Category: Vineyard Info

By: Tom Payette – Wimemaking Consultant  

  One of the biggest tasks in setting up a winery or expanding one is the decisions on the wine tanks.  Much time, thought and effort should go into planning what the winery wants to accomplish with the tanks.  If these decisions are made properly and well in advance dollar savings and better functionality can be achieved.

  What will these tanks be used for?  If the tanks will be used for fermenting juice one set of criteria may be used.  If used additionally for cold settling of juice, red fermentations or cold stabilization the list of criteria will expand.  Deciding what the tanks are needed for in the winery will lead toward the right choice.

  White wine fermentors often have a small valve port at the bottom of the tank at a diameter, for most smaller winery sizes, of 1.5 to 2.0 inches.  This is used to fill and empty the tank.  A racking valve, usually of the same diameter, will exist on the tank to allow the winemaker to remove clear wine or juice from the tank to a level a small manway door, normally and 18” oval, may be opened to continue to pump the remaining clear juice or wine out of the tank.  These tanks are very versatile for red or white wines after pressing.

  Red wine tanks often have similar characteristics as the above but with a lower manway door level with the floor or bottom of the tank.  This allows the winemaking team to remove the pomace, after skin fermentation, from the vessel to separate the red wine from the red grapes, seeds and skins.  Some red wine tanks do not have the side oval door mentioned in the white wine paragraph above but the purchaser is encouraged to get these doors on their reds tanks so the tanks may be used more in the cellar as red and white wine tanks.

  Cooling jackets – location and how much?  Give serious consideration to this aspect due to many physical characteristics and laws of heat transfer.  Consider the amount of surface area that may be needed to cool the juice/wine needed.  If one needs to use the tanks for fermentation only a smaller surface area may be used.  If chilling the wine to cold stabilize the wine, make sure there will be enough surface area to combat predicted ambient cellar temperatures and let your cooling system representative know the capacity of the wine tank and desired cold stability temperature of the wine.  When discussing the cooling jackets be sure to understand where the jackets will be placed on the tanks to best be able to predict how much volume will be needed in the tank for the heat transfer to start taking place.  My position is the lower the jacket placement on the sidewall of the tank the better.  Larger sized tanks may require two, or more, separate cooling jackets.

  Will solenoids be used to help control the temperature of the tank?  Will these be electronically controlled? Do you want them to be web based controlled for off-site monitoring and manipulation?  Do you want wireless applications to control the solenoids?   How many thermocouples ports will be needed for proper temperature control and for the readings desired?

  Heating capacity:  Becoming more of the norm in the cellar and more affordable for the winemaking team.  Zero in on the needs of the heating and give serious thought to insulating your tanks for the process.  Do you care for heating elements in the bottom of the tank or do you prefer a mobile glycol heater unit that will plug into your isolated glycol jackets on individual tanks?  If choosing the heating element positioned in the bottom of the tank make sure to address the potential freezing of this liquid, if used, during cold stabilization.  If using a glycol heater for the jackets make sure to plumb the tanks for this feature.

  Valves – where and how big?  Racking valves – determine what size fitting and hoses may used for the transfers of the juice, wine or must into and out of the tank.  Smaller wineries will be able to size the valves at 1.5 to 2.0 inches as mentioned for juice or wine.  If must will be pumped into and out of the tank one will want to review how this will be done and consider larger sized fittings at the bottom port.  I rarely choose the larger valves but there may be instances this is the best choice.

  Man ways and doors? Many configurations of man ways and doors exist.  Think through all wine and juice production needs to best select these locations, functions and sizes.

  Will the tanks be placed on adjustable legs or stands?  This issue can be a large issue in terms of physically handling the red wine must.  If one prefers not to pump red wine must after crushing for quality purposed, one must place the tanks at a height with the lower manway door opening on the red wine tank to have a bin or container placed underneath the lower man way opening to the tank.  Although this is the largest reason to place a tank higher in the air than “normal” be sure to pay attention to this height even if using a must pump.  Dejuicing tanks can also be elevated above a press opening level for certain production benefits and efficiencies linked to productions styles and quality issues.  White wine tanks may have more flexibility regarding the tank leg height but be sure to understand where the racking door will be placed and how the tank will be serviced, cleaned etc.

  Will the tanks be placed indoors or outdoors?  Review this question not only for your first needs but address the question for the anticipated growth of your winery.

  What material should the tanks be made out of?  While many tanks are stainless steel and this article addresses stainless steel tanks, tanks can be made of other materials including but not limited to:  Concrete, cement, fiberglass, wood, plastic etc.

  Will fixed or variable capacity tanks be used?  Speak with the winemaking team a long time on this issue.  What style of wine will be produced and how long will it stay in the stainless tanks?  There are certain positive applications for both styles so choosing the correct one will be significant.  I highly recommend fixed capacity tanks for almost all situations and applications.

  What size tank will we need and where will it be placed?  Don’t laugh but some tanks that may be one height may not fit in your winery with a fixed ceiling height.  Keep in mind the tank is a cylinder, in most cases, and that tipping that on end and upward may require more ceiling height than expected.  Run some math to make sure the tanks will fit in the building.  Is the door large enough to get the tank in the building? Also determine if one can open and service the top of the tank after it is in place.  Will a catwalk be built and if so – what impact will this have regarding setbacks from the wall or certain areas.  Will a public catwalk also be close by?  Will the public have access to the tank?   How much space will you care to have between the tanks?

  When do I need to order the tanks?  The earlier negotiations with suppliers can start the better chance of getting exactly what you want at a reasonable price.  Custom made tanks are not necessarily more expensive than stock tanks.  Orders with ample lead time may allow for the tanks to be made where quality craftsmanship is high and labor cost are low.  Order at least 7 months in advance to get what you want and to have time negotiating price with different suppliers.

  Equally important to all of the above one must also give serious thought, specific to their winery, addressing: What will the side wall height to diameter ratio be?  Can certain savings be made if tanks are made in stock sheet metal width sizes?  Will lift eyelets be needed?  Will ladder hooks be needed and where?  Will the top of the tanks truncate forward, back or have centered manway tops?  Will sight gauges be needed?  Will sample valves be installed and where?  Will thermocouple ports be needed, how many and where?  Will name plates and ice shields be needed? Do you want a separate mixing valve port?  Will delestage be a winemaking tool that is used in the operation?

  Make sure the supplier of the tank is reputable and to establish what type of welds will be used, their finish and the gauge/thickness of the steel, if choosing stainless. The quality of the stainless steel can vary too.

  Can I get technical drawings from the manufacture?  In most cases with a reputable tank manufacture you will be able to request tank drawings to make sure the dimensions and locations are as you expect them to be.  See attached a drawing of a tank made overseas and where most figures are in metric and US.

  In review – a wine tank is not just a wine tank!  Many factors go into each winery specific needs for these tanks.  The above are just some of the starter issues one will want to review.  In no way have all issues been covered.  The more the winemaking team thinks through their operational and winemaking needs related to the wine tanks, both immediate and for the future, the more cost effective this purchase will become.

By: Annie Klodd, University of Minnesota Extension

  Pruning season is almost upon us, this article references common grapevine terminology and requires the reader to have basic knowledge of grapevine pruning. If you are new to pruning, take some time to familiarize yourself with grapevine structure and the basics of pruning.

Does it matter when I prune during the dormant season?

  If you would like to do some light pruning before the first big snowfall, feel free. If you prefer to wait for sub-zero temperatures to prove something to yourself, that is fine too! Just wait until the vines are fully dormant and the leaves have fallen before you start pruning.

  Pruning in the coldest months has an upside. It minimizes the risk of diseases infecting the pruning cuts. When temperatures dip below about 35 degrees F, fungal diseases of grapes are not actively spreading. If you prune early, it is best to do a “long prune.” Leave extra length on each cane in case a severe cold event causes bud damage later on. Additionally, leave a couple of centimeters of wood past the last bud – cold, dry wind can desiccate the wood at the pruning wound.

  Late pruning in March and April is certainly more comfortable than deep winter pruning. However it also means you are pruning when fungal pathogens are more active. Be aware that fungal trunk disease pathogens are more active during the spring and will readily enter the wood via those pruning wounds.

How do you decide how many buds per spur to leave during pruning?

  The general rule of thumb is to cut each cane down to a 2-3 bud spur. This assumes that all buds are healthy and that the cordon contains one spur every 3-5 inches. If this ideal scenario does not exist on a vine, you can either alter the number of buds per spur or the number of spurs per cordon to account for imperfections.

  In cold climates, winter damage usually kills some percentage of the buds on a vine. It is helpful to estimate the percentage of dead buds and adjust your pruning to make up for bud loss.

  To measure bud mortality, take a representative sample of canes throughout the vineyard and dissect their buds with a razor blade. The color of the bud’s interior indicates whether they are alive or dead. Buds that are green inside are healthy and will grow into shoots. Buds with brown interiors have died.

  Remove between 20-50 normal canes from throughout the vineyard. Bring them inside to room temperature for 24 hours. With a sharp, slim, and clean razor blade, carefully slice off the tip of each bud in the first and second positions along each cane. The bud contains 3 parts – the primary, secondary, and tertiary sections. The primary is the middle and largest section, and it produces the most fruitful shoots. Record whether the primary section of each bud is green or brown (alive or dead), and repeat this with 100 buds. If 10-15% of primary buds are dead, do not adjust your pruning. If 20-40% are dead, leave about 25% more buds than you typically would. If 40-60% dead, double the number of buds you keep. If more than 60% are dead, do minimal pruning, leaving 5 buds on each spur.

  Very long spurs are cumbersome – the longer the spur you leave, the higher the chance that only the buds at the very top will break. This is due to a concept called apical dominance. Excessively long spurs also creep up out of the regular fruiting zone, interfering with the structure of the vine. To avoid spur creep while still leaving extra buds, you may instead leave a higher number of 2-3 bud spurs.

Should basal nodes or “non count buds” be accounted for during pruning?

  In cold climate hybrid grape growing, yes. In Vinifera vineyards, no.

  A basal bud is the bud at the base of the new spur wood. In other words, it is located at the point where the 1-year old part of the spur meets the 2-year old wood.

  When it comes to cold hardy hybrid grapes like Marquette and Frontenac, the basal buds are usually fruitful. In fact, they can sometimes be the most fruitful bud on the whole spur. Most of them will carry two cluster per shoot. But this is not the case on vinifera and French-American hybrids, where the basal buds are just vegetative. While the traditional recommendation, which arose from Vinifera vineyards, is to not count the basal bud during pruning, this recommendation is revised for cold climate hybrids where they should be counted. If you leave a basal bud plus two more buds, you will have up to 3 shoots per spur.

Some of my vines are getting old, and I notice that parts of their cordons are missing spurs and canes. What should I do?

  We call these empty spots along the cordon “blind wood.” Blind wood happens when old spurs die, and no new buds form from the cordon to replace them. One thing that causes blind wood is winter injury, so it is common in cold regions. Winter injury accumulates over time, so older cordons tend to have more blind wood than newer cordons. In cold climate grape growing, we recommend replacing cordons once they start showing blind wood.

  To replace a cordon, first find a healthy new cane that is growing from the base of the cordon or the middle of the vine along the wire. Lay the new cane down alongside the existing cordon, and tie it to the wire. Clip off the end of the cane where the wood is very skinny so that only the healthiest wood remains. If the old cane is totally unproductive, remove it at this time. If it is still producing some fruit, you have the option of leaving it in place and growing the new cordon alongside it, as long as the vine is vigorous enough to support both.

What if the whole vine has died back to the ground level?

  Extreme dips in winter temperatures sometimes kill the entire aboveground part of the grapevine, including the cordons and trunk. This is even more likely if the vines are stressed going into the winter, either from drought or wet feet. Rest assured that even if the trunk and cordons are dead, the roots are usually still alive and can re-grow a new vine.

  If you grow “own-rooted” (non-grafted) vines like University of Minnesota cold hardy hybrids, you can re-grow the vines from suckers rather than planting new vines. Start by cutting the dead or dying trunk back to the ground level. If suckers are present, choose 1-2 of them to become the new trunks.

If the vine was particularly vigorous before it died, you may want to keep extra suckers so that the excess energy from the roots has somewhere to go. The extras can be removed during or at the end of the growing season.

  After selecting the suckers that will become your new trunks, prune them back to the point where the wood becomes thicker than pencil diameter. The reason we do this is because the thinnest wood is the least productive and has a high chance of dead buds. Keeping only the healthiest wood helps those vines produce vigorous new trunks and cordons. There is no need to cut the cane back to a 2-bud spur. For example, if the first 4 feet of the cane are healthy and thicker than a pencil, then make your cut 4 feet off the ground.

Should I prune out small pieces of dead wood like old spurs?

  If time permits, pruning out dead spurs is a good idea. They can harbor spores of diseases like powdery mildew and phomopsis that re-infect the vines in the coming season. Pruning out dead wood is one good non-chemical disease management tool.

What is the liquid coming out of the pruning cuts when I prune in the spring?

  That liquid is sap! This is a sign that the vines are exiting dormancy. Sap runs through the vines as the soil warms, so that the buds can start actively growing. It is time to wrap up the pruning as the vines “wake up.”

What is a bull cane?

  A bull cane is an exceptionally thick, long cane with very wide spaces between buds. They grow more aggressively than regular canes, often growing into the next vine and beyond. Rather than being round, these canes take on a subtle oval shape. They tend to be less winter hardy and less fruitful than normal canes, so they should be removed. If possible, do not use bull canes to establish new trunks. Bull canes tend to grow if the grapevine is too vigorous, such as when a vigorous variety is grown on rich, moist soil.

How do you remove tendrils from the wires?

  My best advice for this is: Only have as many wires as you need to trellis the vines. More wire means more tendril magnets. For example, on a Single High Cordon trellis system only one wire is necessary. Do not string any other wires lower down.

  For a deeper dive into these Frequently Asked Questions, watch our recorded webinar from the Cold Climate Fruit Webinar Series:

 By: Nan McCreary

  Chateau Chantal, one of Northern Michigan’s earliest wineries, is raising the bar for wine lovers looking for more than just a wine tasting, but rather an immersive wine experience. Not only is the winery rated as one of Michigan’s best, but it combines a vineyard and a winery with spectacular views over Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. There are also five-to-seven-course wine dinners, cooking classes, a luxury B&B, a Founder’s Trail and a tasting room with events that range from individual and group tastings to the weekly summer Jazz at Sunset experience.

  “There’s something for everybody here,” winemaker Brian Hosmer told The Grapevine Magazine. ‘Public expectations have changed; people are not visiting and buying cases like they used to. Rather, they’re coming for an experience. We’re responding to what’s happening in the industry today.”

  This commitment to inviting guests to enjoy a shared experience inspired French Canadian-American founder Robert Begin and his wife, Nadine, to purchase 60 acres of cherry orchards on the Old Mission Peninsula and build a European-style winery chateau. Robert, a businessman in the construction industry, and Nadine, a teacher, were a former priest and nun, respectively. Their years spent serving others provided a natural foundation for entering the hospitality industry. Between 1984 and 1991, they transitioned the property from cherries to grapes, planting their first grapes — chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir — in 1986. During this time, they completed plans for a French-style chateau, and in 1993, they opened their doors as a B&B and vineyard estate. In the following years, they added more rooms to the B&B and expanded the cellar and tasting room, paving the way for today’s agri-tourism industry. Chateau Chantal is the second-oldest winery on the Old Mission Peninsula (one of Michigan’s five AVAs). With its scenic vistas and friendly hospitality, it is one of the most popular wineries in the area.

  With the goal of providing an ultimate wine experience, it’s only natural that a primary focus of Chateau Chantal would be to offer quality wines to its visitors. And, despite the northern climates, excellent wines by anyone’s standards are available in Michigan. “The lakes make it possible,” Hosmer said. “We’re located between the East and West Grand Traverse Bays — two large bays on Lake Michigan — and the water acts as a buffer to the cold temperatures. In the summer, the water warms up, which extends the growing season. Even in the winter, the water stays warm and radiates the heat inland. Also, we get a lot of snow, which acts as insulation.” With this terroir, Chateau Chantal can grow Vitis Vinifera grapes, including riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot grigio, pinot noir, pinot blanc, cabernet Franc, Gewürztraminer and Blaufränkisch. Other wineries in the area are growing similar grapes.

  One of the favorite wines at Chateau Chantel is pinot gris. “These grapes do really well here,” Hosmer told The Grapevine Magazine. “The sandy soils and the cool climate push really bright aromatics out of the glass, with more floral flavors than you’re used to seeing.” Also popular are two red blends: Naughty, a blend so versatile that it will pair with simple fare like burgers and pizza, as well as seafood; and Nice, a semi-sweet that, when chilled, makes a great warm weather sipper. 

  Besides still wines, Chateau Chantal makes four sparkling wines, including a semi-dry they’ve made since the 90s. Recently, they began producing the sparklers in-house rather than at another winery. To offer still more variety to its visitors, the winery collaborates with a 55-acre vineyard in Mendoza to produce a rich, red malbec.

  For some, the star of Chateau Chantal’s line-up is its ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes picked — by hand — while frozen on the vine and then pressed when they’re still frozen. The result is an incredibly sweet and fruity wine that’s highly valued among some wine connoisseurs. Michigan is one of the few regions in the world able to produce ice wine. Making ice wine is, in fact, a risky proposition. The grapes need a long growing season to ripen and a cold spell to freeze. If temperatures are too warm, the grapes won’t freeze. If the freeze is too severe, then no juice can be extracted. Chateau Chantal is among Michigan’s oldest ice wine producers and has been making the “liquid gold” since the early 1990s. Typically, the Chateau makes ice wine from riesling grapes, and in some years, it can make juice from cabernet Franc. The wines are always in demand. “Making ice wine is tricky,” Hosmer said. “Sometimes we have to wait until January so that it’s cold enough to pick the grapes, and then we may be walking in one to two feet of snow.” “We’ve had years where the temperature didn’t cooperate, but in my 15 years, we’ve only had to skip two.”  This year, Chateau Chantal celebrated its fourth annual Ice Wine Festival, a day-long event where families enjoy snowman building, snowshoeing through the winery’s walking trails, roasting treats by an open fire pit and, for adults, samples and flights of the different varieties of ice wine. The event is billed as a celebration of the winery’s “unique ability to grow, harvest and produce one of the rarest products in the wine industry.” 

  For Chateau Chantal — and their neighbors on the Peninsula — the challenge to quality winemaking is to produce consistency in the wines when there is so much variation in vintage. In general, warmer climates tend to yield more consistent harvests. Napa, for example, may experience a five percent variation in heat accumulation, whereas the vineyards at Chateau Chantal can have plus or minus 30 percent swing from average in any given year. “Our viniculture depends on the vintage and what comes through the door,” Hosmer explained. “We have beautiful years for every grape because we grow so many varieties; we may have a ripe cabernet Franc and pinot noir in one year, aromatic whites in cool years, and everything in between. We just need to figure out the best way to get the best version of what the grapes give us.” Intervention in the cellar may include adding tartaric acid to adjust the pH, playing with different yeasts or treating the must with malolactic fermentation. “It’s really important to understand both warm- and cool-climate winemaking,” Hosmer stated. “Every year is different.”

  As Chateau Chantal looks to the future, the winery — like many others around the world — is exploring options for new varieties that may be more adaptable to climate and resistant to disease. Currently, Chantal is working with a group of investors that brought four new grapes from Germany’s Geisenheim and Freiburg breeding programs to custom grafting specialists, Amberg Grapevines.

  In Clifton Springs, New York, the varieties are monarch, a frost-hardy grape that is resistant to powdery mildew and downy mildew; muscaris, a disease-resistant grape that’s a good choice for sparkling wine; helios, resistant to both powdery mildew and botrytis and similar in flavor to Müller-Thurgau; and johanniter, a white grape that’s resistant to frost and mildew. All four grapes are children of the riesling grape and have been crossed and recrossed with vitis vinifera rootstock to create varieties that are 99 percent vitis vinifera and one percent hybrid. 

  Two years ago, Chateau Chantal planted the first commercial plantings of all four grapes after quarantine and will be ready to make trial wines with the grapes next year. “We’re looking for wines that may be of interest to wine lovers, and easier to grow in a more sustainable fashion,” Hosmer told The Grapevine Magazine. “Breeding grapes for genetics is becoming more sophisticated all the time, and I think we’re going to see more and more varieties coming out.”

  In addition to experimenting with new grape varieties, Chateau Chantal is applying advanced principles of soil management into its vineyard practices, a farming system they introduced 20 years ago. As Hosmer explains, this practice involves adding compost to the soil, which provides a direct input of organic matter that improves soil health. “With the compost, we build a biological population where fungi and bacteria continually cycle nutrients so they are available throughout the year rather than just when we add them,” Hosmer said. “We continually monitor this population and change the compost mixture as needed.” Not only does this limit the need for fertilizer, but soil management also plays a key role in fruit development and can impact the quality properties of grapes and wine.

  The vineyard team also plants cover crops that add nitrogen to vines, as well as organic compounds that provide nutrients or aeration to the soil. According to Hosmer, soil management can also play a role in water retention. For example, in areas where there is a low water table, the cover crops will create a canopy in the soil to maintain moisture. “Our sites are very diverse, so we adapt depending on the availability of water at the time,” he said. “This buffers the extremes, so plants do well in dry periods, as well as in wet periods.”

  Driven by technology as well as hospitality, Chateau Chantal is well-poised to accommodate the growth of tourism in Michigan. In the winery, the Chateau is expanding its capacity to meet the growing demand for its wines. Currently, they produce 20,000 to 25,000 cases per year, with distribution in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois. In the hospitality sector, the founder’s daughter, Marie-Chantal Dalese, has taken the reins of the company to continue her parents’ legacy of offering a premiere wine experience to guests. In 2021 and 2022, the Chateau Chantal B&B was named one of the “10 Best Wine Country Hotels” by USA Today. Joe David, author of “Gourmet Getaways – 50 Top Spots to Cook and Learn,” wrote, “An American version of a modern Loire Valley chateau, Chateau Chantal is more than just another stunning bed-and-breakfast – it is a retreat for gourmets who seek a food and wine holiday.” 

  Indeed, at Chateau Chantal, there is something for everybody. Whether you prefer dry wine, sweet wine or sparkling wine, a spectacular setting overlooking vineyards and the vast expanse of Grand Traverse Bay, a six-course wine dinner with wine pairings, a hands-on themed cooking class or a night or two of luxury in a French-style chateau, any or all of the options are available to the adventurous wine lover interested in totally unique wine experience.

For more information, visit Chateau Chantal at www.chateauchantal.com

 By: Nan McCreary

Deep in the heart of Texas, located in the piney woods and rolling hills surrounding Plantersville, is a small boutique winery that offers visitors not just an opportunity to taste quality Texas wines in a picturesque setting but also to experience the wines of the ancients, be it Mavrud from Bulgaria or Limiona from Greece.

  “It’s fascinating to me that these are the grapes enjoyed thousands and thousands of years ago by ancient ancestors like Spartacus, Aristotle, Homer and Alexander the Great,” winery founder Jerry Bernhardt told The Grapevine Magazine.  “I’m always sniffing out indigenous wines that are experiencing a revival today and adding them to our selection.”

  Bernhardt’s “selection” includes 33 varieties of traditional wines sourced primarily from grapes and juice throughout Texas, as well as the seven ancient grapes in its Antiquity Wine Curation.  The Texas wines fulfill Bernhardt Winery’s mission “to provide our customers with quality wines and a fun tasting experience in a warm environment,” while the Antiquity series takes the love of wine to an entirely new level.  That mission is “to find indigenous varieties as close to the genetic original and grown in the same terroir as in ancient times.  We hope to recreate a shared communal experience of our ancestors such as love, passion, family and celebration through the tasting of these age-old wine.” Based on the number of visitors to the winery and wine sales and awards, Jerry Bernhardt and his team have surpassed expectations in both missions.

  Bernhardt opened his namesake winery in 2005 as, he laughed, “a retirement project gone wrong.”  He had always wanted to know more about wine, he said, so as a former engineer and builder, he understood that the best way to learn was to “just go do it or build it.”  And so he did. He and his wife began making home-made wine, and he spent two years interning with the pioneering winemakers in nearby Fredericksburg, the Texas Hill Country home to over 50 vineyards and wineries today. One of his mentors was the French-born Bénédicte Rhyne, winemaker at Kuhlman Cellars in Stonewall and international wine consultant. He and Rhyne still maintain a partnership today.

  When Bernhardt opened his doors, he offered four wines, all with grapes or juice sourced from Texas vineyards:  A red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), a white wine (Blanc du Bois), a Rosé (made from red and white grapes) and a Port, a barrel-aged Cabernet Sauvignon fortified with brandy and aged for a year in a proprietary barrel. The first year’s production was 900 gallons, or around 370 cases. Today, Bernhardt produces 15,000 gallons annually, or over 6,100 cases.

  As he’s grown, Bernhardt has not strayed from his commitment to produce quality wines. In his quest for excellence and diversity, he diligently oversees and harvests Blanc Du Bois and a few rows of Black Spanish from 1.5 acres on his 20-acre property, and sources the rest from reliable, tried-and-true vineyards. He and his winemaker, his nephew Jonathan Schrock, select grapes and juice carefully, always based on quality.  “What we produce depends on the year,” Schrock explained.  “In Texas, we have good years and bad years.  If the quality is there, we may source 100 percent from an area.  But if it isn’t, we will go elsewhere. It all depends on the quality, and whether we can get it here safely without oxidation or other flaws.”

  While the wines Bernhardt produces in Texas require careful oversight, the bottles shipped from Bulgaria and Greece come from trusted winemakers who have benefited from financial support, training and promotional opportunities provided by their local government. Since visiting the Plantersville winery in 2017, the Bulgarians have developed a solid relationship with Bernhardt, and are eager for Americans to experience the quality of wines coming from these ancient regions. As importers, Bernhardt Winery simply promotes and sells the wine. “They are so good,” he said, “they fly off the shelves. We sell out of everything we import.”

  Currently, Bernhardt imports 30,000 bottles of wine annually in his Antiquity collection.  The Bulgarian wines include: Mavrud, regarded as the one of the most highly esteemed wines in Bulgaria, with evidence of production 7,000 years ago, and possibly an ancient clone of clone of Mourvedre; Sauvignon Blanc, with origins believed to go back 1,000 years; Chardonnay, originally propagated on the Danube River plains by the Romans on their march to France; Rosé Inanna, regarded as the Queen of Heaven and the most popular goddess in all of Mesopotamia, and planted on the same Mesopotamian soil dating back to this ancient time; Cabernet Franc, native to the Loire Valley in France, and an up-and-coming grape that thrives in Bulgaria’s moderate climate; Sangiovese, more ancient than early Rome; and Syrah, an ancient grape with historical records dating back to 20 AD. The one grape from Greece in the Antiquity collection is Limniona, written about by Homer and Aristotle, and currently enjoying a revival in its home region of Thessaly, and increasing popular in Greece and abroad. Each bottle shares the story of the wine on the label.

  While Jerry Bernhardt is a big fan of the wines of Bulgaria — known for its diverse microclimates and soils favorable for quality wine production — importing these wines (and the Limniona) fulfills his passion for educating people about wine, plus he sees it as a wise business decision.  “I learned very

quickly that diversification is important,” he told The Grapevine Magazine. “With fires and freezes, and other variables, if you only have one source, you’re in trouble. Also, importing these wines gives us another level of top quality products to represent without having to invest millions to increase our capacity. We’re very comfortable where we are.”

  Comfortable, yes, but Bernhardt’s not ready to rest on his laurels.  He and winemaker Schrock are both self-described “creative” people and continue to push the envelope in search of new products, be they ancient grape varieties or different expressions of Texas fruit. “When we make blends, we may sit down and pull samples from 20 barrels,” Bernhardt said.  “We sniff and taste until we find the flavor profile we want.  We don’t blend based on what the wine’s going to taste like three or five years from now; My philosophy is to make wines that are designed to drink now.” So far, results of these “experiments” have proved to be very successful.  Schrock invented a wine called Black Zinnish, a blend of Black Spanish mixed with Texas Zinfandel, which has been extremely popular.  He also came up with Bayou Blend, a unique mix of Texas grapes, bottled in April this year and nearly sold out by July. Yet another best-seller is Cabernet Sauvignon Nouveau, a unique expression of the grape Cabernet Sauvignon that features new fruit without any aging.  “We want people to simply taste the fruit itself,” Schrock said.

  As Bernhardt moves into the future, customers can expect to taste new blends, particularly those that express differences in oak aging. “We’re using next-generation barrels (made with an oxygen permeable polymer shell) that can be used and reused, with oak coming from very high quality staves,” Schrock explained. “The staves are a ‘recipe,’ depending on the type of oak and the amount of toast we want. We get exposure from all four sides — not just one — and the staves are cut thinner to provide greater surface area for faster extraction.” As Texas grapes become more popular and availability increases, Schrock will have more and more opportunities to express his creativity. “My favorite part of winemaking is the oak aging,” he said. “Playing with the staves gives me such freedom.  I can choose staves to open up tannins or structure or I can use blends of new and old oak, for example. I can really experiment and take the wines to the next level. It’s a lot of work, but less work than moving wine from barrel to barrel.”

  Whether customers want to sample the best of Texas wines or imagine they’re sharing an ancient wine with Aristotle, Jerry Bernhardt promises guests a fun experience. The Tuscan-Style winery is a blend of old-world charm and modern luxury surrounded by 20 acres of rolling hills and 200-year-old pecan trees. It’s a perfect setting for enjoying a picnic, or any of the musical events the winery hosts on the weekends. “To sum it up, what’s important to us is to give people quality wine and a fun experience in a warm environment.  You can find it all here, from local Texas wines to wines from across the world that are tied to our ancestors.  For us, it’s all about a human connection.  The quality of our shared experiences nudges us emotionally, and that’s what we want to provide. We want to share a story…and share a relationship.”

For more information on Bernhardt Winery, visit www.bernhardtwinery.com