The day to day joys and trials of a small ultra-premium all vinifera vineyard and estate winery in historic Ripley, Ohio. The owners formerly owned Chehalem Valley Vineyards in Yamhill, Oregon. Looking for a new challenge, they sold that 40-acre Pinot Noir vineyard to Tony Soter in 1997.
An early bud break meant an early harvest; we were finished by mid-October. Sadly, it also meant several days of 80 degree weather, shoots four inches long, and then an Easter freeze which plunged the vineyard to 28 degrees. All the white wine was affected, to a tragic degree. There will be very little Viognier/Roussanne, little Riesling, and it may not even be worth bottling the Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. Syrah was also heavily affected. The good news is the long dry ripening season was outstanding for Cabernet; small berries, high sugars. These wines will be reminiscent of Calistoga, higher in alcohol than our general practice.
Vintage Report 2006
As this is written (January 2007), I've had the opportunity to both reflect on the vintage past and taste the wines as they have begun to develop. Going into harvest season, the vineyard was in excellent condition. Crop load and canopy management was on target. Weather deteriorated in mid-September and some of the harvest conditions were as difficult as I've ever experienced. October in particular was troublesome as cold temperatures and excessive rainfall limited maturities.
Despite the above, white wines are turning out surprisingly well. Red wines, however, are questionable and many may end up as second label when released in 2008. So far we have had a mild winter and I look forward to a spring with little winter damage and overall good growing conditions in 2007.
Vintage Report 2005
2005 in the vineyard was a vintage of extremes. Unlike 2004 where moisture, heat and humidity were well distributed, it seemed like the heat and humidity would never end. Rainfall came either not at all or in a deluge. Fortunately, harvest turned out mostly dry with only the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot caught by rain at the end of October. In the winery, most of the fruit came in low in acid and high in sugar. Adjustments were made and fermentations, though quirky, finished well. Overall, the wines show good promise, and for some, 2005 may prove to be the best vintage yet.
Revelation is the name we give to winegrower's blends. Today, we bottled the 2006 white Revelation, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, with a little Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Melon, that was harvested in September in TORRENTIAL rain. It actually came out pretty well. Here's Gretchen, her sister Emily, Steve Pearce, winegrower Ron and Terry from Ripley toasting the successful bottling... 125 cases! This is the smallest bottling of the year. May 8th we will do triple that with a larger crew for the Viognier/Roussanne. Ckearly, the girls are having more fun than the guys
This is the time of year, after the canes have been cut and the brush pulled from the trellis, that the three canes per plant need to be twisted onto the trellis wire, trimmed if necessary and tied. This video shows this mind-numbing job!
The Wine Spectator has a video contest... here's our entry. The concept here is the alternate realities of Wine Spectator "couples shots", usually with Reidels in hand, and what really happens!
Your friendly web mistress, Nancy Bentley... owner and managing partner, Kinkead Ridge
Twenty-one... it's a good age... but a bad temperature. Last Saturday night our vineyard was subjected to 21 degrees. The several nights before were also in the higher 20s, but the 21 degrees pretty much fried the primary and secondary buds on our Riesling, Viognier, Roussanne, and Sauvignon Blanc. We'll be lucky to get 20 percent of the usual crop. Luckily the Cabernet Sauvignon had not budded out, so it should be OK. Damage was devastating all over Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, southern Ohio and Indiana. We're bottling our 2006 whites in May (Riesling, Viognier/Roussanne and a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend white Revelation); but there won't be much white wine released in May of 2007.
Here we are on YOUTUBE! This Vineyard Year Movie shows our activity in the vineyard and winery in 2005. It's about 9 minutes long, and will really give you a feel for our boutique operation.
This is a slideshow Photo Album of still photos from the vineyard and winery. I'm especially fond of the photos that were taken when everything was coated with ice.
So, our prayers weren't answered. But as they say, everything happens for a reason. And it's farming. We are still committed to growing our own grapes. We don't believe in bringing in fruit from California or elsewhere. Every viticultural area in the world can have problems in any given year.
May is busy... it's bottling month! In between bottling, there's filtering and a lot of wine movement.
After several weeks of warm weather, we have budbreak. And the forecasted low temperatures for the next few nights in Ripley Ohio are 30-20-22-18-24. This is a major problem for the vineyard; the primary buds probably won't make it; the secondaries should be OK. But if we go into the teens, vines could be seriously damaged, requiring replanting, and another three year cycle to bring them up to bearing fruit.
On the plus side, our 2004 Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon just won a Gold medal at the Finger Lakes wine competition... only 141 of the 2126 entries won Gold medals. Entries were from 382 wineries in 12 countries, 32 states, and 3 provinces in Canada.
Praying in Ripley... Your webmistress Nancy Bentley
