Vintage 2026: March Pruning Time is Here

The winter was a cold and very snowy one but for the last few weeks, we have had nice enough weather to get out into the vineyard to begin our pruning duties for this vintage. We typically begin by removing all of the Agfast that we've put on the vines to keep the growing shoot straight. It's good during the growing year, but bad when we have to remove it. There are literally thousands of these little black ties in the vineyard which makes removing them a time consuming task that can take 2 weeks or so.
We thought we would try something different this year. We began by cutting the tops of last year's shoots, which have now hardened into canes. It is at this point that we remove the Agfast. My husband cuts last year's fruiting cane, leaving the few shoots that he deems will become this year's fruiting cane.

We tested our new method on our red varieties, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and the Barbera. The reds can be challenging because the tendrils are tough and difficult to remove from the trellis wire. It's a good thing to tackle this first when we are anxious to get back into the vineyard.
We have a marker in the middle of the vineyard so instead of working the entire 800 feet, we work to the marker and then work our way back. In this manner, we can do 4 half rows of the vineyard in one shift, finishing the other half of the row on our second shift.
In the one week that we've been in the vineyard, we've managed to get all of the red varieties, 6 rows, to the point of the final pruning. The method that we are using now allows us to go into the vineyard to work even if it is raining. We can remove the shoots that have been cut from the live part of the vine. This is definitely a game changer for us.
I hope that this method that we are using allows us to get the vineyard ready for bud break sooner than we've done in the past. Crossing my fingers!

Gamet Champagne

We recently got together with our friends who love oysters and champagne. She really likes Pinot Meunier based champagnes so my husband procured this Gamet champagne with them in mind.
The Gamet is made with 85% Pinot Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir. Right off the bat all of us loved this champagne. The Pinot Meunier brought a full-bodied richness to the champagne and it paired so well with the oysters. The champagne is made with indigenous yeast and fermented for 24 monthas in stainless steel. The finished champagne was disgorged in June 2024 and 4 g/L dosage was added at that time.
This champagne was imported by Skurnik and on their website, I found more information about the family. Their story is about two families farming on different banks of the Marne and their descendants.
Shortly after World War I, two women, Victoire Garnier on the left bank of the Marne and Berthe Heucq on the right bank of the Marne began farming the land that they owned and making recoltant manipulant (grower owned) champagnes.
In the 1950s Victoire Garnier's original holdings on the left bank of the Marne, were expanded into the Mardeuil by her grandson, François Gamet. Meanwhile on the right bank of the Marne, Berthe Heucq’s grandson Robert was growing his family’s holdings in Fleury-la-Rivière, tending vines and bottling his own wines.
In 1993, Fabienne Heucq, Robert’s daughter, and Philippe, the son of François Gamet met and fell in love. They had a daughter, Marianne. Since 2018, Marianne is the fourth generation champagne maker, taking over the running of the estate and continuing the tradition of being a recoltant manipulant since it's inception.
Marianne’s brother, Jean-François is a trained enologist currently working in Bordeaux. He travels back home to assist his sister and parents with harvest, blending, and bottling.
Champagne Gamet remains a grower-producer, with vineyards totaling eight hectares in three villages – Mardeuil on the left bank and Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery on the right bank.
References:
1. Skurnik Wines and Spirits, Gamet
2. Terroir, Gamet.

Vintage 2026: March Madness

The weather is still top of mind for us. Last week on Tuesday, March 10, we had temperatures that reached the 70's. This helped to melt some of the snow that had remained on the ground since late January. However, after the one day of unseasonably warm weather, we have had cold, windy days that has kept us from returning to vineyard work.
I gauge the coming of spring by the crocuses that bloom in March, but so far those first signs of spring are no where to be seen in our neck of the woods. Today we are under gale force wind warnings and I can hear the gusts as I write this blog.
I am crossing my fingers for warm weather in our future, we need to get to the vineyard to begin our pruning duties!

2020 Passionfruit Estate Chardonnay

We are wondering when all of this snow will melt! In the meantime, my husband and I have been tasting our new release which is a 2020 Chardonnay.
In 2020, we had one of the best ripening years and the Chardonnay came in with 23.5 Brix, pH 3.0 and titratable acids at 10.0 We fermented our Chardonnay with a selected yeast and in 2020, we used CX9. For this vintage, we had the help of Jonathan Edwards and his crew and did the fermentation at his facility.
On the evening that we tasted our Chardonnay, my husband made a Coconut Fish and Tomato Bake with fresh local caught striped bass that he purchased from Mason's Island.

We had our friends over for dinner. It was a decidedly Asian leaning dinner and we began with an appetizer of spring rolls. The coconut fish paired with our Chardonnay went very nicely! The fish was flavored with unsweetened coconut milk, fresh ginger, turmeric, red pepper flakes, honey, tomatoes, cilantro and a fresh squeeze of lime.
Our Chardonnay was best when the temperature reached around 52 degrees, then the aromas and the flavors were more apparent. The acidity of the wine worked well with the fish and the Asian flavors brought by the coconut milk, the punch from the red pepper flakes and the freshness of the cilantro, ginger and lime. Our friends brought over a strawberry shortcake which was the perfect ending!