Dressed for Success

They always say to dress for the job you want, not for the one you have, but since I work from home, sitting around the house with my farmer’s overalls on doesn’t seem to be having much of an effect.  Nonetheless, thanks to my crafty wife, my home winery is now dressed for the professional position it wants, as opposed to the amateur operation it actually is.  After a combination of Christmas and Valentine’s gifts, my winery is now stocked with the stationary of a fine French Chateau. 

My carboys are adorned with hand-stamped vintage and varietal labels that make the wine taste better already.  Even cooler, if I need to send anyone a letter, I have a variety of hand-crafted cards and envelopes for every occasion.  When I opened the gift, I immediately imagined all the official winery business for which they would come in handy: 

“Dear Robert Parker, I want to thank you for your continued interest in purchasing my wine for your own enjoyment, but unfortunately I am not yet licensed to offer my products for sale.” 

“Dear Winemaker Magazine, It is with great honor that I graciously accept your invitation to become next issue’s featured home winemaker of the month.” 

So far, however, those occasions have not come as frequently as I imagined, unless you count:

“Dear Winemaker Magazine, Thank you for your generous offer to provide me one free issue to your magazine.  I understand that if I do not cancel my subscription within 30 days of receipt, then you will bill me for the balance of the year at the regular newsstand price.”

Anyway, I still say it’s good to be prepared.

Call it Like you Taste it

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!  A series of events this weekend got me thinking about wine tasting notes, and describing wines in general.  When I fell in love with wine, one of the reasons I was drawn to winemaking as opposed to, say, becoming a sommelier, is that I knew the limitations of my palate.  I view the ability to smell and taste the nuances of a wine as a true talent.  Contrast that to the act of winemaking, which to a great extent is more like learning the skill of a chemistry lab technician (but a lot sexier).

This weekend Kim and I had dinner out with some friends, and offered a little tasting of my aging Dry Run wines before we headed out.  Mind you, I know the taste of my wines very well, but invariably I use the same adjectives to describe them as I do every other wine I drink.  To me, wine is either heavy, medium or light.  It is either oaky, or not oaky.  And I might throw the word “buttery” around if I’m drinking a Chardonnay.  That’s pretty much all I’ve got.  So much so that when we played the game of trying to name the flavors highlighted on the label of the Malbec we enjoyed at dinner, I struck out in identifying the “plum, cherry, currant and pepper” that the winemaker insisted were present.  Pathetic.

The next day, Kim and I treated ourselves to a little wine and chocolate paring at Black Ankle Vineyards (by far the best winery in Maryland).  To no surprise, I was unable to pick up on the “cranberry and tapenade” flavors that were prevalent in their 2008 Syrah, not to mention the “hints of savory maple and bacon.”  Bacon?  In your Syrah?  Really?  I’m not sure I ever would have come up with that.  But in an act of resilience, I decided to have a bottle of it for breakfast this morning just to check. 

Chemical Dependency

When last I wrote of my Corot Noir vines in October, it was to report that my entire miniscule crop had been lost to black rot prior to harvest.  This year, in my third growing season, I have vowed to produce my first wine from my owns grapes, which means it’s time for me to learn about fungicides. 

My new best friend.



A little online research turned up a gem of an article providing a detailed spray program for wines grapes in Maryland.  Only problem was that it was for commercial applications, meaning that if I followed it to the T, I would be spending the better part of my Spring and Summer spraying a series of chemicals that may or may not cause cancer to the children playing in the backyard around them.  Since I really like my niece and nephew, and their mom is one of my more loyal readers, I decided to continue my research.  Ultimately, I came across the Home Fruit Production Guide published by the Maryland Cooperative Extension with instructions specific for home applications.  There are a couple of mild chemicals (Captan and Immunox) I can alternately spray every 1 to 2 weeks from bud break to post bloom, a period I expect to cover April through July, which in theory should protect my vines from rot and mildew.  And if that doesn’t work I see my self investing in child-sized gas masks for next year.