Celebrate Valentine's Day with Atwater
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Jan 30, 2021 at 7:02 AM
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The Atwater Times - January 2021
In the Vineyard
Earlier this month, Chris and Mike tore out old vineyards of Chancellor and Vignoles vines so that the fields can rest, ideally for at least two years. This gives us a chance to get any of the perennial plants and weeds out and to help replenish and enrich the nutrients in the soil before they are replanted with grape vines. We will start with a mustard cover crop which acts as a biofumigant and weed suppressor. Our goal is to reduce the nematode population, a root feeding insect that can reduce vine health and productivity. We’ll follow that with annual rye to suppress weeds and build organic matter so that our soil holds water and nutrients better, reducing our need for synthetic inputs.
Wine Cellar Updates
What better way to usher in the new year but with the birth of our Pét-Nat Riesling 2020, bottled just a few days into 2021! As far as other cellar news, we are preparing several wines for their final descent into the bottle, starting with the Dry Riesling 2019, Riesling 2019, and Celsius 2019 (also made from Riesling), all three of which just emerged from a 12-month barrel-aged slumber. These wines along with the 2020 Rosés (Pinot Noir and Blaufränkisch) are all “bottle ready,” meaning any adjustments or blends have been completed and all that is left in the way are a few passes through our plate and frame pad filter. If all goes according to plan, we are targeting an end of January bottling run with many more wines to follow!
New Releases
Gewürztraminer and Vignoles were separately harvested, destemmed, and bin-fermented for fourteen days. After pressing, the wines finished malolactic fermentation and were aged separately in neutral French and American oak barrels for thirty months prior to blending and bottling.
This golden, slightly cloudy, unfiltered wine possesses the structure, body, and tannins of a red wine with the acidity of a white. The richly textured mouthfeel with savory and earthy overtones reaches your palate leaving a zing of orange marmalade, grapefruit rind, and dried flowers and creates a complex flavor profile with a long lingering finish.
This was fermented separately in open-top bins for an average of ten days, aged separately for twenty-one months in French and American oak barrels, and then blended prior to bottling. The resulting wine is smoky and peppery upfront mingling with sour cherry and plum. Fine gentle tannins, cedar, and molasses round out the wine and extend the finish.
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NEW OWNERS
On December 28, Matt Russo and our very own George Nosis completed the purchase of Atwater Estate Vineyards. They are both extremely excited to bring a new vision to the over 20-year legacy established by Ted Marks and his family to strengthen Atwater Estate Vineyards as a premiere destination to highlight our amazing wines, region, and community.
Matt graduated from the Cornell School of Hospitality in 1990 and has worked with Northwestern Mutual for almost twenty-six years where he is a managing partner in New York City. He, his wife Tonya, and younger son Chad live in Connecticut while his elder son, Thomas, is a junior at Cornell University. Matt has been making wine for thirteen years, and for the last eleven years has been searching for the right winery project. When he and Tonya visited Atwater, they knew they’d found the right fit!
George, who started at Atwater in January 2014, has been managing the winery for the past two years as he’s worked with Ted to transfer ownership. He has a particular interest in natural winemaking styles and in the red wines of the region.
With Matt and George’s complimentary skills and passion for wine, as well as their strategic vision for Atwater, we’re excited for the future!
staff profile
Lynne, one of our amazing tasting room hosts, grew up about an hour from here in Endwell, NY. After grad school, she came to the area for a position at Ithaca College. That blossomed to an almost 30-year career in higher education. The region was a huge part of her decision to stay at Ithaca College: the music, theater, parks, and waterfalls all played a role.
The area wineries have always been a great place for her to take visiting friends and family. Working in alumni relations she also quickly learned that alums loved visiting their favorite wineries when they came back to visit. The department frequently planned tours for reunions and would bring Finger Lakes wines with them to regional and club events.
Working at Atwater, Lynne’s enjoyed meeting people from all over the world and finding out what brings them to the Finger Lakes as well as to Atwater. One of her favorite things about working at Atwater is the collaboration among the staff and the willingness of her colleagues to share their knowledge about the grapes, the wines, the winery, and the region.
Although she’s only been at Atwater since June, and has only worked under COVID restrictions, she notes that because of various social distancing requirements, tastings are a much more relaxed and personalized experience.
She loves so many of Atwater’s wines! Right now, her favorite is the Riesling 2016 because it pairs so well with some of her favorite Thai foods.
The next time you are at Atwater, please say hello to Lynne!
NEW HOURS
Starting January 2, 2021, we instituted new hours in our tasting room. We are now closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Tastings are available Monday and Thursday – Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can now make reservations through March 2021.
“Our visits to Atwater are always great. The people working are very friendly and courteous and willing to help when needed. It’s always a no-hassle experience.”
- Customer Review
GETTING OUR WINE
Ground Shipping
Our $10 per case ground shipping. Quantity and club discounts apply.
Curbside Pick-up
Order online and choose the "Pickup" option at checkout. When you arrive, park and call (607) 546-8463 to let us know you’ve arrived. We'll bring your wine out to you and load it in your vehicle.
Local Delivery
Order wine by noon Monday through Friday for same-day local delivery. Call us at (607) 546-8463 or place an order online and select the "Local Delivery" shipping option. There is a six-bottle minimum and a twenty-five-mile radius delivery limit.
Orders for pick-up or delivery can include specialty food, puzzles, and even wine keys! Browse our selection here.
Club orders will be shipping (or ready for pick-up) in mid-February. If you aren’t a member, be sure to join by February 2 to receive the first shipment of 2021.
George will be hosting a virtual tasting of the Winemaker’s Selections on Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The tasting is free, but we ask you to pre-register. We’ll provide a registration link closer to the event.
“As new wine club members, we continue to be so impressed by the fantastic wine selection and incredible Hospitality. Our experience yesterday was nothing short of perfect!!! We will be back very soon.”
-Club Member Review
UPCOMING EVENTS
Follow our social media channels and website to keep up with our activities!
Jan 25, 2021 at 4:55 PM
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The Atwater Times - December 2020
Have a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and New Year!
In the Vineyard
Each year following harvest, we go through and check all of our posts, wires and trellis hardware. This is routine maintenance important to make sure that the trellises can support the load when the crop is on. An average crop load is about 4 tons/acre, so our trellises need to be strong to support all of that weight. We can continue to pound replacement posts until the ground freezes, often well into December or later. Replacing hardware requires dexterity, so it has to be warm enough to wear thin gloves. When it is too cold for lightweight gloves, it is time to start pruning.
Wine Cellar Updates
The 2020 whites and rosés have completed alcoholic fermentation and many have been racked off their lees (yeast) as they head into their cold stabilization period whereby they will precipitate tartaric acid crystals. Tartaric acid crystals are sometimes called “wine diamonds,” and while they don’t affect the taste of wine, they aren’t always aesthetically pleasing. In the cold fermentation process, the crystals are formed in the tank and are separated from the wine preventing them from forming in the bottles. Once the whites and rosés are stable, the winemakers will begin preparation for the bottling season which should start in early 2021.
New Releases
The barrel aged 2020 reds have also completed alcoholic fermentation but are now in the process of completing a secondary malolactic fermentation, whereby the malic acid (think apple) is converted to lactic acid (think cream). This should be wrapping up over the next few weeks and will be followed by the same cold stabilization period undergone by the whites and rosés.
For more information about malolactic fermentation, read Wine Folly’s article “What is Malolactic Fermentation? The Buttery Taste in Wine.”
Additionally, Vinny, George, and Wes have been conducting tasting trials. Even the percentage of grapes from different blocks on the farm has an affect on the flavor profile!
WES (L) AND GEORGE (R) TASTE WINES FOR BLENDING TRIALS
BACK IN STOCK
In this sparkling wine, floral aromas linger with honeysuckle and rose while layered, bright flavors of peach and kiwi give way to a citrusy finish.
END OF VINTAGE
From the Tasting Room
New and Old Traditions
Amanda and Tracy plan to sleep in and have a quiet day and open our presents at our own whim then curl up in comfy clothes and watch Christmas movies while sipping on wine or bourbon all day—which they honestly, we look forward to that every year. This year, though, they must do their family’s big Secret Santa exchange via mail instead of in person.
Amanda has never been a breakfast person. To slow down Christmas Day, her mom always said she had to eat breakfast before presents were opened. It never pleased her, but due to it being a holiday it became a tradition that a cinnamon roll counted as breakfast and then became a family joke. As she got older that tradition changed, and now she and Tracy prepare an overnight French Toast bake every year to be paired with eggs, bacon, and mimosas made with Bubble Riesling or Bubble Riesling on its own! It’s the one time a year she looks forward to breakfast.
Overnight French Toast
- French Toast
- Butter, for greasing
- 1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread
- 8 whole eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces, plus more for serving
- Warm pancake syrup, for serving
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, for serving
1. For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably).
2. For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a re-sealable plastic bag in the fridge.
3. When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour or more for a firmer, crisper texture.
4. Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.
Recipe Courtesy Food Network
GETTING OUR WINE
Ground Shipping
Our $10 per case ground shipping. Quantity and club discounts apply.
Curbside Pick-up
Order online and choose the "Pickup" option at checkout. When you arrive, park and call (607) 546-8463 to let us know you’ve arrived. We'll bring your wine out to you and load it in your vehicle.
Local Delivery
Order wine by noon Monday through Friday for same-day local delivery. Call us at (607) 546-8463 or place an order online and select the "Local Delivery" shipping option. There is a six-bottle minimum and a twenty-five-mile radius delivery limit.
Orders for pick-up or delivery can include specialty food, puzzles, and even wine keys! Browse our selection here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Follow our social media channels to keep up with our activities!
Dec 15, 2020 at 7:31 AM
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The Atwater Times - November 2020
In the Vineyard
Harvest is officially “in the books.” It was an extremely high-quality year with nice weather for almost all of harvest: a welcome exception. Now our focus shifts to prepping for winter. We are almost done hilling up to protect our graft unions. We run an offset plow along either side of the rows to make a mound of soil along the row. This acts as insulation in case we have extreme temperatures that might damage our vines. It also helps with weed control. We also check each post to see if is broken and needs to be replaced. We try to do as many trellis repairs now as we can so that we have more time in the spring to get ready for the vines to start growing. Growing grapes is a full year process. As soon as harvest is over, we start preparing for the next one.
Wine Cellar Updates
The fall season's weather continued where summer left off, providing plenty of warm, rain-free days up until we took the last of our grapes on October 28th.
While yields were down due to drought conditions, the overall integrity and ripeness of the grapes is at a level not seen in many years. Once the fermentations wind down we will then begin to evaluate the wines and start to steer many of them towards bottling in early 2021. For now, we are feeling fortunate to have such promising wines in our midst and thankful to our vineyard crew who brought in a winning vintage.
We have, however, done one early bottling, our Pétillant Naturel 2020, which finishes fermentation in the bottles. Our red Pét-Nat contains Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. A white Riesling Pét-Nat is still in the tank. We expect these to go on sale in early 2021.
HOLIDAY RECIPE + RIESLING
George and Aimee’s favorite holiday recipe is a delicious, spicy tofu that can be a main or side dish. Both herbivores and omnivores who have sampled this have loved it and requested it on return visits!
Spicy Sesame Tofu
- 8 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 4 tsp sriracha sauce
- 4 tsp nutritional yeast
- 8 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 packages firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
- 2 tsp olive oil
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Braggs, sriracha, nutritional yeast, and sesame seeds. Stir in the tofu and let marinate for five minutes. In a wok or large saucepan on medium-high heat, sauté the tofu and sauce in oil until the tofu is browned. Makes 2-4 servings. Optional: add chopped vegetables such as red peppers when sauteing the tofu.
Serve over rice with Riesling 2016.
Adapted from The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Wine Club Memberships
With a gift membership to the Atwater’s Edge Wine Club, you can give your favorite wine lover exclusive access to ongoing deliveries of our award-winning wine plus all the benefits of membership—including discounts on wine purchases, complimentary tastings, invitations to special events and more!
Simply choose a club level, and we will send your recipient a welcome letter with a complimentary wine key to inform them of your thoughtful gift. They will receive their first order at the next regularly scheduled delivery (February, May, August, and November). We’ll automatically bill your credit card at the time of each shipment.
Merchandise
Send friends and family Atwater t-shirts and sweatshirts with our Get Bubbly Octopus or Lake Serpent designs. We also have a Hooded Pullover dress and a women’s crewneck. These are also great stocking stuffers!
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Gift Cards
You can share Atwater with your friends and loved ones through one of our gift cards available in amounts ranging from $25 to $250. Recipients may use them online or in the tasting room on their choice of wine or merchandise.
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GETTING OUR WINE
Ground Shipping
Our $10 per case ground shipping. Quantity and club discounts apply.
Curbside Pick-up
Order online and choose the "Pickup" option at checkout. When you arrive, park and call (607) 546-8463 to let us know you’ve arrived. We'll bring your wine out to you and load it in your vehicle.
Local Delivery
Order wine by noon Monday through Friday for same-day local delivery. Call us at (607) 546-8463 or place an order online and select the "Local Delivery" shipping option. There is a six-bottle minimum and a twenty-five-mile radius delivery limit.
Orders for pick-up or delivery can include specialty food, puzzles, and even wine keys! Browse our selection here.
CLUB HOUSE
Library Wines
Our winemakers have recently released three new library wines with extremely limited quantities exclusively for club members:
Chardonnay 2009 - $38
Pinot Noir 2010 - $40
Cabernet-Merlot 2009 - $42
Available in the tasting room only. No additional discounts apply.
Virtual Tasting
George will be hosting a virtual tasting of the winemaker’s selections on Thursday, December 3 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET. The tasting is free for club members, but we do ask you to pre-register.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Follow our social media channels to keep up with our activities!
Nov 15, 2020 at 8:27 PM
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