The skinny on buying grapes

So a reader, Marc Plesse, asks by e-mail: "I stumbled across your site. My question is, can you buy grapes from a vineyard to make wine at home? Have you done this, any recommendations, etc.? I live in the Brandywine area."

And Lee Miller, from Chaddsford Winery, takes a few minutes off from celebrating her birthday and New Year's to offer this insight. Thanks Lee.

"Like most things, the answer is 'it depends' . . . on the vineyard. Usually those of us with large vineyards sell by the ton and pick mechanically with a harvester into one ton bulk bins. So it's a bit of a bother to sell a few pounds to a home winemaker. BUT, some of the smaller vineyards who pick by hand might be willing to have someone come out and pick with them and sell small quantities. I would suggest they contact Carole and Jim Kirkpatrick at Kreutz Creek Vineyards or Dave Hoffman at Paradocx. If not, I would keep trying the smaller vineyards, maybe Stargazers in particular."

Plesse said he won a home wine-making kit through a raffle and thought he'd give it a try.

Any more questions regarding wines or winemaking? Just direct them to editorp@comcast.net.

Happy New Year, and what's ahead in 2009

I felt like the best way to wrap up 2008 on this blog was to ask the winery association heads in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to look ahead to 2009. You can find their responses below.

To all, a very happy and healthy new year. For those crunched by all that has happened these past few months, here's hoping that the new year offers a quick turnaround and an abundance of optimism.

Jennifer Eckinger, spokesperson, Pennsylvania Wine Association:
"PA has had a strong growth over the past few years and each year it seems that approximately 10 new wineries open their doors. In the latest listing of limited wineries that I received from the PLCB it showed 135 licensed wineries. Several of the wineries are looking to open in the coming year and others are dormant licenses. Averaging out the wineries that will be starting up in the coming year, I anticipate more than 115 wineries that will be open to the public."

Kevin Atticks, executive director, Maryland Wineries Association:
"My guesstimate is we will have at least six wineries licensing in 2009," he said this morning. You can find those listed on the Maryland wines site. "Most of them are up there [on the site]. Two aren't there yet. And we're launching two new wine trails, which is pretty exciting for us." Neither has a name yet. One will encompass Eastern Shore wineries, and the other will bring together southern Maryland wineries. As for one big issue for '09? Same one as last year and the year before that. "We'll spend the first half of the year in the state capitol," he said, "attempting to clean up some ancient alcohol laws." It's an ongoing effort, he admitted, that has a ways to go.

Annette Boyd, director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office:
"We currently have 144 wineries in Virginia. Up from 131, this time last year. This number is dynamic since we always have a few wineries that close in addition to the ones that open. To average this, I’d say we usually have about 15 new wineries open a year. But that number is brought down by the few wineries that close in the same year. I’d say one of the largest issues that Virginia wineries will face in 2009 will be continued zoning issues from local governments that want to separate agricultural practices from manufacturing and retail practices that are all important parts of any farm winery business. Most small farm wineries are dependent on tourism to build their customer base."

First 'chocolate sighting' at Crossing on Sunday

Wrote the other day about the Riedel workshop at CrossingVineyards in Washington Crossing, Pa. Proprietor Christine Carroll, also the director of marketing and public relations, wrote in an e-mail that they were pleased with Sunday's turnout. And the way it worked out, and this is my line not hers, those who left had a chance to head home, watch the Eagles win, and toast to the victory with the king of all wine-drinking vessels.

Carroll noted that they sell Riedel at their store, and to participants in the workshops they offer a 20 percent discount on the day of the class. She said the next clas is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 25. "So anyone who is interested in buying Riedel at a good discount can take the class," she wrote. "For $99, participants get a 4 glass tasting set, the class (including wine tasting) and the discount. When you take the 20% off, CVW is about competitive with Amazon for the purchase of Riedel glassware."

Today is the end of the current promotion that revolves around free shipping on case purchases. They've still yet to decide whether to continue that in the new year.

With the calendar being replaced after tonight, many wineries roll into the new year with at least one promotion centered around chocolate. Some wait until February and Valentine's Day. Crossing Vineyards is planning to hold a wine and chocolate pairing class at 2 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 4. The course will be led by winery sommelier Eric Cavatore and chocolate and confectionary aficionado Stacey Glynn-Brady, store manager for Lindt & Sprüngli chocolates.

According to a press release, they will share tips on the finer points of producing chocolate and wine, what creates the variety of flavors in both, and how to enjoy the two together.

Lindt chocolate still is made from a “top-secret” recipe, devised in the 1800s by Swiss Master Chocolatier Rodolphe Lindt, who invented the first melting chocolate with the creation of the “conching” machine, according to Lindt history. The delicacies produced by parent company Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG also are influenced by the Sprüngli family, confectioners whose recipes date back to 1845

Cost of the course is $35 and includes wine and chocolate sampling, learning materials and the Lindt Chocolate bar of the participant’s choice. Reservations can be made by calling 215.493.6500, ext. 19, or by going to the winery Web site.

Label this winery eager to share info

Opened a bottle of Albarino, a dry white we had bought from Black Ankle Vineyards in Mt. Airy, Md., earlier this year. It was one we tasted during a visit and really liked; that and the fact that it's almost a novelty, difficult to find from anyplace in the world outside of Spain and still a very rare commodity coming out of the East Coast. Luscious just to sip or with seafood, it was a perfect complement to a post Christmas meal.

But this isn't a post so much about the wine as the winery and its decision to provide so much detail on the back label. On the back of my bottle, for instance, was the following:

Geology: Decomposing slate laced with veins of quartz

Slope orientation: North

Number of vines/acre: 1895

Yield/per acre: 2.6 tons

Date of harvest: September 18

Quantity produced: 80 cases

I've spent much of my time with this blog writing about what's inside the bottle. But a lot of research has been done on the value of the labels when it comes to sales. Mark Chien, the first wine grape extension agent for Penn State Cooperative Extension, wrote in a newsletter last month that, on the whole, this state's wineries need to put more time and thought into their labels. This came in the middle of a review of the Farm Show competition held in New Jersey. Chief wrote:

"Some comments from judges on topics other than wine . . . as a group, Pennsylvania wineries need to upgrade the quality of their labels including design, color schemes, freshness, cleanliness, etc. Packaging and design are WAY out of my area of expertise except as a consumer. But there is no denying the importance of design to selling wines. One person commented that he would not buy a particular wine because the label looked amateurish and gave the impression that the wine would be also. I admit, most of our wines are hand sold so maybe it isn’t quite as important here but we need to be thinking past our own tasting rooms into the realm of popular and critical wine consumerism. It was also pointed out that too many Pennsylvania wines carry proprietary names and do not indicate what grape varieties are in the wine. This goes against the trend by most wineries to include more information about the wine, not less."

I wrote to Ed Boyce, co-owner of Black Ankle, asking why they decided to put so much information on the label. His response?

"The idea for the back labels was to communicate that we are focused on the vineyards, and that we are serious about the wines first and foremost [we need to fight the stereotype of the typical eastern wine]," he wrote. "We loosely patterned the back labels on the the Calera labels [you can see them on the Calera Web site); we would like to do a map like they do, but haven't yet figured out how to make it work for us."

Black Ankle opened in September and has kept limited hours compared to most other wineries in the region. Yet, between those visiting the winery and the numerous other locations around Maryland where the wines are sold, Boyce said sales have been a "bit wild. We are almost out of Chardonnay and Gruner Veltliner, and the Albarino is not too far behind," he wrote. "The reds are actually selling even faster, but we started out with a lot more of those. Anyway, we are pretty happy with the first few months!"

Look for Kog Hill site in next week or 2

Have spent plenty of time writing about three of the Pennsylvania wine trails, not intentionally ignoring a fourth one, the Berks County Wine Trail. These eight wineries fill in the gap between the Leigh Valley trail to the east and what would informally be called the Uncork York trail that encompasses wineries in and around York and Gettysburg.

Kog Hill Winery, located in Morgantown, Pa., is among those eight members. And for every Chaddsford and Black Ankle and Crossing Vineyards that has poured big sums of time and money into their operation, there are probably twice as many wineries that while scaled down by comparison have carved their own niche in the regional market.

This winery has no vineyard; it contracts with other grape producers and then turns that juice into 21 wines, a line that’s predominantly sweet. Brad Jordan, a member of the Kog Hill “family,” was at the winery Sunday afternoon when I called. He said that the business has come through this year pretty well, crediting much of that because of their prices. “We only have one bottle over $25; that’s our ice wine,” he said. “Other than that that all of them below $20 [one or two bottoming out below $10]. I think that’s the reason we’re doing so well. You get really good value . . . and the prices are so low compared to other wines.”

Jordan said the tastes of the region dictate a line heavy on sweet wines. Their best-seller is a Sunset Blush, which he compared to rose or a blush. The Kog Hill blueberry wine also has been a big seller. Perhaps the next release will match those others in sales, a blueberry Merlot. Jordan said that should be in the bottled in the next two weeks. To his knowledge, the only other winery that sells something similar is in Alaska. It should be available for sale by Valentine’s Day.

Tastings at the winery are $3, and allow visitors to sample as many of Kog Hill’s wines as they care to. Among some of the other additions to the business in 2009 will be an upgraded Web site, at www.koghillwinery.com, which is expected to be up and running in the next week or two. And that will facilitate a more vigorous program of Internet sales.

Jordan said the winery is hoping to add a weekly happy hour that might run 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays or Saturdays starting in the late spring, which would include live acoustic music. By that time, visitors should be able to sample some new “concoctions” the winery is planning to introduce, a blend of some of the wines that Kog Hill already produces.

This year? NY director gives his spin

Here's the latest, and maybe last, from Jim Trezise of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, summing up New York wines and 2008. Proposed budgets cuts might eliminate funding to the foundation, which would impact the thorough weekly e-letter that Tresize sends out. But he did manage to provide his usual mix of information and thoughts to wrap up this year.

"In the recent history of the New York grape and wine industry, 2008 ranks as one of the very best years in some ways, from a superb grape harvest to increasing recognition and continuing growth.

In other ways, it was a year which brought many concerns to the forefront, mostly related to the state, national, and global economies.

But it was definitely a year which advanced the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s strategic goal: “To have the New York grape and wine industry recognized as a world leader in quality, productivity and social responsibility.”
Here some brief highlights in various areas:

GRAPE CROP: Across the state, the quality of the 2008 grape crop was comparable to 2007’s vintage, which had been hailed as the best in at least 15 years. At times the weather conditions were unusual and worrisome, but in the end produced an excellent crop that the Wine Spectator online rated “A” in the Finger Lakes and “B” on Long Island in terms of initial impressions. The downside of this year’s harvest involved soft demand, with grape prices weakening and some grape varieties (like Cabernet Franc, and even some Riesling) looking for a market late in the harvest. This is a troubling trend for grape growers unless somehow demand is strengthened by next fall.

INDUSTRY GROWTH: The wine industry continues to grow rapidly, with 13 new wineries opened and 17 others awaiting licenses in 2008, bringing the total now operating to 245—or 12 times the number just 30 years ago. The wine industry is one of very few that are growing in New York, fueling new investment, jobs, and tax revenues that benefit the State and all its counties. A 2005 California study showed that our industry in 2004 generated over $3.4 billion in economic benefits to New York’s economy, a figure that clearly has gone up over the years (even though we haven’t had the budget to fund a formal follow-up study). The wine industry would grow even faster if the licensing process is expedited, which was one of the major recommendations of a Wine Grape Task Force report released in December.

MARKET RESEARCH: The New York Wine & Grape Foundation funded a major study by Wine Opinions on the perceptions of New York wines by consumers and the trade in New York City, the rest of New York State, California, Florida, and Washington, DC. The results, unveiled by John Gillespie and Christian Miller at the Wine Industry Workshop in April, are providing a strategic basis for our future promotion programs.

MARKET PROMOTIONS: NYWGF created two statewide “New York Wine Month” promotions in April and October; launched a major new effort to promote New York wines in New York City; and continued working on other promising markets such as Florida. The two statewide Wine Month promotions included hundreds of liquor stores and restaurants, with great support from our wholesaler partners, and will be repeated in April 2009. The “New York Wines & Dines” program in New York City resulted in sales increases exceeding 36% on average for participating wineries. A second year of New York wines at the six-week Epcot International Wine & Food Festival in Orlando generated sales far exceeding anyone’s expectations.

WINE COUNTRY TOURISM: 2008 provided dramatic evidence of how broader economic conditions affect the wine industry, which in New York is highly dependent on direct sales to tourists at the wineries. Based on anecdotal accounts (we did not have a budget for a formal study), it appears that after decades of strong growth, wine country tourism essentially held steady despite the recession and high gas prices, with the number of tourists typically mirroring specific economic conditions and forecasts of the moment. In some cases, wineries had fewer visitors spending more, with others having more visitors spending less, and others experiencing both syndromes at different times of the year. The $4-a-gallon gas shock temporarily but sharply reduced both visitors and spending, though later in the year as gas prices declined many wineries reported record crowds on Columbus Day weekend and even afterwards. Tourism is the economic lifeblood of our wine industry, and vice versa, which is why for decades NYWGF has provided funding to a dozen wine trails throughout the State, and hope to continue that in 2009.

QUALITY RECOGNITION: New York wineries continued gaining an international reputation for quality with thousands of medals in major competitions, increasing media coverage, and high ratings in major magazines. In 2008, New York wineries won 535 Gold medals or above in major competitions, and thousands of Silver and Bronze awards. Our “wine competitions” program encourages wineries to enter these competitions through reduced fees. Wineries from Long Island to Lake Erie have received other forms of recognition as well, including mentions and ratings in major wine consumer magazines. Of particular note this year were unprecedented high ratings of many Finger Lakes wines, particularly Riesling, by Wine & Spirits magazine, thanks largely to the proactive efforts of Morgen McLaughlin (Finger Lakes Wine Country) in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance. Our “regional branding” program has supported those efforts, as well as other different projects on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, Niagara Escarpment and Lake Erie regions. The concept is to let each region determine how it wants to “brand” itself under the statewide “Uncork New York” umbrella.

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP: Leadership by New York industry members in several national and international organizations boosted the State’s reputation as a key player in efforts like the new International Riesling Foundation, FIVS, National Grape and Wine Initiative, WineAmerica and Winegrape Growers of America. Most recently, NWYGF president Jim Trezise volunteered a year’s worth of weekends to get the International Riesling Foundation up and running. Other New Yorkers like Jim Bedient, Tom Davenport, Jim Finkle, John Martini and Nancy Irelan continue to play key roles in various organizations.

GRAPE JUICE PROMOTION: The grape juice industry, which accounts for two-thirds of all New York grapes, has benefited from a major promotion program on the health benefits of Concord grape juice. Thanks to special funding from the State of New York, for three years NYWGF has conducted a broad-based program which will include a major media event in New York City in mid-January.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION: Cornell University expanded its vital role in advancing the industry through a comprehensive, integrated “Total Quality Focus & Sustainability” program funded by NYWGF and supplementing a broad-based series of projects, along with the new undergraduate Enology & Viticulture curriculum. Cornell Cooperative Extension’s communication and education programs are vital to the grape and wine industry, including the great “Veraison to Harvest” weekly e-newsletter each fall filled with timely, practical information for growers and vintners.. The addition of several new, young scientists in viticulture, enology, and extension roles is a bright spot for the industry and fresh evidence of Cornell’s commitment to it.

TASK FORCE: Agriculture & Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker, a long and strong supporter of our industry, created a Wine Grape Task Force which issued a final report in December. The report will set the stage for efforts to enhance the business climate for the grape and wine industry in 2009 and beyond.

STATE SUPPORT: The strong growth and major accomplishments of the New York grape and wine industry over the past two decades would not have been possible without the long and strong partnership with the State of New York, including public officials from both sides of the aisle, and the great support of New York Farm Bureau and Long Island Farm Bureau. Virtually every program cited above is supported by State funding (much of it matched by industry) channeled through the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, which was created by the legislature specifically for that purpose. In short, the Foundation is a support mechanism to advance the industry, so it in turn can brings more benefits to the State—a win-win partnership.

WASHINGTON EVENTS: New York Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, joined by New York’s Members of Congress, continued to advocate for New York agriculture, including passage of an historic Farm Bill which recognized the importance of “specialty crops” like grapes and wine. “New York Farm Day” hosted by Senator Clinton since 2002 was bigger and better than ever, and clearly has conveyed the point that New York is a major farm state, and farming is a major part of the state economy. As always, WineAmerica protected and advanced the interests of the wine industry, in partnership with Winegrape Growers of America.

The year ahead, 2009, will definitely be “interesting”. That is a word often used by people to describe a wine they’re not sure about: hmmm, that’s “interesting”—meaning good, bad or indifferent.

New York Governor David Paterson, who is dealing with a major state economic crisis, has provided the platform for an interesting year in the wine business by proposing total elimination of funding for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (which really means all the research and promotion programs); allowing New York grocery stores to sell wine (which will be a major battle, and NYWGF is not involved); and nearly tripling the excise tax on wine.

It will indeed be interesting, in December 2009, to look back and see what actually happened.

Chien: 'Pa. reds lack depth, concentration'

So many folks affiliated with the regional wine industry credit Mark L. Chien, the state-wide viticulture extension educator, with helping them develop better practices in the vineyards and cellars and, consequently, make better wine that is receiving more and more acclaim across the country.

Chien's name was mentioned again a few weeks ago when Carl Helrich of Allegro Vineyards in The Brogue, Pa., moved to the subject of what he feels will become this region's signature wine. In his view, Merlot is that grape, and while following that line of thinking Helrich also referenced last month's newsletter that Chien sent out to subscribers expressing the opinion that Cabernet Sauvignon might never develop in this region except at certain spots in York and Adams counties.

In the interest of putting that thought into its full context, here's a copy of the newsletter that I'd like to share. Chien has just returned from the Pennsylvania Farm Show wine competition hosted by colleagues at Rutgers and University of Maryland at the Rutgers Fruit Research and Extension Center in Cream Ridge, N.J. I'll let his newsletter take it from there.

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"Before I talk about wines I would like to ask the Pennsylvania wine industry to offer a collective THANK YOU to Dr. Gary Pavlis from Rutgers and his amazing staff for the outstanding job they do in planning, organizing and hosting this event and to Dr. Joe Fiola from U Md for his continued participation. It is no small job to receive, organize, prepare and deliver over 250 wines to 20 judges in less than six hours. They do a superb job of keeping the process moving forward with nary a spilled drop or a broken glass. We also need to thank the 20 or so wine judges who arrive faithfully each November to help Joe and Gary make this competition possible. All of them do it on a Saturday, on their own time, and always with good cheer, professionalism and grace. This is a wonderful gift from NJ to PA.

"Now, to the wines …

"After the relative debacle of the ’03 and ’04 vintages Pennsylvania has strung together three very good to excellent vintages with 2007 perhaps among the best ever, so the opportunity to taste these wines was something to look forward to and for the most part they did not disappoint. I was able to taste 40-50 of the wines myself and all but one was at minimum clean and technically correct. That’s always a good starting point! It is my estimate that only half of our wineries submitted wines to the competition. I would like to see more but this is a decision for each winery. As always, there were new names that I didn’t recognize.

"Those who know me know that I have become a glass snob. Let’s face it, the quality of wine glass you use affects the perception of any wine. If you want the wines you drink to smell and taste better, use a good glass. It doesn’t have to be Riedel but it should be of the proper size and shape. While the INAO glass is still the standard for tasting, it is not satisfactory for a full sensory experience. I brought my own glass to the competition and tasting side by side with the standard glasses I could easily tell the difference. If you want your customers and peers to appreciate your wines more, give them proper glassware. Of course, if the wine has flaws, it will accentuate those, too, so beware.

"The wine competition offers a wide range of wine types including native, hybrid and vinifera, from bone dry to ultra-sweet, ports and those with bubbles. It’s definitely not a place that a wine drinker would get bored. But I always look to the vinifera wines as a bell weather of the progress we are making in wine quality. That said, the hybrids can often outperform the vinifera and the quality of the semi-sweet to sweet hybrids and natives are very good and still represent the majority of wines we produce and what the consumer of Pennsylvania wines prefers.

"The vinifera wines represent the greater viticulture and enological challenge and the wines that the reputation of the state’s wine industry will rest upon with the most critical consumers and wine critics so they necessarily need our undivided attention. In this competition, as in years past, the whites appear to outperform the red, maybe because white wine viticulture and style are more flexible and cut across a wider range of flavors and styles. For example, most whites will make nice wines over a range of 2-3 or even 4-5 brix in some cases, such as Riesling or Vidal, they simply produce different but acceptable flavors at different ripeness levels. However, Merlot or Cabernet Franc has a much narrower range of ripeness that will express the true and best character of the grape. There were standout whites include a couple of Traminettes that had different styles, one classic fruit-forward with spice and lemon and another in an Alsatian-style with more exotic, almost tropical, some might say non-Traminetter, flavors. The Chardonnay flight was clean but a bit dull to my palate. Most were rather simple, unoaked versions of the wine that had nice fruit but lacked complexity or depth. I think Chardonnay can be an excellent wine for Pennsylvania, from the cooler to warmer regions and is something we should focus on producing well. I am not a big fan of Pinot Gris (Grigio) and this flight demonstrated why Pinot Grigio is the largest imported white wine to the U.S. in their relative blandness. On the other hand, a short flight of hybrid blends showed some luscious high accent fruit with pineapple, melon, apple flavors and good concentration. A Seyval/Vidal/Cayuga blend was a particularly intriguing mix of flavors with something completely unexpected coming out in the end. Some of you know about my suspicions of native/grapey flavor infiltration into white wines, especially drier styles of hybrid and/or vinifera. I tasted this in a few wines and it continues to confound me. All I can say is wine makers should not follow natives with delicate, aromatic whites. If you are intentionally blending for these flavors, that’s a different matter altogether.

"As a general rule, warm and dry vintages make better wines, whites and reds, in cooler regions such as Pennsylvania. But even in a dry year quality of viticulture matters. I hate to be too reductionist in the view point but canopy and crop management are still the keys to success within any given vintage, and as mentioned earlier, it usually matters more for reds than whites. Vine size and balance should be established at planting, pruning should begin to determine vine architecture and yield, then shoot number and position should be adjusted followed by regulatory canopy management and a crop estimate before lag phase with appropriate yield adjustment if needed and all the while diseases and pests need to be under control and the vintage weather patterns analyzed. We know how, when, where and why to do all this stuff, it’s really a matter of doing it well and in a timely fashion. The wines reflect that we are doing it better and certainly gaining skills in the cellar.

"But the reds need to be fleshed out. As a group they still lack depth and concentration, especially in the mid-palate and good length. There is still a hint of eastern twang in most of them but they are on the verge of delicious ripeness and balance. The Merlots and Cabernet Franc wines were particularly expressive, with dark fruit and often spice and black pepper. The Cab F often had some herbal overtones but not to the extent that it would be considered a flaw in the wine, just something that needs to be further resolved, most probably in the vineyard. I’m not sure what to say about Cabernet Sauvignon. I suppose we just are not a Cab S region. They are leafy, herbal, generally too thin on the palate, and not in the realm of international CS standards. There are too many other good red grape choices for us to keep banging our heads against this one. It’s not the same situation as Pinot Noir in Oregon where we struggled to identify style and quality over two decades. PN was within its proper viticultural limits in Oregon. I’m not sure that Cabernet Sauvignon, except on the warmest sites and lightest soils in York or Adams counties, will ever consistently perform up to expectations other than our own. Chambourcin, another late grape, is a different story. I believe this was the largest varietal group and many showed the great potential for the grape with good depth and concentration. It’s a tough grape that can go the distance, deep into the season as many of our best growers push it way into October and some grow it on VSP with the same care as vinifera reds. It can deliver if the crop is properly regulated. Oh… and I would be remiss in not mentioning that I enjoyed two Lembergers, a variety I general do not like. These had high fruit tones with lots of berry flavors that were pleasant and captivating along with moderate acidity. They were very well crafted wines. I might need to change my position on this red (well, except for the name).

"The fruit and native wines were very good to excellent and demonstrate our overall proficiency in these categories. I acknowledge and accept the importance of these wines. They are the bread and butter of the industry and it is extremely important to do them well.

"To the winemakers, notes were taken on each wine sampled. This competition has very competent, mostly AWS trained judges and they attend and score consistently from year to year so they know the PA wine landscape well. However, they are not enologists so there may not be too much technical information. No matter if your wine got a gold or no medal you should read the notes about the wine carefully - you may find some pearls of wisdom where you least expect it. We could all use some fresh perspective on our wines, not matter where it comes from. The more you might disagree with a comment or suggestion, the closer you should examine it for something new and interesting about your wine. The notes probably contain valuable information about the wine, particularly from a consumer perspective. While I did not know whose wines I tasted, if you have any questions about the wine you can ask me. Joe and Gary taste every wine so they have the big picture. I can go back to them for their comments, if they remember. Both are among the most experienced tasters I know. If anything you learn from this competition can be translated out to the vineyard, please work on that with yourself or your grower. That really, truly is the best and fastest road to improvement. I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.

"Update: the extension enology position is still vacant. We need an extension enologist in Pennsylvania to work with all of the wineries but especially the new ones. I sincerely believe that is the area where extension help can have the biggest impact, in the cellar. Viticulture tends to take longer to make improvements in the bottle. Our 3 industry associations, the Pennsylvania Wine Association, Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Program, and the Pennsylvania Association of Winegrowers, are working with Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences to fill this critical void in our extension resources. You should offer your support to the leadership of these organizations to make sure this gets done as quickly as possible. It can only help to push the quality of our wines higher and faster.

"Some comments from judges on topics other than wine… as a group, Pennsylvania wineries need to upgrade the quality of their labels including design, color schemes, freshness, cleanliness, etc. Packaging and design are WAY out of my area of expertise except as a consumer. But there is no denying the importance of design to selling wines. One person commented that he would not buy a particular wine because the label looked amateurish and gave the impression that the wine would be also. I admit, most of our wines are hand sold so maybe it isn’t quite as important here but we need to be thinking past our own tasting rooms into the realm of popular and critical wine consumerism. It was also pointed out that too many Pennsylvania wines carry proprietary names and do not indicate what grape varieties are in the wine. This goes against the trend by most wineries to include more information about the wine, not less. Finally, there is always surprise among the judges about how many sweet wines are entered in the competition. This is what it is, of course, and reflects what the marketplace we are in. There is no criticism from me other than if the Pennsylvania wine industry is to establish a regional or national identity for fine wines, we need to both increase and improve our dry wine representation.

"It is my hope that over time we can add greater technical and artistic merit to our high end or snob wines so that the state will gain more critical acclaim among wine critics and consumers. I think we are heading in the right direction. A few more dry, warm and sunny vintages will definitely help us in our journey."