Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

The blueberry fermentation is nearly complete and is being pressed this week. They’ll be racked several times and filtered as they age over the next 5-6 months. With four varieties in the bottle now we’ll be looking at your favorites to decide which to bottle with the 2015 harvest.

We are starting to see some color in the Fredonia Grapes. Once this starts (this is called veraision) the grapes are usually ready to pick in approximately 30 days- so Fredonia grapes and juices are coming soon!

In the winery, we are hustling to get wines bottled and emptying our tanks to make room for this year’s crop. Once again, our Tap the Barrel wine event was a huge success and we would like to thank everyone that participated. It’s always nice to be able to get a chance to talk to our home winemakers and customers.

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.

Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

Today I spoke with Mike Moorehead, and also visited our vineyards in the area to get an idea as to how our grapes are coming . This week, Concord grapes are receiving the final spray before harvest (our early Concord juice should be available for pickup Sept 19th to 29th: pre-order now).

The crops in the Finger Lakes have already started seeing veraison, or the onset of ripening and the change of color of the grape berries.  We should start noticing it in our local vineyards this week.

Our local growers are also spraying for the third flight of the Berry Moth, which could potentially be the most destructive pest to the grapes. The wine grapes are getting their final tie ups this week. We are also seeing growers hedging the vines to allow sunlight to come in, and reduce stress on the vines and wires. Harvest is approaching! Are you as excited as us?

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.

Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

As we mentioned last week Blueberry season is upon us. This year the crew at Allen Rassie’s farm in North East handpicked and sorted 4,000 pounds of blueberries that will be used in Presque Isle Wine Cellars’ special wine blends.

Our finished wines, which consist of Blueberry, BluSecco, Bluse, and Royal Blue, are all available to be sampled at the Isle House, or available for purchase online.

Blueberry farms in the southern part of the county were devastated with the frigid winter and heavy spring frosts, while farms closer to the lake are experiencing bumper crops, or an unusually larger harvest this year.

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.

Touriga Nacional grapes, considered to be the finest of the grapes that are used to create the substantial and long-lived fortified wines known as Port. Touriga Nacional has a thick skin and small clusters of berries which help to contribute to the colorful and tannic wine it creates.

Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

The world is really spinning at Presque Isle Wine Cellars, but we always have time for your questions.

This week our locally grown blueberries are rolling in, freshly picked From the Allen Rassie farm. If you haven’t tasted one of our new blueberry blend wines, I suggest stopping in at the Isle House and trying them. We are very pleased with how they turned out, and our customers are as well!

This week we checked on the vines of the Touriga Nacional grapes that we use in our Port wine. As of this date it looks very good. The bunches are a bit smaller but there is an abundance of them. I have very high expectations of this vintage, which should be available in bottles around the year of 2018 after resting in oak barrels.

See our Grapes and Juices Page to see our entire line of juice and grape offerings for this seasons, and to see what is available now.

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.

Contributed by Dan Wolfe, Associate Winemaker.

I’ve been visiting the vineyards for the past several weeks looking at the grapes and talking to the farmers. The native grapes are all looking pretty good with a heavy harvest of Concord. With the last two winters hitting temperatures exceeding -20°, the vinifera and hybrids have taken a real hit and mostly died back. The grape growers are training new shoots or just replanting new varieties.

If Mother Nature cooperates this year, we are hoping to see at least a 50% crop next year on the vines being started with shoots coming up. The Finger Lakes have also experienced some discouraging weather and will also be in short supply this year.

Due to lack of some varieties not being available in the Lake Erie region, we will source grapes for our home winemakers and commercial customers possibly from Long Island and the west coast. If they are out there, we will find the varieties you need for your wine making needs. 

See our Grapes and Juices Page to see our entire line of juice and grape offerings for this seasons, and to see what is available now.

Dan Wolfe joined PIWC in 2011 and is our Associate Winemaker. Dan started making wines from Wine kits in 2007 and the hobby quickly became an obsession. His habit then escalated to buying Fresh Grape Juice at harvest time, and he started experimenting with blending different wines. Dan has entered his wines in many local and out of town competitions, bringing home Gold medals and best of show in places like California. He is a member of the American Wine Society and judges wine competitions locally and around the state.