Pinnacle Ridge loses a wall, gains some space

Received my first e-letter today from Pinnacle Ridge Winery in Kutztown, Pa. There was mix of past and future, including a report on the winery's recent recognition from both the Farm Show and the Pennsylvania Wine Society. And proprietors Brad and Christy added some details on what's ahead, a Valentine's weekend celebration, as you can read below.

Saturday February 14th (10AM to 5PM)
Sunday February 15th (Noon to 5PM)

Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away, so it is not too soon to plan for this special day. The Berks County Wine Trail Annual Chocolate and Wine Weekend is a great way to celebrate this special holiday. All eight wineries on the BCWT offer a FREE CHOCOLATE AND WINE food pairing. Pinnacle Ridge will be serving CHOCOLATE SACHER TORTE. Sacher Torte is a famous Viennese desert served in many a cozy café in Austria and throughout Europe. This delicious chocolate torte is covered with a rich chocolate glaze. To top it off, we drizzle our torte with warm apricot preserves! We are pairing our Sacher Torte with our 2007 LATE HARVEST VIDAL BLANC. Our “love”-ly staff always gets into the spirit of this romantic holiday. We look forward to seeing you!

There was this bit of news on renovations in the tasting room:

In the past, perhaps some of our customers have had to wait to be served during busy weekends and special events. Brad and Christy have taken the plunge and contracted their favorite contractor, Jim Robertson, to remove the eastern wall in the tasting room and install a NEW BAR! PINNACLE RIDGE tasting room will now have 30% MORE BAR SPACE! Demolition has been completed. The removal of the wall increases the visibility of the wine production area, which contains over one hundred American, French and Hungarian OAK BARRELS (lovingly imparting their fine flavors into our Dry Reds and Chardonnay). The tasting room has still retained its charming, rustic and intimate feel. We will have more staff and more bar space to serve our customers better!

NOW AVAILABLE!
2008 Chambourcin Rose
COMING SOON!
2008 Quaff

And my personal favorite, a "first-hand" report from the vineyard:

Bud: Poor Bud! He’s (she’s) really cold. Temperatures pushed down near zero degrees the last few weeks and poor bud has to stand out in an open field. How do grapevines responds to these cold temperatures? Will they die? How cold does it have to be before damage/death occurs?
Grapevines are a Mediterranean plant and do display negative reactions to cold temperatures. The first sign of excessive cold weather is the death of the buds, which hold the promise of the upcoming shoots and fruit. If bud damage occurs during a winter temperature event then fewer shoots and fruit occur the following growing season. The next step of winter damage is when the wood of the trunk or arms is damaged. In this case the wood experiences damage to the extent that nutrients and water can no longer flow and, consequently, everything downstream of the damaged part of the vine dies.
The ability of a grapevine to withstand cold temperatures depends on a number of factors. Vine variety is a very significant factor. Some varieties are more cold tolerant than others. For example, the native American varieties ( Concord, Niagra, Delaware) are very cold tolerant. The so-called French-American hybrids are variable in their winter hardiness. Some like Seyval Blanc, Foch, and Leon Millot can grow in places like Wisconsin and Minnesota successfully whereas others like Chambourcin are more winter tender. The most tender varieties belong to the traditional European grapes (vitis vinifera). Chardonnay, Riesling, and Cabernet Franc have reputations of being very cold hardy and one can see these varieties being grown in cooler areas such as the Finger Lakes in New York state and parts of New England. Other varieties such as Zinfandel are considered more winter tender and one rarely sees them growing on the East Coast whereas they are grown in more mild climates such as California and Italy.
Another significant (but often overlooked) factor in vine hardiness is vine health. Just as with people, grapevines in good health can tolerate more exposure to the elements than vines in poor health. If vines are over cropped, diseased, or mistreated then they will be more prone to winter injury than healthy vines. We don’t expect any significant winter injury to our vines at this point in time. So keep your finger crossed for warmer weather.

From Gettysburg, these cliff notes

The "Gettysburg sector" of the region has made several announcements the past couple of days. Hauser Estate Winery in Biglerville said it is teaming up with a marketing and advertising firm in Gettysburg called 3rd Idea to update its Web site and provide some promotion pop. The winery opened last summer. Right now, the winery is holding events on the last Fridays each month called Candle Light Friday, where it has food for purchase and wine and live music. In addition, it is planning a Valentine's Day event on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. that will include warm food and music and, of course, Hauser Estate's wines.

A few miles away, at Adams County Winery in Orrtanna, the folks there just posted information on a cooking with wine class that will feature chef Evan Shipley preparing several dishes using many of Adams County's wines. That's schedule for Friday evening, Feb. 13, at the winery's shop, 25 Chambersburg St., Gettysburg. The cost is $40 per person and reservations are required in person or by telephone at 717.334.4631. The next day, the winery will have a wine and chocolate pairing at the same location. Those new events are in additon to a wine appreciation cost at the winery this Saturday night, Feb. 7 ($35/person, nd includes a tour of the operation and a light meal), and a wine home-making course at the winery on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22 ($25/person). Reservations and advance payment for the latter event are required. In addition, these new releases are available for sale:

John's Old Barrel Chardonnay: An exquisite, smooth, smoky Chardonnay. A special one-time release with only 200 bottles made! $24.98
Seducente: A medium-bodied, dry red wine. A perfect balance of flavor and character collide in this estate bottled wine. $17.98
Fireside Memories: A semi-sweet blush wine with notes of cranberry and cherry. A perfect wine for any occasion. $14.98

Sustainability among symposium's key words

Saw these items on the weekend e-letter from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and editor Jim Trezise, and felt they had the most regional interest:

CHANGE, SUSTAINABILITY, VALUE, AND MILLENNIALS are four themes that have resonated strongly during several recent industry symposia, starting at mid-January’s Wine Market Council presentations in New York City and last week at the incredible Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, which drew over 11,000 attendees. Whether it’s change you can believe in, like, or don’t like, change is the one constant in our lives, with the rapidity and scale of change multiplying at dizzying speed. In terms of politics, economics, communication, and generation gaps, the decades-old “Future Shock” prediction of best-selling author Alvin Toffler has come true: It’s not change itself that is unsettling, but rather the pace of change that’s impossible to keep up with. Sustainability has gone from a back burner topic to a front burner priority in just a few years, as evidenced by virtually the entire first day of Unified devoted to various aspects of sustainability from grape growing and winemaking to marketing and social responsibility. With retail giant Wal Mart leading the charge toward products made sustainably and therefore others sure to follow, the message is clear to wineries and others that this will be a big deal in years to come. The importance of value to consumers was also evident during several presentations over the past month, perhaps most starkly in two slides by John Gillespie of Wine Market Council which showed that $10 = $20, and $20 = $100—in other words, for consumers during this recession, buying a bottle of wine at $10 feels like what used to be $20, and paying $20 feels like $100 when times were good. This is most evident in the on-premise (restaurant) segment, which has basically evaporated. That price pressure also makes potential wine excise tax increases even more devastating for our industry, as dramatically illustrated by Jon Fredrikson (more on that next week). But there’s hope: The Millennial generation (basically aged 15-32), also called Echo Boomers because they’re the millions of children of Baby Boomers like me (45-63). This is a huge population of young people who, for whatever reason, have taken to wine in a big way, are interested in exploring different wines, want to learn about them, and remain relatively optimistic about the economy. They consume more wine per occasion (about 3 glasses), frequent wine bars, and have remained wine-loyal more than any other age group during these challenging times. And there are still 23 million of them who haven’t yet reached the legal drinking age! Finally, while no one claims that wine is recession-proof, the preliminary statistics from 2008 show consumption growth of about 1%--certainly below recent years but still on the positive side and much better than many other products, especially during the year-end holiday season. Cheers!
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NEW YORK GRAPE CROP in 2008 increased in both volume and value over the previous year, according to recent statistics from the New York office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The 172,000 tons (up 4%) were valued at $58.4 million (up 8%), with 4,000 tons marketed as fresh fruit and 168,000 processed (73% for juice, 27% for wine). New York is a clear but distant third to California (6.7 million tons) and Washington (350,000, or double New York’s total). Fortunately, grape quality in New York was also excellent last fall, breeding expectations of superb wines. While 2008 was a good year for New York grapes, our friends in the apple and other fruit sectors did not fare as well, with all experiencing decreases from 2007. We sincerely hope 2009 will be better for all.

About 60 sites now selling Black Ankle

A shot of the tasting room at Black Ankle.

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Ed Boyce and Sarah O'Herron saw the opening of their winery delayed by a couple of months, but what a success it was once Black Ankle Winery in Mt. Airy, Md., opened, including the honor of winning the Govenror's Cup for their Crumbling Rock Bordeaux blend.

I sent Boyce a note a couple of days ago asking how things were going, and received this response yesterday.

We have had a nice breather for a couple of weeks after a really hectic Holiday season. Our wines are now sold in about 60 of the finest wine stores and restaurants in Maryland and and DC, and at our production levels that is about all we can handle. All of the wines are doing well, and we are nearly out of our Albarino, Chardonnay, and Gruner Veltliner. Our best selling wine continues to be our Crumbling Rock Bordeaux Blend at $40 a bottle, which in this economy is a real tribute to the quality of the wine. We were named winery of the year by the Cellar Notes radio show out of Baltimore, which was a great compliment in our first year - our challenge now is to live up to the accolades. We'll be bottling the 2007 reds and 2008 whites this April and May, and we are very excited about the wines. 2007 was a warm, dry vintage, yielding reds of extraordinary concentration and weight. The 2008 whites are beautifully balanced wines, with fantastic aromas across all of the varieties (the pink grapefruit on the nose of the Gruner Veltliner is a real standout).

We are planning a few events coming up; first, on Valentines Day (Feb 14th) a wine and chocolate pairing with local artisan chocolates (our Bedlam 2006 with the Aegean Pistachio is heavenly); on March 1st, a wine and cheese pairing with the Wine Coach, Laurie Forster; on March 15th, the return of the Bog Band for St. Patrick's Day weekend; and on April 5th, a pasta and wine pairing. Check the website (www.blackankle.com) for updates.

Wine Society pours heart, soul into education

It was the wine excellence awards held Jan. 18 at the Harrisburg Hilton that first got me to look at the Pennsylvania Wine Society Web site. Now, I'm a regular, at least as an observer of what this more than 21-year-old organization is educate those who want to understand and appreciate fine wines. It's a group of around 155 strong that holds events at least once a month, primarily at the Harrisburg Hilton. Club president Paul Seymour said by phone the other day that they've brought in a number of distinguished speakers during the history of the organization, from Robert Parker (“although I don't think I could get him today,” he said, laughing) to importer Bobby Kacher to Best Cellars owner Joshua Wesson.

“For the most part, we try and bring in outside speakers who are recognized experts, producers, importers, educators, people from the restaurant industry,” Seymour said. “We've had quite a few well- known people in the wine industry who are speakers.”

They generally meet at the Harrisburg Hilton, although Seymour noted they held their 20-year anniversary gala at the Country Club of Harrisburg and have held several other events at the National Civil War Museum. Events usually draw around 50 or 60 people, although some have lured up to 100.

Membership costs $30 annual for an individual and $50 for two persons living at the same address. It's a little higher for anyone wanting the perks of a patron membership. “Our mailing list goes beyond Harrisburg,” Seymour said. “It's primarily the Harrisburg area, but some from Lancaster, some from York, some from as far as State College, Reading.”

While the organization draws people often with national recognition, it tries not to stray too far from its roots. The excellence awards, recognizing the 10 best wines in the state, were held for the seventh time. Among the speakers have been Lee and Eric Miller from Chaddsford Winery in Chester County, and twice York County's Allegro Vineyards has been represented.

“We reach out somewhat,” Seymour said, when asked about how much they showcase wines and wineries in Pennsylvania. “I'd say primarily Old World, although we do some New World. In addition to Pennsylvania wine excellence event, which is every January, usually we'll have at least an East Coast if not a Pennsylvania winery at least once every other year, I would say.”

Black Walnut to roll out Plan B for Barrels

One note about the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail's Barrels on the Brandywine in March. Black Walnut Winery in Sadsburyville has been pushing to get its tasting room opened; it just won't happen in time for the annual wine trail event. But Lance Castle, one of the proprietors, wrote in an e-mail that there will be wine there for the tasting.

"We cannot let people in the building but we are putting up a tent with heaters," he wrote. "It won't be ideal but I think we will have a lot of fun."

You need passports to visit any of trail's wineries during weekends in March. That entitles you to tastings and whatever goodies they have laying about. Go to any of the wineries or the trail site to purchase a passport.

So who's gonna wait on Woodhall's Morris?

Wanted to give a shout out to Debbie Morris, the "wine goddess" at Woodhall Wine Cellars in Parkton, Md. It has been our experience that at almost every winery that are regulars who work behind the tasting bar and whose personality give the place a "Cheers like" setting. You know, they know everybody by their first name. Offer a warm greeting. Add some laughs. And know a thing or two or three about their wines.

That has been Debbie's role for longer than the four years or so we've been driving down I-83 to the winery. But she has been temporarily shelved because of knee-replacement surgery. Having now seen the announcement in the February e-letter, I feel like we can share it with the rest of the regional wine community.

THE BIGGEST Woodhall news this month is that Debbie Morris, stalwart provider of Woodhall wine to retail stores and restaurants and she who remembers everyone’s name in the Tasting Room, now has new knees – two of them. She entered GBMC [Greater Baltimore Medical Center] on January 13 and expects to come home on the 28th. As part of physical therapy in the hospital, the nurses observed the way she handled herself in a kitchen. We wonder whether they tested her behind a wine bar? Seriously, she is diligent in her therapy, uncomplaining of her pain and will be back among us sooner rather than later.

We add our best wishes and hope to see her back where she belongs by spring.

While we're talking about Woodhall, let me add this entry on the barrel tasting, which will begin Valentine's Day weekend.

Winemaker Chris Kent can’t wait to show you the wines from the 2008 vintage. They are stunning.

Beginning February 14 and extending through Sunday, March 29, we will be conducting public barrel tastings of the wines of 2008 and some reds from 2007 between the hours of 2 pm and 4 pm each Saturday and Sunday. All wines tasted will be available by the case (which may be mixed with two different varieties) at a discounted price on a futures basis. After the barrel tasting, we retire to the Tasting Room where you can put your order together while you enjoy the best of Kirchmayr chocolates and a glass of Woodhall red wine. The event costs $15, which is rebated with the purchase of your first case of wine. All you need to do is assemble your group, pick the Saturday or Sunday of your visit and call 410 357 8644 or email us (woodhallwinecellars.com) to let us know the size of your group and the date of your visit. Remember that the first couple of weekends are heavily attended, so if you have a large group or intend to bring food, we can serve you better if you select one of the later weekends.