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- Written by Chris Fluri, Vineyard Manager
The left picture is of Chardonnay grapes that are ready to head to the press pad for the first step in the wine making process. In the field we use a hopper and conveyor to load the grapes from the 30# “lugs” into the approximately 1600# macro bins. We hand pick our grapes so the pickers leave the lugs under the trellis and we come through and empty them into the hopper that connects to the conveyor which drops the grapes into the macro bin while the tractor is moving, which helps speed up the process.
Hand harvesting is a long process and can take an experienced picker up to 3 hours to complete a full row, depending on crop load. So far this season we have harvested the Pinot Gris, Sauv Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the Lemberger being picked this week.
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- Written by Chris Fluri, Vineyard Manager
Our earliest varieties are starting to change color and soften, signaling the change from cell division to cell expansion. This change starts the increase in sugar and the decrease in acid along with the return to rapid berry development. The photo to the left is Pinot Noir with full eastern fruit exposure to help dry the morning dew and expose the fruit to UV rays - which helps promote desirable wine flavors.
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- Written by Chris Fluri, Vineyard Manager
So far this season we have received more rain than we did in the entire growing season last year.
The picture to the right was taken 10 minutes after we received between 2 and 3 inches of rain in the span of less than half an hour.
In July alone, we received approximately 6 inches of rain; doubling our normal average for the month. This excessive rain has resulted in a major battle to keep the shoots in the wires and to keep them from overlapping - which creates stale air pockets with low UV exposure. Keeping the fruit exposed to the sun has been a challenge as well. The laterals seem to grow as soon as we pull the leaves, which results in blocking the fruit from the sun. We used a mechanical leaf puller early in the season and have had to do another pass through the vineyard by hand to clear out what the machine missed and what grew back. Luckily, the month of August has not been as wet as the beginning of the growing season, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the trend continues to help keep the disease pressure down and fruit ripening process up.
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- Written by Virginia Wheeler, Asset Manager
White Birch Vineyards was pleased to host local restaurant, liquor store and bar owners and managers this past Thursday at our Annual Wholesale Evening.
In attendance to mingle with the attendees and disuss the White Birch portfolio and vineyard were the the Falcone Family - the owners, Morten Hallgren - our winemaker and Chris Fluri - our vineyard manager. It was a wonderful evening complete with delicious food artfully prepared by our Culinary Manager Adinah Dutton and delightful music by our own Tasting Room Associate Ben Shearer and his musical counterpart Peter Hawley. Our tasting room staff provided the complete tasting experience for each guest while our owners, vineyard manager and wine maker answered guest questions on our wines, our vineyard and our portfolio.
Thank you to every business that joined us for our Wholesale Evening!
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- Written by White Birch Vineyards Tasting Room
We are very excited that summer is finally here in the Finger Lakes. It's the perfect time to visit Skaneateles and White Birch Vineyards Tasting Room.
On June 30th we will begin our Summer Hours; which include opening on Tuesdays and being open later Tuesday through Saturday.
**We will be open on the 4th of July** Stop by to celebrate with us.
We look forward to seeing you at the Tasting Room - stop in for the Complete Finger Lakes Experience; including Finger Lakes Wines, Spirits and Foods.
SUMMER HOURS
Tuesday - Thursday: 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 1:00pm - 8:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Visit us on our website: www.whitebirchvineyards.com or on our facebook page www.facebook.com/whitebirchvineyardstastingroom