From the Cellar

Iowa Now Ranks 14th in Number of Wineries

This article recently appeared in the Des Moines Business Record . . .

http://www.businessrecord.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=5753&SectionID=5&SubSectionID=11

Cellar News Winter Update

The 2008 harvest went smoothly thanks to all of our volunteer help. On the down side, yields were much lower than we had anticipated due primarily to the late frost we experienced in April. Initially plants appeared to have a normal amount of grapes but, the density was much less on most varieties. Our Edelweiss only took in perhaps half of what we normally do and, two other local sources had almost none this year. We will likely run out of Edelweiss by summer.

We purchased a grape known as Lacrosse this year from two local growers. It tends to flower later than other varieties and yields were not hurt as much by the frost. It can be a problematic grape to work with but, after experimenting with a number of different small batches in the past we may have gotten it right this year. We hope to bottle in February if all goes well. When we run out of Edelweiss, some may find the Lacrosse to be a wonderful substitute.

We intend to have a number of other locally grown varieties of grapes/wine available in small lots, some of which we've not purchased or bottled in the past such as Iowa Chambourcin (a dry red), Iowa Frontenac (a dry red), Iowa Seyval (dry white), and Iowa Vignoles (semi dry white).

Currently, we are in a processing frenzy and are out of some wines such as regular Festiva, Iowa Vignoles, and running low on others such as Summer Blush, and Seyval. The wines are here in bulk but, are not ready for bottling. We bottled about 10,000 in November, 23,000 in December and hope to finish 12,000 in January.

Stop in and see our three new stainless tanks. They give us another 14,000 litres in storage/fermentation capacity (they are shiny!). Also, say hello to our newest addition as cellar help, Ms. Carrie Smith, her hard work is greatly appreciated.

By the way when Ron was on vacation, we poured cement in front of the Gazebo. The bands will no longer have to unload in the mud and, you won't have to dance in it either.

Fall Harvest

TGHIO – Thank God Harvest is Over! 2007 was a difficult growing year all around. The Midwest experienced a late frost in April which destroyed new bud growth. We initially believed we had little damage here, but the yields proved otherwise on many varieties. At my personal vineyard I expected a normal crop of 4-5 tons from one variety but harvested 660 pounds! On the optimistic side, 2008 has the potential for heavy crops as plants this year did not have to expend much energy on fruit production.

We have received some very nice Frontenac, St. Vincent, Chambourcin & Lacrosse grapes this year. Depending on how processing goes, we may try to make each into a new straight varietal wine. By the way, the new Pink Festiva is available.

With the help of Dr. Murli Dharmadakari. from Iowa State University, we are revising and updating many of our lab testing procedures and equipment. I hope to also remodel the lab this winter once things slow down.

Let’s see...what’s new for equipment? We retired our trusty old 12” x 12”, 20-plate filter and replaced it with a 40cm x 40cm, 40-plate unit and tripled the capacity of our pre-bottling line cartridge filters. We have two new 1,500 gallon chiller tanks on order, and they should be here in late October. We obtained a portable (sort of) 5,000 pound capacity scale before harvest which proved very helpful for weighing macro bins and barrels. Next season I hope to move toward harvesting with more macro bins and make a hydraulic dump unit.

We are running quite low on many of our bottled wines, so I hope the fermentation goes well. Stop in and see what’s new.

Summer at Summerset...

NEW WINES

MEAD (Honey wine)

It is not for everyone.  This new batch was bottled on July 6th and was made with a different yeast, a more aromatic blend, more residual sugar and slightly reduced alcohol.

MARECHAL FOCH

This 500 gallon batch was fermented and handled separately from our other Foch.  It has an intensely deep color, with rich tannins and oak.  I had intended to use this as a primary blending base for one of our dry reds, however when Ron sampled it one day, he liked it on its own.  It has been bottled and is now available. 

KISS ME

A new complex white wine blend. This wine was released at our 10th Anniversary party on July 4th and bottles flew out the door.

PINK FESTIVA (carbonated wine)

When Ron, Linda, and family were out of town, Nick and I blended up 575 gallons based on an initial test batch of five gallons Ron invented.  I think Ron stumbled on a real winning combination and it has received some wonderful reviews so far.  We have started bottling and are working on a label.  Much of the wine in this blend also comes from my personal vineyard in addition to Summerset.

BOTTLING PROGRESS

Another batch, (1000 gallons) of Caba and a batch of Rose’ are being cold stabilized.  It will be bottled shortly. 

Four to five more batches of Caba need to be finished before the end of July along with one batch of Kiss Me, one batch of Summer Blush, and one batch of Harvest White.  There is not enough time in a day.  These wines must be bottled ASAP so we will have enough tank space before harvest.

Come visit our new high capacity, combination lees and wine plate frame filter. Or as Ron calls it "that darn expensive thing Dave kept bugging me to buy" or "that's where Dave's raise went!" The new filter will allow us to save more juice during harvest, save more wine when racking (moving wine), and to more efficiently clarify wine. We can also do two filter operations in one pass, so there is less opportunity for oxidizing wine.

Vincent, our university intern from France, has been very helpful in the filtering and bottling processes.

HARVEST:

We sustained some bud loss due to the weather early in March, but we did not have any plant loss.  Vineyard spraying is behind schedule due to all the rain and windy days.

Look for my upcoming quarterly articles in the wine magazine "Make More Wine," in the column "Blending Thoughts."

Dave