Estate Vineyard in Summer

The Estate Single Vineyard Series

When we started Heart & Hands, we had a singular mission: to understand and explore the impact of our limestone rich terroir on our wines. As Tom designed our vineyard, he carefully considered this geology and the  land’s different soil types and varied topography. With this in mind, he planned the row layout, vine spacing, and Pinot Noir clonal selections  for the entire vineyard.

The Wines

2017 Vintage of Estate Single Vineyard Series

The Label Design

The front label is a pared-down minimalist design – a black label which fades in to the bottle.  The top edge of the label is where the story begins.  Instead of a traditional square, the top of the label is cut in a slanted line which runs upward from left to right.  If you look closely, you will note that the line isn’t perfectly straight – it meanders up and down a bit as it marches upward.    This line represents the slope on our vineyard hillside, and shows  shows its actual slope and topography.  On each label, gold foil covers a section of the line, indicating the location of the vineyard on the hillside.

The post Behind the Label: Estate Single Vineyard Wines appeared first on Heart & Hands Wine Company.

Estate Vineyard in Summer

The Estate Single Vineyard Series

When we started Heart & Hands, we had a singular mission: to understand and explore the impact of our limestone rich terroir on our wines. As Tom designed our vineyard, he carefully considered this geology and the  land’s different soil types and varied topography. With this in mind, he planned the row layout, vine spacing, and Pinot Noir clonal selections  for the entire vineyard.

The Wines

2017 Vintage of Estate Single Vineyard Series

The Label Design

The front label is a pared-down minimalist design – a black label which fades in to the bottle.  The top edge of the label is where the story begins.  Instead of a traditional square, the top of the label is cut in a slanted line which runs upward from left to right.  If you look closely, you will note that the line isn’t perfectly straight – it meanders up and down a bit as it marches upward.    This line represents the slope on our vineyard hillside, and shows  shows its actual slope and topography.  On each label, gold foil covers a section of the line, indicating the location of the vineyard on the hillside.

The post Behind the Label: Estate Single Vineyard Wines appeared first on Heart & Hands Wine Company.

This beautiful slab of limestone was unearthed during tiling

Step 1: Acquisition

Heart & Hands began with a dream of finding the ideal site for growing Pinot Noir in the Finger Lakes.  For us, this meant finding a vineyard site situated on limestone bedrock, in near proximity to the lake, near a scenic byway.  In 2007, we found and acquired 7 acres of this land on Cayuga Lake, and we began the years-long process of developing the winery and vineyard into what is is today.

We were hopeful that as demand for our wines grew, we would need to expand the size of our vineyard plantings, either with our growers, or by locating additional acreage nearby.  Susan led discussions with nearby property owners to see if there was any interest in selling land.  Fortunately, in January of 2017, we acquired the land just to the north of our existing estate vineyard.

The latest purchase of land is optimal for us for several reasons.  First, because it is adjacent to our existing property, it has the same geology and soils as our existing vineyard (Onondaga limestone) which has demonstrated to provide an exceptional foundation for the new vines and wine.  Next, the land slopes gently towards the lake, which will provide good air drainage and allow the vines to have excellent exposure to the afternoon sun from the west.  Finally, its proximity to our estate means that we do not have to travel a significant distance to farm the land, which will make vineyard management more efficient.

Step 2: Planning and Working the Future Vineyard Land

Over the past year and a half, we made plans to develop the vineyard.  In December of 2017, Tom selected the vines and rootstocks to be planted on the new vineyard.   He then created a blueprint for the layout of the future vineyard which calls for the addition of nearly 7 new acres of vines.  The new plantings will not only allow us to make more wine, but will also provide the opportunity to further explore the impact of our terroir on the grapes and the corresponding wines they produce.

Over the last few weeks, we took the one of the first steps to convert our field of dreams to a vineyard:  putting in drainage tile.  So what exactly is drainage tile, and why do we need it in the vineyard before vines are planted?   A tile drainage system is a network of perforated pipes which we install beneath the ground to remove excess water in the soil.  If excess water is allowed to remain in a vineyard, vine root growth and function can be impaired and can harm the long-term productivity of the vineyard.  By installing tile at appropriate intervals for our vineyard, we establish the best possible environment for the vines, and ensure that the amount of water is balanced and doesn’t exceed what the vines can handle.

Tom collaborated with the tile installer to custom-design the tile system for our vineyard.  During the design process, they considered the types of vines and rootstock which will be planted, and the land’s the soil type, geology, and topography.   The tile installer used GPS technology to map the entire parcel of land so that we could understand how water moves on our site.   The resulting design specified exactly where each tile line should be placed, along with the appropriate depth and slope for each tile line.

After design completion, we moved on to the installation phase.  Because of the amount of limestone on our property, the crew decided to install each line two passes.  On the first pass, they ripped through the soil, located any large limestone boulders or formations, and moved them out of the way.  On the second pass, they installed the tile using GPS to precisely position the tile in the right location, and at the right slope.   The work progressed without too many interruptions, other than finding giant slabs of limestone embedded in the soil!

The following photos show some aspects of the tiling activities, from the first day of tiling to the end state:  a completely tiled future vineyard.  We look forward to sharing more updates as we take the next steps to prepare the land for the vines.

Day 1 of Tiling: The first tile lines run on the East side of the property overlooking Cayuga Lake

Tom stands on the Tile Tiger – GPS driven equipment designed to dig deep and presicely place tile

Chunks of limestone hide beneath the surface of the land

The future vineyard overlooking Cayuga Lake after the completion of tiling

Looking back on the existing vineyard from the newly tiled land

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 Winter vineyard inspection with K9 support

While winter weather persisted through mid-to-late-April, we feel fortunate that the winter of 2018 was relatively kind to us, as we did not encounter many extreme cold weather events.  Now that the spring thaw is finally here, the vines are beginning to come back to life.  Warm temperatures over the past few days mean that sap is flowing in the vines – the first sign that the vines are waking up from their winter slumber.  As a result, there is much work to be done to prepare them for the upcoming vintage.  One of the  first vineyard activities of each new year is pruning the vines, then selecting the best fruiting canes for each vine, and finally tying each cane to the fruiting wire.

Pruning

                                      Removing a larger cane

We prune the vines for several reasons:  it allows us to maintain the vines’ training system, remove the old canes which bore the prior year’s fruit, and choose the fruiting canes for the upcoming vintage.  This year, we pruned the vineyard in late March, after the greatest risk of  injury from extreme cold had passed.  At Heart & Hands, we prune with the intent of cultivating a “balanced vine”:  seeking to achieve a balance between optimal fruit production, and sufficient but not excessive vine and canopy growth.

We do our pruning work in two passes.  During the first pass, we remove the old plant material, and leave behind a couple of potential fruiting canes.  During the second pass, we select the best cane or canes for each vine and remove the others.  While we have helping hands with the first pass of pruning, Tom prefers to do the final pass himself.  By doing so, he can make the critical decisions for the season,  and select the best possible fruiting cane for each vine.

                    Tom gently wraps a cane around the fruiting wire

Tying

After pruning the vineyard, we move on to tying.  Tying provides support to the vine, and ensures that the future grapes are in the best physical position to promote growth, ripening and harvesting.

We gently wrap each fruiting cane around the fruiting wire – taking great care to avoid cracking or damaging the vine. Then we use a tool called a tapener to secure the fruiting cane to the fruiting wire at the end of the cane.  We also tie the trunk of the vine to a metal stake which is placed directly next to the base of the plant.

   Then secures the fruiting cane to the wire

Timing this work is tricky.  Ideally, you want to finish tying before bud break.  Once the tender buds emerge from the vine you must work very slowly to avoid harming them.  However, if you start too early during cold weather, the vines are more brittle, and there is more risk of cracking the vine when wrapping it around the wire.

This year, we started tying the vineyard in early April.   The work will continue through the remainder of the month in the long awaited warmer weather!

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Most people stopping into the tasting room during the season ask what we do in the winter – assuming it must be a time when we head down to key west for three months (I wish I had with this winter).  While operationally, things are a little slower and more quiet, there are still a number of things to stay on top of.  Here are a few:

Wrapping up Fermentations

The Rieslings continued to bubble into the frigid months of December and January, before it was time to stop the fermentations.  Because of the duration of the fermentation (i.e. slower activity), we don’t need to be analyzing them as often as we do for the Pinot.  Oh, and the tropical aromatic esters that they are showcasing as they progress through their fermentations are just so sublime.  It is really an enjoyable time to be in the cellar.

Tasting Room Upgrade

With the lack of traffic in the tasting room, it allows us to work on those projects that we’ve been waiting on the past 12 months.  One of those annual tasks is refinishing the tasting room bar.  The black walnut bartop sees a number of hands, bottles, and glasses throughout the year, so this break allows us to apply the coats of lacquer to protect the wood for the new year ahead.  Additionally, the lacquer has a tendency to linger for a few weeks, so it’s probably best to apply now as to not impact the aromatic experience in the tasting room.

We also ordered some new imagery to adorn the walls and share more of a “behind the scenes” look of Heart & Hands.  Everything from the early season bud break to harvest will tell a tale of the season and our vinification practices.

There will also be new wines this season along with a new format for the tastings, so we’re pretty excited about getting the season started when the upgrades are wrapped up in the tasting room.

Blending Trials

Once the wines have completed fermentation, it gives us an opportunity to look at each vessel (barrel or tank) to assess the wines individually and begin blending trials.  Anything from the vineyard, to the tank size, the press date, the fermentation duration, or the yeast selected (to name a few) can create a complex web of variables to select from.  For the Rieslings alone, it can take weeks for us to decide on the breakout of the final blends – so it is not for the weary.

Stirring Polarity

Can’t forget about our white Pinot Noir – Polarity.  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday means a visit to the barrel room to stir the lees to create more richness and complexity in the finished wines.  With 5 additional barrels this year, it means spending a tad bit longer working on what the French refer to as “battonage“.

Pruning the Vines

And last, but clearly not least, pruning.  To me, pruning marks that magical moment that the new season is upon us. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the vines will emerge this spring with new life.  Pruning is our way of listening to the vine speak about the previous year – if the vine was small last season, we may need to cut back this year and leave fewer buds for balanced growth.  I think it is an exciting time to work with the vines and really hear them.  It always teaches me more about my site and how that one vine in that 3 foot space operates.

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With the San Diego-like temperatures this past week (clear, sunny, mid 70’s), the vines made a quick leap from bud break to a first showing of the clusters.  The forecast for this week doesn’t look like there will be much of a change, so we’re probably going to see some significant growth this week.

What are the next tasks?

We’ll begin the process of “suckering” this week to remove the shoots that have emerged from the trunk.  This allows the vine to focus on putting energy into the shoots on the fruiting wire for this seasons production.

Next, we will do some shoot thinning to remove shoots that are too close to each other.  The grape clusters need appropriate air drainage, so it is important that each shoot (bearing 2 clusters) has its own space.  It is much easier to perform this task at this point in the season when you can use your fingers. As the shoots mature and harden off, pruning shears are required for removal, and the task becomes more difficult.

We will continue to post photos and updates as the 2013 season progresses, so be sure to check back to see where we are in the vineyard and cellar.

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Yesterday (April 30th) marked the beginning of the growing season at Heart & Hands – bud break.  While in some of the vineyard the buds continue to swell, a majority of the lower block is showing some green.  Last year’s bud break was much earlier, exposing us to frost risk. This year we can breathe a little easier knowing that we’re only a few days away from the “last frost” date.

We’re looking forward to a great 2013!

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One of the first signs of season for the vine is the movement of sap.  Stored in the trunk throughout the winter, the pruning cuts stimulate those juices moving upward.  The vine wounds naturally heal themselves (but draw plenty of activity from the insect community) and the sap eventually begins to move toward the buds.  Historically speaking, the sap from a grapevine has been used to treat everything from skin and eye diseases, to snake bites, or used as shampoo.

Despite the cooler spring temperatures (it was 25 today with a wind chill of 14), the vines seem to be on their own schedule with this sap movement.  With the forecast later this week showcasing some temperatures a little more in line with this time of year (50’s).  Purely speculative, the vines may just be on a lunar schedule and shrug off these cooler temps to push through winter in order to get on with their job for the season.

We can hope that this is a sign of good weather to come over the next few weeks.

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From a winemaking aspect, there are usually a few tanks of Riesling that are fermenting into the new year.  Once those have completed, we cold stabilize the wines and begin blending trials. The blending trial evaluation can take weeks to complete with all the different variables (i.e. 8 different tanks of Riesling from 3 different sites to make 5 unique Rieslings can take a fair bit of time).  While the 2012 Pinot’s are resting in the barrels, we still have the 2011 Single Vineyard Pinot’s to prep for bottling, along with the 2011 Barrel Reserve.  Additionally, we still have all the post-fermentation chemistry to catch up on (yes, there is the science aspect to winemaking too).

The vineyard needs an annual pruning, which usually takes a few weeks.  This is followed by tying the young trunks to the stakes to keep the vines upright.  Finally, once things begin to warm up, we can tie the canes to the fruiting wire for the season.

What does the winery dog do when it’s this cold out.  Well, her Swiss roots really come out with snow on the ground.  Check out the latest vineyard snow romp from our pooch:

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