Making a move out of the neighborhood, but home remains the vineyard

I've been at this for almost two years now, and to a large part it's a blog that has remained a largely a secret around the wine community. Much of that is my own fault: just not taking the time to bring it up to speed on Facebook and Twitter. Some of that has been the dinosaur syndrome -- not adapting quickly to new technology -- and a lot of it has just been the factor of time; i.e., not enough of it.

So it makes sense to move this to a platform where more should see it and be able to spread the word. I already blog sports fan issues on pennlive.com here at the Harrisburg Patriot-News. As of today, I've also switched The Wine Classroom to its new address: http://blog.pennlive.com/wine. Please bookmark that address.

That's really all that's changing. I'd like to continue looking at the regional wine industry, focusing on those who are now old-timers in these parts (hello Chaddsford and Blue Mountain and Boordy and Basignani, to name a few) and the many others who are just beginning to cast their fates in the soil and climate that provide a home for the vines. And by doing so, making more people who live in the mid-Atlantic some idea about how the wine industry is growing around them and where it's headed.

Still feel sometimes like I'm searching for my voice: It's neither graperadio.com nor Gary Vay-ner-CHUK of the Wine Library, two of my favorites sources of information on wine. It's probably closer to Pierre Carafe, a favorite nickname bestowed by a previous colleague who's known to more people as Joe Sixpack than Don Russell.

While still feeling much the novice, I know much, much more about regional wines and wineries than when I started. And there's plenty more to discover. I'll be happy to share that knowledge as I'm learning.

Soups, pasta highlight menu at two Maryland wineries this weekend

Wanted to loop in a couple of events going on at Maryland wineries the next couple of weekends before focusing on what's on tap in P-A. Soup in the Cellar starts tomorrow (Saturday) in the 1830s wine cellar at Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, and coming off several days of rain and chilly temps, the timing couldn't be better.

This event will run from 1 to 5 p.m. the next three Saturdays. In addition to the wine and soups pairings and organic bread, you'll get a tour of the winery, some music, and a chance to toast marshmallows over an open flame cauldron. Expect a choice of the following soups: Southwest Shrimp and Corn Chowder, Tomato Cheddar Bisque, Mulligatawny, and Double Smoked Bacon & Black Lentil Soup. The winery is located 15 minutes north of the Baltimore Beltway.

Over in Frederick County, the already multi-decorated Black Ankle Vineyards has plenty cooking heading into the holidays. The year-old winery that already has produced Maryland's "wine of the year" in 2008 and 2009 Governor's Cup judging will be serving as host of another in a series of wine and dinner pairings at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Chef Paul Dongarra of Dionysus Kitchen will produce a three-course meal including pasta that will pair up with Black Ankle wines. Cost is $35 and $8 for a kid's plate. You can find out more by e-mailing Melissa Schulte at melissa@blackankle.com or calling 619.203.8230.

Next weekend the winery will have its chefs on location to answer questions about Thanksgiving foods and the wines that go best with them, plus Maryland-based artesian chocolate company Parfections will be in-house to build customized boxes of truffles for folks wanting to add some sweetness to their dinner table. A unique promotion called Family Photo at the Farm ($25 per session) will take place the day after Thanksgiving.

Owners Ed Boyce and Sarah O'Herron note on their Web site that supplies are dwindling on several of their wines, including their medium-bodied red blend called Passegiata (two cases left), their 2007 white blend called Bedlam (a winner of the 2008 Maryland Winemasters' Choice award, there are four cases left), and their white varietal called Gruner Veltliner (3 cases left of the '08 vintage).

Four Maryland winery owners, and how they got started, profiled in magazine story

Two quick notes out of Maryland before I head out the door to class.

The newest e-letter of the Association of Maryland Wineries links to a story that Baltimore Magazine recently published on four wineries in the state -- Black Ankle, Boordy, Sugarloaf Mountain and St. Michaels -- and how they got started. A good read with an ample mix of background and quotes. I've dealt with three of the four wineries, and all three have been media savvy and eager for the publicity. I've always appreciated their cooperation. The one I haven't visited as yet is St. Michaels.

Wanted to also call attention to the Eastern Yacht Club's Bayside Blues and Wine Fest, scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. Saturday in Essex, Md. "Seven wineries in the proximity of the yacht club will be pouring. You can find out more by clocking on this link.

Bottled mud? Well, if it keeps raining . . .

Rob Deford of Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, Md., called the 2009 vintage one that “will separate the good grape growers from the less good one.” In terms of vintages, most everyone is holding their breath after another round of rain over the region the past 24 hours. Maybe a dry September will save it, but there seems no end to this succession of tropical rains that have become such a predominant part of this summer.

Pennsylvania’s statewide grape educator noted in his e-letter earlier this week that the grapes are beginning to turn in color, going through veraison en route to harvest. “By most measures in many parts of the state it has been a challenging vintage so far,” Mark Chein wrote, “beginning with freeze events is some areas, frost and then what seems like interminable rain and cool conditions, poor fruit set and complicated disease issues. The forecast is not encouraging. About the only thing to do now is continue to scout and treat for diseases as necessary and manage the canopy. This will be a "winemaker's vintage" but it's still up to the grower to do the best possible job in the vineyard to bring in clean and ripe-as-possible grapes.

“I have little doubt that fruit will ripen at lower brix this year so tasting for flavor maturity will be important as well as the timing of harvest,” he continued. “Acids will be higher and pH lower, always a challenge in the cellar to achieve balance in wines. There is endless debate about how long to wait after a significant rain event before picking. My experience is to wait as long as possible. If you can take 2 steps forward and one back you are still gaining flavors, when it's one step forward and 2 back, it's time to pull the fruit. Winemakers should be intimately involved in these decisions. If you are a wine maker and you are not in your vineyards in a vintage like this you are compromising the quality of your wines.”

The region is two years removed from one of its best-ever vintages; indeed, it would be pretty hard to go wrong with a 2007 dry red from the various wineries in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Deford said that “if anything, if I were laying money on it, this is the year for whites. It has been cooler, which usually favors the fruity aspects of the grapes. They don’t get cooked out, and we have found that actually the whites are a bit better in a challenging year like this.”

You might remember reading here last year that a renegade hailstorm moved down the estate vineyard that Chaddsford Winery has in Elverson, Chester County. Co-owner Lee Miller said the other day, “We did recover very well,” she said. “We had no lasting damage in the vines. So we’re very happy about that,” she added, starting to laugh, “though we may not get a vintage this year either." Rain has hit southeastern Pennsylvania especially hard all summer. " It’s so hard when Mother Nature kind of has a different plan for you," she said. "I was talking to somebody at a real nice New York winery earlier today and she said the same thing. She said, “Ah, man, our vineyards are just a wreck.' But, you know, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Chein noted in his e-letter that “picking will be complicated. I hope you can figure out how to pick around the rot and unripe fruit. Of course, sorting grapes in the field and on the crush pad will help enormously this year. In wet years everyone has to work harder and spend more money just to achieve good wines. If you don't put forth the extra effort mediocrity will be achieved. If conditions are wet be very aware of safety issues with people and equipment in the field together, slipping and sliding, it can be very dangerous. Of course, I'm saying all of this just so the sun will start shining for the next 6 weeks and force me to eat my words. Wouldn't that be a pleasant outcome?”

Lee Miller noted those working in her vineyards and others in the surrounding area are “just trying to keep things from rotting to death” because of all the recent rains. And that was BEFORE the new round that swept in Friday.

All one can do, she noted, is keep hoping the rain stops, keep working hard and, well, maintain your sense of humor. “[Husband] Eric said [to me earlier today], ‘Well, I’m thinking of just giving up. We’re spending a fortune trying to keep these grapes sprayed and rotting. What would you think if we just took the whole vineyard and made Sangria? Then I could just let it go, whatever happens,” Lee said, laughing as she recounted the story. “[He said], ‘We’ll just make 80,000 gallons of Sangria.’

“I said, ‘You better just go take a break today.”

Two very different award-winning Rieslings are being sold at Boordy Vineyards

As Maryland wineries await word on the results of the 2009 Governor’s Cup, it seemed like the appropriate time to check in with owner Rob Deford at Boordy Vineyards in northeastern Baltimore County to talk about his two top finishers in the recent 2009 Winemasters Choice Awards competition.

His 2007 Riesling won a best of class in the off-dry division and his 2008 Riesling was among the gold medal winners. Two wines with the same word in the name and grape in the bottle, but two made distinctly different. Both are available for sale at the winery.

That 2007 vintage is called Eisling, what the winery calls its sweet Riesling reserve.
It’s described as “the nectar of Riesling grapes with aromas of honeysuckle and ripe melon. Seductively sweet and full bodied. The crowning touch to a gourmet meal.”

By phone the other day, Deford called is a “faux ice wine that we make where we give nature a helping hand by putting the grapes in a walk-in cooler. I would never promote it as a true ice wine. I have huge respect for those. It’s a Riesling-based wine; 100 percent Riesling. We press the juice of and freeze it and thaw only the first third to 40 percent and ferment that, so you get a nectar in the thawing process.”

That leads to a wine with 11 percent sugar and 10 percent alcohol and very high acidity, “so it’s actually remarkably in balance so it doesn’t feel cloying but it’s definitely a dessert wine.”

The other is what Deford called ”a straight Riesling. The standard Riesling is a classically cold fermented Riesling . . . with just wonderful Riesling characteristics. I love the Riesling grape. I might have told you before that we tried growing it for 18 years. These are not wines made from our fruit, we import the fruit."

Deford called that attempt at nurturing the grape a fairly honest try that just never had a chance of succeeding. "Riesling needs to be grown in a place where the graph of sunlight is very, very different, the northern latitudes."

Still, that hasn't stopped them from importing it. “I love the wine,” he said, “and enjoy working with it. Unfortunately, we can’t grow it.”

Three other quick mentions. What the Hydes, Md. winery terms its sustainable Happy Hour will continue on Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. through Sept. 10; the last of its Saturday night concerts series (from 5:45 to 9:45) will be tonight and next week, Sept. 5; and its Autumn Wine Fest will run during Sundays in October. For more, click on this link.

Boordy's Cab Franc figures to be excellent stew

What I didn’t ask Rob Deford of Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, Md., was how long it takes to invent the names for some of their monthly events. One example is this month’s, a Stew in Our Juices promotion that features stews made with Boordy wine. This comes on the heels of its February promotion, called Fond of You Fondue.

“We just got the highest compliment,” Deford said by phone yesterday afternoon. “We just saw another winery has picked that name up in Virginia.”

Deford said business through this dark stretch since the holiday, both literally and economically, has been good. “People seem to recognize that coming here is an antidote to spending a lot of money on a cruise ship,” he deadpanned. “We seem to be in good shape.”

Waiting on the horizon are the annual events at the winery and festivals around Maryland. Also sitting around is Boordy’s ’07 Cab Franc, which Deford said has turned him into an overanxious parent.

“It looks to be just wonderful,” he said. “That was the vintage that was really quite perfect in every way. The franc has lots of wonderful qualities to it.”

There’s not a whole lot, only in the vicinity of 1,200 gallons that Deford said is out of a total production of 90,000. That small amount translates to about 500 cases. There are a couple of reasons for the limited supply.

“It s limited to basically what the acreage in our 1 acre vineyard produces, in Burkittsville, that’s out near Frederick, and there’s a guy over the hill, a very capable producer, who produces a little bit for us as well,” Deford said. “That’s what limits it. We’re doing extreme crop management levels with the consequence that it’s just not a lot of wine.”

Expect the release sometime in April and May. Deford said the lot will sell out, as it typically does, and not necessarily overnight. “We don’t put a big push on it just because it’s going to run out, it does every year,” he said. “We don’t take it around to a lot of places.”

Deford said a bottle of the Cab Franc typically sells for $14. “We’re trying to just hold the line,” he said. “I am constantly humbled by the wines that are out there at reasonable prices, and I guess you can play that game many ways. But I always feel like I’m building for the next hundred years, and I really want Maryland wines to be viewed, and regional, forget the political boundaries, to be viewed as real contenders in the value sector.”

This one, he said, should be one of those contenders. “So many things can happen to a wine that can either surprise you on the upside or downside,” he said. “But right now it’s looking like it will be a very nice bottle of wine.”