Wine Excellence awards provides firsts for Chambourcin and Chaddford

I write about a number of wineries from the region that few people have heard about, either because they've just opened or don't get their product into the state store (in Pennsylvania) or into the hands of many merchants in Maryland.

But that's not meant to downplay the continued great work of some of this region's standbys, one being Chaddsford in southeastern Pennsylvania. Can't think of another regional winery that carries more weight as an innovator and is known in more corners of the world that wine drinkers occupy. And the winery's win Sunday in the annual judging by the Pennsylvania Wine Society serves as a reminder of where winemaker and co-owner Eric Miller has set the bar at a winery that will celebrate its 30th birthday in a couple of years.

Society president Paul Beesom said that there were several precendents this year: no Chambourcin had ever won before and Miller and Chaddsford had never won before. Those streaks are over, off the win of the fabulous 2007 vintage. Those who follow the progress of the local industry will recall that Pinnacle Ridge's 2007 Chambourcin was the Farm Show's top winer in 2009.

It took awhile, Beesom admitted, for Chambourcin to even be allowed into the competition.

"I had mixed feelings and a lot of us had mixed feelings of whether to include Chambourcin," he said. "But the feeling was that it was so close to a vinifera species that it could almost be one and also that it was the one area that this state and this area could make its mark with. And it does very well here. So we agreed to include it."

The Society has been around since 1987, but has only been judging PA wines for its Wine Excellence competition for eight years. Wineries are invited to submit their wines to the organization, which narrows the entries to a more workable number. This year, according to the Pennsylvania Winery Association Web site, there were 11, including two each from Allegro, Manatawny Creek and NW Pennsylvania's Presque Isle.

And more and more, Beesom said, it has become a pleasureable experience. "They're getting better," he said of the state's wines and the ones in particular that wind up in the competition. "Better every year, and I say that after each event. I can honestly say that of the 11 wines that we [judged], every one of them could be on a fine-dining restraurant list."

That wasn't the case early, he added. There were two or three good ones, the rest a "little shaky. But they're just getting better. I think the winemakers are learning more as they go along on how to do things right in this area."

If you want to check out some comments on Chaddsford wine, here's a link to the Web site where Lee Miller has assembled a collection of praise from magazines and bloggers alike. These include insight from some of the folks I follow regularly, including Delawareonline.com's Roger Morris (who also blogs under the heading of Been There Tasted That) and theother46.com's Brian Kirby.

Fiore Chambourcin is tonight's partner at dinner

Matched my favorite restaurant in York (Pomodoro's) with wine I brought along from one of my favorite wineries: Fiore, in Pylesville, Harford County, Maryland. We had stopped there several months ago and among the bottles we brought home was a Proprietor's Reserve Chambourcin. That was a 2005 vintage, selling for $16.99.

My wife's tastes don't agree with most reds, especially the tannic brews that pucker you up. But this one was all fruit and went down easy, and she didn't even look around for a white on the table.

You can see the tasting notes and the many awards this wine has won at this link. While I didn't quite eat the lamb or prime rib or veal that this wine is supposed to best complement, it went perfectly with my chicken cacciatore.

Overloaded with info to post over the next couple of days. Hope to catch up before my midwinter va-K ends.

A big splash: York trail's Nouveau event overflows tasting room at Naylor Wine Cellars

Dick Naylor said he looked at the 50 or so folks who visited his winery in Stewartstown on Friday and wasn't quite sure what the rest of the first Uncork York Wine Just Off The Vine promotion would bring. Turned out to be almost more than he could handle.

Naylor said they thought maybe 150 or 200 would stop by Saturday to taste his 2009 vintage wines. Instead, they wound up doubling that. "It was phenomenal," he said by phone Monday afternoon, confirming just by his tone that this likely will be an annual event for the trail. "We had over 350 people in here on Saturday. It was just nonstop. What happened, there were so many people we took care of them as far as the tasting [out of the barrel] was concerned, but when it got into the tasting room there were just so many people that they couldn't get up to the bar to buy wine, and a lot of them left."

Saturday alone he said they sold close to 14 cases, and almost 40 of those bottles were the Naylor Port, produced from the Chambourcin grape. Ten wineries on the trail participated int he event; the cost to stop by all and taste the Nouveau wine was $10 per person.

The Stewartstown winery had another 155 or so on Sunday, plus 54 to their winemaker's dinner. All of which left Naylor knowing that they have some work to do in the tasting room before the trail's next big event, Tour de Tanks, in March 2010.

"I told my son-in-law, I said, where we have the wine supplies at the end, we're going to have to knock that wall out," he recalled. "I told him that three weeks ago. In March, when we had this thing, we lost a lot of business because people [couldn't find a path to the bar] and get waited on. I wish I had knocked the thing out last week so we would have had the room available Saturday."

Not only is Wine Just Off The Vine behind Naylor now, but so is the Wines of the World community education course that he taught in conjunction with Penn State Harrisburg. It ran on Thursday afternoons over a period of six weeks. The finale almost two weeks ago featured wines of the East Coast. Naylor said he served a mango wine from Key West, Fla., a cranberry wine from New Jersey, and wines from Connecticut, New York, Virginia and Maryland (Boordy and Fiore).

It's a season of contrasts for winermakes: loads of work blended with a splash of patience

Sneaked in a phoner last Wednesday with the lovely and talented winemaker of Hauser Estate Winery, one of Pennsylvania's start-ups this year. It's a winery with as much upside as the hill it sits on, offering a stunning view of the surrounding countryside that stretches almost to the Civil War battlefield. Michelle Oakes was looking forward to maybe her first day off in three weeks this past Saturday. Hey, it gets that way September through November, so you can't be in the business and gripe about it. "Well, you can complain, but nobody wants to hear it anymore," she said, breaking into a laugh.

Any break she got on the weekend was going to be short-lived, with Merlot grapes arriving Sunday to be processed. Once a field for apples in Adams County, west of Gettysburg, now supports vines bearing, among others, Vidal and Chambourcin grapes. Fall is the transition season for wineries, with juice in the barrels and tanks getting bottled to make room for the new grapes either coming in from the field or other suppliers.

Oakes said she was expecting to do a lot of bottling over the coming week: Pinot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. "Those will probably sit in the bottle a couple of months before I release them," she said. "I'd like to release them before Christmas," but it depends on how much they settle after undergoing the jarring process of being transferred from where they've been sitting for a good part of the past year.

At the same time she's nurturing the reserve reds that will age some more before seeing the light of day. We tasted several -- the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet France and Meritage -- when we stopped last March during Tour de Tanks. They were yummy then. So how does Oakes keep from just emptying the barrels and getting those out, too?

She starting laughing. "It's the one thing in the world that I'm patient about," she said. "No one would ever tell you I'm a patient person, but I'm patient with wine. That's about it. I'm sure other people would tell you they wished I were more patient about other things."

It's too crazy now, frankly, to do anything with them, with all the other requirements of the job, including an occasional blog entry on the Hauser Estate site. By January, she said, they'd probably be ready to bottle, with this winery's first full line of reserved wines ready by Tour de Tanks in March 2010 or maybe a few weeks afterward.

So how will she know when they're ready to sell?

"You really don't," she responded. "When I say they'll be released, it me being optimistic." She noted that the Reserve Chardonnay was bottled a month ago and that ideally it would be ready for the holiday season. She related a recent conversation she had with her boss. "My boss was asking me, 'oh, well, we'll have it for Christmas hopefully?' [I said] I want to have it for Thanksgiving, but it all depends on what it does in bottle. I said all I can do is walk by it and inspire it that it wants to be turkey wine, but beyond that I have no control. The power of positive thinking. Some things just react to bottling differently than others and you never really know how it will be, how long it will take to come back together in bottle."

Dry spell offers ray of hope for vintage

You've seen some of the correspondence from Pennsylvania wine grape educator Mark Chien to his many clients regarding issues in the vineyard. His assessment a month ago was that the persistent rain, particularly in the southeast part of the state, could really make this harvest and vintage tough to salvage. His update sounded more optimistic, as the spigot has been tightened, at least over the past couple of weeks.

He writes: "I'm always delighted to have to eat my words even though it happens more requently that I would care to admit. The rain has not abated entirely but certainly lessened around the region recently and that means that grapes are hanging on and, well, sort of ripening. A lot of growers are calling me asking me when they should harvest their grapes. The simple answer is that I can't decide from my office. But there are some pretty standard guidelines for determining grape maturity, even in a crazy vintage like this one. I'm really encouraged by positive reports about fruit quality from Long Island, the Finger Lakes and Virginia.

"Once again, if you minded your viticultural Ps and Qs during the growing season, now is when you reap the rewards. It wasn't easy. Frost could be in our future and that may force some harvest decisions, but as long as the fruit is clean and not being picked clean by birds, deer, raccoons, etc. it will probably benefit from some 'hang time' even if the temperatures are in the 50s. I have heard of beautiful Chambourcin on the vines but they have a way to go. It's still a low sugar year but that doesn't mean it has to be low flavor. The numbers are a bit wacky and wine makers will have their palates and imaginations tested but hopefully the wines will find a good balance by springtime. Just about any maturity index but sugar should be used as a guide this year. pH will hold more sway as an indicator of physiological ripeness. Acids will almost always be on the high side.

"Flavors are the most important wine quality indicators. For reds, skin and seed tannins are critical and in this cool and extended season may be quite well resolved. Other indices such as seed and stem color (brown is better) and the onset of shelling of berries are all signs of ripeness. The best thing to do is to spend time in the vineyard with someone who really understands the nature of ripe fruit and knows how to balance these traits with other conditions that influence a picking decision. Tasting berries is such a refined skill. I always tasted juice samples after an overnight settle for color, texture, acid, sweetness, balance and flavors.

"It really makes a big difference where your vineyard is located this year. Some area got a lot less rain than others this summer. Yields are completely unpredictable. A grower told me about a block of Seyval that normally yields 8 tons and this year they only got one. My sense is that most of the grapes will come off in the next week or two, except on Long Island, of course, where they like to harvest in the morning and then enjoy their Thanksgiving feast.

Another Christmas: Harvest at Basignani

Dust covers some more than 100-year-old bottles in the winery (right); the harvesters sit down to food and plenty of drink, including wine, beer and water; the table laden with homemade goods.

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I can remember going to pick down at Basignani Vineyards five or six years ago and we'd pretty much have the vines to ourselves; maybe eight to 10 of us would show up as volunteers to pick and then we'd retire to the Basignani patio for lunch.

Those were the days. This morning's harvest, which lasted fewer than three hours because of the turnout, drew 50 people. Fifty, all thanks to word of mouth and the Internet. And they capped it at 50, as they they did next week's pick, which is expected to be the final one for this season. We filled the lugs with Chancellor and Chambourcin, working under a clear sky and amid more bees than I've seen in that vineyard in my last couple of harvests. They didn't really bother anyone, but their buzzing and the conversation of all those people served as the audio backdrop.

Once we were finished, Lynne prepared the kind of lunch one happily travels 40 minutes to sample: lasagne, sweet and hot sausage, lunch meat, bread, peppers, olives and I believe an apple/nut cake for dessert. Finally had a chance to taste (OK, more than taste, since I had several glasses) the 2007 Piccolo, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Delicious, and priced right at $11.75; this was an excellent companion with what we had for lunch. It's neither overly oaked high in alcohol content (12.6 percent), so you could take this along to your favorite BYOB and try anything from burgers to pizza to pasta. And that 2007 vintage is the key. You see any '07 vintages in Maryland or Pennsylvania, buy them. That was this decade's best vintage across the region and one worth stocking up on.

As for this vintage, it might be the toughest to tame since 2003 or '04 because of all the rain. Someone I talked to at the winery noted most of those 2004 wines came up short, except for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Maybe that's what's ahead here, but I'm getting ahead of things. Still plenty of work to be done in the fields yet.

Signs now point way to Mt. Felix off I-95

Still have two more posts I want to churn out today, this one on Mt. Felix Winery down by Chesapeake Bay and then one later on the thoughts of Black Ankle co-owner Ed Boyce, who will welcome in a "houseful" all weekend for the winery's first-year anniversary fete.

Mary and Peter Ianniello, the gracious hosts from the winery in Havre de Grace, noted in their October newsletter that signage for the winery has gone up on both sides of I-95 and also on Route 155, which passes by the entrance into the winery. And they touted an outdoor digital surround sound theatre that allows them to have DVD concerts, projected onto the side of their wine bar, as long as weather permits. The cost is $8/person. Attendees are asked to bring thier chairs, blankets, and cheese/crackers.

Noticed the Web site has been upgraded, including the page listing the wines. We stopped down there a more than a month ago and sampled the wine, then brought home bottles of Matilda's Devotion (a dry white) and Lafayette's Reserve (a medium-bodied red containing the Chambourcin grape).

This is another winery where the scenery makes you stop and stare, with the vines in the distance and the bay off on the horizon.

Allegro: Tanks busier than last year this time

Checked in Thursday with winemaker and owner Carl Helrich of Allegro Vineyards on how they fared during the first weekend of Tour de Tanks. That event will continue on weekends through the end of this month. Here's what he had to say.

"Yeah, we had a busy weekend. Busier than last year this time. We're tasting Chardonnay, Merlot and Chambourcin in the cellar with the visitors. The first two are wine varieties that I think will speak for our region. I am offering the Chambourcin as a counterpoint.

"We always enjoy being on the Tour de Tanks trail. It let's folks experience all the wineries side-by-side. Our customer base has exploded because of this event because a lot of wine drinkers in this area never came out to the Brogue before. Our sales in this remote area grew significantly last year, even with the slowing economy and the $4/gallon gas prices."

Pinnacle/Jeffries pairing draws Sunday crowd

One regional restaurant that includes local wineries as part of its Buy Fresh, Buy Local theme is John J. Jeffries, located in the Lancaster Arts Hotel. So the recent wine and food pairing held in conjunction with winemaker Brad Knapp and Pinnacle Ridge Winery was not an aberration; they hold these generally once a month (on the last Sunday of the month) with regional wineries and breweries from the spring into the late fall. The winemaker or brewmaster, as you'd figure, is an integral part of the program.

Bartender Michael Grove said by phone yesterday that around 40 people attended the Sunday evening, Jan. 25, event at the restaurant. There was a one-hour Happy Hour, then guests headed to their tables for a four-course wine and food pairing that included Knapp’s commentary. In all, the combo cost only $52 per person, including tax and gratuity.

“It probably lasted about two hours,” Grove said. “The food was paired up very well with the wine, and the wine went very well with the food obviously. And a few people hung around at the bar later on and they were talking about it. And from what I heard they enjoyed it.”

The restaurant is named for a local tobacco inspector of the late 19th century. It seats approximately 60 in its main dining area and smoke-free bar. Dinners only are served there, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Half-price local beer, wine by the glass, and Organic Martinis are offered daily from 4 to 6 p.m.

The next one will be the last Sunday in March, the 25th, and will features foods paired with Swashbuckler beer. Troegs, Victory and Stoudts are other beers that have been featured in that all-expenses-included pairing. Generally, the restaurant rotates between featuring a beer and a wine, and also includes some or all of those products on their regular beer and wine list. Grove said that Chaddsford Winery has joined Pinnacle Ridge not only on those Sunday night events, but also as regular “house” wines.

“We always have at least one by the glass of both red and white,” he said, "and normally more than that. Right now we’re carrying a Chambourcin from Pinnacle, a Chardonnary from Pinnacle and a Pinot Grigio from Chaddsford.” They also carry Manatawny Creek's honey wine and a late harvest Vidal Blanc from Pinnacle.

That they drew 40 people is a testament to the power of the Buy Local network, which sends out e-mail blasts promoting this and other events around the region. Grove said the restaurant also will place a slip of paper into the folder containing the check advertising the next wine/beer and food pairing.

Told it’s refreshing to see a local restaurant carry local wines, Grove said a lot of it is a matter of realizing just what's out there.

“I think mainly because people don't know there are very drinkable local wines out there,” he said, “and, you know, it's just a perception of local wines that they have. Before I worked here, I sort of had the same philosophy on local wines. But I've actually had a chance to try quite a few of them now since I've ccme here and am definitely impressed with them.”