July in the Vineyard

   The summer has finally come to the vineyard.  The rain has stopped and the temperatures are now around 90 each day.  To show their appreciation, the grapes have begun to grow several inches each day.  We are looking forward to a great July 4 celebration in the vineyard.  The vines make a great backdrop for the Hersheypark fireworks.  If you are not busy, you should bring a blanket or chair out to the vines and watch the fireworks.  The fireworks begin at 10:00 and many people bring their children, sparklers and a picnic lunch and stay for the entire evening.  We look forward to everyone joining us and enjoying the vineyard as much as we do.

Proud to be an American

      Thank you to everyone who came out to support Cassel Vineyards and the PA Wounded Warriors at our concert featuring the Air National Guard Band of the Northeast.  If you were unfortunate enough to miss the show,  I will give you a little recap.  

      The bus and truck with the band and support crew arrived at 3:00.  We worked for 1 1/2 hour to set up and prepare the winery and hospitality tent.  Jim Johnston took care of cooking and serving while Patty Bowen made some of the best baked beans I have ever eaten.  By 4:30 we were ready to sit down to an awsome meal and the troops surprised me by singing me happy birthday on my 50 th birthday.  Then, Becky shared an order of 90 cupcakes with the troops and I and we were ready for the show.

      6:00 - 6:30 - Air National Guard Woodwind Ensamble

      6:30 - 7:00 - Air National Guard Brass Ensamble

      7:00 - 8:00 - Air National Guard Band of The Northeast Rock Band "High Altitude"

      The weather was beautiful and the crowd that packed our backyard had a fantastic time.  The only complaint we heard all night was the fact that some concert fans who came later had a 1/4 mile walk to enjoy the show.  My advice to everyone is to arrive early because these shows keep getting more and more popular each week.  Considering the show that the Air National Guard put on, I expect the trend to continue.  

       Thanks once again to everyone who made this such a great show.

Great Week in the Vineyard

   We have spent the week in the vineyard pruning and tucking and taping the vines so that they are prepared to enter the heat of Summer and grow and ripen the grapes.  On  Monday I took a picture of the grapes and the clusters are full of fertilized flowers which means we have a great fruit set.  Thankfully, we had one week of dry weather during the full bloom so all our flowers had a chance to fully pollinate.  Here is what tHe little Vidal Blanc grapes look like.

The tucking and pruning began on Monday as we divided the canopy of our Cabernet Franc to begin stressing the vines so that they ripen their fruit on time.  Not only are we starting our season 3 weeks late but we also have so much cool, damp weather that I'm not sure if things are going to ever catch up.  The vines were too green and succulent to begin the training earlier in the season.  Finally as the rain stopped, we were able to begin getting things tucked away to look better.  Here are what the vines looked like at re beginning of the week.

   After we completed the tucking and taping down, the vines looked much more controlled.

Tomorrow, we plan to start pulling down the lower wires on the divided canopy in the Scott/Henry divided canopy.  Things should look great, so I will take some more pictures to post later in the week.

Military Tribute Band June 27 @Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

     Once again, Cassel Vineyards is proud to present The Air National Guard Band of the Mid Atlantic for one night only in our vineyard.  Last year, we were the first winery to EVER host the US Military band. It was a perfect series of coincidences with the Military budget slashed as a result of the Congressional sequester, our proximity to their station and several very generous offers by friends and officers.  We were amazed at the interest the concert generated with our highest attendance of the year!  The US Military was so impressed by our audience and the public support (many of their shows are shopping malls and senior centers) that they offered to do another performance if they could arrange their schedule a year in advance.  Well, here we are, one year later and we are just as excited to present the same band to our favorite audience!   Please come out and show your support.  

       This year we will offer some amazing t-shirts for sale at the concert made by one of our employees  for $10. It's going to be a great night!  

Vines in Bloom

       One of the benefits of a blog is the fact that I can compare this years pictures to last year and we are looking at a difference of 10 - 14 days.  Last year, on June 4, I posted a blog about the vines in full bloom with a picture of buds that are just starting to open. The year, our picture shows buds that I took a picture of today and they show buds that are about half open.  Thankfully, the next three days ar going to be perfect for the pollination of the plants with dry weather and a northwest breeze that should help to pollinate the vines.  This is just one of those weekly posts that I have to make as a measure of the progress of our vines.  Thanks for enduring the inevitable.

Wine Down Wednesday @casselvineyards

      We are beginning our Wednesday night Summer relaxation at Cassel Vineyards this Wednesday, June 11 with our first Wine Down Wednesday.  The event is limited to 20 people and is the inspiration of our Events Coordinator Trudy.  Her idea is to create a relaxing atmosphere in the vineyard every Wednesday night where guests can enjoy a glass of wine some interesting activities and one another for a very nominal fee.  With the price of admission ($20 - $35) guests will enjoy a wine tasting and all the necessary materials to experience a relaxing evening in the vineyard.  Wine will be available by the glass and the bottle as well.  

Our schedule looks pretty full and evening events are filling up fast.  You cN see our schedule and sign up at http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D4AACA72DAAF58-wine/11178749.

It should be a very nice series of Wednesday nights and we hope to see you there throughout the summer.

http://pennsylvaniawine.com/node/1935#.r.twitter

Value in Wine

      Recently, the topic of value and price have been getting a lot of attention in our local and regional wine press.  Paul Vigna wrote a short piece in response to a discussion that was already being dissected here . His response was to a post by The Wine Curmudgeon who has publishing a poll to determine how much buyers are willing to pay for their bottles of wine.  This all added fuel to the fire started by Philadelphia food critic Trey Popp who criticizes the prices of wine in some Philadelphia eateries. 

      It all makes for interesting reading and I am just like everyone else in that I am looking for a great value.  That's also why I shop at Sams Club and Wallmart.  In fact, when I buy a bottle of wine for my everyday consumption I am also shopping for a quality to price ratio that I consider a value.  But as a grape grower and wine maker I also know something about value that many of my customers and knowledgeable wine consumers don't fully understand.  Everyone understands the tangible costs. Of grape juice, yeast, time, tanks, bottles, corks and labels, but for estate made wines there is the intangible cost of a value added product.  

      Value added agricultural products like maple syrup, cheese and jelly allow a producer to command a greater price for their finished product than they can for their raw materials.  Likewise, wine as a product of a single vineyard or producer also includes a value added cost.  The cost of producing a crop from a certain piece of land has all the tangible costs of labor, fertilizer, sprays and rootstock, but there is also the intangible value of the plant and their fruit in that piece of earth in a certain period of years that create a certain sense of place.  Some wines display this value added aspect because they have a certain geographic location, altitude or soil type. For others, it is the result of a long period of time and a particular old vine in a specific field.  Wine that contain this reflection of the vine's terroir contain a much greater value added component.

        So, if we are going to continue this never ending debate about wine price points and value, I think it is necessary to make some qualifications.  Are we talking about the price/value of our everyday glass of blended wines from a faceless group of surpluses juice growers?  Are we talking about a bottle of wine with a dinner expertly paired and presented with your meal?  Or are we talking about a bottle of wine that reflect the sense of place and has the power to evoke special feelings, sensations and memories related only to a certain harvest of grapes at a precise time, from a certain vineyard?  Only by qualifying this definition of value can we begin to put a real price on the value of our wines.  And I contend that even then, we still have a difficult time establishing a value for the price of a value added, single vineyard wine grown, harvested and crafted into a beautiful expression of the land it was grown on.  

      We as Americans want an honest price on each bottle that is produced but I contend that the value of some intangible factors make it impossible to make such simple generalizations.  Wine can be mass produced and taste exceptional at $6 - $8 a bottle.   If your shopping for value, these wines provide plenty of choices and great taste.  But, if you want more from your bottle than just value, that is where the value added can begin to add up pretty significantly.  It is up to consumers to decide what they are willing to pay, and everyone is entitled to their price point and choices.