News 56 - Lakewood Vineyards

4024 State Route 14, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 • Phone: 877-535-9252
June 2016 • Volume 27 • No. 1
In last winter’s newsletter we excitedly announced the
groundbreaking for Lakewood’s latest tank room expansion. At that
time, we had only a hefty roll of drawings by an engineer, an old
dump truck and a backhoe to bring our plan to fruition. Over the last
6 months, dirt was dug, a foundation was founded, nails were nailed
and a roof was raised. Presently, most of the 21 large custom windows
have been installed (twenty of which were exactly the right size, if you
get my meaning). By the time you read this, the stone trim should be
completed. With shiny new 2,500 gallon stainless steel tanks now
glistening inside (most of) the new windows, visitors have a ring-side
view of Lakewood’s cellar before they even slide out of their cars. To
beef up our feng shui, four beautiful 30´ Black River Birch trees have
been carefully relocated to the site, and our lawn and sidewalks are in
the midst of a graceful re-landscaping. We hope you’ll swing by this
summer, peer into our cellar and enjoy the latest phase in our
ceaseless quest to make your visit to Lakewood ever more pleasant.
A view from inside our tank room expansion.
We understand how pets become
part of your family. Many of our
visitors like to travel with their
furry family members, and they
understandably don’t want to
leave them locked in a hot car
while tasting wine. So a gentle
word of caution: While you know
your dog, you probably don’t know
everyone else’s. Sometimes their
response to an unfamiliar K-9 can
be unpredictable. For the safety
and harmony of everyone and
their pets, we ask you to let us
know before you bring Fido into
the winery. This
will help us
continue to be a
pet friendly as
well as a people
friendly business.
Ah, summer in the Finger Lakes.
It’s the reason we put up with
winter all winter long! Lakewood’s
Do It Yourself Steak Dinners are a
terrific way to absorb that Finger
Lakes feeling. The relaxing fusion
of live music, balmy evening air,
outdoor grilling and a bottle of
Lakewood wine will take you to
your happy place. At Lakewood’s
DIY Steak Dinners, we provide all
the fixings for your 4-star picnic:
entertainment, 1 bottle of
wine/couple, steak (or chicken ),
salad, baked potato, dessert and a
glowing-hot charcoal fire on which
to ply your grilling expertise. As we
have for the past 25 years, we’ll kick
back on the lawn of Lakewood
Vineyards and just chill out while
the summer sun fades in the west.
Pick your date below and make your
reservations before we sell out.
Lakewood Loyals get our special
price of $68/couple. “Not-yetLoyals” are only $84/couple
(inclusive). For information on
becoming a Lakewood Loyal, visit
our website at:
lakewoodvineyards.com/lakewoodloyals.
Old Time Fiddle Tunes featuring
George Harriger & Son
Sinatra Tunes featuring Jimmy D.
*by special request when making
your reservations.
By Chris Stamp
As any gardener will tell you, spring is an exciting time. rough. But those days are long gone” he said, coming
back to the present. “I’m talking ‘space age
Plants and seeds are lovingly placed in freshly tilled
soil with the hope that given a few months and a lot of technology.” Instead of scratching out a grid in the
field to guide our planting, we now use a laser beam.
weeding, their labors will be rewarded with fresh,
healthy vegetables. But if you are planting grapevines, The laser is mounted on a tripod at the end of the row.
you best not count on such immediate gratification. A The planter has a detector that reads the laser and
adjusts itself to help maintain a straight line. It also
newly planted vine takes at least 3 years before
enables highly consistent vine spacing.”
surrendering its first crop. On the flip side, a well“And the end result?” I coaxed.
managed vineyard can last for generations. At
“Less set-up time and perfectly straight rows” he said
Lakewood Vineyards, we still tend vines that were
assuredly.
planted by my grandfather in 1953. In those days, our
As I gazed down the arrow straight furrows I noted a
vineyard planting employed a lot of hand tools, a refew plants slightly out of alignment on the last row.
purposed potato planter and careful eyeballing. Even
“What happened there?” I asked, pointing out the
when performed with a steady hand, it was not
deviation.
unusual for “straight” rows to wander a little and
“perfectly” spaced vines to be a bit uneven. I remember “The darn laser broke just as we were finishing up.”
Then, handing me the garbage bag, he asked “Would
learning my first naughty words while standing by
Granddaddy’s side as he sighted down a newly planted you drop this in the dumpster for me, I’ve got to put
the tractor away?”
row of vines and observed a pronounced, shall we say,
“Sure,” I said helpfully, taking the bag from him as he
“lack of straightness”. I also remember learning the
fired up the tractor. He nodded and headed off to the
taste of soap that evening.
tractor shed.
Today, planting utilizes technology unavailable back in Later, as I dumped the bag into the recycling bin, I
noted 8 paper coffee cups and an empty bottle of
my grandfather’s time. To learn the latest in vineyard
Riesling. Yeah right… “the laser broke.”
planting technology, I caught up with Dave, our
vineyardist. It was late afternoon, and Dave was
scuffing across the dusty field with a garbage bag in
one hand, collecting errant coffee cups cast about
during a long day of planting. I ambled between newly
placed grape cuttings to greet him.
“Looks like you had a good day,” I commented. “How
many vines did you get in the ground?”
“About 2100 vines on roughly 3 acres” Dave said,
straightening his posture with a dramatic groan. “And
my back feels like we did twice that.”
“I know the feeling,” I empathized. “Some things never
change.”
“Oh, plenty has changed,” he corrected me.
“Yeah, like you’re over 50 and the top of your head
gets sunburned now” I teased. Dave raised an eyebrow
as he glanced at my similar genetic disposition.
“Perhaps” he conceded, “but I was alluding to the
advancements in equipment.”
“It doesn’t take much imagination to improve on that
horse-drawn potato planter we used to use” I replied.
“Hey, we adapted that to a tractor,” he retorted. He
paused for a moment, reminiscing, then muttered
Straight rows of newly planted grapevines.
under his breath, “Those metal wheels were pretty
If we’re that excited about our
2013 Reserve Cabernet Franc, why
have we waited so long to release
it? …because it’s “Reserve”. Duh.
Seriously though, there are no
rules governing the use of the
word “reserve” as it pertains to
wine, rendering the word
somewhat meaningless. Less
scrupulous wineries have been
known to slap a reserve label on
just about any old schlock they
please in an effort to entice
trusting wine buyers. Be assured,
you’ll never encounter such
shenanigans at Lakewood
Vineyards. Lakewood’s Reserve
Cabernet Franc is a careful
selection of fruit vinified through
a unique process developed by our
winemaker. The wine is
exceptionally muscular, with a
natural alcohol content in the high
15 percent range…like 16%. The
wine spent 21 months mellowing
in 60 gallon French oak barrels
and then another 10 months
perfecting in the bottle. All this
before we even thought about
meaningfully affixing our “Reserve”
label to this special wine. A total
of only 113 cases were produced.
2013 Reserve Cabernet Franc
“This producer [Lakewood Vineyards] provides a lot of bang for the buck.
The wines are basically overachievers at very nice prices.”
The Wine Advocate - June 2015
Wines
Price/Btl. #of Btls.
2013 3Gen. Riesling
$20
2014 Dry Riesling
$14
2014 Riesling
$14
2014 Full Monty Riesling $15
2014 Chardonnay
$14
2014 Pinot Gris
$14
2013 Gewurztraminer $15
2014 Long Stem White $9
*2014 Long Stem White (1.5L)$15
Total
*Will only ship by 6-btl cs.-12 btl. UPS rate applies to 6 - 1.5L
2014 Vignoles
$10
2014 Valvin Muscat
$13
2014 Niagara
$9
2015 Abby Rose
$9
2014 Long Stem Red
$10
2014 Lemberger
$16
2014 Cabernet Franc
$16
2013 Res. Cab Franc
$40
2014 Borealis (375 ml)
$14
2013 Glaciovinum(375 ml) $14
2011 Blanc de Noir
$30
2013 Candeo
$13
2014 Sparkling Catawba $11
Mystic Mead Wildflower $10
Seifu’s Tej
$10
Wine Total:
Subtract 15% for orders of 12 or more btls:
UPS Charge (sales tax applies to UPS chgs):
Sub Total:
8% Sales Tax:
Total:
4024 State Route 14
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
(877)535-9252 Fax : (607)535-6656
e-mail: wines@lakewoodvineyards.com
Ask about becoming a Lakewood Loyal
Name:_____________________________
Shipping
Address:____________________________
Must ship wine to an address where someone 21 or older can sign for
the package.
City, State, Zip:_______________________
Phone:_____________________________
You must be at least 21 years old to order wine.
Billing Address (if different than shipping address):
_________________________________
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Exp.Date:____
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UPS Charges:
$25.00/case (12 btls.), $17.00/half case (6 btls.)
See lakewoodvineyards.com for current vintages, descriptions and prices of our wines.
Contact us for availability of Lakewood Vineyards wines outside of New York.
We can be reached by phone (Mon. - Sat. 10-5, Sun. noon-5), fax or e-mail (anytime).
As our winery operation grew over
the years, so has the size of our
compost pile. As it turns out, a
large volume of compost in one
location is a potential point-source
pollution risk. In a nutshell:
Compost = good. Compost in
streams = not good. Our local Soil
and Water District recommended a
containment building to protect
our compost from run-off in the
event of extremely heavy rains. The
time to take action is before we
have an issue, so, being lovers of our
beautiful Finger Lakes, we made
this a priority. Aided by Schuyler
County Soil and Water
Conservation District and the State
of New York, we designed and are
currently building a dedicated
compost facility dubbed “Compost
Compound”. Construction will be
completed before this fall’s harvest.
The 50’ x 120’ Compost
Compound will have walls on 3
Erin, Quinn and Dave checking on the
progress of the Compost Compound.
sides, a cement floor to prevent
leaching, a forced- air system to
cool and aerate the compost during
decomposition, and a roof to
protect the organic matter from
excessive rainwater. Truly the Taj
Mahal of composting facilities, our
Compost Compound will be the
envy of every rotting berry skin!
4024 State Route 14
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
There’s a lot more to winemaking
than just making wine. Some things
are apparent, like pressing grapes.
Pressing separates juice from the
grape’s skins and seeds. While it’s
obvious what we do with the juice
(hint: we’re a winery), what
becomes of the 130-140 tons of
skins and seeds, or pomace, we
generate each year? Some might call
pomace a waste product, but to us,
it’s a diamond in the rough. Loaded
with nutrients vital to plant health,
properly treated pomace is a
fantastic enrichment to vineyard
soil. We’ve always composted our
pomace. It’s a no-brainer.
Our compost recipe: