By Amy Smith
The Finger Lakes wine community is often celebrated for its collegiality, with winemakers and growers acting as sounding boards for one another, helping each other learn and grow. One of the things that is less talked about is how helpful, patient and instructive the community can be with novice visitors.
When Jerry and I started coming to the Finger Lakes a decade ago, we knew very little about wine in general, and practically nothing about Finger Lakes wine. On our first visit we knew to expect good Riesling, but we lacked the knowledge to understand why this would be so. We were surprised to find excellent sparkling wine, and really nice dry roses (Although production of the later was just gearing up, and you had to be quick to get your share before they ran out in late summer!). There were also these wonderful, light bodied, yet sometimes intense red wines. If we had known more we would have called them European style.
We started talking to tasting room employees, winemakers and owners. I am fortunate that Jerry can strike up a conversation with anyone, since I tend to listen and soak up information until I know people better. I’m sure these conversations were run of the mill for most of the people we talked to, but the vast majority of them were gracious and willing to discuss wine at our level of knowledge. We would come up two or three times a year, and there was often a theme to these conversations based on whatever books or articles we were reading at the time. There was the terroir visit, the use-of-oak visit, the cork vs. screw top visit, etc. Some subjects, such as ageability, have been ongoing.
As we talked to more and more people, our knowledge increased and our palates developed. Delving into grape growing, winemaking, the business and marketing of wine, and dozens of other subjects, became a passion. The Finger Lakes wine community has been incredibly supportive of us as amateurs. I would never have thought back in 2012 that we would be able to attend International Riesling symposiums, or attend lectures at the Eastern Winery Exposition. In every circumstance we have been encouraged and supported. The only thing that has been lacking has been more practical experience. We’ve made wine with friends in Pennsylvania, we even made a feeble attempt at growing vinifera, but we have never picked grapes, or pruned, or a hundred other things necessary for the production of high quality wine. While book knowledge is great, I feel that I would be more useful and well rounded with hands on experience in the vineyard. Recently, such an opportunity presented itself.
I happened to be in the Finger Lakes on August 30th when Todd Eichas, co-owner with his wife Dani, of New Vines Winery, sent an email out to eNVy wine club members. The Marquette was ready to be harvested and they were looking for volunteer pickers. I awoke the next morning with a sense of excitement. Even an episode of the dogs getting loose through a storm damaged fence didn’t sour my mood, although it did make me late. When I arrived, Todd explained the process of harvesting. New Vines has a mere acre of immaculately maintained vines and there was only a row and a half of Marquette to be picked. It seemed a perfect fit for my first harvest experience. Arriving late, I was already behind the more experienced pickers, and being a novice meant I was never going to catch up. The harvest was over before I knew it- of the 49 bins picked, I think only 4 were mine. It really made me appreciate the skill of the experienced pickers!
I had a lot of fun picking grapes and didn’t cut myself, which I understand is a common injury for the inexperienced. This smaller scale harvest was perfect for a beginner, and I quickly realized that this would be backbreaking work in larger vineyards. After harvest, Dani made a wonderful breakfast that we enjoyed outside overlooking the vineyards and Seneca Lake. Afterward I stayed to help with the crush and press. I even got to drive the tractor to pick up the bins. All in all, it was a great morning.
The WSET diploma program doesn’t focus a lot on hybrid grapes, so I’ve had very little experience with Marquette. Like Saperavi, it is a teinture variety, meaning that the pulp is red. No skin contact is necessary to make a rose. I was quite impressed with the efficient system Todd has designed for crushing, pressing and transferring juice. I learned about using rice hulls to improve juice drainage during pressing, which is something I wish I had known during my limited experience in Pennsylvania.
I can now look forward to trying a Finger Lakes wine that I had some small part in making. I can’t recommend the experience enough and thank both Todd and Dani for the opportunity.
Cheers, Amy.