Michigan. Located in Leelanau and Berrien counties, respectively, two-thirds of the 46 total varieties are vinifera, and the remaining third are hybrids.READ MORE »
The vineyards in the foreground are owned by Bethel Heights Vineyards; the farthest distant are leased from Premier Pacific.Less than 50 years after its birth in the 1960s, Oregon's wine country has bloomed into an internationally acclaimed producing region. Today, it is home to 15 AVAs and 360 wineries with 429 brands by Wines & Vines' latest count, and vineyards growing 72 grape varieties. The recent, film-fed frenzy for its most successful grape also has driven demand for vineyard acreage suitable for growing Pinot Noir.READ MORE »
Prosser, Wash., enologist Dr. James Harbertson conducts lab work at the Washington State University extension, where he embarked upon a project studying the tannins in West Coast red wine..A study compiling sophisticated analyses of tannins and other wine phenolics is showing the Washington state wine industry where it's at, while directing winemakers to grapes capable of delivering the wines they want to make.READ MORE »
Ed Swanson, who established Nebraska's Cuthills Vineyards, has been breeding grapes for more than 30 years in an effort to develop a cold-hardy red grape that will thrive in the Midwest.Grapes that do well on one side of a hill may not thrive at all on the other side, says Ed Swanson, citing the most important lesson he's learned about cultivating grapes in northeast Nebraska, home of Cuthills Vineyards.READ MORE »
Neal Newsom, owner of Newsom Vineyards (above) says Texas wineries want Texas grapes, but even if every grapevine was in full production, there would still be a shortage.In Texas, "We produce 2 million gallons of wine per year, which is about 11,500 tons. In a good year, Texas grapegrowers produce 4,500 tons for the whole state--and that's an optimistic view," says Pat Prendergast, CEO of Texas' largest winery, Mesa, which produces Ste. Genevieve.READ MORE »
