The Lake Erie Region is well-known for its abundance of Concord and Niagara—the workhorse grapes of the juice and jelly industry epitomized by Welch Foods. Of course, those who are more familiar with the wines of the region also know that there are excellent local vineyards of standard wine varieties like Riesling, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc, to name but a few. Presque Isle also prides itself on making wines from European wine varieties that don’t have as much name recognition, but which can and do produce world-class wines – varieties like Dornfelder, Blaufrânkisch, Carmine, and Pinot Blanc.

Moorhead Farms Dornfelder

Of course, these grapes don’t plant and tend themselves, and for that we rely on our growers. And when it comes to growing the most interesting non-standard wine varieties, one grower family stands out: John and Cindy Moorhead, and their son, Mike. Since the 1960’s they have been growing premium wine grapes—native varieties, French-American and Cornell-developed hybrids, and European Vitis vinifera. They currently have 22 different wine varieties planted, some in large quantities and others as a one-row experiment. The farm is constantly evolving as John, Cindy and Mike strive to find the best varieties—many have been tried and rejected—for our local conditions and the best way to grow them.

In the coming week we’ll be harvesting Dornfelder and Pinot Blanc. They make reliably good wines in Germany and France (and other places), and have made some excellent wines here in our region. Our Dornfelder, for example, has won several gold medals and has been among Pennsylvania’s Top Ten Wines in recent years. Dornfelder is the result of a German grape breeding program that was striving for an early ripening, dark-skinned red wine grape. The cross, first made in 1955 and released as a named variety in 1979, is now mostly grown in Württemberg in southern Germany. Under the Moorheads’ care in the Lake Erie Region, it expresses with red wines that are deep in color, medium bodied, with a nice tannic balance. The last several weeks have been hot and sunny—more summerlike than the actual summer was—making up for the overall cool temperatures earlier in the summer and this is really helping the vines to produce fruit that has a nice sugar level, low acid and ripe tannins. As a result, we are looking for big things from this year’s Dornfelder – excellent ripeness along with deep and intense aromas that balance the soft tannins and full mouthfeel.

Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc is a mutation of Pinot Noir (as is Pinot Gris) that is grown in many parts of Europe, most notably Alsace and Northern Italy (as Pinot Bianco, of course). It is also grown in Austria and Germany where it goes by the name Weissburgunder. It may not have the reputation of other fine white Burgundys, but it produces a really nice everyday white wine, pleasant and easy to drink. Pinot Gris has also really benefited from the heat and sun of the past weeks in even more ways than just superior ripening. This varietal has thin skin that can be susceptible to damage and molds and mildews close to harvest but this will not be a concern this year with the little amount of rain that we have experienced lately.

There will be more about John, Cindy and Mike as we continue to bring grapes in from their farm. They are true pioneers in the region, and the quality and diversity of the varieties they grow is noteworthy.

Bob Green
PIWC Executive Winemaker