Springtime means white wines

Post by John Metzcar, Assistant Winemaker

After the long, cold winter, we are looking forward to warm spring days.  And what is the best thing about those warm weather days?  Well, drinking new fresh wines from the 2010 vintage of course!

As a winemaker, nothing is more rewarding than seeing your hard work come to fruition and actually opening a bottle of your wine.  And as a winedrinker (which I also am), nothing is more exciting than seeing a new vintage of wines get released and tasting and enjoying what the new season has to offer.  Right now in the tasting room, we are in the middle of switching over from our 2009 whites to the 2010 whites.  So, at the same time that I am stocking up on old favorites from last year, I am previewing the 2010 wines by sipping some of the recently bottled whites.  And luckily for all of us, we already have some of the 2010 wines in the Tasting Room.  I have highlighted a few below-

2010 Chambourcin Rosé – I know, I know…  I said I was going to write about whites, but we process this dry rosé like a white wine and drink it chilled, so it counts, right?  Rosé is kind of like a dry red for summer and from this wine I get lots of rich ripe fruit (specifically kind of a peachy, strawberry flavor) and a deep red color.

2010 Riesling – This Riesling is well balanced with acidity and touch of sweetness, which brings out the fruit qualities of the wine.  This particular vintage, the wine strikes me as having a nectarine and apple-like quality and an excellent, refreshing finish.

2010 Pinot Grigio – The 2010 Pinot Grigio is dry and crisp with flavors of lemon and fresh cut grass and a bright finish.

All three are great examples of the fresh wines of spring and summer, perfect for a warm day or after a long hike through Morgan-Monroe State Forest.

Look forward to more coming out soon, and keep in mind to buy plenty of your favorite whites from the 2009 vintage because they will be gone soon. Speaking of 2009 white wines, the tasting room will be offering a special sale on two of our dry white wines during the month of May! To be one of the first to hear about this and other promotions, please join our email list.

Spearheads at Creekbend-watch your step!

Post by Pam Bonin, Marketing Manager

We found one!

While filming our next segment for Creekbend in Bloom, Bernie, our Vineyard Manager, found an ancient artifact – a spearhead! It was just sitting on top of the dampened soil under a Catawba vine – clean and polished as can be. Of course, Casey, our graphic designer and I continued to search for more thinking they traveled in packs.

It was a good find by Bernie – he has sharp eyes! I rarely think to look down when I am at Creekbend because the beautiful vistas are mesmerizing. From now on I’ll be looking where I’m walking.

Keep an eye out for the next Creekbend in Bloom. We got some great video and photos of budbreak and the frost fans.

Here come the buds!

Post by Bernie Parker, Vineyard Manager

Spring has sprung, as we all knew it would.  April has brought not only showers (5.5 inches so far) but with the 81 degree temperature we had on Sunday the buds have come on strong in the Marechal Foch and Catawba.  The Chardonnay and Valvin Muscat have just started coming out also.  We are excitedly looking forward to our first crop of Chardonnay.  Hopefully we will have enough to bottle this year to share with our customers.

We have been busy in the vineyard last week planting the new Traminette field.  The new 3.2 acres will bring us to 9.2 acres of Traminette.  We have also been putting on tubes to protect the new vines from deer for the next month.  This will give us time to get our deer fence up which keeps them from munching on the tender new shoots that will become our trunks.

Our fingers are crossed that we will not get a spring frost.  If one does happen we are ready to go with our new Orchard Rite frost fans.  We have been running them regularly to ensure they will start when we come out at 2 am. We are willing sacrifice our sleep for our loyal customers who appreciate the wonderful wines that Dennis and his crew make from Creekbend Vineyard.

"The Crew"- John V, John K, Justin, Quentin, Bernie, Sheila, Sarah and Ralph

If you would like to learn more about planting Traminette, check out this video in our Creekend In Bloom series.