1994 Dehlinger Syrah

I wasn't completely truthful when I talked about the fence building Mother's Day weekend, as if that was all that we did. I do want to continue with the fence building thread just a little because in the afternoon, we saw how to put in posts. The equipment (I don't know what it is called) made pounding posts into the ground like putting toothpicks into butter. This equipment will come in handy when we get ready to put up deer fence around the vineyard.

In the late afternoon, we made our way from Harrisville to Hancock, New Hampshire to the Hancock Inn B&B. My husband chose this B&B because of the wine list and the 2009 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Dinner was served at the B&B so that was perfect.

When we sat down to eat, we looked at the wine list and there on the list was a 1994 Dehlinger Russian River Valley Syrah. We had to have it! The Syrah was delicious. It was not a fruit bomb nor was it a spicy Syrah, but we found that it was very well balanced and went well with lamb and steak. That is something for a 17 year old Syrah! I sent an email to Eva Dehlinger, who is enrolled in the UC Davis course that I am taking on line and learned that the 1994 was one of the first vintages from their vineyard. Link to Dehlinger. A link to a Wine Spectator review of the 1994 Syrah.

2011 Has Been a Challenging Spring

Yesterday, May 25, the weather report called for sun after 11 straight days of mist, fog and rain. Yes, we had one day of sun and today, it is back to the fog and mist. The only good thing about this weather is that the tiling that my husband put in earlier this year is working and draining away the precipitation from the test vineyard-to-be.

Vineyard Dream Equipment

Our mini-trip to Long Island was jammed packed with activity. We also got a chance to visit Northeast Equipment LTD. My husband was in boy-toy heaven because we stopped there in time to see the latest Antonio Carraro orchard tractor. I know nothing about these things but was also attracted to it's sleak lines and shiny black exterior. I learned that the tractor had 100 hp, puts 8 pounds per square inch of pressure on the ground (that is very little pressure), therefore does not lead to soil compaction like other tractors can. The seat can swivel both ways so you can easily use implements in the "back" as well as the "front" of the tractor. I also learned that it cost $85,000.00! Oh boy, boy-toy!

Visit with Charles Massoud at Paumanok Winery

On our 2 day mini-trip to Long Island, we also had the opportunity to meet with Charles Massoud of Paumanok Winery. I will never forget that he answered my email really promptly last November, when I asked him about Chenin blanc rootstock and clones that we are interested in planting in our vineyard. We spoke with Charles for about 3 hours and talked about everything from crown gall, to plant density to reduce vigor and then the inevitability of taking risks. Charles said that in all the 29 years that he has worked his vineyard, no two years were alike. What it comes down to is Mother Nature trumps everything. Charles' sage advice translated: what are you waiting for, get planting!
During our time with Charles, the sun came up! We had not seen signs of the sun for days so Charles excused himself to tend to his vineyard and we adjourned to the tasting room where Laura poured us tastings of all of the wines made at Paumanok. We were joined by Charles' wife, Ursula, who inquired about the Auxerrois and the salsa that we left for them to taste. We hope that it was adequate compensation for the generosity and kindness shown to us by Charles, Urusula and Laura!
Link to Paumanok Winery Website: Paumanok Vineyards

Visit to Shinn Estate Vineyards on Long Island

"Strength" and "grace" are words on the Shinn Estate Vineyards ad in Edible East End and those same words can be used to describe Barbara Shinn. We visited Shinn Estate Vineyards on May 18th and Barbara spent an entire morning showing us around the vineyard, getting a closeup look at her wonderful organic compost pile, and tasting the wines, the rewards of the labor in the vineyard. One thing that I will remember Barbara saying is that she treats her vineyard as if it was an integral part of a wild meadow. That was a real eye-opening statement for me. My husband and I want to take our virgin property and do the right things in order to grow the best possible vines on our property. Our visit with Barbara reenforced some of the practices that we'd like to adopt in order to grow healthy vines.
Barbara says it best, in her own words:
Barbara on Shinn Estates Vineyard and Winery Philosophy
Link to Shinn Estate Vineyards

Red Tail Ridge 2008 Dry Riesling

Red Tail Ridge 2008 Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes, NY
Color: Pale yellow
Aroma: Green apples, citrus notes
Flavor: Definitely a dry Riesling without overt sweetness, some tartness from the acids
Mouthfeel: Well balanced
We had this wine with a delicious Atlantic halibut.
Red Tail Ridge is the first LEED certified winery in New York State.
Link to Red Tail Ridge LEED Certification Information

Fence Building: A Mother's Day Treat

Way back in February when my husband signed us up for fence building in New Hampshire, my answer was "sure". Little did I realize that it would be on Mother's Day weekend and as luck would have it, we would have to get up on Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. to drive all the way to NH from southeastern CT in order to register for the class at 8:30. Our original intention was to go to Keene, NH on Friday, spend Friday evening in Keene, but Keene State's commencement was on Saturday and all of the area hotels, motels, B&Bs were booked solid.
Being farmers, a 4:30 wake up time is not necessarily a deterrent so we drove up to to Harrisville to attend the free fence building clinic at Wellscroft Fence Systems. David Kennard and his staff were very knowledgeable and helpful. The clinic was very well attended and very well run!
Here is a link to Wellscroft Fence Systems, LLC.
Here is a link to the Fence Building Agenda.

Who knew so many people wanted to learn how to build fences! It was a very good clinic and we learned all about making both electrified and fixed knot fences. The clinic will help us when it comes time to put up a deer fence around our property to keep the deer away from the grape vines.

Visit with Jonathan Edwards in North Stonington, CT

On May 5th, we met with Jonathan Edwards at his winery. When we arrived, he was on his tractor, unhilling his Chardonnay. His vineyard was in immaculate condition and his Chardonnay was in bud break! Jonathan said that the key to success lies in the vineyard. He is the only one in our region who has tiled his vineyard. Unlike California, in Connecticut, we have the opposite problem with water---too much! The key to moving this excess water is in tiling. Jonathan tiled every row in his vineyard. This allows the vines to root deep into the soil to seek moisture and prevents roots from growing on the surface of the soil. When the summer is hot, the roots are already deep into the soil and will find water there. As a testiment to this practice, we didn't see any signs of drip irrigation in his vineyard.
For more information, here is a link to their website:
Jonathan Edwards Winery

Visit with Rob Russell at Westport Rivers

On Monday, May 2, a beautiful spring day, unlike most of the days this spring which have either been rainy or foggy,we visited with Rob Russell at Westport Rivers, MA at the Winery and Vineyard site. Rob graciously gave us his time to explain his use of tall grafts for his vineyard. In the vineyard, the canes were pruned and tied to the guide wire and the buds were waiting for a few more sunny days to begin their annual journey to grapes. Rob explained that he had found that along the coastal region of Massachusetts where his family's vineyard is located, there really was no need to hill up and hill down to protect the graft union during the winter. Rob's interest in tall grafts began after hearing about the tall grafts that German winemakers were using. While Rob now makes all of his grafts, he mentioned that if our land was near the Long Island Sound, we shouldn't have a problem with hilling and unhilling so either the standard graft or tall grafts should work for us.
Here is a link to Westport Rivers Winery: Westport Rivers Winery