Atwater Coloring Pages
Kids and adults love to color: it’s both fun and creative. But there are other benefits, too. Coloring can help with relaxation, stress reduction, and displacing negative emotions, something most of us can use right now!
We’re happy to bring you three free coloring pages based on our bestselling t-shirt and sweatshirt designs.
Once you’ve finished your masterpiece, we’d love to see it! If you care to share, please post on social media and tag #atwaterwine.
DOWNLOAD YOUR PAGES
Serpent (PDF)
Bubbly Octopus (PDF)
Wine Vine (PDF)
Apr 17, 2020 at 11:20 AM
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Trellis Management at Atwater Vineyards in the Finger Lakes of New York
Trellis Management
Chris King, Vineyard Manager
Understanding and effectively utilizing our resources is key to growing grapes and that begins with canopy management. Canopy management defines how we use the space in the vineyard and refers to anything that physically manipulates how the vines grow. It starts with plant spacing and includes pruning, tying, leaf removal, shoot and fruit thinning, hedging, and trellising. In this post, we will discuss trellising and how we train the vines to grow in the way that most benefits our winemaking goals.
Many different trellis designs and systems are used throughout the world, some simple, and some very complex. Atwater exists in a cool climate growing region, so our major concern is maximizing sun exposure for better fruit quality and disease control. The characteristics of the different varieties we are growing help us to decide how to trellis them. We consider such things as growth habit, susceptibility to disease, and the ripening characteristics of each variety. Hybrid and native varieties are typically more disease resistant and easier to ripen consistently than are vinifera varieties, for example.
Vinifera Grapes
At Atwater Vineyards, 90% of our vineyard is comprised of vinifera varieties which can make unique and complex wines and are highly influenced by growing practices. For these types of grapes, we use either a Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) or, more typically, a Scott Henry (SH) system. In VSP, all of the growing shoots are trained up (vertically) with sets of “catch wires.” Scott Henry is also a VSP system, but it is divided so that half of the shoots are trained down instead of up.
VSP vs. SH
credit: Sunlight into Wine by Richard Smart
When we divide the canopy, the fruit is more exposed and all of the space is utilized which reduces disease pressure, promotes fruitfulness of the shoots, and increases ripeness. To do this, we make several passes through the vineyard to move wires and train shoots. Around bloom (mid-June), we separate the top and bottom tiers and begin rolling the bottom part of the canopy down as well as training the top part of the canopy up. As the shoots continue to grow, we make another pass or two to train shoots between the top set of catch wires.
When we divide the canopy, the fruit is more exposed and all of the space is utilized which reduces disease pressure, promotes fruitfulness of the shoots, and increases ripeness. To do this, we make several passes through the vineyard to move wires and train shoots. Around bloom (mid-June), we separate the top and bottom tiers and begin rolling the bottom part of the canopy down as well as training the top part of the canopy up. As the shoots continue to grow, we make another pass or two to train shoots between the top set of catch wires.
The black clips in the picture allow wires to be hooked and unhooked from those particular locations. We start with them in positions below the growing shoots and move them up as the shoots grow longer.
The result is an open canopy with good fruit exposure that makes beautiful wine.
Hybird Grapes
We use Umbrella Kniffin and High Wire Cordon systems for hybrid grapes because they are very low maintenance and well-suited to hybrids since they encourage a naturally open canopy.
Umbrella Kniffin
High Wire Cordon
credit: Sunlight into Wine by Richard Smart
Umbrella Kniffin is a cane pruned system, and High Wire Cordon is a spur pruned system. When we prune our vines, we can either leave canes or cordons. Fruit is produced on new growth coming from two-year-old wood. We can either remove all but a few canes (usually two to four) that grew the previous season or we can shorten many of the canes that grew last year to very short canes or “spurs.” While pruning is a discussion unto itself, the basic premise is that we are trying to judge how many buds we can leave so that we have enough green growth (leaves and shoots) to support the amount of fruit that is growing. If we have too much fruit and not enough leaves, the grapes will not ripen properly and the vines will weaken over time, and if we have too many leaves and not enough fruit, the fruit will also not ripen properly and disease will be more prevalent. Both of Umbrella Kniffin and High Wire Cordon encourage shoots to naturally grow in a way that gives good fruit exposure when pruned properly and paired with the appropriate variety.
By beginning with effective trellis management, we are able to produce the maximum amount of healthy, flavorful grapes at harvest.
Apr 9, 2020 at 9:45 AM
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The Atwater Times - March 2020
Be sure to tune in to our LIVE webcam to watch March transition from a lion to a lamb.
IN THE VINEYARDS
We’ve passed the time of year when we expect to get our major cold events and have not seen significant bud damage, so we decided to push through and finish pruning the vineyards. Now we hope we don’t have a frost event after the vines have started to grow in the spring!
With pruning done, we’ve returned to trellis work to get things ready for tying. We’re repairing posts and wires now so that we can then tighten the wires. The canes left after pruning will be wrapped around the wires for support. The wires need to be tight so that they can support the weight of the fruit as the vines grow.
WINE CELLAR UPDATES
Our winemakers have been undertaking blending trials of skin-fermented, barrel-aged Vignoles 2016, Riesling 2016, and Gewürztraminer 2017. Vinny and George are also preparing to bottle our 2019 Vignoles and Stone Bridge White at the end of March.
New Release
Fahrenheit 2016
Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were handpicked and frozen for three weeks then whole-clustered pressed, cold-settled, racked and fermented in stainless steel. After fermentation was stopped, the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks. The wine has aromas of fresh strawberries, raspberries, and orange marmalade, intriguing flavors of apricot, honey, allspice, and strawberry jam, and a delightful silky texture.
FROM THE TASTING ROOM
We've rearranged our tasting room to give you more room to sit and enjoy our wines. Please join us for a tasting and see our new look!
Spring holidays are on the horizon, and we will be posting wine cocktail recipes Amanda developed for you to use for brunches and other special events. Our first featured drink is the MoonWalk. Check out our social media in the upcoming weeks for more delicious cocktails.
MoonWalk
Combine:
1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz. orange liqueur
3 drops rose water
Shake with ice
Top with Sparking Gewürztraminer 2013
CLUB HOUSE
Our annual Wine Club Party will be held on June 13th from 5:00 until sunset. Enjoy hayride tours throughout the vineyards, vertical wine tastings with the winemakers, great music with Aaron Lipp & the Slacktones, catered hors d'oeuvres with a full buffet dinner and delectable desserts. Close the evening by watching the sun set over the vineyards and Seneca Lake. Get your tickets here.
Mar 15, 2020 at 9:04 AM
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The Atwater Times - February 2020
Be sure to tune in to our LIVE webcam to watch the winter weather.
Our vineyard is covered in snow from recent storms, but Punxsutawney Phil predicts we only have six more weeks of winter.
IN THE VINEYARD
Now that we are in the heart of winter, the vineyard staff’s primary activity has been pruning. Although only about a quarter of the way through the vineyards, they are starting to pick up the pace since we will turn the corner toward spring very soon.
It is also a good time to prepare for the upcoming season by doing equipment maintenance and repairs since we don’t use our tractors and equipment as much use this time of year. In the heat of the growing season, it is important to have everything running properly so that we don’t have a breakdown at a critical stage.
WINE CELLAR UPDATES
The 2019 rosés are officially on deck for the first bottling run of 2020 season.
We sent all the rosés through their initial filtration to help clarify and aerate the wine, delivered samples for lab analysis to check the chemistry, and finally ran cold stability trials to ensure their integrity.
If all goes according to plan we should have what is shaping up to be an excellent batch of rosés coming this spring.
FROM THE TASTING ROOM
New Release
2018 Cabernet Franc
Our Cabernet Franc underwent 61% spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel tank, 39% fermentation in open top bin and was aged nine months in neutral French oak barrels.
Its grapes produce delicate flavors of red cherry, raspberries, and sweet tobacco.
THE VINEYARD TABLE
We are pleased to announce dates for our greatly anticipated Vineyard Table dinners.
Experience fine dining prepared table-side by acclaimed local chefs Giulietta Racciatti and Rune Hilt of Red Dove Tavern while nestled in Atwater’s beautiful vineyards overlooking Seneca Lake. Giulietta and Rune craft menus that focus on local and seasonal ingredients and are thoughtfully paired with Atwater wines. Meet our winemakers, learn about the chefs and the passion they bring to their craft, and enjoy lively conversation with friends.
Space is limited to 22 guests, so book your experience early to guarantee a spot. Club members receive $10 off per ticket (limit 2).
PURCHASE VINEYARD TABLE TICKETS NOW
SHIPPING NEWS
We are pleased to announce that we are now able to ship orders to customers in Arizona!
CLUB HOUSE
FEBRUARY PICK-UP PARTY
Thank you to our Wine Club members who came out for the first pick-up party of 2020! From our cozy tasting room, we watched the snow hide Seneca Lake while tasting an array of wines including pre-releases and library wines and enjoying small bites. George brought winemaking equipment and barrel samples from the cellar for show-and-tell. Our next wine club shipment and party is in May.
ANNUAL WINE CLUB PARTY
Save the Date: June 13th
Our annual Wine Club Party will be held on June 13th from 5:00 until sunset. Enjoy hayride tours throughout the vineyards, vertical wine tastings with the winemakers, great music with Aaron Lipp & the Slacktones, catered hors d'oeuvres with a full buffet dinner and delectable desserts. Close the evening by watching the sun set over the vineyards and Seneca Lake.
If you are not yet a member, please join our wine-loving community! Visit our website for more details.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Check out our Events Calendar for the latest events at and around Atwater Vineyards.
Feb 17, 2020 at 3:46 PM
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