Watkins Glen is Gorges too

Today I had the day off because it is still too wet to pick grapes so I hiked the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park with my fellow intern and housemate, Peter. (Peter owns a vineyard in Argentina and makes Malbec and Tempranillo - more on that later.) I wanted to show him how cool the gorges are, and I'd never been to the ones in Watkins. It was a great hike and luckily it didn't rain on us. I told him next is Ithaca and Taughannock Falls! But that will have to be saved for another day. Now it's naptime before we join the other interns tonight for pizza, beer, and of course, wine tasting.

We can do it!

Best. Poster. Ever.

That's me making a muscle after another full day of labeling, and I'm threatening you to drink local with my big guns. Today it was 10 palates = 560 cases = 6,720 bottles of Wiemer's 2007 Chardonnay. The best part was that the labeler was on its best behavior and we hardly had to fix any labels. Even when we did the labels peeled off much easier than the Riesling ones - YAY. I went on a little field trip today to get more glue for the boxes at the "Mennonite store," which is a farmer supply store. There are a lot of Mennonites here. They look like regular people but they ride around in horse-drawn carriages - for serious. The carriages look like a cross between the horse-and-buggies in Central Park and the pedi-cabs in midtown. I hear one going down my block every morning around 7:30am. I guess the Mennonites are not about being flashy or something. I wonder if those things are heated... or do they not believe in heat either? I'll have to explore this further. Will keep you posted.

Chasing rainbows

I got out of work a little early today since we didn't pick grapes because of the weather. As I was driving I saw the most incredible rainbow! I pulled over to get a better look but this shot was the best I could get. I drove on to see if I could get a better view that included the lake and then I saw 2 rainbows side by side! Amazing - don't think I'd ever seen that before. I was on my way to Anthony Road, a winery on (take a guess?) Anthony Road and Rt 14. We often recommend this one to people who visit Wiemer and want suggestions going north, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to check them out before closing. I wanted to try their '08 Gewurz specifically since I had just had Wiemer's '08 Gewurz. On comparison both of these were really pretty and I'd drink either in a heartbeat. It would be interesting to taste them blind side by side because I noticed many of the same characteristics. If I could just get my hands on another bottle of Wiemer's...

My new weekend hangout

is behind this bar - or at one of our satellite stations further in the winery or outside on the patio. Working the tasting room you meet all kinds of people. A pharmacist helped me decide what to take for my allergies and in return I gave him biotech stock picks (and wine, obvi). I met a guy who rents buildings on the upper west side of Manhattan and I got his card in case I decide to return to that area. Mostly though I just love when people come in either already loving the wine at Wiemer or discovering it for the first time and saying it's the best they've had in the area. I had 2 couples come in and they said they never like the same wines. What one couple liked the other didn't and vice versa. That changed when they tried our 2007 Dry Riesling. Now they can finally share a bottle of something!

Saturday night after hours I had the chance to try the 2008 Gewurztraminer, which hasn't been released yet. What a beautiful wine this was... Most of the '08 releases should begin rolling out in November. The '08 Late Harvest Riesling is already out and people are loving it. It is really luscious and fruity with a nice acidity. Customers over the weekend were buying it by the case!

Tomorrow I'm back in production. Hopefully we'll get a break from the rain so we can do more harvesting :)

Waiting for tonight

The sun is setting over the Finger Lakes and we're waiting for today's second batch of Chardonnay to finish pressing so we can begin sorting the third batch. Meanwhile, I locked my keys in the trunk of my car when I was getting some stuff out for the night and it closed by itself. I can't find the extra set - I have a feeling it's in my computer bag, which is also in the trunk - so I'm also waiting for a locksmith. Oh the joys of being a car owner. At least I have a fun night of winemaking ahead!

First harvest

Today I picked my first grapes! They were Gewurztraminer. Aren't they pretty? Gewurz is cool because it's a white grape but the skins actually get to be a nice pinkish color. I filled 3 bins like this one. After we picked we sorted out the grapes that were affected by rot or victim to birds. I missed pressing because I was doing a tasting at a hotel in Watkins Glen, but when I got back tonight I tried some of the juice and it was delish. Very fruity with great acidity. The lot of us had picked Gewurz from 2 of our vineyard sites, HJW and Magdalena, and you could really taste the differences in the juice - that's terroir for you. What a great start. More to come!

Labels or Love

Why not both? Today I spent most of the day labeling Wiemer's 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling. There's a machine of course, and I was on an assembly line with 2 nice Mexicans (I'm not being derogatory - they are from Mexico, they told me). I practiced my Spanish on them (Como se llama? Me llamo Melanie.) We handled approximately 8 palates = 448 cases = 5,376 bottles! I can't even believe it. Plus the workout - I know a bottle of wine is only a couple pounds but handling over 5 G's of them fairly quickly was a great muscle and cardio workout! I love cheap exercise. 1 bottle did break though - it just clanked into some others and broke right in half! Not my fault, I swear.

Yesterday was officially the first day of the 2009 harvest - the guys picked and pressed some of Wiemer's Pinot Noir grapes to make sparkling wines. I missed this exciting day because I was traveling :( and we didn't pick today because it rained. But I am not super bummed because there is plenty more to pick and do. Like this morning I got to hose out the crusher - those Pinor Noir skins smelled amazing! And I got my shower for the day (kidding).

I am the only woman working in "production." I don't mind of course - it is just interesting to note how few women are in this business aside from in the tasting room. On another note, today I watched 7 men move an 800 kilogram stainless steel tank from outside to inside, and I didn't do much besides hold the sides of it as we were moving it into the warehouse. But, this could be because I came late to the party and tasks were already assigned and/or because I cannot drive a forklift.

The Search for Sauvignon Blanc

Many of you who know me know that I love Sauvignon Blanc. I have even gone as far as saying it is my favorite white. I know that the Finger Lakes is known for Riesling (thanks in large part to Hermann J. himself), and I love the many personalities that grape can take on, but I have to say I am psyched to see that some producers here are making Sauv Blanc. At Ravines I was able to compare their 2007 and 2008 vintages - '07 had some great citrus flavors, but the '08 had more of that grassy herbaceous character that I love (much like the New Zealand style I covet). This week I tried Billsboro Winery's 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, which is their first vintage SB. It actually had many of the qualities similar to the '07 Ravines, with crisp acidity, grapefruit on the palate and a smooth finish. All of these SB's retail for around $17. There are probably over 100 wineries around Seneca lake and there must be a few more Sauv Blancs... the hunt is on!

Beasting off the Riesling

The last couple of days has been a whirlwind of labeling, lifting, cleaning, and tasting. I'm working on learning how to identify grape plantings by their leaves. This is not easy! The differences are very slight. I've collected some samples from Wiemer's vineyards - Riesling, Gewurz, Chardonnay - and I'm hoping to put together a complete collection of their estate grapes.

Now that I'm spending some time on the other side of the tasting bar I'm brushing up on my Wiemer stats. 70% of our production is Riesling, and we grow it on our 3 vineyard sites. HJW vineyard is behind the winery, and the Magdalena and Josef sites are 10 miles up the road. Each site has slightly different soils and mesoclimates that bring different properties to the grapes. Wiemer has 7 Riesling wines that they produce, and the fruit comes from some combination of the sites, with the exception of the HJW and Magdalena vineyard-specific wines. These are the only 2 Rieslings I haven't tried yet - better add that to my to-do list.

On my first day working the tasting room I got 2 tips! Hope tomorrow is another good retail day :)

It's all happening

I officially started my Wiemer wine adventure yesterday with a charity tasting in Cayuga Heights, just north of the Cornell campus. I have no clue what the charity was for but people loved the wines! I poured the 2007 Dry Riesling and 2007 Gewurz. It was nice to be back in Ithaca for the afternoon, and on my way home I was driving on a really fun bumpy road into the sunset, thinking, when did I ever notice the sky in Manhattan? The sunset followed with a beautiful starry night, and I saw a shooting star for the first time! I also got a lesson from a new friend on how to distinguish grape types by their leaves. So cool!
Today at Wiemer I put my muscles to work, moving cases of wine from here to there and learning how to work a palate jack to lift multiple cases at once. Tomorrow morning we're going to do some labeling in the morning and then visit a couple other wineries in the area as a group in the afternoon. I hope I'm able to lift my arms, at least enough to raise a wine glass!

Miles away

Legend has it that Miles Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake in Himrod began making wine sort of by accident. They started as a premier grape grower for the area in 1978, but they were later approached by a French Champagne house that was impressed by their grapes and wanted to buy a lot of them to make sparkling wine on the premises. So Miles made a deal and the French came over with their equipment and got started. At some point during the process, the French learned from their distributor in NYC that their budget had been cut and they had to pack up and go home. They hadn't yet paid Miles for the grapes, and they didn't intend to. The night before they were going to sneak off, one of the Frenchies was at Lloyd's in Penn Yan talking to the bartender. He told him the whole story, not knowing that the bartender was friends with Miles. So then of course the bartender told Miles about how the French had their plane tickets and were going to leave the next morning, so Miles thanked him, went home, and chained himself to the French winemaking equipment with some bottles of wine to get him through the night.

The next morning, the French came to retrieve their equipment and found Miles attached to it. Miles asked them repeatedly, are you going to pay us? Finally they admitted that they would not, and Miles said then that the equipment would be his. The Frenchies weighed their options and ultimately relented. Thus, Miles now had the equipment to make wine and a wine cellar was born on this beautiful lakefront property.

Fo' Shaw

Just down the road from Wiemer is a little place called Shaw Vineyard, where Steve Shaw makes some great wines, for sure. Steve ages most of his wines before release, including his Riesling and Gewurz, which is a rare practice in this area, he says. His reds get over 30 months of barrel aging plus several more in the bottle. The whites get 12-18 months aging and more in the bottle. The result is a group of wines that are still fresh but with an underlying complexity and a bit of added finesse. I was curious about his thoughts on 2007 being the "best vintage this decade for Pinot Noir in the Finger Lakes" - Steve thinks 2005 was better than 2007 and that 2008 will be the best. He says he has told Phil from Ravines his opinion on this, so I'm not starting any fights here. Shaw's current release of PN is 2005, so it will be several years before he releases the 2008 vintage and we can compare.
I had some fun walking around Shaw Vineyard and snapped some pics of Cab Franc and Gewurztraminer grapes. They're not quite ripe for the picking just yet, but they're getting there!

Y Keuka Lake?

Because every winery has an amazing view! Here's the one from Dr. Konstantin Frank in Hammondsport, NY. Dr. Frank was the man responsible for bringing the European grapes that we all know and love (Vitis Vinifera, or Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc.) to the Finger Lakes and making quality wines from them where no one had been able to before. At the winery, they greet you for your tasting and spend as much time as you want talking about the wines, making everyone feel like a VIP. Plus, the tasting is free! How often do you see that? I liked their 2007 Gewurz, but I think their most interesting wine is Rkatsiteli - an eastern European grape that pays homage to Dr. Frank's roots. It's totally unique - I really enjoyed the green olive flavors of the 2007 release and took home a bottle.

At Heron Hill Winery I tried some good Rieslings, including their 2007 Reserve Old Vines Riesling ($24.99), 2006 Classic Dry Riesling ($12.99), and 2006 Ingle Vineyard Riesling ($15.99). The Reserve Old Vines was an Alsation style and had a really nice long finish thanks to slightly higher alcohol (13% compared to 12% on the other two). Here I also learned that 2007 was the best vintage of the century for Pinot Noir in the Finger Lakes. I am now curious to explore this further. Their Reserve was good, but for $29.99 I thought I might be able to do better.

My hunch was affirmed at Ravines Wine Cellars, where I was WOWed by their 2007 Pinot Noir, a Burgundian style full of cherry and spice, which I didn't hesitate to buy at $22.95. Ravines was a great way to end the day. I did their wine and chocolate pairing, featuring Hedonist Artisan Chocolates from Rochester, NY. There were a lot of wines to like here, including:
2007 Dry Riesling
2008 Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Chardonnay (with Hedonist sesame milk chocolate)
2006 Cerise (red blend - 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Lemberger - with Hedonist cherry dark chocolate)
2007 Pinot Noir
2007 Cabernet Franc (with Hedonist cranberry orange peel dark chocolate)
2006 Meritage (Bordeaux blend - Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot - with their very own infused Hedonist truffle)

I got to taste the wines for free and received a 20% discount on the bottles I bought because of my affiliation with Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard! Apparently winery employees are eligible for these bennies at all Finger Lakes wineries. Too bad I didn't know that for the prior two ;)

PS Keuka Lake is just west of Seneca Lake and is shaped like a 'y'

I've arrived

This afternoon I rolled into Dundee, NY, my new home for the next several weeks. I felt like a college kid moving into my dorm room with all my belongings stuffed into the car. My room here is about the size of my last apt in NYC (slight exaggeration) and I've made friends with the 2 cats who live here. I went to Wegmans (best grocery store ever) and had a sub, just like old times in college (where my girls at?!). Oh, and I hope this isn't a bad sign, but I lost that grapes keychain a couple days ago. I am super bummed... I don't think it can be replaced. Oh well. I am excited for a weekend of country living and wine tasting before I get started at Wiemer on Monday!

A vine grows in Brooklyn

Well not really, the grapes are brought in from eastern Long Island, but still, Brooklyn is making wine. In the last year or so I've tried a few wines from Brooklyn Oenology (BOE), which is based in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. They make fresh, affordable wines while supporting local artists at the same time. Each wine features a piece by a local artist in a removable sticker label. I love art, so I love this idea! I've enjoyed both the wine and the labels of their 2007 Social Club White (made from Chardonnay), 2007 Viognier and 2006 Motley Cru (a red blend). Check them out! The BOE website includes a Where to Buy section and information on the artists: http://brooklynoenology.com/boe.html.

Celebrate Hudson @ New Amsterdam Market with NY Wine

If you're in the city this weekend, why not check out the New Amsterdam Market on Sunday, Sept. 13, for some NY wines, meats, and cheeses?! Brooklyn Oenology, Shinn Estate, and Paumanok Vineyards will be among the NY wineries representing. Plus check out Dickson's Farmstand Meats and several other vendors from local farms and establishments.

Apparently Sept. 13 will be NYC's very own Harbor Day, which will celebrate the 400-year anniversary of when Henry Hudson and his crew explored what became New Amsterdam (and later New York) in 1609. Cheers, Hudson!

NEW AMSTERDAM MARKET
Sunday, September 13, 11am - 4pm
South St between Beekman St & Peck Slip
http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/markets.html

North Fork Wineries heart Pups

Over the weekend my parents' puppy escorted us to the North Fork of Long Island for some wine tasting. All the wineries we visited were very dog friendly, and Shea just loved running round the vineyards.

At Bedell Cellars my dad and I liked everything we tasted, including their newly-released First Crush White and First Crush Red. The white is 82% Chard and 18% Viognier, fermented in stainless steel (no oak). The red is 72% Merlot and 28% Cab Franc, mostly fermented in stainless steel as well. Both were young and fresh - very pleasant on the hot day. My dad bought a bottle of the 2007 Chardonnay, which had a really nice balance of crisp apple/pear with a rounded character thanks to 6 months in French oak and battonage, which is the practice of stirring the wine with the leftover yeast deposits from fermentation, called lees, to impart a baked influence. IMO, this wine is an excellent example of well-integrated oak in Chardonnay. Possibly the best part of this tasting was seeing my dad recognize body in white wine and the distinctive smell of Merlot.

At Shinn Estate Vineyards I continued my Rose obsession, thoroughly enjoying their new 2008 dry Rose. Shinn uses sustainable farming practices, which means they use methods that have minimal impact on the farm. They point this out in a little card attached to their wine bags. Shinn also has a really nice Bed & Breakfast attached to it, one of the only such establishments attached to a winery on the North Fork. It reminded me of a place I stayed in the Willamette Valley - The Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard in Dundee, OR. This could very well be my dream situation - a sustainable vineyard with a winery and B&B on the North Fork of LI. Wonder how much $$$ it would go for...

Pellegrini is one of my favorite North Fork wineries. They have a beautiful outdoor area and I always enjoy their Cabernet Franc. I love using it as an example of how well Long Island does Cab Franc. I actually featured their 2005 in my old company's 10th Anniversary 'I heart NY Wines and Cheeses' party last year. But the big coup here was that my mom found another wine to like - Pellegrini's 2008 Gewurztraminer. She is generally solely loyal to Beringer White Zinfandel and Manischevitz Cream White Concord, with the occasional liking to a semi dry Riesling or a dessert wine, and I have been trying very hard for years to expand her palate to include dry white wines. From the Pellegrini Gewurz we got gardenia on the nose and grapefruit on the palate - one of her favorite flowers and one of her favorite fruits. How cool is that?! I was psyched that she bought a bottle, especially given the price tag ($29.99; her regulars usually cost under $10 for double bottles, so this is kind of a big deal).

Overall - it was a fun day for all. Mom and Dad found wines they liked, Shea had a few good runs through the grape vines, and I found the property I want to buy. Ok, let's not get too crazy - I found a great $15 Rose to cap off the end of summer.

Tasting guilt

Do you ever experience tasting guilt? I'm not talking about calories here. I'm talking about when you go to a winery for a tasting (which you inevitably pay for) and then don't buy any bottles. Do you feel guilty? Should you? I do. I try to justify my not buying anything with one of the following excuses: I don't want to travel with wine. It's too hot in the car. The prices aren't justified. It's a recession and I can only afford this 2 oz. taste. I didn't like anything. I'm drunk and my judgment is clouded so I can't tell what I like. Are these acceptable excuses? Or do the workers curse you when you leave?

Today on the North Fork of Long Island I was thankful for the tasting situation at Pellegrini, where they give you your wines on a tray to taste at your own table outside. So in my eyes there is no pressure to buy as I perceive there to be when you are standing at the bar. (Possibly beside the point, we did buy a bottle. Perhaps the wine should just sell itself regardless of the tasting situation?) Of the 4 wineries we visited today, we purchased bottles at 3 of them. At the last one, [insert excuse for not buying here], so we slinked away, hoping they wouldn't notice.

I will soon be on the other side of the bar when I begin working in Wiemer's tasting room next week, but in the meantime I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Have wheels... will travel

I got the keys to my ride! I'm so lucky that my aunt gave me her car. The best part was that she found this old grapes keychain that is probably from the 80's at best. I put it on the keys immediately. How perfect is it?! It's funny to be a driver again after living in Manhattan for over 5 years - I am loving it. I even found a really cool vintage shearling coat in the trunk that is currently airing out; it's going to be perfect for fall upstate! Hopefully I won't become one of those people who keeps a whole wardrobe in their car, but considering the many roles I'm going to have at the winery it is probably inevitable that my car will become an extra closet. Anyway, thanks again, Tantie!