Waltz Vineyards looking forward to excellent yield as vineyard manages to evade severe storms

The next five weeks holds the key to the quality of the 2009 vintage. A dry, warm September and all that rain from the spring and summer becomes a distant memory. Well, except for all the aches and pains that still linger from the extra work that the rain necessitates.

One winemaker who says he's been fortunate enough to dodge most of the intense storms is Jan Waltz, at Waltz Vineyards in Manheim, Pa., a new winery and already one of my favorites. They've built a lovely tasting room and the wines (from the Chardonnay through their signature Merlot to their high-end Cabernet Sauvignon) are all worth a taste.

Stopped Monday to grab a bottle for a shoot we're planning at the Harrisburg Patriot-News, and while there had a chance to barrel taste the 2008 Merlot and 2008 Cab. Both are rounding nicely into shape.

Waltz said that even a rainstorm last Friday that dumped more than 2 inches of rain didn't set back the vineyard because it had enough dryness to absorb what fell. "We could see it all [heavier rain and haul that fell in Lancaster and surrounding communities] from here, but we missed it," he said. "The rain either follows the valley or follows the mountain, so most of the time it goes around us. We're on track for a good year."

Waltz said he expects an exceptional yield out of his Cabernet Sauvignon. "I think this is going to be a great Cab year, because [it's] further ahead than what we normally are."

Business, he said, has been picking up steadily since the spring opening, even on Thursdays and Fridays. The tasting room is open noon to 5 p.m. those two days and Saturdays. To handle the crowds and the parties, they've added a hire, and could add another once they expand their hours to Wednesday and perhaps Tuesday. They are planning to be open holidays, including Labor Day in another couple of weeks.

Though not part of a wine trail per se, Waltz said he's seeing visitors who are making up their own wine trail, doing a circuit that includes Nissley, Tamanend and Mt. Hope along with Waltz Vineyards. And other wineries in the Harrisburg area and north and east along the Berks County Wine Trail are within an hour's drive.

Paradocx teaming with Schmidt's Tree Farm to put on wine, harvest festival into November

Don't have the time to put together the extensive events list that I once did, and frankly I'd like to get away from targeting the events too much and just concentrate on the wine. Still, as I see these releases move, I don't mind posting them and giving them some additional exposure.

This one comes from Paradocx Vineyard, a member of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail, and Schmidts’ Tree Farm, which are teaming this fall to offer the public an “A-MAIZE-ing Wine & Harvest Adventure.” It's what they are calling a one-of-a-kind opportunity to enjoy a fun-filled, memorable outing with friends and family, all while supporting local agriculture.

Every Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 through Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the two parties will put on an array of activities on Paradocx Vineyard’s 100-acre farm in Landenberg, Pa., featuring 15 varieties of premium estate grown wine available for purchase by the glass or bottle, a five-acre corn maze, a “pick-your-own pumpkin patch,” hayrides through the vineyard, a pedal car track, children’s wagon train, reindeer antler toss, pumpkin sling shot and pumpkin bowling. On select weekends throughout the fall, the releases adds, guests can enjoy live music and food from local caterers.

Admission fee is $10. No admission fee for children under 3 years of age. Pumpkins are sold by weight. Wine tastings and wine by the glass can be purchased for $7.

For more, call 610.274.8560 or e-mail kellie@paradocx.com. Paradocx's signature in terms of publicity has been its two wines in a decorated "paint can," the equivalent of four bottles of wine. Barn Red and Pail Pink each go for $40.99.

Finally, I'm starting to see more wineries take a shot at producing a periodic blog like this one on the Paradocx site. With their time stretched and frayed, winemakers and staff usually have these on the bottom of their list. But with marketing taking a number of forms these days, even a blog that comes out once in awhile can serve a winery well.

New head of Pa. wine association, like many others, awaiting passage of state budget

Sam Landis is a 1998 bachelor of arts graduate of Williams College who rejoined the family business at Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery in 2002 after working in California for E&J Gallo. Sam assists his parents (Jan and John) in the winemaking, is involved in promotion and as of April became the president of the Pennsylvania Wine Association, stepping in for Bob Mazza. It's a two-year term.

Spoke with Sam by phone last week and have been remiss in not getting the interview transcribed and up on line. I ask him to name a couple of his initiatives, and not surprisingly the first one was connected to the budget impasse in Harrisburg.

"We got a line item of $240,000 last year, which is more than we’ve ever had in the past," he said, "and we were able to do a lot of initiatives with marketing that we’ve never done before. Also, with getting some help politically with some consultants in Harrisburg . . . so we’re now pushing to hopefully get that reinstated. Right now, the budget has been zeroed out with any sort of dollars toward the wine industry, so we’re pushing hard to keep fighting to get those dollars for us. It may not be the full 240 we got last year, but even half [we'd be happy with] just to keep us going. . . . It looks like that’s not going to be settled until September or October, which is the latest we heard. So that’s the big thing right now we’re really focused on . . . is just working funds for us for the next fiscal year."

Landis said the industry recently conducted a state-of-the-union report to, among other things, gather numbers that show how much money you're generating for the state. "We had it done in 2005 and our overall economic impact for the state of Pennsylvania, this was the multiplier effects, was $661 million. We just got the draft done for 2007 and it's $2.35 billion. So it’s a huge increase, and this is something we use as a political tool to go to Harrisburg and say, “I understand you’ve gotta make tough decisions in cutting things right now, but if you look multiplier effects of how many jobs, wages paid, revenue, taxes paid, I mean, we’re paying $252 million in taxes based on how much we wine we sell from a winery standpoint. We’re putting money back into the state with agriculture and tourism, so we’re just looking to use these numbers to show that we’re one of the industries that needs to be backed, even if it's in these hard times."

There's more, which I'll post either later today or on Monday.

Vietri on Va La's La Prima Donna: 'Our initial goal was to create a white wine with some richness and complexity'

If you've read this blog you know the respect I have for Anthony Vietri and the work he and his staff are doing at Va La Vineyards in Avondale, Pa., as far as I'm concerned a must-see of wineries in suburban Philly. Asked Anthony on Friday what was going on in the cellar and he said that they just bottled the 2008 La Prima Donna, the 2008 Zafferano, and our 2008 Silk. All will be released at different times next spring, he noted.

I asked about La Prima Donna, a distinctive blend of grapes you mostly haven't heard of: Malvasia bianco, friuliano, viognier, pinot grigio and petit manseng. Wine writer/critic Roger Morris and esteemed foodie/critic Craig LeBan of the Philly Inquirer have put their stamp of approval on the wine. Wrtoe Morris, for Sommelier Magazine: “La Prima Donna…is perhaps the best east coast table wine that I have ever tasted — a beautiful blossom of aromas, exotic and spicy flavors of green figs, nectarines, with a crisp finish.” And LeBan wrote: “A flamboyant, showy white, with layers of aromatic grapes…that dance exotic on the palate.”

I asked Vietri to shoot me an e-mail with his thoughts about what he has tried to do with that blend and wine, and he sent me the following: "I actually first got the notion of wanting to create this wine when I was living with a family of fishermen in Campagne," he said. "I had made white wines with my family since I was a boy, but I wanted to do something different. The wines of that coastal region inspired me, and I wanted to take their ideas a few steps further. When we started this vineyard our initial goal was to create a white wine with some richness and complexity, and to have those elements come strictly from the grapes themselves, and without the aid of oak, so that the wine would directly translate our vineyard to the glass. When we taste it we smile and say 'that's our vineyard.' It is a horribly antiquated way to look at things, but it is now in its now in its ninth version, believe it or not."

Basics of terroir given just desserts at Chaddford Winery site

Want a superb explanation of terroir, which describes the land and climate of where grapes are grown and has a huge impact on the uniqueness of wines? Then click on to this 101 at the Chaddsford Winery site, where winemaker and co-owner Eric Miller has assembled enough to give even novices an understanding of what the most important word in the wine language is all about.

Terrapin Station excited about bronze in first foray into international competition

Some odds and ends on an oppressive Saturday:

Maryland's Terrapin Station Winery in Elkton is understandably proud for earning a bronze medal for its 2008 Cayuga in the Lone Star International Wine Competition. "We wanted to see how our wines would do against international competition," said the release. "The Lone Star competition liked our 2008 Cayuga, which makes sense since it appears to be the favorite wine of the 2008 vintage so far.

Two new red wines that will be released in the coming weeks from 2008: Terrapin Station's Shiraz and Cabernet Franc, according to its most recent e-letter. "The Shiraz is a fruit forward wine that we think folks will really enjoy as a pleasantly fruity, easy to drink red.The Cabernet Franc is a full-bodied red that boasts an unusually high alcohol (for an East Coast wine) of just over 14%. Both of these reds represent an evolution in our winemaking, and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Terrapin Station is unique for two things: its Terrapin Institute and its wines in a box.

Uncork York plans Nouveau weekend event

The Uncork York Wine Trail that stretches from the western part of Lancaster to Gettysburg and up to Harrisburg has decided that its spring event was so successful that it would try one in the fall, after harvest time, similar to what the Bucks County Wine Trail members do.

They're calling it the Wine Just Off The Vine weekend, schedule for Friday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 22. That's the weekend before Thanksgiving. Tickets are $10 per person for the event, which will start at 11 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. at the 10 participating wineries.

It's one of those rare chances to leave the tasting room and head into the winery and/or cellar to take a quick lesson in how grapes are transformed into juice and what they go through on the way to the bottle. Awaiting visitors at the end is a taste of the Nouveau wine, an easy-sipping fruit-forward liquid that brings a special appreciation when you realize that it came from grapes that were still hanging on the vine three to six weeks ago.

York County tourism is developing this with the same strategy as it does for Uncork York in the spring, incorporating packages that include area restaurants, hotels and bed anbd breakfasts. For more, click on this link, call 888.858.9675, or contact one of the participating wine trail members, including:

Adams County Winery
Allegro Vineyards
Cullari Vineyards
Four Springs Winery
Moon Dancer Vineyard & Winery
Naylor Wine Cellars
Reid's Orchard & Winery
Seven Valleys Vineyard & Winery
Tamanend Winery
West Hanover Winery