News/Announcements « Richard Leahy

Aug

V&WM Magazine Announces Craft Beverages Unltd. Midwest and East Trade Shows “Hiatus” for 2017

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Vineyard & Winery Management magazine today announced its Craft Beverages Unlimited Trade Shows and Conferences will not take place in 2017.

“There’s been a steep increase in the amount of trade shows in the last few years, and our customers were feeling stretched thin to attend them all. So, as a service to them, we’ve decided to postpone our trade shows for next year,” comments publisher and president Rob Merletti.

Craft Beverages Unlimited, which takes place annually in both the Midwest and East Coast, originally began as Wineries Unlimited more than 40 years ago. Wineries Unlimited began as an East Coast event and soon became the annual meeting place for anyone involved in the Eastern wine industry, although its name was changed after 39 years in 2015. The Midwest event was added in 2010. The trade shows and conferences attempted to attract winemakers, growers, cider makers, brewers, distillers, owners, suppliers and educators “who all understand the importance of this annual event.”

Beginning in 2015, the conference and trade shows changed their name to Craft Beverages Unlimited to reflect the changing industry and include talks, seminars and tastings centering around wine, beer and distilled spirits.

[Disclosure: this author manages the conference program for the Eastern Winery Exposition, which has in five years become the largest wine industry trade show east of the Rockies].

###

About Vineyard & Winery Management

Based in Santa Rosa, Calif., Vineyard & Winery Management is an independently owned and operated multimedia company that produces an international wine trade publication, conferences, trade shows and wine competitions. The small company publishes Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, which has the highest circulation of any North American wine trade publication. V&WM’s conferences and trade shows include Craft Beverages Unlimited East and Craft Beverages Unlimited Midwest [ed: not in 2017]. Its wine competitions include The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge and the Grand Harvest Awards.

Apr

April Freezes and Frosts Hit Virginia Early Budding Varieties Hard

The 2016 growing season for Virginia vintners had hardly begun when it took a hit from up to three different freeze and frost events that reportedly have hit the early-budding white winegrapes like chardonnay and viognier, especially on the nights of April 6th and April 10th.

A traminette vine in this Belmont (Charlottesville) townhouse vineyard can use zip-lock bags to protect leafing buds in a freeze, but not commercial vineyards

Warm wet late weather led to very early bud break and shoot development, as was the case in 2012. Unfortunately, warm weather lulled the vines into pushing buds into leafing out in many locations, and in the first week of the month several cold nights below freezing, followed by warm daytime temperatures which encouraged more budding from the canes, which in turn were damaged from further night time lows in the low 20s F.

The cool Shenandoah Valley area fared best since buds had not opened yet, but locations in the south and east of the state where warm weather encouraged rapid bud break and leafing, were the hardest hit. In the Monticello AVA, those in the northwest had mild to moderate damage and are estimating 20-25% crop loss on chardonnay (the state’s most widely planted grape). “My sense is that Virginia lost as much as 25% of its potential grape crop with the two frost/freeze events, and much of this reduction will be borne by chardonnay, cabernet franc and merlot,” said Tony Wolf, state viticulturist, after reviewing injury reports.

Tom Kelly is President of the Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA) and confirms that damage varied widely based on location and grape variety. For his vineyard in Northern Virginia, “On the whole, we’re probably looking at about 25% of buds injured at the upper end [with chardonnay the most vulnerable] and as little as 5% at the lower. On the upside, all of my clients with chardonnay employ double pruning so most of the count buds on spurs were still dormant and not injured. It would seem that those who waited the longest to prune fared the best as their buds were the least developed (or furthest behind) when the cold air moved in.

“I’m hearing much worse news from Central Virginia with some reporting 80 – 100% buds injured on chard, merlot and other early varieties. I spoke with Tony Wolf today and he told me that there are similar reports from other regions south of us as well.”

Barboursville Vineyards, with close to 200 acres of grapevines, is one of the largest vineyards in the state and due to its location in the east of the Monticello AVA, sustained some damage. General Manager Luca Paschina explained “We have so far experienced a heavy loss in chardonnay (20-25%) and on nebbiolo about 50%, much lower and between 5%-15% on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Petit Verdot, Fiano, Vermentino” (all the remaining varietals were still behind and suffered no damage due to later bud-break). “Honestly the outcome is rosier than I thought it would be,” he concluded.

Keswick Vineyards in the southeast of the Monticello AVA was an example of a site that was hard hit, but not for lack of trying. The Schornbergs called “all hands on deck” from employees and hired two helicopters to sit over the vineyards while “dragon” machines belched horizontal flames down vineyard rows and straw bale fires attempted to raise the temperature in the vineyard to avoid frost damage to the tender leafing from the early budding chardonnay and viognier vines…in vain, according to Cindy Schornberg and winemaker Stephen Barnard. White the later-budding reds avoiding damage and the baby verdejo vines don’t have a crop yet, the chardonnay crop there was virtually wiped out, with an estimated 90% potential crop damage in the viognier.

Rock Stephens on the Eastern Shore ran his Orchard Rite windmill all night from Tues. 4/5-Wed. 4/6 but “temperatures crept down to a low of 27.4 by 6:25 a.m.” despite the maritime effect of the Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. “We are cordon pruned and a large portion of the Chardonnay was at 1-2 leaves. I would estimate a 20%-25% crop loss on the chardonnay. On the merlot it is too early to tell.”

Double Caning and the Silver Lining

In the spring edition of the VVA newsletter, Tom Kelly says that with a couple of severe winters recently, many vintners are delaying winter pruning and “double caning” with early-budding varieties like chardonnay. The most fruitful buds are the basal buds, which are the last to open. As Jeff Sanders, proprietor of Glass House Vineyard explains, “My vinifera is cane pruned and many of my canes had been left long, because the forecast had been calling for this cold april, event back in mid-march. So while I had many buds out in Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Barbera, and Merlot, most of them were at the tips of the canes (where the buds grow first almost always) that we plan on cutting off anyway.

“Overall, I think I experienced some loss, maybe to 20% in Chardonnay, and some loss maybe (5-10%) in Merlot, Barbera, and Pinot Gris. Since I cane prune Viognier, I also experienced loss there, maybe 5-15%. ” Sanders is on the Appellation Trail in northwestern Albemarle, where bud development was not as evolved as in areas to the south and east.

“I recommend to my clients who spur prune to employ a technique called double pruning where spurs are left long at about 6 or more nodes and only cut back to the required 2 “count” buds after those more basal buds have emerged,” says Kelly.

Leaving more and longer canes through the winter means a compressed pruning regimen at the start of the season, but it’s cheaper than paying for hovering helicopters. Along with the transition from cordon to cane pruning and to high-density vine spacing, double pruning will likely become SOP for Virginia vintners to minimize spring frost damage to the potential crop.

Mar

Lovingston Winery Named 1 of 10 “Hot Brands of 2016” by Wine Business Monthly

There are now over 8,700 wineries in the U.S. Each year the trade journal Wine Business Monthly names ten “Hot Brands”. This year, out of the potential 8,700+, a Virginia winery made the list; Lovingston Winery in Nelson County, near the town of that name. There was only one other winery (Post Familie) on the list that was not on the West Coast.

Owned by the Puckett family and only a decade old, Lovingston Winery’s talented winemaker is a South African native, Riaan Rossouw, whose wines have placed in the Governor’s Case, been acknowledged in Wine Enthusiast magazine.

When he visited Virginia during the 2015 harvest, the leading British wine writer Andrew Jefford and I visited Lovingston Winery and tasted the 2015 petit manseng as it was just finishing fermentation. Jefford told me he thought that “Petit manseng could do for Virginia what sauvignon blanc did for New Zealand.”

In fact, Wine Business Monthly focused on Lovingston Winery’s work with that French grape, with their 2014 petit manseng as the featured wine (10% seyval blanc, another Lovingston specialty).

Hats off to Riaan and the Puckets!

Feb

Keswick Vineyards Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve 2014 Wins 2016 Virginia Governor’s Cup

Keswick Vineyards owner Al Schornberg accepting the Governor’s Cup from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (right)

On Feb. 22nd at the Marshall Ballroom in Richmond, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the winner of the 2016 Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition: Keswick Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2014 Estate Reserve.

In accepting the Cup from the Governor, Keswick Vineyards’ owner Al Schornberg explained that he and his wife Cindy searched all over for a place to realize their dream of making great red wine, but that they both agreed on Virginia; “And when both people in a marriage agree so much on something, it’s probably a good idea.” He also thanked his winemaker and son-in-law Stephen Barnard, and thanked the Virginia wine industry for being such a supportive, collaborative group of people.

Tasting the Cup Winner

On the nose, the Keswick Vineyards Estate Reserve 2014 had complex aromas of black fruits, sage, basil and bay leaf with a hint of oak in the background. On the palate, the wine had big dimension and volume for a cabernet franc; solid black fruits, vibrant acidity, and elegant herbal tones. This is a lovely food wine and a fine example of first-class varietal Virginia cabernet franc.

The Governor’s Case

In the previous post I listed the 38 gold medal-winning Virginia wines in the competition (all certified as coming from in-state fruit). At the gala ceremony, the wines from that qualified to be served in the Governor’s Case (the top 12 wines of that group) were announced, as follows:

Winery/Vintage/Wine/Other Name
Barboursville Vineyards 2014 Vermentino Reserve
Bluestone Vineyard Estate Grown 2014 Chardonnay
Cardinal Point Clay Hill 2014 Cabernet Franc
Fabbioli Cellars 2012 Cabernet Franc
Glen Manor Vineyards 2013 Hodder Hill (meritage-style blend)
Granite Heights Winery 2010 Evening Serenade (meritage-style blend)
Horton Vineyards 2014 Petit Manseng
Keswick Vineyards 2014 Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve
Michael Shaps 2014 Petit Manseng
Naked Mountain Winery 2012 Petit Verdot
North Gate Vineyard 2013 Meritage
Stone Tower Winery 2013 Meritage Hogback Mountain (meritage-style blend)

Other Virginia Wine Industry Awards

Justin Rose, the new President of the Virginia Wineries Association, announced that Mitzi Battenhouse, former President of the VWA, was receiving an Appreciation Award for her work. The Virginia Wine Person of the Year Award was given to Annette Boyd, Executive Director of the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office. Gordon Murchie announced the Lifetime Achievement Award in his name, which was awarded to Amherst County grape growers Len and Kay Thompson, longtime members and officers of the Virginia Vineyards Association.

Tasting Notes from the 2016 Governor’s Cup Gold Medal Winners
(Random order based on tasting order)

Cardinal Point Clay Hill Cabernet Franc 2014
Solid black cherry on the nose and palate. Rich, full-bodied with smooth tannins. A large style for the cool 2014 vintage but solid and well-balanced.

Horton Vineyards Petit Manseng 2014
Previously made in a dry style, this petit manseng is everything you want in that grape; very fruity, juicy ripe tropical fruit, large volume and full-bodied; tastes off-dry but the three percent residual sugar is balanced with brisk acidity in the finish. Yummy and versatile.

Veritas Vineyards “VR” meritage-style blend 2013
Fun aromatics of bright red fruits and spice. On the palate, the wine is smooth, rich and velvety in the mid-palate, with a long finish of lingering red fruit flavors.

Fabbioli Cabernet Franc Reserve 2012
A nose of bright red cherries with hints of leafy herb. On the palate, wow! Tight, bright, concentrated red fruits, firm acid and a solid mid-palate, racy and will benefit from another year of age. A cab franc you can enjoy in the summer.

Stone Tower Hogback Mountain 2013
Very dark ruby. Nose: black cassis and dark concentrated black fruits. On the palate, dense, layered, supple with a solid ripe black fruit core, elegantly balanced with French oak. Very young but Large, with lots of finesse. Exceptional, worth laying down.

Keswick Vineyards Signature Cabernet Franc 2013
A fine cabernet franc but slightly different from the Cup-winning 2014. Deeply dark for a cab franc, with a complex nose of scented damson plus and black cherries. On the palate, firm solid black cherry but still lively, fresh and stylish.

Gadino Cellars Nebbiolo 2010
Nebbiolo has a good track record in Virginia for wineries who know how to treat it in the vineyard (cane pruning mandatory) and in the winery (high acid/high pH). This is a lovely, mature nebbiolo you an enjoy right now or next autumn. The nose has scented rose petals, truffles and clean forest floor aromatics and reminds me of Gattinara. On the palate, it is mellow for nebbiolo, round, well-integrated, mature and easy to enjoy.

Glen Manor Hodder Hill 2013
A “Left Bank” styled meritage blend with 69% cabernet sauvignon. Color: dark ruby. Nose: zesty black fruits but still mostly closed. Palate: solid cassis, firm acid, fine, long finish, v. young but promising.

Granite Heights “Evening Serenade” 2010
A “Right Bank” style meritage blend of 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. Nose: classic markers for St. Emilion: scented red and black fruits with herbs and base notes of mocha and clean earth. On the palate, layers of fruit with mocha in the finish and herbal notes; rich and plush but with a fresh lingering finish. As classy, and classic a “Right Bank”-style Virginia blend as I’ve tasted.

Barren Ridge 2010 Meritage
This classy petit verdot-based blend also won a gold medal last year in this competition. The nose is smooth, rich, dark and smoky. On the palate, black fruits and lavender and herb notes. On the palate, the plush dark petit verdot (45%) dominates, with a smooth lush texture. Mature, drink this year.

Michael Shaps “L. Scott” 2013
An original blend of 33% tannat, 33% malbec, 16% each cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and 20% petit verdot. Nose: smoky black fruits, bacon and wet stone. Palate: rich, intense but also delicate and finely balanced. Large, full volume and dry but also elegant; stylish.

Michael Shaps Tannat 2013
Color: dark ruby. Nose: smoky red meat and struck flint. Palate: coats the tongue with rich, smooth, round, dense, ripe and long tannins, with a finish surprisingly elegant. Also stylish.

Breaux Meritage 2013
Nose: complex, hard to describe; spice and fruit integration, with a whiff of cardamon. Palate: rich red fruits, some black also, plush texture, lingering hint of spice; a sexy wine!

Feb

Gold Medal Winners Announced in the 2016 VA Wine Governor’s Cup

govcup_logo-ddb0361edcae9c7553ecae56ada5a69f The Virginia Wine Governor’s Cup competition took place Jan. 31-Feb. 2nd at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, under the direction of Jay Youmans, MW. The Virginia Wineries Association has released the identities of the 38 Virginia wines which won gold medals in the competition which had over 430 entries. As ususal, red wines dominated the gold medals, but in fairness (disclosure: this writer was one of the judges) it should be pointed out that only 20 or so white wines were judged in the final round (where all silver and higher medals are evaluated). Competition chair Jay Youmans, MW points out that when the Governor’s Case (and Governor’s Cup) awards are made public at an industry gala on Feb. 22nd, the top scoring white gold medal wines will be included in the Case. This was a modification introduced by the Virginia Wineries Association this year, following feedback that not enough fine Virginia whites were reflected in the Governor’s Case.

Winery Vintage Wine Other Name
Ankida Ridge Vineyards 2014 Chardonnay
Barboursville vineyards 2014 Vermentino Reserve
Barren Ridge Vineyards 2010 Meritage
Bluestone Vineyard, Inc 2013 Dessert wines Blue Ice
Bluestone Vineyard, Inc 2014 Chardonnay
Breaux Vineyards Ltd. 2013 Meritage
Cardinal Point, Inc. 2014 Cabernet Franc
Delaplane Cellars 2013 Meritage Williams Gap
Fabbioli Cellars 2012 Cabernet Franc
Gadino Cellars 2010 Nebbiolo
Glen Manor Vineyards 2013 Meritage
Granite Heights Winery 2010 Red Vinifera Blend (Non-Meritage) Evening Serenade
Granite Heights Winery 2010 Red Vinifera Blend (Non-Meritage) Lomax Reserve
Granite Heights Winery 2012 Red Vinifera Blend (Non-Meritage) humility
Horton Vineyards 2014 Petit Manseng
Keswick Vineyards 2013 Signature Series Cabernet Franc
Keswick Vineyards 2014 Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve
Michael Shaps 2013 Meritage
Michael Shaps 2013 Tannat
Michael Shaps 2013 Red Vinifera Blend (Non-Meritage) L. Scott
Michael Shaps 2013 Dessert wines Raisin D’Etre White
Michael Shaps 2014 Petit Manseng
Naked Mountain Winery 2012 Petit Verdot
North Gate Vineyard 2013 Meritage
Notaviva Vineyards 2012 Petit Verdot Excelsis
Paradise Springs Winery 2012 Tannat Single Vineyard, Williams Gap Vineyard
Paradise Springs Winery 2012 Red Vinifera Blend (Non-Meritage) PVT, Williams Gap Vineyard
Paradise Springs Winery 2013 Meritage Williams Gap Vineyard, Silver Creek, Honah Lee, Leaping Fox
Pearmund Cellars, LLC 2013 Petit Verdot
Pearmund Cellars, LLC 2013 Chardonnay
Pollak Vineyards 2012 Meritage
Pollak Vineyards 2012 Merlot
Stone Tower Winery 2013 Meritage Hogback Mountain
Sunset Hills Vineyard 2010 Petit Verdot
Sunset Hills Vineyard 2013 Aldie Heights Cuvee
The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards 2013 Petit Verdot
Veritas Winery 2013 Meritage Vintner’s Reserve
Vint Hill Craft Winey 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon

Cleaning Up: Multiple Gold Wineries

Virginia wineries at the top of the quality tier don’t just make one good wine…they make several. Fully half of the 38 gold medal-winning wines were from wineries that won more than one gold medal in the competition this year. Michael Shaps Wineworks south of Charlottesville won a whopping five gold medals, across the category spectrum from dry white to dry red to dessert wines. That’s not just being lucky!

Granite Heights Winery near Opal, a small but quality-focused winery that’s closed during the winter, brought home three gold medals, all for dry red wines. Paradise Springs Vineyards near Clifton also brought home three golds, also all for dry red wines. Bluestone, Keswick, Pearmund, Pollak, and Sunset Hills Vineyards all won two gold medals apiece.

Vintage Character

You know a region is well-suited to a wine category if it produces gold medal wines with them year to year. In the five vintages from 2010-2014, only the 2011 vintage was missing from this year’s red wine gold medals, not because the vintage produced none, but because that vintage is sold out. The statuesque 2010 wines are deep and bold, the 2012s are forward and fruity, producing 8 of the red gold medals, and the 2013s are firm, solid and balanced, with age-worthy wines that are starting to drink well but will improve with further aging (16 of the 38 total gold medals).

The cool, sunny 2014 vintage was great for aromatic whites and cabernet franc, all of which were well represented in this year’s gold medal awards. Interestingly, chardonnay and cabernet franc both out-performed viognier with gold medals (two each) from 2014, although in fairness the viognier crop that year was decimated by primary bud necrosis or winter damage, and with the small quantity resulting, few wineries would want to hold back 50 cases of their small production to qualify to enter the competition.

Red Trends

There has been a debate in recent years about which grape is Virginia’s best, signature red grape. This writer has suggested, and this year’s gold medal results seem to confirm, that red blends are really Virginia’s strong suit instead of varietals. If you want to look at straight varietals though, this writer has also concluded based on results in this competition that tannat and petit verdot are not only up-and-coming, but performing more impressively as solo varietals than merlot or cabernet franc.

The Cup winner, and the 12 wines that made the Governor’s Case, as well as silver and bronze medal winners, will be announced Tues. Feb. 22nd in Richmond, with the Cup presented by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Download the 2016 Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medal Winner list

Jan

Fiore Winery Releases 2016 Commemorative Ripken Family Wine Collection

Just in time for the 2016 opening season, Fiore Winery of Harford County, Maryland has released its 2016 limited production of the Ripken Family Wine Collection. The wines are made from a limited supply of Harford County estate-grown grapes and the collection includes chambourcin (#8), chardonnay (#7) and a sangiovese/merlot blend (#3) in a commemorative box. The back of the box features first edition artwork celebrating the historical convergence of winemaking and baseball in Harford County, Maryland.

These wines were specially made with collectors in mind – the chardonnay is expected to peak in 2-3 years and the reds in 4-6 years. A limited supply of the 2015 release is on sale now with the next vintage release scheduled for Opening Day 2016. The wine’s are available at Ripken Stadium and the box collection is available at Fiore Winery and select Maryland retail stores. Please check the Fiore Wine Locator for stores carrying the Ripken gift set before traveling out to purchase.

For more information please contact Eric Fiore

Fiore Winery Inc.
3026 Whiteford Road
Pylesville, MD 21132

Recent Post