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Where the Little Grape Grows

9/19/2019

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Ever notice when you visit wineries in Virginia, or anywhere else in the U.S. for that matter, there is generally a theme to what grapes are grown in that region? On a recent trip I was able to explore the Finger Lakes region in New York and see that firsthand. There are grapes in that region that aren’t seen as often here and visa versa. But why? Well, there is a reason for that. In this blog post I’m going to go a little extra nerdy and share more on how climate has an effect as to what grapes grow best where and why.

Did you know that most grape growing regions are grown between the 30°-50° latitude both north and south? Anything outside of those latitudes are usually too extreme for grapes to survive. Virginia is roughly 37° N latitude, whereas the Finger Lakes is at about 42° N latitude. That may not seem like a big difference, but it is. The cooler climate regions don’t have nearly the growing season like we do here in Virginia. Just as Virginia doesn’t have the growing season that California does. For this blog though we will stick to the comparison of Virginia and New York, specifically the Finger Lakes region.
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​When my husband and I were in the Finger Lakes in late August, they were just starting to see verasion, which is about a month behind the vineyards in Virginia. If you recall, I did a blog post when we were seeing verasion in late July/early August. I follow a few vineyards on social media that are in the Finger Lakes and have seen how some are just now starting to harvest their Chardonnay, which we also harvested about a month earlier. Since the Finger Lakes region has a shorter growing season, the acidity is typically higher in the grapes and the sugars (brix) are generally lower, which gives less alcohol potential during fermentation.

Below is a chart to put into perspective how as sugars in the grapes increase after verasion, acidity then starts to decrease (specifically the bottom half of the chart).
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Now, onto what types of grapes are grown in the Finger Lakes. You will see some reds, some really good reds as a matter of fact, but not many of the ones you find commonly here in Virginia. Mostly varietals like Pinot Noir and Blaufränkisch (Lemberger) thrive since they don’t require a long and warm growing season like Cabernet Sauvignon or Petit Verdot. To flip the coin, so to speak, grapes like Pinot Noir are uncommon here in Virginia because the grape is very thin skinned and does not like hot weather. It does best in climates that have long, cooler growing seasons. One red grape you will see commonly both in Virginia and Finger Lakes is Cabernet Franc and although both regions produce beautiful wines, the styles are quite different.
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​Their white varietals also differ from the ones seen here in Virginia. Some of the most common whites in the Finger Lakes are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris. Those wines are usually more acidic and are lighter bodied. You will also see both Vidal Blanc and Chardonnay like you do here in Virginia, but those tend to be lighter and Vidal Blanc is also used to make Ice Wine.

This blog post has definitely been a little nerdier than previous posts, but it was a topic I get asked on a lot in the tasting room and felt it would be a good one to cover. Thanks for tuning into this week's edition of Out of the Barrel. Cheers!
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Bring in the Fruit: Harvest 2019

9/5/2019

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I bet a handful of you who just read that, either sang it out loud or in your head. No, I’m not talking about Christmas (although that will also be here before too long), I’m talking about harvest season! Harvest is here once again and looks to be a good one! Here at Bluestone we have already started picking some of our grapes with more to come. 


So far for estate fruit, from properties at both our tasting room location and the patch of vines you see on the way in, we have harvested Chardonnay and Golden Muscat. The total for Chardonnay was 18.5 tons and 2.8 of those tons will be for our sparkling Chardonnay (more on that in a future blog!). We did share three tons of the Chardonnay with Blenheim Vineyards, which is just south of Charlottesville. As for the Golden Muscat we brought in a total of 14.9 tons! That’s a lot of future Moscato!
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Chardonnay waiting to be processed.
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Golden Muscat waiting to be taken down to the crush pad.
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Golden Muscat looking delicious!
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Lee Hartman, winemaker, weighs each bin to keep an accurate count.
​Currently not all of our wine is estate grown so we work with other local vineyards to bring in other grapes like Petit Manseng and Viognier. Recently we brought in a total of four tons of Petit Manseng from both Lovingston Winery (located in Nelson County) and Silver Creek (near Wintergreen). Each vineyard we got roughly two tons from. We also get Viognier from Silver Creek, which will probably be at the vineyard by the time this is published.

I asked our winemaker, Lee, what he thought would be coming in next and he said that more than likely Merlot will be ready early next week. Both from Silver Creek and our estate, including the first harvest from a neighbor’s vineyard that Bluestone has managed since planting in 2015. As of now, Lee also said everything is coming in beautifully and the fruit is showing good sugar and acidity. He also mentioned that last week with the Chardonnay and Golden Muscat that was brought in was the biggest one day harvest we’ve had and it took 3 days to process the fruit, which comes out to about a third of the production for Bluestone.
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Crushed and destemmed golden muscat grapes.
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Owner, Curt Hartman, working to crush and destemm the grapes.
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Grape juice after it has been through the press.
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Lee dumping chardonnay grapes into press.
​There is still a lot of fruit to harvest but the Vidal Blanc coming up to the tasting room and the Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin about half a mile before you get to Bluestone is still on the vines, but not for long! Don’t forget to keep checking our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see all of the things happening at the vineyard, including harvest days!
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Vidal Blanc
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Chambourcin
Thanks for tuning into this week's edition of Out of the Barrel! Cheers!        

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    Photo of Ranee Bartley

    Author

    Raneé Bartley 
    Tasting Room Manager 

    ​Raneé started at Bluestone Vineyard in August 2015.  She thinks writing a blog about wine will be a fun and educational addition to Bluestone Vineyard. Her passion for wine has grown over the years and she is currently in pursuit to become a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. While at Bluestone, she enjoys sharing about wine with guests in the tasting room. 

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4828 Spring Creek Road 
Bridgewater, VA 22812
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