Grapes are Ripening

It has been about 3 weeks since the grapes began to change from their summer green to gold and purple.  The Chardonnay grapes are the ripest and the other varieties will come in one after another behind them.  Right now they are at 16 to 19 Brix of sugar, so if this hot dry weather continues we may be picking by the second week of September.

The Chambourcin is also ripening nicely but they will need at least until October to get their sugar and flavor profiles up to where we can pick them.  We like the Chambourcin to be very sweet with a low acid because so much of its character is locked up in its skins.  The skins have such a nice flavor of pepper and tannin that they give the Chambourcin a flavor profile unlike any other wine I have ever tasted.  This year's Chambourcin is shaping up quite nicely.  It will be interesting to see how the weather holds out until November when we will pick our Cabernet Franc.  This picture is a shot of the ripening Chambourcin.

The final shot is one of the Cabernet which will hang until early November.  Last year I think we picked it the first weekend of November and the wine is tucked away in French oak improving every day.

A Bird on a Stick

      As I have posted many times, our nets are up and functioning very well to protect our grapes.  However, as the Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc continue to ripen and get sweeter, the birds are starting to show up to have a look.  Last Thursday the flocks of starlings were circling the vines and looking for any week spots in our net protection.  After watching them try for about 10 min. I went inside and got our 3 new predator decoys.  There are 2 Red-tailed Hawks and a Great Horned Owl.  I took them to their perches and mounted them on their sticks.  It was amazing!  Just as quickly as the flocks of starlings came, they turned around and flew away.  Our grapes are still several weeks away from their final day of harvest but our attempt to keep the birds away are working well so far.  Tomorrow, we plan to take several more sugar readings but if this hot, dry weather continues we should be in pretty good shape.  I am keeping my fingers crossed!

The Grapes They Are A-Changing

     As this picture shows, the Chambourcin grapes have finally changed from green to purple.  They are almost 3 weeks behind last year's grapes.  Of course last year was not exactly a normal year either with 27 days over 90 degrees and a spring that started the shoots 2 weeks early.  Many growers lost their first buds in the late frost the second week of May but we were fortunate enough to escape with almost no damage.  This year we have had a very cool and wet spring and summer.  There have only been 14 days over 90 degrees and that is 10 below the average.  It is difficult to say if this year or last year are closer to normal because of the two extremes.  Hopefully we will enjoy a long warm, dry Indian Summer and no frost until mid November.  As long as we get moderate rain and reasonable warmth, I think our grapes will mature nicely.  

Peach Wine

     We are planning on starting our batch of Peach Mead this Friday.  I have 120 lbs of Lancaster Co. honey and 800 lbs. of fresh Lancaster Co. Freestone peaches.  It's important to use freestone peaches because I will be pitting all those peaches this Friday.  There is plenty of work for anyone who would like to contribute some time and energy on Friday morning at 9:00 AM.  I will be pitting from 9 to 12 and mixing in the honey and water after noon.  Stop by to watch or help out if you want to.  We will be starting our harvest in 2 or 3 grapes so it is important that I get the Peach Mead started so that we can transfer  it to a stainless steel tank before we need. The primary fermenters again for grapes.

Cassel Vineyards in Maine

    If you missed my writing, or noticed that my last post was posted after the event actually happened.  It's because we have been on vacation in Maine.  We have had the computers and cell phones off.  Tonight we fixed a great meal of Atlantic salmon grilled with maple syrup and stone ground mustard all from sources right here in Maine.  The Vidal Blanc went with it very well and the scenery was great.  We will be returning to the vineyard and winery this Sunday.  Vacation has been very relaxing and we look forward to a few more days and meals.  

Special Event Fund Raiser For Hershey Band

Today is a very busy day at Cassel Vineyards in Hershey.  The Hershey marching band is holding an event with a tasting, live music and a meal.  Meanwhile, Jody is working a special event at the car show in Chambersburg.  The weather here in Maine is beautiful and hopefully they will enjoy the same weather.   Please call or stop by if you would like to attend the fund raiser.  I have posted the information above.

Depleted Inventory

It's the same story every year.  Spring comes and we complete our bottling.  I look in the production room and think to myself, how are we ever going to sell all of this wine.  In 2009 we started with just 600 gallons or 250 cases.  It seemed like a mountain when you look at is as an investment that only pays off when it's gone!  By Thanksgiving 2009,  the mountain was depleted and we closed before Christmas.  Next year it was 1200 gallons and the mountain filled the back room of our small winery.  I had the same feeling and got the same results.  In 2011 we were up to 1000 cases and our little winery was so full you couldn't get 3 people inside to do a tasting.  It was comical but we never thought anyone would buy that much of our wine.  We ended up closing before Thanksgiving that year!  2012 finds us in our new winery with a new production and storage area.  4000 gallons, 20,000 bottles in 1,600 cases seems like a lot of wine.  Here we are in August and we are on the way down to better than half of our inventory being sold.  We still have plenty of several varieties including our Concord and Vidal Blanc Semi-sweet.  But the usual big sellers are moving out the door at the same, brisk rate,  we are out of Chambourcin, and getting very low on Finish Line White, Strawberry, Peach, Vidal Dry, Cabernet Franc and even our Chocolate Port pile is dwindling.  Thank you to all our customers both loyal and new.  Remember not to put off your Christmas wine gift shopping until December or you may find that you have to give another gift.