Tag Winemaker

Interview: Alfredo “Alfie” Alcantara, Winemaker, Vigneron, Emmy Award-Winning Producer, Director & Cinematographer

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In the town of Walton, nestled in the Catskill Mountains of New York, reside a couple of forward-thinking winemakers and vineyard owners who are looking to the past to chart a possible path forward that could help the wine industry survive in a world facing the uncertainty of climate change and other challenges. 

Alfredo “Alfie” Alcántara and Deanna Urciuoli, co-owners of Dear Native Grapes, are members of a small but growing vanguard of winemakers who are reviving forgotten and seldom-used native grapes to produce natural wines. These resurrected wines not only display distinctive flavors but also serve as a vehicle to expand the diversity of the vines that are being planted in vineyards.

Alfie is an Emmy award-winning documentary producer, director, and cinematographer whose latest critically acclaimed film, “The Age of Water,” delves into the human toll that Mexico’s water crisis is exacting on its people. The “Age of Water” will air on September 28th, 2025, on PBS. I was able to catch up with Alfie and ask him about the grand opening of dear native grapes tasting room and what else he has been up to. The following is my unedited and verbatim interview with Alfredo Alcántara.

1. Congratulations on the grand opening of your tasting room. What can your guests look forward to when they visit ‘dear native grapes’ on opening day and in the future?

“Thank you! We are beyond excited to finally open our doors and welcome visitors.

It’s been five years since we started ‘dear native grapes’ in the garage of our home. In that time, Deanna and I got used to navigating a tight maze of fermenters, barrels, and packaging material that we stuffed into our small space, and somehow we were able to launch our little winery. Producing wine in the garage was a romantic idea, but we knew we had to scale up to grow our business. 

In 2023, we pooled our savings to pay for the construction of a pole barn that would one day house our production area as well as a small tasting room to host visitors to the farm. Since then, we’ve been hard at work getting the space ready. 

We’ve always felt passionate about sharing the story of America’s wine grapes, and we believe folks might feel equally inspired to see these grapes actually growing and thriving at our site. It’ll be even more exciting to have visitors taste the unique and expressive wines that these grapes can produce. We hope that experience will inspire more ideas and conversations around the potential of American grape varieties. 

The winery is situated at the top of our vineyard and is surrounded by the beautiful Catskill Mountains. We hope it serves as a space for community building, inspiration, and relaxation in nature. We’ll also be featuring local food vendors and food pop-ups that showcase the culinary diversity of our region. 

Our opening day is July 19th, 2025, and we’ll be open every Saturday from 12pm to 7pm.”

2. You have chosen to grow and craft your wines from non-traditional native and hybrid grape varieties. What is your vision for dear native grapes?

“At its core, dear native grapes is an educational project designed to shed light on valuable grape varieties that could pave the way for more diverse, climate-resilient winemaking, energizing local economies in the process.

Our vineyard is an experimental plot meant to test the resilience of several dozen varieties. Since planting in 2020, we’ve already begun to see some really exciting results. A handful of varieties–both heritage and newer cultivars– have stood out as promising for our region. Our site is on a windy ridge top that gets pummelled with all sorts of weather throughout the year. The growing season is short, the winter is very cold, and there’s a danger of frost at each end of the season. So being able to successfully get these grapes through harvest is really encouraging. Among the heritage and heirloom varieties that have performed well are Delaware, Wine King, and Empire State. Among the newer varieties, Petite Pearl and Brianna are becoming the clear winners in terms of growth, disease resistance, and overall resilience.” 

3. Tell us about your wine journey, how it brought you to where you are today, and your plans for the future. 

“I think I may have some weird past-life connection to winegrowing. Since I was a kid, I dreamed of growing grapes. For some reason, it has always resonated with me. I met Deanna in college, and we lived in Brooklyn for ten years. During that time, we fell in love with natural wine. We got to taste wines that felt alive and vibrant. Many were made from indigenous grapes grown in regions we had never heard of. We were truly inspired each time we experienced a different bottle. And so that really got our gears turning. 

During that time, we stumbled upon the history of America’s native grapes and how we had lost so many varieties during Prohibition. We learned about the rich history of New York winegrowing and its steep decline during that time period. How could such an important face of American viticulture fade away into obscurity? We were instantly hooked. I would talk to Deanna non-stop about the possibility of pursuing this as a serious business: we could bring some of these grapes back into production, and help restore value back into long forgotten varieties. 

Deanna pushed me to volunteer at farms and wineries, and we took business planning courses. She’s a great financial planner, and so she put us on an aggressive savings plan for a few years. In 2019, we had saved enough money for a down payment on some farmland, and we decided to make the jump. We bought our place that same year, and in 2020, with the invaluable help of friends and family, we planted our 5-acre vineyard. In 2021, we had the opportunity to make wine from old vines grown at Buzzard Crest Vineyard on Keuka Lake, and we released our first vintage in 2023. That same year, we had the opportunity to work with Stephen Casscles, author and grape historian, who has cultivated a vineyard of rare and nearly-extinct heritage varieties. Steve has become one of our wine mentors, and we’ve made wine from his grapes for the past two years. This year, we hope our home vineyard yields a significant harvest. 

We feel like the past five years have flown by… We’ve been on the steepest learning curve we’ve ever experienced, constantly challenged by the realities of rural living and farming, and constantly humbled by Mother Nature. However, we feel so grateful each day to have the opportunity to pursue this project. It’s brought so much richness to our lives in terms of the community we’ve been able to foster around us. As we gear up to open the winery to visitors, we feel like another chapter is about to begin: one where we can finally start sharing the story of American grape varieties with a wider community. That’s our ultimate goal!”

Make plans to attend the grand opening on Saturday, July 29th 2025, from noon to 7pm, or visit any following Saturday, noon to 7pm

Thank you, Alfie, for taking time from your busy schedule to give us a heartfelt glimpse into Deanna and your quest to make dear native grapes a reality. dear native grapes is truly an example of a “Labor of Love”

dear native grapes

17 Crawford Rd

Walton, New York 13856

alfie@dearnativegrapes.com

dearnativegrapes.com

Photo Credit: dear native grapes

J. Stephen Casscles Releases Revolutionary “Wine Evaluation Schematic”

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Internationally renowned Heritage grape authority, Steve Casscles, has released an innovative wine evaluation schematic. He has envisioned all the information you need to analyze characteristics of a wide range of wine grape varieties. The how and why Steve created this tool and how to best use it are fascinating. I asked Steve to share the story behind his creation. The following is my verbatim and unedited interview with J. Stephen Casscles. 

“About 20 years ago, when I started to seriously evaluate wines to implement my idea for writing a Cool Climate/Heritage grape book, I was searching for a methodology to accurately evaluate wine and include descriptors that readers could use to understand these wines. There were several charts or aroma wheels that were a model for a good first step to evaluating wines.  However, while good in that they set up a framework for me to evaluate and write down wine descriptors, I found that they were somewhat deficient in the descriptors to be used for wine. Further, they were not organized by the kinds of fruits that were being cited as being in the wine. So I greatly expanded the fruit descriptors. More importantly, most evaluators put too much concentration on aromas/flavors, and not enough on wine texture, and energy on the palate. This Wine Evaluation Schematic brings in considerations such as texture, body, mouth feel, appearance, body, finesse, and how the wine is integrated into one unified taste experience. Also, most charts did not give guidelines to give a wine an “overall score”, so that the evaluator could go back years later to rate that wine with other wines that the evaluator has scored.”   

“It is my goal in releasing this Wine Evaluation Schematic that this Wine Evaluation Schematic is a starting point for each evaluator.  Modify it as you like to fit your needs, and please add your own terms and descriptors. This Wine Evaluation Schematic can be used by individuals who want to appreciate wine, wine educators who want to convey a methodology or a conceptual framework to approach teaching their students about the concepts of how to approach this subject, and wine writers that want to more accurately convey to their readers the wines that they are writing about, and wine judges that evaluate wines for their wine competitions.”    

“Right now, I have approached my wine colleagues in Korea, some of whom own wineries or wine schools, to translate this into the Korean language. Many of the grape varieties grown in New York State are also grown in Korea, so the flavor profiles of our wines are similar in many ways, especially regarding body, mouthfeel, and texture.”

Review: J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 2022

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Next in my series highlighting widely distributed wines is a bottle we were gifted. The iconic Paso Robles Cab  J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. It is the quintessential example of how mass-produced California Cabs are blended to achieve a consistent taste profile every year. 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petite Sirah , 5%Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cab Franc. A Wine Enthusiast 90 pt “Best Buy” January 2025. Vanilla notes from oak barrel aging with big juicy red fruit flavors and soft tannins. It’s a solid choice when selecting a Cab for dinner guests because pairing it with grilled or roasted red meat, think steak and lamb, or even pasta with a hearty red sauce is sure to please.

Heritage Wine Update Interviews: J. Stephen Casscles and Alfredo “Alfie” Alcántara

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Vignerons and winemakers are adapting to the changing climate conditions in vineyards and wineries around the world. As documented in my interviews with winemakers, vineyard/winery managers, and other wine industry professionals, wine grape harvests globally occur earlier than ever before. This phenomenon is the new normal instead of the recurrent fluctuations expected over a chronicled time frame. Change in the wine world moves slowly but a small group of visionaries is leading a vanguard of growers and winemakers who are addressing the issues, not by exploring uncharted waters but by looking to the past to find answers for the future. These modern-day pioneers are resurrecting nearly forgotten grape varieties that were popular a century or more ago. They are creating exciting new wines from Heritage and Cool Climate hybrid grapes by employing unconventional winemaking methods and techniques. These strategies draw out the most favorable characteristics these grapes have to offer. 

To better understand the benefits and potential that Heritage and Cool Climate grape hybrids provide, I asked J. Stephen Casscles, the leading authority in the field, for his opinions. Steve has authored extensive research on this subject, including two books, numerous articles, and scientific papers. He is also a well-known lecturer, winemaker, and owner of Cedar Cliff Vineyard, a Heritage grape vineyard in Athens, New York. 

I also enlisted the help of Alfredo “Alfie” Alcántara, winemaker, Heritage grape vineyard owner, and cinematographer. Alfie is a Mexico City-raised, NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad, award-winning New York-based documentary producer, and cinematographer whose resume includes having his work screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Mountainfilm in Telluride, SXSW, and CNN, just to name a few. Alfie is working closely with Steve Casscles growing and producing Heritage grape wine and co-ferments from his Dear Native Grapes Winery and Vineyard in the Catskill  Mountains of New York.

The following are my interviews verbatim and in their entirety with J. Stephen Casscles and Alfredo Alcántara.

Wpawinepirate: Please share your thoughts on how growing and making wine from Heritage and interspecific grape varieties is similar to traditional procedures used with vinifera grapes, but elaborate on the differences that make your forward-looking techniques so valuable to winemaking now and especially in the future.

Casscles’s Response:  “I think that growing Heritage and interspecific cool climate grape varieties are grown with the same considerations as growing vinifera.  The very large difference is that while Heritage and Cool Climate hybrids are pretty forgiving when growing them in the field, that is not the case with vinifera.  I find that hybrids are more productive than vinifera, are more hardy, cold-resistant, fungus disease-resistant, and are direct producers (they do not grow on root stock). 

Being “direct producers”, not grown on rootstock, means that when we get our more commonly occurring late spring frosts (due to the influences of Climate Change) that inflicts heavy frost damage on the vine.  The hybrids do much better. That is because since they are direct producers (not grafted) they can send shoots up from the ground THAT season and produce a crop.  Also, many hybrids were bred to have a secondary crop, to have at least 1/2 a normal crop if hit by a late spring frost. With vinifera, after an especially hard late frost, there is NO secondary crop so there is no fruit crop at all AND with an esp. hard frost, the scion (top part of the vine) can be killed completely, so that all that remains is the rootstock which cannot provide any grapes. Further, Heritage and Cool Climate hybrids roll with the punches better than vinifera with what “Mother Nature” gives us …. as we have more variable growing conditions due to climate change which is bringing with it more violent weather patterns with more rain, droughts, heat, and variable hot cold temperatures, hybrids do better.

The higher resistance of hybrids to fungus and insect damage is also reflected in MUCH lower material and labor costs to grow these varieties. Vinifera grapes require much “hotter”, i.e., poisonous spray material to protect the crop than hybrids require. Also, the number of times that you need to spray vinifera with these “hot” chemicals is two to three times as many applications as the number of times needed for hybrids AND the spray materials to be used are much cheaper than that used for hybrids. This means spraying vinifera grapes 12 times a year as opposed to the 4 times needed for hybrid grapes.  There is growing interest in growing grapes and other fruits either organically, semi-organically, and very much in a sustainable manner. It is nearly HOPELESS to grow vinifera organically and it has a much higher carbon footprint to grow than hybrids.

There are so many more hybrid and cool climate heritage grape varieties available to select from when setting out a vineyard. With vinifera, the “choices” are between the top 5 varieties, (In the Northeast, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Riesling), while with hybrids, there are scores of varieties that the grower can choose from to produce a sound and varied crop. This adds to diversity in the field, so that when the violent weather pattern hits the vineyard, if the grower has 10 different hybrid varieties (not just 1 or 2), the grower has a much higher probability of having a crop that produces a profit for the grower because maybe 5 of his/her varieties will still do fine with the adverse weather conditions that we are facing.

Possessing a diversity of grape varieties in each vineyard does add to the biodiversity of the plant material in the field. That means that the fungus and insect pests that can hit a vineyard can be muted because each variety has a different vulnerability to insects and various fungus diseases. However, if the grower has only 1 or 2 varieties, if a fungus or insect pest gets into the vineyard, it can wipe out the entire crop. Diversification is a strength. 

That was the first part of your question. The second is what are the benefits of making wine from these Heritage and Cool Climate hybrid grape varieties? Short answer — many many benefits. The exciting thing about making wines with Heritage and other Cool Climate varieties is the large variability in flavors, body, textures, and colors that a winemaker or co-ferment brewer has available to them to make their beverages.  Varieties such as Baco Noir, Verdelet, Chelois, Bacchus, Seyval Blanc, Agawam, Empire State, Jefferson, Lindley, Leon Millot, Chambourcin, Massasoit, Burdin Noir, Le Colonel, Marion, and so many more, have a broad spectrum of flavors, aromas, colors and textures which makes it very easy to make very fun wines and co-ferments. These many different grape varieties can be used in so many different ways to make very different fun wines and co-ferments.  Also, these wines tend to be fresher high acid wines that are more appealing to a new generation of consumers, with less alcohol, which is a plus for consumers both young and old.

Today’s consumers want very fruity fun wines and the Heritage and Cool Climate provide those in flavors and colors that are exciting.  Some of our Rogers hybrids developed in Salem, MA in the 1850s, have colors like electric blue, hot pink, deep purple, and other fun colors. 

Back to the economics and high productivity of growing Heritage and other Cool Climate grape varieties. Since they are more productive than vinifera AND can be grown with much fewer cost inputs of labor, chemicals, and other production costs, the cost of these varieties is MUCH less expensive than vinifera grapes …. which means that the cost to produce these fun and innovative wines is probably HALF of the cost of making a vinifera wine.  This means that these innovative products can be provided to the consumer at a much lower cost. 

It is an honor to work with both Alfie and Deanna at Dear Native Grapes to make fun wines, be it table wines, natural wines, or Pet Nats. I would rather have them speak for themselves, but I believe that we have a deep commitment to producing grapes and wines in a sustainable manner that uses far fewer pesticides and has a far lower carbon footprint. They are experimenting with making wine in many different styles for fun and for the enjoyment of our customers. I will let Alfie and Deanna talk about the grape varieties they have planted at their farm in Walton, NY, and the wines and wine styles they are striving to use to make a quality and fun product.”

Alfie’s Response: “It’s an honor to work with you, Steve! You have been our invaluable mentor throughout our journey. 

“Deanna and I started ‘Dear Native Grapes’ with the goal of renewing an appreciation for America’s forgotten wine grapes. Both of us came into this with very little knowledge of winemaking or farming. But we were instantly hooked by the story of Prohibition in the 1920s and how much we lost in both the diversity of grape varieties and knowledge in wine growing. We were really driven by the thought that we could help reinvigorate something that was once valuable and productive. 

While doing research for this project, we were inspired by the work of TerraVox winery in Missouri which has been diligently working with native varieties suited to the midwest, as well as Steve Casscles’ written works, especially his book ‘Grapes of the Hudson Valley And Other Cool Climate Regions of the United States and Canada’. Actually, one of the first wines we ever tasted from native varieties was made by Steve. He made it from a Hudson Valley heirloom variety called ‘Empire State’. It was so graceful and floral. We still remember its flavors and aromas. Our eyes were opened to the fact that we could create a sustainable farm and winery business in the Northeast by using the right grape varieties that could thrive in this region.  

So after several years of saving up, taking business planning courses online, and volunteering at local wineries, we were finally able to afford a down payment on some farmland. We ended up in Walton, NY, in the western area of the Catskills, which is not really known for its grape growing due to the harsh climate. So our whole idea really hinged on choosing the right grape varieties that could withstand the extremes of the region.

In the spring of 2020, we planted 5 acres of grapes among three different categories: 

  1. Contemporary cold-hardy, disease-resistant varieties like Petite Pearl, Crimson Pearl, Marquette, Frontenac, Brianna, and Itasca.
  2. Heirloom American varieties like Delaware, Empire State, Wine King. Some of these we propagated from cuttings from Steve’s vineyard. 
  3. Experimental crosses are not yet available to the public. These came from modern-day grape breeders who are working to identify little-known native species that hold promise in the Northeast. Some include crosses from grape species like Vitis aestivalis, Vitis acerifolia and Vitis bicolor. 

We are now four years into this project, in what seems to be a never-ending (and very sharp!) learning curve. But we’re excited to see our vines grow and we’ve already begun to identify grape varieties that have withstood the many climactic and environmental challenges we’ve experienced in the short timeline of our vineyard. An interesting variety for us has been Petite Pearl. Bred and selected in Minnesota by grape-grower Tom Plocher, this variety seems unbothered by disease pressure on our site, it’s extremely cold hardy, and most importantly, its late bud-break has managed to escape the dangerous spring frosts we’ve been having in New York. Last year we were able to produce a few gallons of wine from it, and its flavors and aromas are earthy and reminiscent of darker fruit. However, its clusters are very small, which means we’d need a much larger volume to produce a significant amount of juice. 

We’ve also been surprised by the qualities of Delaware, which is not nearly as vigorous as some of the Minnesota varieties, but once it becomes established, it’s easy to prune and manage, and it produces beautiful clusters of red fruit. It’s so exciting to see some of these heirloom varieties express themselves on our site.”

Wpawinepirate: Tell us about your wine journey and vision for growing and making wine from Heritage/Cool Climate hybrid grapes. 

Casscles’s Response: “How I got into grape growing is that I grew up in Marlboro, NY in the Hudson Valley, an area that has many orchards, vineyards, and berry patches.  I had the fortune of living near Benmarl Vineyards and worked in the early years of Benmarl when it was established by the Miller family (Mark, Dene, Eric, and Kim). I have kept in touch with the Miller Family and my friends the Spaccarelli Family who now own Benmarl. I learned so much from working with Eric and Kim Miller about winemaking and life. I have been truly blessed and the many people who worked at Benmarl, are and continue to be family friends. From Benmarl, I learned about many of the French-American hybrids that I continue to use today.  My favorites are Baco Noir, Chelois, Foch, Leon Millot (reds) Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Verdelet, and Vignoles (whites). 

My vision was then and continues to be to give growers the tools and grape varieties that can be grown at a profit so they can remain in farming. Further, that will be of sufficient quality and productivity so that local wineries can make quality wines at affordable prices so that everyone at the end of a long hard day can have a glass of a quality local wine at affordable prices. Doing this can help to keep more farms in operation and quality farmland in farming and not chewed up in more housing developments. Working with, studying, identifying either Heritage grape varieties or other Cool Climate grapes, and developing methods to grow these grapes more economically is part of this effort to keep farmland in farming and to preserve those who either are in farming or wish to enter into it. It is so great to work with Alfie and Deanna because they have similar goals and work ethic to make this happen. 

To advance this mission, in addition to studying such varieties, I have written, and thankfully have published, many articles to help guide those growers who want to grow hardy grape varieties that can be grown “sustainably”. In addition to Alfie and Deanna, I am so proud to work with other local grows such as Shawn Henry and his daughters Abbie and Emily of the Quimby Farm in Marlboro, NY,  Jed & Jaime Radliff of Fonda, NY, Marvin Baum of the new High Tor Vineyards in Rockland County, NY, and Doug and Mirada Russell of Russell Orchards of Ipswich, MA. Together, along with Alfie and Deanna, we are forging a pathway to plant more vineyards of these Heritage varieties, propagate them to establish even more vineyards, make wine and co-ferments from these varieties, and attract new and old customers to purchase these fun beverages that can be grown sustainably and so that family farms can remain in business.“

Alfie’s Response: “We believe ‘ Dear Native Grapes’ has the potential to reimagine American wine. By expanding the varieties of grapes grown and offered to consumers, we can broaden people’s imagination. Our small winery hopes to show others what American wine could be – beautifully diverse, unabashedly unique, and wonderfully approachable. 

If you think of a grape like Pinot Noir, it’s had over 600 years of human cultivation. Through slow observation and selection, the first people who farmed it started the process of shaping it to be what it is today. With American wine grapes, that process was largely halted due to historical events like Prohibition, followed by the Great Depression and WWII, and it’s just now barely restarting. We think it’s important to look at the past for answers that our ancestors have already solved and then build upon them. The Hudson Valley region in New York used to be a hotspot for horticultural innovation in the 1800s. It’s cool to think that the process of experimentation is once again alive in many other regions across the country. We might not find our American equivalent to Pinot Noir in our lifetime, but we can certainly begin to identify the great qualities in our own varieties.

We recently came across an article in the Smithsonian Magazine about Dagia Rangione, an Italian scientist who has dedicated her life to identifying and hunting down ancient varieties of fruit depicted in Renaissance paintings. Most of these heirloom varieties have long disappeared from the Italian countryside, as agriculture became industrialized over the past 200 years. The piece resonates greatly with us when she states how many of the older fruit varieties hold the keys to resilience and genetic diversity. We feel the same way about  American grapes. In the article, Rangione closes with a poignant sentiment: ‘We need these old varieties to answer for the problems of the future. Without them, without roots, we are just leaves in the wind.’

At its core, Dear Native Grapes is an educational project designed to shed light on valuable grape varieties that could pave the way for more diverse, climate-resilient winemaking, energizing local economies in the process. Every year, we host visitors to share our farming methods, which are largely based on holistic management. We’re able to farm this way because our varieties actually like to grow here and have the inherent genetics to thrive in our climate. This exchange of knowledge is key to our mission, as we try to save these varieties for future generations. Our mission is not simply to make wine from these varieties, but to offer others a viable path for doing the same.”

When growing a vineyard of wine grapes, as with any of life’s endeavors, the ready availability of options always enhances the probability of success. In the agricultural community, the ability to foresee potential problems is a skill set only honed to a fine edge with experience. Planting a crop that can survive and prosper under many adverse conditions is essential to any project’s long-term sustainability. Diversifying the varieties of grape vines planted in a vineyard has proven beneficial and has justified the old adage “Diversity is a Strength”.  

I sincerely appreciate Steve Casscles and Alfie Alcántara for taking time from their busy schedules to share this invaluable information and their unique perspectives on this timely subject. If you have any questions feel free to contact them  

(Steve) cassclesjs@yahoo.com

 (Alfie) alfie.alcantara@gmail.com

http://dearnativegrapes.com 

Photo Credit: J. Stephen Casscles, Alfredo “Alfie” Alcantara, and Dear Native Grapes

How To Propagate New Grapevines From Cuttings

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If you want to propagate new grapevines from cuttings of existing vines, now is the time to start planning. 

The following article is a collaborative effort between myself and Stephen Casscles, a leading authority on the propagation and cultivation of cool climate and heritage grapevines. It is a detailed account of the procedures for propagating new grapevines from the cuttings of an existing vine. Thank you Steve for being so generous with your time and knowledge. All photos in this article are courtesy of Stephen Casscles. If you need more information about how to propagate vines, consult older books written by Philip Wagner, which are still available, or contact your local cooperative extension agent who can direct you to excellent brochures produced by your local agricultural state university.

If you have or can obtain clippings from a grapevine that produces excellent fruit, it is easy to reproduce as many vines/clones of that vine as you want. Starting new vines from the clippings of a mother vine ensures you will grow an exact copy of the vine and it will crop the same quality grapes as the original vine. Be sure that the mother vine that you select for your cuttings is a strong vine, that exhibits no indications of viruses or diseases. Vines that have curled leaves, odd-looking clusters, or off-leaf colors could have been contaminated with a virus. Do not use these vines as you are simply propagating diseased and virus-laden vines and not the strong virus-free vines that you want.

Propagating new grapevines from cuttings is an easy project. First, you must gather your propagating wood in early Spring while the vines remain dormant. Cut 12-18 inch sections from one-year-old wood that is about the thickness of a pencil and has a minimum of at least four leaf bud nodes on it. Ideally, having five or six bud nodes per cutting offers the best chance of success. A leaf bud node will look like a small bump on the stem.

The next step is up to the propagator, but Steve said he was taught to nip off a straight cut one inch above the top bud and make an angled cut at the bottom of the cane just below the bud node. Making your angled cut at the bottom of the stem easily shows where the top of the cutting is from the bottom which makes it easier when setting out your nursery cuttings, it also allows the cutting to be easily planted in the soil. No matter how you cut your ends, make sure you are consistent so that you will always plant your cuttings correctly, bottom side down in the soil. Dipping the bottom end of the stem into rooting hormones is helpful in promoting root growth, but is not necessary. You can find rooting hormones at your local garden center or nursery. If you are only rooting a few cuttings, fill a potting container with your local soil, if it is good well-drained loam soil, if it isn’t mix it with potting soil to improve its drainage.  Make sure your container is deep enough to accommodate your clippings, but if you are propagating a lot of material consider digging a shallow trench and reserving enough loose soil to fill in around your stems.

  These trenches can be located in your vegetable garden, since this soil has been worked up for many years, and often has a fence around it to keep out the wildlife that may like to browse on your newly installed cuttings. When planting your cuttings, bury them vertically three to four nodes deep with the bottom side down into the ground, leaving the remaining nodes exposed above the soil level. Remember to plant the bottom of the stem down with the straight-cut end above the ground.

    Keep the soil well watered, but not soggy throughout the first year when your cuttings are establishing themselves. For those in potted containers, the cuttings should be placed in a frost-free location with bright indirect sunlight. If you have more than one row of nursery cuttings in your nursery, it is recommended to mulch the cuttings with straw (not hay) to keep down the weeds and retain soil moisture.

Steve explained the difference between taking cuttings from your vine and propagating them as a single project and cloning in which you separate individual canes that have a certain desirable mutation to create an entirely new variety of the original grapevine. Steve gave me an excellent example that was easy to understand. “My understanding is that cloning would be finding an abnormal sport of a vine that is different and you cut that unique cane off to propagate it. For example, Frontenac Gris is only a regular Frontenac when it was noticed that a separate cane had bronze-colored grapes and not red.  So cloning would be separating and propagating that “clone”, but if you are propagating wood, you just collect your wood and go at it.”

    It is essential that you plant more cuttings than you need to compensate for some not surviving. As a dear departed friend of Steve’s, Joel Fry of the Bartrams Garden in Philadelphia used to say, “Plant two of everything, and one will die”.  How many to plant is the question? Steve offered his advice based on years of experience in this area of viticulture. “I find that different varieties propagate at different rates. For example, Baco Noir, which is a part Riparia variety tends to have a higher success rate because it is a Riparia. Even with Riparia, I would plan for a 20% non-success rate for varieties such as Delaware, which is a part Bourquinian species hybrid, do not take as readily, so I would expect a 40% death rate.”  I would recommend propagating as many cuttings as possible using only the strongest ones to satisfy your needs and giving the extras away. Vines can also be rooted in water, but you will need to change the water regularly to prevent disease. Once you see the stems/cuttings rooting, you must transplant them into the soil.

    Whether you set out a nursery in your home garden or place them in pots in the spring, you need to wait an entire year to ensure that your cuttings have sufficient roots before they are set out in the field the following spring. After your cuttings have developed a strong root system they can be transplanted to their permanent location. 

    You probably have heard vintners say the clone number for a specific variety of grapes planted in their vineyard. An example of this would be the Pinot Noir Dijon clones 114, 115, 667, and 777 which are the most widely planted Pinot Noir clones because of their reliability and productivity. When you drink any mass-produced Pinot Noir you are likely drinking wine made from these clones. It is easy to go down a “rabbit hole” when looking for clones of just about any grape variety when researching which clones to plant in your vineyard. Don’t let the sheer number of options overwhelm you. The answer to this question is a simple one, treat a clone like a different variety. Pick a clone you like and propagate that clone.

    Growing your own vines from cuttings is a rewarding venture both financially and from the sense of personal accomplishment you will feel when you harvest your first grapes. With the adverse effects of climate change being documented in vineyards around the world and the increased number of adverse weather events plaguing vintners, the answer to a consistent and economically sustainable fruit crop may lie in the past with heritage grape varieties, older cool climate hybrids, and new hybrids that are being developed. Growing heritage and cool climate hybrid grape vines that have adapted to survive many weather-related challenges over time could be a critical puzzle piece in the future viability of our vineyards, for both hobby and commercial grape growers. In addition, these varieties tend to be more productive and can be grown more sustainably with fewer pesticide/fungicide applications. They are direct producers that do not need to be planted on a rootstock. This means that if we witness a very cold winter or late spring frost, which kills that part of the vine above the ground, canes will come up from the ground to produce a crop in the same growing season.

    With that objective in mind, Stephen Casscles continues to labor on his long-term project, the Cedar Cliff Vineyards Heritage Grape\Wine Project, aimed at preserving heritage and lesser-known cool climate grape varieties in Northern America. If you have any questions about his work at Cedar Cliff Vineyards please contact Stephen Casscles cassclesjs@yahoo.com  To further his work, Stephen has established a set of three cooperating nurseries in Marlboro, NY, Fonda, NY, and Ipswich, MA where you can purchase already rooted vines and/or grape cuttings. If you are interested in obtaining vines or cuttings of these unique varieties, please feel free to contact Stephen Casscles cassclesjs@yahoo.com.  Sadly, most of these cuttings or vines are not available at commercial nurseries, hence we need to propagate them on our own to increase the availability of these unique virus-free/ disease-free grape varieties. For additional information on these heritage and cool climate grape hybrids, the 2nd edition of Steve’s book “Grapes of the Hudson Valley and Other Cool Climate Regions of the US and Canada”  is available at http://www.flintminepress.com

Harvest Report: Chateau Niagara Winery

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I checked in recently with my friend Jim Baker, owner, winemaker, and vigneron of Chateau Niagara Winery Newfane, New York. http://chateauniagarawinery.com Jim’s avant-garde approach toward winemaking and the grapes in his vineyard can only be described as fascinating. Here are his candid insights into the year that was 2024 at his award-winning Chateau Niagara Winery.

“In classic cool climate viticulture, the only constant is change. We never know what the year will bring us and it creates a kind of resiliency in the vineyard managers and winemakers from these regions. It also creates some fantastic wines with incredible diversity. This year is no different. We escaped the late spring frost which hurt our neighbors in the Lake Erie region and our hearts went out to them as we got hit last year with that late frost and we lost two-thirds of our crop. We also did not have the wildfires from Quebec this year to contend with. It was a very early bud break with a wet spring and summer. This resulted in heavy downy and powdery mildew pressure. The latter half of the growing season heading to harvest was warm and dry, absolutely perfect for high-quality wine grapes. Longer hang time and good growing season with about 2800  growing degree days, which is measured by the temperatures degrees above 50 F. (A 70-degree day would therefore accumulate 70-50 or 20 growing-degree days.)  This is a measure of the total heat accumulation for the season. Harvest levels were a little under prediction and the berries were small and compact. This results in more intense aromas in whites and deeper colors and flavors in reds. We are very excited about the potential for the vintage!

In the fall we harvested our first crop of Fetească neagrǎ. We had hoped for barrels worth of wine, but the raccoons, deer, and turkey got to it first. We did harvest what we could and will likely do a very small bottling of about four cases. The grape showed me just a peek at what it can do this year. My initial tasting indicates that it falls between a Blaufrankisch and a Saperavi, with cherry, spice, black pepper, and smoke.”

Thank you, Jim, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your thoughts and observations about the intricate factors that influenced your vineyard and winemaking this year. We all look forward to enjoying the fruits of your labor. 

Review: E. Guigal Côte du Rhône Rouge 2020

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This wine reminds me of a lyric from the Jimmy Buffett song “He went to Paris.” It goes “ But warm summer breezes. The French wines and cheeses. Put his ambitions at bay.” He Went To Paris (YouTube)

It is easy to imagine sitting in a bistro in the south of France savoring delicate French cheese and sipping E. Guigal Côte du Rhône Rouge 2020 while watching the world pass by. 

Even though, E. Guigal is known for making high-end offerings; they continue to produce this very well-made mass-market example of a Rhône GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre). 

This is a well-balanced wine with supple tannins and subdued but pleasant acidity. Blueberry and blackberry flavors are accented with a hint of cherry from the Grenache. It is all carried on a medium body that leads to a lush finish making this wine a great introduction to the wines of the southern Rhône Valley of France. It is a bargain at less than $20 a bottle for a wine of this quality.

Dancing In The Dark

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If you ever have the opportunity to get out into the vineyard and pick wine grapes during harvest I urge you to participate. My wife and I did just that several years ago and it is an experience we will never forget. We picked on a beautiful sunny morning but in reality, most wine grapes are harvested at night to take advantage of the cooler air lowering the temperature of the grapes. Most of the well-known wine-producing regions of the world are located in areas that not only have a climate favorable to viticulture but a phenomenon known as diurnal shifts. Diurnal shifts are when there is a significant change in the ambient air temperature between the day and night. A good example of this would be if you have been outside all day wearing only shorts and a tee shirt but need to wear a sweatshirt and long pants after dark, then you have experienced a diurnal shift. 

Sunshine allows a grape to increase its sugar content until harvest but in contrast, a grape’s acidity level decreases as it nears harvest. It can be argued that when grapes are cooled nightly sugar and acid levels are kept in balance creating a more complex wine. The diurnal shift phenomenon can be the result of different factors. In Napa Valley, it is the Pacific Ocean, the Rhone Valley has the mistral winds, and Duncan Savage proudly told me that his Cape Town, South Africa vineyards are “clapped” by winds off the Atlantic Ocean. 

Now that we know how grapes arrive at their peak to be harvested the obvious question is “What are the advantages of picking them in the cool of the night?” 

The first and foremost reason winemakers pick at night is to capitalize on the lower temperatures that are advantageous to producing superior wine by preserving the quality of the grapes that will be processed immediately after being taken to the winery. Grapes that have been cooled by the night air have more stable sugar levels, firmer texture, and less oxidation. This is very important when making white, Rosé, and sparkling wine but is also desirable when making red wine. Picking at night also enhances the grape’s fruit flavors and aromatics while giving the winemaker better control of the fermentation. The grapes are cooler when they come into the winery and don’t need to be cooled down before starting the winemaking process. 

I have included these two links on YouTube that give us a glimpse of what harvesting wine grapes at night looks like. One video is of grapes being picked by hand and the other with a mechanical method.

https://youtu.be/ujn8N6iBRng?feature=shared Hand harvesting

https://youtu.be/we5XNeuvn1c?feature=shared Machine harvesting

 You can find more videos on YouTube by searching “harvesting wine grapes at night.”

Since it is late summer and harvest is upon us, now is the time to call your local vineyards and ask if they could use help picking their grapes. For a wine lover, it is an experience you will not soon forget. 

Co-Fermented Beverages: What Are They & Are They For You?

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There is an old adage “What was old is new again”. This saying has never rung more true than it does today for the alcoholic beverage industry. As total wine sales revenue and volume continue to decline, producers are searching for trendy new taste profiles and production methods to entice new customers and lure back old ones. Co-fermenting grapes, grape skins, and wine with beer become a beverage the French call “Vière”. Vière is steadily gaining popularity in the Northeastern part of the United States and across the country. Our region has an abundance of high-quality fruit and talented beverage makers, making it an ideal environment for developing a thriving Co-fermenting community. An increase in demand for high-quality fruit enhances the opportunity for the expansion of vineyards, orchards, and fruit farms in our region. The economic implications of a sizable jump in agricultural production would provide more support for our local economies throughout the Northeast and beyond. An upsurge in vineyard acreage could lend itself to the planting of more Heritage grape varieties that are especially suitable to the production of Vière, such as Anne Noir, Bacchus, Delaware, Jefferson, Isabella, Marion, and others. These varieties have the added benefit of adapting to changing weather patterns and climatic conditions.

The process of Co-fermenting is when winemakers, brewers, or cider-makers merge and intermingle different production methods to make wine, beer, or cider that can display fun and unique flavor profiles. If you have tasted any of these beverages that have fruit added to them during their fermentation, you have experienced co-fermentation. The lines that define what constitutes wine, beer, and/or cider have become increasingly blurred. Those lines do not get any clearer when you factor in a producer’s willingness to readily accept the effects of wild yeasts, Brettanomyces, volatile acids, and certain bacteria that until recently would have been viewed as an imperfection. 

The question I kept asking myself was “Who is embracing this movement toward Co-fermented beverages with unusual tastes that also includes Pet-Nat, organic, low intervention, and Piquette wines?” Is it a younger consumer demographic searching for its identity to experience something different? 

For some insight into this new trend, I went to a trusted and knowledgeable source, who also happens to be a friend of mine, J. Stephen Casscles, Esq. Steve is a well-known authority on Heritage Grapes, and author of the new 2nd edition of “Grapes of the Hudson Valley and Other Cool Climate Regions of the U.S. and Canada”, which includes two new chapters on Heritage grape varieties bred in New England ( https://www.flintminepress.com/product/grapes-of-the-hudson-valley/ ) and, who has received the 2023 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association’s prestigious Birchenall Award. 

I asked Steve — “As consumers, what should we know about and expect from the growing Co-ferment movement?” Steve’s comments were as follows:

First, this new trend in Co-fermented beverages will be very helpful to our fruit growers, as it is a new revenue source for our struggling growers who are looking for new markets to sell their grapes, stone & pome fruits, and berries. In addition, it helps a grower’s cash flow, as Co-ferments can be made and sold within 8 weeks of harvest, which coincidentally is just before the busy Holiday Season. This is especially true since, more and more, growers are also operating their own wineries, breweries, and cideries to process and sell their own fruit. 

What many of our colleagues in the Northeast and I find fascinating about Vière and other Co-ferments is that the sum of the parts is often greater than the separate parts of a beverage that has been made separately as a wine, beer, or cider. I have had the pleasure of working with many talented brew masters of beer and cider who make these Co-ferments. These people all live near me in the Mid-Hudson Valley, New York and include Zane Coffey and Max Ocean of Subversive Brewery (drinksubversive.com); Andre Latour of Brewery LaHoff (brewerylahoff.com); J.D. Linderman, Mikey Lenane, and Bob Wise of Return Brewing (returnbrewing.com), and Denny Brownell of Heartsby True Cidery (heartsbytrue.com).

These Vières can have exciting colors of bright purple, hot pink, or electric blue, that are appealing to our younger consumers; and possess the presence and body of a wine spritzer, with half of the alcohol and calories of a standard table wine. The beverage’s carbonation can be similar to a beer, but the bubbles make the grape or other fruit flavors jump out of the glass to make a unique beverage that is not a wine, beer, or cider. The body can be as light and refreshing as a beer, but with the added complexity that grapes or other fruits can bring to it. Andre Latour of Brewery LaHoff states that “ it appeals to beer enthusiasts and wine drinkers alike. It’s a beer that almost drinks like wine. As you imbibe, you can explore the unique characteristics of both wine and beer simultaneously.” Co-ferments have the potential to exhibit many different flavor profiles, so the flavors and texture of these beverages are very broad, which is appealing to our newer and younger customers.

As an observation, I find that in making wine, the winemaker is limited to the flavor profile of the grapes that they have and that this fruit must be processed as soon as it has been harvested. With Co-ferments, the wine/beer/cider maker has much more freedom to craft the kinds of beverage colors, body, nose, taste, carbonation level, and alcohol content that the producer and customer may want. In addition, unlike in making grape wine, these fruits can be frozen and stored so that the craft brewer can make these beverages not only how they want, but when they want. This gives far more control to the craft brewer than is possessed by a winemaker. 

​At Dear Native Grapes Winery in Walton, NY, (http://dearnativegrapes.com) where I work to help make some wine, the owners Alfie Alcantara and Deanna Urciuoli, have been concentrating on making standard table wines, Pet Natsand Natural Wines; and are considering making wines that contain fruits other than grapes. What we are seeing is that there is a merging of how craft wines, beers, and ciders are being produced, with experimentation in the kinds of yeasts used, fruits added, and carbonation levels that are being achieved. The addition of Co-ferments to the product line-up increases the interest and draw that customers have for their winery, brewery, or cidery. 

​ Vière and other Co-ferments are becoming more popular all along the East Coast and for beverage producers east of the Mississippi River. I welcome you to seek out your local brewery, winery, or cidery and see if they are producing these exciting beverages. For more articles on Co-ferments, see these articles that I have written, “Co-Ferments Come of Age in the Northeast”, Wine Journal (The Official Journal of the American Wine Society), Scranton, PA. vol. 56, no. 2 (2024): 16-18 and“Co-Ferments Come of Age in the Northeast: Increasing the Demand for Local Fruit”, Horticultural News vol. 104, no. 1, Winter (2024): 17-20 and Fruit Notes vol. 89, no. 1, Winter (2024): 22-25. 

​Either way, I recommend that you get out and try these fun and new beverages.

The North American co-fermentation movement has gained a loyal following that continues to grow and broaden in its appeal to a diverse segment of the adult beverage market. Co-fermented products provide growers and producers a shorter turnaround on their investment because these offerings can be made and sold quickly. The makers of these various co-ferments will continue to evolve their skills and techniques. They will have their successes and even more failures but the reality is that they are business people and they must be profitable to keep their operations viable in the long run. It will be not only interesting but educational to watch as this sector of the industry matures. 

Thank you Steve Casscles for your invaluable contribution to this article, without it this story would not have been possible. 

Photo Courtesy: Return Brewing and Subversive Brewing

Ripepi De Chaunac Nouveau-Style

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Ripepi Winery and Vineyard is a 10-acre estate vineyard and boutique winery in the southwestern Pennsylvania town of Monongahela founded by Rich Ripepi in 1987. It has produced handcrafted artisanal wines for over 30 years. 

Ripepi De Chaunac Nouveau-Style is a light-bodied, garnet-colored, unoaked dry red wine displaying distinctive cranberry, raspberry, and slightly earthy with a tart finish.

http://ripepiwine.com  724-292-8351 call for hours.