MCV FARM NEWS - 8/22/08 - Nothing But Net

Morning Ya’ll,

Well, another week has passed. Things are looking great in the vineyard. Veraison is well under way almost all blocks. The only variety that is not showing color change yet is the Petit Verdot, but this variety is stubborn and takes a bit more time. In addition to changing color the fruit begins to soften during veraison. This is what the Merlot looks like right now.






The birds have been buzzing around the vineyard. As a result of bird pressure we put nets on the vines to help protect our fruit. Below you can see some pictures of nets going on the vines. Once the nets have been applied we have to tie the nets at the bottom. The nets help reduce bird pressure, but do not eliminate it. Birds are just some of the critters that are interested in our tasty grapes! Here are some photos of the guys netting Pinot Noir.










This time of year winemakers begin making necessary preparations for harvest. I have been spending some time reviewing the types of yeast that I will use in our ferments this year. Yeast are fungi. Without yeast, wine would not be. Yeast consume the sugar that was stored in the grapes and convert it into three main by-products: alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Yeast are involved and/or responsible for many things that we consume; Bread, Beer, Wine, Spirits, etc. (Pretty much all of the good stuff in life.)

However, like many things in winemaking there are choices to be made. What kind of yeast do you want to use? What temperature do you ferment at? How long do you stay on the yeast after fermentation? What quantity of yeast do you add to the juice? What type of nutrients do you provide for the yeast? Etc…

There are many “commercial” types of yeast that winemakers can choose from. Commercial yeasts come in a dried form exactly like what is used for baking. Commercial yeast are yeast that were identified in nature as being suitable for winemaking and were isolated down to a single cell and then propagated.

A winemaker can chose to allow “natural” yeasts to ferment the wine. All yeast are natural, but when we say natural yeast we mean the yeast that come in with the grapes. As I mentioned earlier yeast are every where in our environment. Well, cheers to yeast and all things fermented!

- Juan.

MCV FARM NEWS - 8/15/08 - Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Morning Ya'll,

Well, I again apologize for letting two weeks get away since I have last written. The business continues on the farm. The guys in the vineyard continue to do some touch up work in the vineyard with leaf pulling. In addition to leaf pulling, the hedging of the vines continues. Wojtek and his guys have been doing a great job keeping the vineyard tidy. The vines are getting there last "haircut" before we will be putting nets on the vines.

The vines have now reached veraison. Veraison is when the grapes will begin to develop sweetness and change color. Grapes intended for white wine will turn golden yellow. Gewurztraminer and Pinot Grigio develop a bit more of color. As for the grapes intended for red wine they will turn...you guessed it, red. It is actually a pretty cool time to take a walk into the vineyard because you will see some red berries amongst the green berries. If time allows take a walk into the vines just beyond the offices. It is pretty cool to see this natural process of veraison in action. I will take some photos over the weekend and send these out for all to see.

As we all know, it has been pretty wet lately. The rain is not great for us, but it is not the end of the world either. However, in the past week or so the East End saw some hail in spotty areas. In a matter of minutes several vineyards received damage due to this form of precipitation. Fortunately for ourselves we had no hail damage. Other regions of the world such as Mendoza, Argentina see powerful hail storms at the end of the growing season that literally can shred a years work in a matter of minutes. Hail is not typically a form of precipitation that we see here on Long Island, but we have seen it a couple of times this Summer.

As for the rain... we have received it just like everyone else. All of the shoot thinning, leaf pulling, hedging, etc. that we have done in the past couple of months is truly important when we are having a weather pattern such as this. Once again these canopy management techniques are critical for expediting drying of precipitation and for maximizing sun exposure.

Lastly, I would like to make myself for another vineyard walk for those staff that could not attend last week. Would a Friday evening or Saturday morning work best for most? Also, if you have any wine vineyard/questions, let me know. Talk with ya'll soon and remember: Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Cheers,

Juan.

MCV FARM NEWS - 8/1/08 - Cool Climates

Morning ya’ll,

Well the past week on the farm has been pretty busy. Last weekend we hosted Sounds on Sound music festival, The Anything But Chardonnay & Merlot Festival, as well as hosting the Farm Bureau Dinner. The dinner was attended by the Junior Senator from New York, former Presidential candidate and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition to Hillary several other politicians and many of the East End’s Farmers came out to support farming. We really are not a bad looking bunch when we are all cleaned up.

Wine is truly a product of farming. Many wine consumers forget that wine is a product of agriculture. The greatest thing about Long Island wines is that anybody can come on out and visit the farms in which the grapes are grown to make the wine that they enjoy at home. Sure one can visit California, France, Italy, etc. However, in this tough economy folks can come out for the day and enjoy the beauty of the World Class vineyards producing World Class wines right here in their backyards.

In fact the Long Island wine region will be celebrating and holding a symposium at Stony Brook Southampton celebrating Cool Climate Grape Growing. This two-day event will have speakers from cool climate grape growing regions all around the world. It will be an exciting opportunity to spend time and here lectures from prominent grape growers and winemakers. The wine in dustry is a global one, but a small one. I look forward to sharing much of the information that will be learned at this exciting symposium.

Wine is so intriguing to me because although it has existed for thousands of years we have not perfected it. There is always something new to learn and nature is always keeping you on your toes.

Lastly, if you can get a chance it is a good time to take a stroll through the vineyard. In fact I would like to make myself available next Saturday in the morning to staff to take a stroll through the vineyard with me. We can discuss the vineyard and I can answer any questions that anyone may have. Please let me know if anyone is interested in doing so.

Cheers,

M2

MCV FARM NEWS - 7/18/08 - Passing the Seed.

Hey Ya'll,

Well, it has been dry. We have been irrigating the vineyard to help the vines through this drought. Drip irrigation is a tool that we have at Martha Clara that allows us to get through a drought phase. Not all vineyards have drip irrigation, but it is a nice tool to have. Otherwise things in the vineyard are going well. The guys continue to remove leaves to allow maximum amount of light to penetrate the grapes. The grapes are slowly growing and developing tartaric acid and malic acid. So, if you were to try the grapes now you would notice how tart and acidic the grapes were.

Nature is really pretty clever. The reason that the grape is so acidic is because the seed has not been developed yet. So, if a bird or person were to eat the grapes now there would b e no seed to pass on, because it has not been developed yet. Nature as a result makes the grapes really acidic and keeps them the same color as all of the foliage. It really is genius. The grapes are camouflaged and really acidic. So this means they are difficult to see and if someone or something did taste them they would be in for an unpleasant surprise. Acidic! Ick!

So, while nature is developing the seed it keeps the grapes unpalatable. Once the seed is fully developed and ready to pass on the genetic code, veraison begins. Veraison is when the grapes begin to change color. Red wine grapes start turning red and white wine grapes start turning a golden color. (All grapes start out as green.) In addition to a color change the grapes start softening and developing sugar. As they get sweeter the amount of acid decreases. Now they start to become more tasty to eat. When the sweetened grapes are consumed the now fully developed seed may be passed and as a result a grape vine may successfully pass on its genes. Genius.

In any event this week we received some information from the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY that our 2007 Pinot Grigio was selected to be poured in there tasting room. This is an honor because they select the best wines of New York State to be poured at their tasting room. We were one of only three Long Island wineries to be selected. So, this is a pretty nice honor.

Cheers,

Juan .

MCV FARM NEWS - 7/5/08 - Kermit is Not Green?

Good afternoon ya'll,

Well, Independence Day has come and gone. Things here on the farm continue to motor on. Wojtek and the guys continue to leaf pull. Once again we pull leaves in the vineyard to maximize the amount of sun that we can get on the clusters. A vine will produce many leaves in a season of growing. However, some of these leaves will make access to sunlight for the fruit more difficult. So, this is where we come into play.

Removing leaves is critical in cool climate viticulture (fancy way of saying grape farming). In hot region viticulture farmers may want to encourage shading as this will slow down ripening. It is ideal to have slow even ripening versus fast and furious ripening because the former encourages maximum flavor development. I have said this before, but flavor development and sugar development happen separately.

Flavor development in grapes requires a slow progression, sugar development on the other happen can happen quickly. In many hot regions sugar development out paces flavor development. Vineyards are forced to pick because if they do not, then sugar will be very high and the resulting alcohol will sky rocket. Long Island which is a cool climate can develop lots of great flavors, but we have to do things like leaf pull to help us attain maximum sugar development.

Cheers,

Juan.

MCV FARM NEWS - 6/28/08 - Still Growing Magic.

Morning Ya'll,

This week the weather was a bit more cooperative with less rain. The guys have been continuing to work in the vineyard. Soon we will begin leaf pulling in the vineyard. This is when we remove leaves from the fruit zone. The newly formed clusters need maximum sunlight to achieve optimal ripeness, so we remove the leaves to do this. In addition if we get rain it helps assure that the clusters will dry in a more timely fashion.

All of the staff has been quite busy preparing for upcoming events. Tomorrow we have our Summer Time Grillin'. Yesterday we bottled our new release wine, Sabor. I will be providing notes on this new, exciting and unique offering from Martha Clara. It is the first wine of its kind! I will say a few things about Sabor:
- Sabor is spanish for 'flavor'
- Sabor contains natural flavors of pineapple and coconut
- Sabor is a white-merlot, so it will be offered as a white wine
- Sabor is "Summer in a Bottle".

I know many will ask, "how do you make a white wine from a red grape?" Well, it is quite easy. We pick the grapes earlier in the growing season so they have not developed as much color. We also pick the grapes early, early in the morning when it is the coolest. Why is this important? Well, temperature will effect how quickly color will extract/leach from the skins. The cooler the temperature the slower the color extraction/leaching and the same vice versa. Once picked the grapes are quickly transported to the winery and pressed immediately. Because the grapes have little to no skin contact at very cool temperatures they extract little to no color. Lastly, as a wine ferments and goes through its lifecycle at the winery whatever small amount of color it had is lost over time.

Many will ask what was the inspiration for this wine? Well, quite honestly it has been my family. I am Mexican and my family here and my family from Mexico always enjoy the wines that I have made over the years, but very few they have truly loved. The one type of wine that they truly loved was dessert wines. This was because of the intense tropical flavors that a dessert wine develops, but we all know how expensive dessert wines can be for everyday drinking. So, I figured lets put tropical flavors into an affordable everyday wine and the idea of Sabor was born. The past wineries I have worked for would not have been the right stage for a wine such as this. Mr. Entenmann and Jackie being open and welcoming of everyone on their farm welcomed this idea. I thank them for this opportunity as will my family and soon the entire Latino community! The great thing about this wine is that it will not only appeal to Latino's but will have a broader appeal as well. Remember: It's Summer time in a bottle! Please give it a try for yourself when in the tasting room.

Cheers ya'll,

Juan.

MCV FARM NEWS - 6/19/08 - Lightning Strikes and Cougar Attacks.

Morning Ya'll,

Well, things in the vineyard continue to roll on. Wojtek and the guys have been busy tending the quickly growing vineyard. Right now we are in 'bloom' in the vineyard. Bloom is when the newly formed inflorescence's begin to open up. The photos show the closed inflorescence and the following photo depicts the almost fully bloomed cluster. People ask if we require bees to help pollinate? Well, grapes are a self-pollinating so we do not require the assistance of bees. Although, the bloomed flowers do not require insect pollinators they produce a very subtle and distinct aroma. In fact it smells faintly reminiscent of suntan lotion. I honestly do not fully understand why if grapes do not require pollinators do they still create an attractive aroma? It would seem an unnecessary action. If you get a chance take a walk into the vineyard and give these a sniff!

Pre- Bloom Bloom

In addition to bloom going on in the vineyard the guys continue to shoot thin. Once again the vine will produce more growth than is ideal for premium wine production. So we have to go out and shoot thin. Shoot thinning as we call it is when we select shoots to be removed from the vine. If you look below you will see the photo of a row prior to shoot thinning and a photo after shoot thinning. You will notice all of the thinned shoots on the ground. Also, you will see the photo of a shoot thinned vine. In addition to reducing yield, shoot thinning allows increased sun penetration, better air flow for drying out the canopy, and better coverage when we spray. This operation can be slow and tedious but it will not only help ensure a quality crop, but also a healthy crop.
Pre Thinning Post Thinning

The wild weather over the past week took its toll one of our trees. We are not sure if it was a lightning strike or the strong winds that took down the tree, but none-the-less no one was hurt.




Lastly, I have been attending various tastings as of late. Debbie and I participated in a tasting for Boulevard Magazine at the De Seversky Center in Old Westbury. This was a great event and it is good to see so many people that are familiar with Martha Clara. On Saturday night Ben and I participated in a tasting for Canvas Magazine at a gallery in Huntington. The event went very well, however at the end of the event I was attacked by several cougar's! (Cougar - think Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore) The Cougarus americanis is a persistent species. This particular group of cougar's surrounded me and were very persistent in myself joining them for a post-party cocktail. I graciously declined and escaped unscathed with the help of some other event attendees. It was a close call none-the-less! In any event that's the word on the farm. As always please feel free to ask any questions! Talk with ya'll soon!

Cheers,

Juan.