Understanding Harvest with Monica Pennings from Christopher Jacobs Winery at Pennings Vineyards

This is the last in my series of "What harvest means to you." As now we are in the beginnings of the 2016 harvest. Long days and hard work for the next 6 or so weeks to bring the new chapter "The 2016 Hudson Valley Harvest" to a close so you can enjoy the wine in the years to come.

Monica Pennings gives us her view on harvest and what it means to her.

1.  "Harvest" to us is a celebration of the completion of our growing season and the beginning of our wine making season. It's a pivotal point where gears shift dramatically.  It's an exciting time.  It is when a new chapter begins.  We especially get great gratification of seeing our fruit looking ready for the next step. 

2. What are factors in knowing when is the right time to pick the grapes?

 We harvest our grapes based on maturity, ripeness and what we hope to achieve in terms of a style of wine.  Some parameters used in our decision making process of when to harvest can be acidity, tannin, aroma, flavor.  Basic measures of brix and pH are key components.  All this will vary by variety of the grape.  There is also weather to consider, as rain may effect grapes just before harvest time.

3. Once the grapes are picked, what is the process of getting it from vine to bottle?

  The process of getting grapes from vine to bottle is extensive.  In a nutshell, it starts with the harvest.  The preparation and care of the fruit before beginning any processing would be second.  Crushing the fruit is next.  Depending on the wine we may immediately press or we may start the fermentation, then press.  The fermentation process is a major phase in transforming grapes from vine to bottle. There are many details to account for and a watchful eye throughout the process is important.  Once fermentation is complete, there may be the need to press.  Ultimately, the fresh wine is racked (taken off the remaining slurry that settles to the bottom of your fermentation vessel) into a clean tank or barrel.  From there the wine will develop more with time. 

4.& 5.  Do you have any activities that allow the public to participate in harvest (ie. grape picking, cellar rat for a day?) and . What events do you have for the public if any to celebrate the Harvest? (ie. Harvest party, grape stomping etc.)

At Christopher Jacobs Winery, we coordinate a Harvest Festival.  The invitation is extended to all those interested in experiencing the "harvest" of some of our grapes.  We provide a picnic spread of sandwiches, local cheeses, and other finger foods along with our wine!  Interested grape pickers pick and harvest grapes by the bin full.  Each bin awards them a ticket that can be exchanged for the picnic spread choices and wine.  It's all hands on deck for our Harvest Festival!!  The Pennings Family is out in full force, as we facilitate and host this super fun and rewarding experience!

Understanding Harvest with Jan Palaggi of Palaia Vineyards Winery

Continuing with the harvest, Jan Palaggi of Palaia Vineyards Winery talks about what harvest means to her and the winery.

1. What does Harvest mean to you? 

It is a time of joy for me – after nursing all those vines for the entire spring and summer, pruning, tucking, spraying, tucking and more tucking, it is finally time to reap the rewards of all that work.  To see those clusters and taste the sunlight in the grapes while you pick them….it is pure joy.  

2. What are factors in knowing when is the right time to pick the grapes? 

After years of experimenting and reading about when to pick – it comes down to weather and signs of ripeness.  We test for sugar in the grapes, and if the seeds inside are browning, and if the skins are still firm or too firm or wrinkled from lack of water.  If you get too much water, you get watery wine, but if you have wrinkles…you get “Crimson Clove” which is our Holiday wine and has a slight raisin taste and is sweet and that is from not enough water.  If a hurricane is coming…pick the grapes.  I went thru 2 hurricanes and lost one entire crop, but saved the other.   

3. Once the grapes are picked, what is the process of getting it from vine to bottle? 

We drive thru the rows and dump the grapes into the larger one ton bins.  These get taken right to the winery where we get them all together.  Then we take our tractor with forks on it and strap a bin to it.  Drive up to the elevator that has a bin at the bottom and tip the bin.  2 of us then use a hoe and gently slide the grapes into the bin.  They go up the elevator to the crusher/de-stemmer where the grapes are beaten off the stems and go into a crusher where just the skins are broken.  Then, if they are red grapes they are pumped into the winery and into more one ton bins to be fermented.  If they are white grapes they go directly to the crusher.  When it is full, it is started up and the juice goes right into a tank to be fermented.  That takes about an hour and a half per batch.  Pressed, rotated, pressed, etc.  The balloon inside inflates and pressed the grapes against the drum with holes in it to get the juice.  But, you cannot press to hard or you get a bitter taste from the seeds.  Luckily the machine knows what it is doing and we just have to wait.  The juice is then given a recipe of additives to help fermentation by the winemaker all depending on how much juice is in each container.  A special yeast for whites and reds, honey wine and cider are used.  If I tell you the recipe, I would have to shoot you!  Just kidding.  It is my Husband Joe’s job and we just lug the buckets and stir the bins.  Twice a day the grapes are then pressed down and turned over as they ferment so the color comes out of the red grapes and they ferment evenly.  It is a hard job to do this by hand, but worth it in the end.  We check the sugar every day to see if the yeast has eaten it all and the fermentation is over.  When it gets to zero sugar, we press the grapes.  The wine (since once fermentation is over, it is officially wine) is then checked to see if it has enough SO2 to keep it from spoiling, and left to rest for 2-3 months.  We check the S02 monthly to make sure it is stable, but the wine needs to settle out to get it to clear.  We then “rack” the wine – siphon off the top to get clear wine into another tank, and dispose of the sludge at the bottom (which is a lovely shade of magenta by the way) back into the fields.  We also spread the stems and waste from crushing back into the fields.  Then, the good wine is tested for S02 and left to mature.  We usually wait almost a year for reds to bottle them, and about 6 months for whites.  We do “bench trials” to see what the wine tastes like and if we need to add anything to it, or how to blend it with another wine to get the right flavor.  It is then approved by the winemaker, filtered, another test for S02 to make sure it will be stable and then into the bottle it goes.  Simple, right?  Ha! 

  

4.  Do you have any activities that allow the public to participate in harvest (ie. grape picking, cellar rat for a day?) 

Not anymore.  We process grapes right out by the parking lot though and if they are here on a Saturday when we are picking and crushing, they can come right up and take a look.  September, right into October.  We have processed in the rain, sun and even snow.  When the grapes are ready, they are ready.  We answer questions and enjoy talking to people as long as they do not get in the way of the tractor so they do not get hurt.  

5. What events do you have for the public if any to celebrate the Harvest? (ie. Harvest party, grape stomping etc.)

We have a Harvest Festival the 24^th of September, 12-6.  Grape stomping, pumpkin decorating, hayrides thru the vineyard, and of course a great band on the outside stage.  We have local vendors of all kinds on the lawn, beer, food, cider, doughnuts, and a bounce house for the kids.  $10/person and kids are free. It is our last outdoor event for the year and so we really have a great time.  Then, at night we have another band for the adults from 7-10 inside for free.

Understanding Harvest with Ryan Selby from Robibero Family Vineyards

Tiffany Robibero Selby and Ryan Selby

In continuing with my interviews with winery owners and winemakers this takes us to Robibero Family Vineyards in New Paltz, NY and the spotlight is on Ryan Selby.

1. What does Harvest mean to you?

Harvest to me means its the moment the Grapes are optimal and worthy for making wine. Its a celebration of the hard work throughout the growing season and now the transition from working in the  vineyard to shifting the focus into the cellar. 

2. What are the factors in knowing when its the right time to pick the grapes?

 Some of the factors in know ing when to pick the grapes are analysis that we do to determine the best time to pick the grapes such as Brix, Acidiity, and pH. Also in conjunction with these numbers we are tasting the berries for sensory analysis, flavor and balance between sugar and acid, looking for color change in the seeds from green to brown, and how firm or squishy the grapes are. Weather is a curve ball mother nature throws at us consistently. I am chasing brix levels but am careful not to let the fruit be compromised from wet weather. Also juggling the schedule of all the grapes to be processed since each one ripens are a different rate and time.

 

Tiffany Robibero Selby and Harry Robibero

3. Once the grapes are picked what is the process of getting it from vine to bottle?

The process of getting the grapes from vine to bottle varies each year and with each wine. Taking into consideration what the quality and quantity of the grapes are, the style of wine I want to make and what the market demand is. Some wines I keep consistent and try to produce them in the same way and others I experiment with and try to make a new or different wine. For whites my goal to is get them into the bottle  relatively quickly to preserve the natural fruit characteristics of the grape. The grapes are de-stemmed, crushed, and then gently  pressed where the juice is then transfered  to tanks for cold settling to remove sediment. Once the clear and settled the juice is inoculated with a specific strain of yeast meant for the type of wine to be made. The Fermentation is kept cool and slow through temperature controlled wine tanks which in doing so brings out the fruit in the wine. Nutrients are added during fermentation to keep the yeast happy and productive which helps to avoid stress that can  lead to off flavors in the wine. Once the fermentation is complete the wine is racked off the lees, fined and then filtered before bottling. The wines are constantly tasted through out the process to determine sweetness levels or blending possibilities.

For the reds the grapes are de-stemmed and then crushed into small bins for fermentation. Some reds like our Cabernet Franc are not crushed but just de-stemmed and fermented whole berry to bring out more fruit. Our Rose is made in the traditional Saignee method and that juice is extracted from the fermentation bins immediately and fermented separately in the same process as the whites. The reds are fermented quicker and at higher temperatures. Punch downs of the cap are done daily multiple times to exaction color and tannin. At the tail end of the fermentations the wine is pressed and transferred to barrels for elevage. The reds will be racked several times and take longer than the whites (1-2 years)  before they end up on the bottle. They are tasted often to determine the right amount of oak they are receiving from the barrel, how they are progressing with age, and for blending trials. Once barrel aging and blending trials are complete they are bottled for more aging before release. These are some of the major steps in the process but many more smaller steps go between.

4. No events allow the public to participate in Harvest. For employees only.

5. To celebrate harvest we have a grape stomping festival September 24th and 25th

Understanding Harvest with Glorie Farm Winery's Doug Glorie

Continuing with my interviews about harvest in the Hudson Valley I asked Doug Glorie of Glorie Farm Winery what harvest means to him.

1. What does harvest mean to you?

There are two perspectives for answering this question. There is the big picture, long term perspective: You see a need in your wine portfolio, or you discover a new grape that intrigues you. You thoroughly research the grape, and then if you embrace the variety, you order vines, prepare a field location, plant it and see it through three to four years of care to pick your first harvest. We went through this process recently, adding a new wine to our portfolio this year; but the process actually began two years ago when we discovered a new grape.

Then there's the annual, short term perspective: The vineyard work begins in February with trimming the vines. Then it progresses through tying the vines, weeding, irrigating, applying crop protectants, thinning, exposing the crop to light, keeping the vineyards mowed - all done in hopes of bringing the crop to harvest. These are all of the things you can do; then there are the things you can't do anything about. You have to hope for enough sunny days, enough warmth, not too much rain, and perhaps most importantly, no hail. Then you have the opportunity to pick something. At that point, when harvest is actually upon us, it's extremely satisfying to have gotten that far. You hope you have ripe grapes that will express all the flavors you expect for each variety. The biggest reward is to drive onto the crush pad and see large loads of beautiful fruit, ready to process. You know you've done everything you can do, and now you can realize the potential of the fruit. You did it! You accomplished it! You pulled it off! Harvest is the crescendo of farming.

2. What are factors in knowing when is the right time to pick the grapes?

Without getting too technical, it first involves evaluating PH, Brix, and seed ripeness. Then we look at labor availability, weather, and predator pressure (birds, deer, turkeys). Everything has to come together timing wise.

Winemaker Kristop Brown

3. Once the grapes are picked, what is the process of getting it from vine to bottle?

Once the grapes are brought in from the vineyards, we de-stem, crush, ferment, wait, press, wait, rack, wait, taste, wait, blend, filter, bottle. There's a lot of waiting involved. You have to be patient, but we farmers get a lot of practice being patient.

4. Do you have any activities that allow the public to participate in harvest?

 No special activities for the public to participate. 

5. What events do you have for the public if any to celebrate the Harvest? (ie. Harvest party,) 

No events to celebrate; we're too tired. ;-)

Almost Tocai Harvest Time

I went to check on my grapes Tuesday.  I haven't been there in a while due to the lousy weather.  Boy have they progressed!  Tuesday I tasted the grapes and boy are they sweet and the seeds are brown.  It's almost time!

(please no comments on the manicure I need)

While I was there I thought Summer and I would check on the other grapes in the vineyard.  We went over and tasted the Cab Franc.  They still have a way to go.  Sugars are not up there yet.  

The it was off to the Chardonnay.  They were sweet and on their way.  Mid way through you could tell the sugar level wasn't there, it got a bit tart.

Hudson Valley Harvest Update

Harvest has begun and is in full swing here in the Hudson Valley.  August 25th began the harvest when Clinton Vineyards harvested their Seyval. (click here for video)

Baco Noir at Slate Hill Vineyards @ Benmarl Winery

Just about one week later Benmarl Winery harvested 4 tons of their Baco Noir at Slate Hill Vineyards. Brix at 22.5


Sunday, Benmarl Winery harvested their Seyval from their Ridge Road Vineyard.

Meanwhile up the road at Glorie Farm Winery, they were harvesting Seyval and processing Leon Millot.

Seyval harvested at Glorie Farm Winery

Measuring Brix

Matt Spaccarelli of Benmarl Winery uses a aerometer to measure brix levels in processing Seyval

Harvest Report Update

It seems that the Hudson Valley fruit seems has higher brix during this harvest season than the other wine regions like the Finger Lakes and Long Island. Thoughts are this is a reflection of the heat in the valley. Not sure if I go for that. It's been a strange and difficult growing season.

As you can see in the above picutre, the nets are up to keep away birds and deer. Sometimes they get to the grapes before anyone else. Not good.

In the Hudson Valley, Cab Franc brix are about 16.7, Chardonnay about 15, Fosh at 21.6, Merlot 16.9, Noiret 16.7, Pinot Noir 18.5, Riesling 17.4, but 16.1 in the northern part of the region, Seyval 18.8. These readings are from last week.

The grapes seem to be coming around. Different parts of the region experience different weather patterns. Growers will be picking when they feel their grapes are at the bix level suited for them. Hopefully we will still have warm days and cool nights. Who knows with Mother Nature, she has a mind of her own.

Processing Nectarines for a new wine

Marc Stopkie owner/winemaker of Adair Vineyards is known for his Peche wine, made from Hudson Valley white peaches. In fact, his Peche had the highest score at this years Hudson Valley Wine Competition. The creation of the Peche was an experiment. It began a while ago when a orchard had some weather damage to their peach crop and they couldn't sell the peaches at market. They asked Marc if he would like to purchase some and try to make a peach wine. Hence, the birth of Peche. Marc tells me it's the Peche is the most popular wine in the tasting room. Every year Marc purchases 2 tons of peaches and produces his Peche which is sold in 375 ML bottles.

This year has been a tough year for the Hudson Valley in regards to weather. We've had lots of rain as well has localized hail all throughout the spring and summer. It seems that the same orchard which Marc purchases his peaches from suffered damaging hail to their nectarine crop and asked Marc if he would like to try to make a nectarine wine. Since this is how the Peche was born, why not.
Processing a stone fruit wine takes time. First the pit is removed by hand from the fruit. Marc explained that there are machines that do this task, but he prefers to do it himself. After the pit is removed, it is necessary to remove the little brown nob where the fruit was attached to the tree. Believe it or not that little nob thing contains arsenic. Wouldn't want any casualties associated with your wine.
Next Marc brings the fruit to his crusher. It is now all hand crushed before being put in the fermentation tanks.
Marc then adds a late harvest yeast to the nectarines and the magic begins...fermentation. This year he will make about 120 cases of the Nectarine Wine which still doesn't have a name. He hopes the wine will be ready in early December.

After we were finished with the nectarines, the crew started on the peaches. To view more pictures from the day of processing Nectarines click here.

I leave you with a video I put together. By no means am I a videographer, but I try my best.

Harvest Report - Early September

I said I would keep you up to date with harvest in the region. I am reporting to you some findings from the past two weeks.

It looks like the weather has put us slightly behind from last year at this time. When the grapes were first tested the end of August some were actually pre-veraison with bix in the single digits. Tested a week later, the grapes are coming along with brix rising nicely and acid dropping.

So you understand - brix is the sugar level in the grapes.

Just to compare - week ending August 31 the brix for Chardonnay were 15.4 and last week they clocked in at 16.7. Foch brix were 19.4 and remained the same the following week. Pinot Noir brix were 15.6 end of August and16.8 last week. Riesling was 14.4 end of August and 16 last week. Traminette was 10 brix the end of August and varied between 13.3 and 13.8 at two vineyards locally.

What does all this mean. It means there is still ways to go before some of these grapes can be harvested. I don't know what the impending raining week will hold either. This is not the time of year you want to see rain. It will make the berries fill up and possibly burst or dilute the flavor. We can only hope for the best.

Grape to Harvest

As we roll into September we roll into harvest season. I will do my best to keep everyone up to date on the veraison report. You may want to know what kinds of grape we harvest in the Hudson Valley. Here is a sampling:

If you have the opportunity to go to the tasting rooms in the valley within the next two months, you will see the 2009 harvest in full swing. Don't be afraid to ask questions. As long as the winemakers are not busy, they will be glad to speak with you.

Seyval Blanc – French American hybrid grape. Heavy producing white. Most widely planted white grape in the Hudson Valley that produces good sugar and acid balance. Usually blended with other varieties.
Baco Noir – French American hybrid grape. Produces medium bodied, deeply tinted red wine with aromas of vanilla and chocolate and with good acid balance
Chardonnay – French Vinifera grape. Fruity, with a smoky vanilla and butter flavors and aromas if barrel fermented. Most widely planted vinifera grape in the Hudson Valley.
Cabernet Franc – Red vinifera grape best suited for growning in the Hudson Valley. Produces a wine with soft tannins, good fruit with a peppery nose and usually found in Bordeaux style blends.
Pinot Noir – Medium bodied red wine with aromas of black cherries, raspberries, and currants.
Gamay Noir – Medium bodied red wine that is a clone of Pinot Noir. French vinifera grape dating back to the 15th century. Produces a wine with elements of cherries and cranberries. Sometimes made into an early season Nouveau
Vignoles – White wine that can be made into a dry wine or late harvest wine. Floral aromas and fruity flavors of pineapple and apricot.
Riesling – A crisp white wine characterized by mineral and slate flavors with fruit notes of peaches and apricots when fully ripened
Frontenac – full body red grape, with cherry / plum aromas.High in sugar, heavy producing hybrid
from University of Minnesota.
Traminette is a late mid-season white wine grape which produces wine with pronounced varietal character likened to one of its parents, 'Gewürztraminer'. 'Traminette' is distinguished by its superior wine quality combined with good productivity, partial resistance to several fungal diseases, and cold hardiness superior to its acclaimed parent, 'Gewürztraminer'
Marechal Foch - purple-skinned French hybrid grape, with its deep inky purple-coloured juice, reliably produces sturdy, flavourful and ageworthy reds in cool-climate growing regions. Its wines are without fail acid-driven, making them naturally food-friendly. Tannin levels are minimal, which makes varietal Foch easy to enjoy young, although the strong acidic backbone can lend some respectable ageing potential. As a vine, Foch is winter-hardy and its fruit is early-ripening; like many varieties with North American parentage, it has good disease resistance.
Vidal Blanc - is fruity, with grapefruit and pineapple notes.
Merlot - It is a fragile grape, sensible to dryness as well as cold. Merlot gives a richly colored wine, with body and softness.