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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The Atwater Times - January 2020
Be sure to tune in to our LIVE webcam to watch the winter weather.
2020 marks Atwater’s 20th anniversary.
We are excited to meet this milestone and hope you will join us in celebrating throughout the year.
IN THE VINEYARD
On cold days, we've begun pruning our hardier varieties which is ideal since we can bundle up and stay warm. Each vine is pruned by hand so that we can assess how it is doing. Proper pruning is the foundation for managing the growth, crop load, and health of our vines. On January 31, we will be participating in the second annual Felco East Pruning Competition at Anthony Road Winery for a friendly test of our pruning skills.
Warmer weather during December and January, however, has allowed us to keep doing trellis work, which we need to have more dexterity (i.e., thinner gloves) for. It has also been wet, which makes it hard to get tractors into the vineyard. Even so, we’ve already gotten much more tractor work in than average for this time of year.
IN THE WINERY
The winemakers are closing in on most of the major blending decisions for the 2019 whites and rosés, with only a few more adjustments as we head toward the bottling season. In the barrel room, our reds are just finishing up malolactic fermentation and will soon be ready for their winter hibernation. With the benefit of time, we can report with more confidence that the wine quality of last fall’s vintage appears quite strong across the board.
FROM THE TASTING ROOM
Cheese Plates and Charcuterie Boards
Cheese plates and charcuterie boards are available throughout the winter and are perfect to enjoy with a glass of wine or with one of our tantalizing wine cocktails in our cozy tasting room overlooking the sleeping vineyards.
SLWT Bargain Bash
Held January 11-20 after the busy holiday, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail’s Bargain Bash is an inventory reduction and clearance sale with many wineries providing discounts on wine and a variety of retail items. It is free to attend and no tickets are required. We will be offering can’t-miss deals such as:
Dry Rosé of Blaufränkisch 2017: $7 per bottle
Atwater White: $6.50 per bottle
Finger Lakes Wine Glasses (Set of 12): $35 normally $70
Available in tasting room only while supplies last. No additional discounts apply.
SLWT Global Eats and Local Wine
International flavor comes to Seneca Lake during the Global Eats and Local Wine event! Enjoy a tour around Seneca Lake while exploring the unique, delicious pairings of Seneca Lake wines with foods from a variety of nations and cultures at twenty-one participating Seneca Lake Wine Trail wineries. At Atwater, we are pairing Apple Butter Rugelach, a taste of Poland, with our Riesling 2015. Tickets, available through the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, are $40 per person, $20 for designated drivers.
SLWT Wine Weekday Passports
Seneca Lake Wine Trail Wine Weekday Passports are available in our tasting room or through the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. Good through June 30, 2020, these passports allow one guest a tasting at each of fifteen participating wineries and are valid Monday through Friday during regular business hours. They can be used in a single week or over the course of several and provide a convenient way to enjoy many of the wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Check out our Events Calendar for the latest events at and around Atwater Vineyards.
Jan 15, 2020 at 11:11 AM
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The Atwater Times - October 2019
Be sure to tune in to our LIVE webcam to watch the seasons change.
Harvest 2019 began on September 24, with staff from the tasting room and office joining the winemakers and vineyard crew to hand-pick an acre of Grüner Veltliner. The vines were planted three years ago, and this was their inaugural harvest. Grüner Veltliner translates to “Green Wine of Veltlin” and is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria. The flavor profile is similar to Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc. We look forward to seeing what Vinny and George do with this new to us varietal.
Follow our harvest progress on Instagram and Facebook.
IN THE VINEYARD
Since the first pick, we've been harvesting steadily, and the fruit quality is good though a little on the light side of our estimated tonage. Climate is one of the most critical aspects in ripening fruit to achieve optimum characteristics in a wine style. With warm days and cool nights the weather this year so far has been beneficial for the crop. We expect harvest to go non-stop until the middle of October as grapes are still ripening on the vine.
As winemaker Vinny Aliperti notes, "Wine production is truly a team effort that starts in the vineyard winds its way into the cellar and pops out on the shelf or dinner table. It takes many dedicated people to bring a quality product to fruition." This collaboration is especially critical during harvest as grapes move from the field to press deck and cellar. To harvest grapes at optimal ripeness, the vineyard staff and winemakers assess the grapes’ acidity and sugar level.
As of October 6, we've harvested Grüner, Cayuga, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer grapes, and next we'll be picking Blaufränkisch, Merlot and Riesling. Last off the vines will be Vignoles.
Pictured: A gorgeous cluster of Chardonnay.
WINE CELLAR UPDATE
As soon as we harvest grapes, they move to the press deck where the winemakers process them according to the wine style. With new grapes arriving on a regular basis, they are putting in long days and working weekends to ensure the best tasting wine for our customers.
Pictured: Chris delivers Grüner Veltliner grapes to Vinny on the press deck.
Pinot Noir, one of the early harvested grapes, spent time in bins fermenting and was pressed last week. Vinny and George just moved it to barrels. A separate portion of the juice will also be transformed into Rosé of Pinot Noir which will be carbonated and bottled in the spring as our very popular Bubble Pinot Noir Rosé.
Pictured: George punches down the cap on pinot noir. Carbon dioxide bubbles (released during fermentation) push the grapes, stems, seeds, and clusters to the top of the bins forming a thick cap. Those grapes, stems, and seeds have a lot of magic in them so they need to be mixed back into the juice that sits below to increase skin-to-juice contact and improve flavor, color, tannin, and aroma. This is done twice per day for about 10 days and takes strength as well as balance.
New Release
Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2016 has a beautiful ruby color and lightly smoky aroma that gives way to ripe red berry jam and plum flavors while a smooth finish provides hints of bittersweet cocoa. We recommend pairing with char-grilled steaks, braised roasts, or grilled vegetables.
End of Vintage, Last Call!
Be sure to grab these wines before they're gone.
Big Blend 2015 (SOLD OUT)
Chardonnay 2015 (SOLD OUT)
Club Exclusive
Navone Vineyards Riesling 2015
90 points, Editors' Choice
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of candied lemon peel, yellow blossoms and a slightly savory note translate to the medium-bodied palate. This is lightweight and delicate in feel, with a well-honed mineral edge guiding the mix of citrus and white-fruit flavors on the lingering finish.
-Alexander Peartree
Members, log in to purchase here.
FROM THE TASTING ROOM
You know it's fall when Amanda breaks out the mulled wine kits and glass mugs for warm and steaming Mulled Wine. Perfect for the cooler seasons, our Mandy’s Mulled Wine Kit contains one bottle Sweet Chancellor, one bottle Sweet Catawba, spice bag, and recipe.
Oct 15, 2019 at 9:00 AM
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