Ken Albert

It’s May.  Our white grapes harvested last fall are now finished wine and the wine is ready to drink.  So, spring is bottling time for our whites.  We try to schedule bottling for rainy days since the vines are also awakening and needing attention.

We are very fortunate to have an automated line that moves at the rate of 1,000 bottles an hour.  It may be automated, but we really have to hop on bottling days!  It takes 4 to 5 of us to keep the machine busy.

One person unloads cases of empty bottles from a pallet stacked 7 feet high; another feeds the bottles onto the machine’s moving web;  another at the far end of the line grabs the now filled, corked, capsuled and labeled bottles and loads them into an empty carton; another loads the now filled cases onto a pallet. And, since the machine is liable to do anything at any point in time, one person is designated to keep watch on it all and be ready to push one of the red stop buttons strategically located on several points on the machine as quickly as he or she can when something goes wrong.

While winery workers are a little bit edgy on bottling days, it’s a job everyone wants to participate in, and there’s a certain satisfaction when the day is over and the wine is safely in the bottle.

We love to have anyone who’s curious take a look at this very interesting happening and hear all the bottles clinking as they progress along the moving web, so if you hear that “music” in the background when you stop by, be sure to ask for a tour.  – Ken

Check out the short video below for a look at our bottling line:

Ma Po Tofu with Pork

1 lb firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 lb ground pork
peanut oil
6 scallions, sliced
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup canned, peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 cup beef broth
Red chili sauce or Sriracha
1 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp Sesame oil
Cilantro, fresh, chopped
Salt and pepper (Szechuan peppercorns have a great flavor)

Boil 2 cups of water, soak dried mushrooms in hot water until soft (about 15 minutes). Chop softened mushrooms.  Strain and save the soaking water.

Heat about 3 Tbsp of peanut oil in a large skillet.  Add scallions and the ground pork.  Saute until pork is no longer raw.  Add dried and fresh sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft.  Add tomatoes and sauté.   Add mushroom soaking water and beef broth and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with few tablespoons of hot broth from the pot.  Pour cornstarch mixture into pot and stir to thicken.  Add tofu and stir gently.  Season with chili sauce or Sriracha, sesame oil, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir gently and simmer until liquid is reduced.

Serve over white rice.  Garnish with fresh cilantro, scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil.   ~Lisa

Lisa Arms

This Sunday (March 18) is the first Annual Ice Wine Festival at Jay Peak Resort Hotel and Conference Center.  Vermont is fast becoming a world-class producer of Ice Wine, Ice Cider and Late Harvest wine, so this will be a great opportunity to sample some of the best Vermont has to offer.   We’ll be there tasting our 2010 Late Harvest Quartet, a sweet, dessert wine with a lively acidity made from the Vermont grown grapes: Riesling, Traminette, Vignoles and LaCrescent.

I love Quartet with goat cheese- it’s a great combination of sweet and savory.  This Goat Cheese Tart is savory and rich and pairs beautifully with our late harvest Quartet.  I topped it with an awesome VT product that my husband discovered at the Shelburne Farms Gift Shop-  sweet and spicy Mango/Habanero Jam made by Sidehill Farm in Brattleboro Vt.

Goat Cheese Tart with Mango Jam

Preheat oven to 375

Pastry Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 stick butter, diced
1/2 (+/-) cup ice water
pinch salt

Pulse flour, salt and butter in food processor until butter is the size of peas (just a few seconds will do it).  Slowly add just enough ice water for the dough to begin to hold together.  Pat dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until filling is ready.

Filling:
12 oz Goat Cheese (I used VT Butter & Cheese Creamery Goat Cheese)
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
2 Egg yolks
1 Onion, sliced
Tbsp. sugar
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Mango/Habanero Jam (Sidehill Farm)  or your favorite Apricot Jam
2 Tbsp.  pine nuts, toasted

Start by caramelizing the onions.  Place sliced onions in wide pan with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat burner.  Stir frequently until onions begin to brown.  Sprinkle sugar on top and reduce heat to low.  Slowly cook onions until they become deep brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix goat cheese, ricotta, egg yolks, salt and pepper.  Roll pastry out until it’s about 1/2 thick.  Line a tart pan (or pie plate) with the pastry and trim the edges.  Prick the bottom with a fork.  Pre-bake the tart shell in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the shell is just starting to brown.  Spread caramelized onions on the bottom of the tart shell, then spread goat cheese mixture on top of onions.

Bake tart at 375 for about 35-40 minutes.  Filling should be just set and starting to brown on the edges.  Toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove top while the tart cools.  Top the tart with sweet and spicy Mango/Habanero  or Apricot jam.  Sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top.  Serve with SV Quartet Late Harvest.   ~Lisa

Ken Albert

Many people (and I mean MANY) have asked me, “How is this mild snowless winter treating your vines?”.  The simple answer is “Right now, the vines love it!” After all, vines growing in most of the world typically see winters like this. But I tell people I am worried about what might happen this spring. I’ll explain later.

First, let me explain how a vine endures winter. In fall the buds formed during the previous growing season produce a robust layer of carbohydrates to protect them during dormancy. Each bud contains the flowers of next season’s fruit. Typical European varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Cabernet will sustain serious bud damage when temperatures fall below the -10 ْ F range.

Our 15 acres of grapes are mostly hybrids, botanical crosses of native American grapes with European varieties. Hybrids are both hardy and good wine producers. The latest hybrids we planted, like Marquette and La Crescent, originated in Minnesota and their dormant buds can survive winters of 30ْ below! This season’s low of -3ْ ْF means even our tenderest varieties, like our Riesling and Vidal, are in good shape going into spring.

So why worry? Well, the Minnesota  hybridizers thought they fooled nature, but these super- hardy varieties turn out to be the earliest to bud in spring. Bud break happens late in April here…..normally!  But… with current mild weather patterns it could happen earlier in April and once it does, even the cold-hardiest vines are on equal footing with the least hardy. Once the shoots reach a half inch or so in length they are vulnerable to a sudden spring frost.

They can likely sustain 32 ْF, but will be severely damaged at 28ْ, killing all chances for fruit in the coming season. The vines will survive and likely recover the season after…..but that’s a long time to wait for fruit. It used to stay cold long enough to avoid vines being “ nipped in the bud.” But this year we’ll worry until we get past May 10th.  So stop by for a glass of wine and toast with us to a traditional VT spring.  ~Ken

Ken Albert

Folks, when visiting the vineyard look at the rows and rows of vines, and frequently comment that it must be a lot of work and where do we get enough people to harvest all those grapes?  While it is always a challenge to find folks to do this kind of farming, the harvest is a relatively easy time.  Some even volunteer to help at that season.  It’s a time of soft (usually) fall weather, and you can sample the fruit as you pick.   One of the real challenges is now….winter time.  This is when we prune most of last year’s growth off the vines.  Last winter we did it on snow shoes and  in very warm parkas.  This year we are doing it using ice cleats on our shoes and rain gear. We start in January and our goal is to finish before the vines start to awaken in late March.

A prospective pruner has to be trained before we turn him or her loose on the vines.  If you prune too much not only do you lose some needed fruit but you over-invigorate the vine.  If too little is pruned the vine may over-produce, resulting in poorer quality fruit and the resulting stress on the vine might lead to too small yields the next season.  We aim for consistent yields from year to year or, in viticulture terms, a “balanced vine.”  On the left is one of our 6 year-old Marquette vines before pruning and on the right is a Marquette vine after pruning. (check out the video at the bottom of the page.)

We mostly prune canes, the soft, smooth-barked one-year growth.  We usually leave a few buds on these canes from the previous season’s growth.  These buds will be the coming season’s source of fruit.  If there is not a lot of previous-year cane growth, we will prune more aggressively, leaving fewer buds.  We hope this will keep fruiting down somewhat and coax the vine to show some more vigor.  Viticulture texts go into detail on this subject, with formulas for pruning weight of the one year canes vs. the number of buds to leave on the vines, and the resulting fall harvest fruit weight , and we follow their guidance.

Based on the pruning weight on our Marquette vines this 2011-2012 winter, we have hopes for a very robust harvest next fall.   So….. while we may not seek new volunteer winter pruners, yes, we still welcome your interest in work here during the harvest season and hope you’ll enjoy snacking on some the fruit as you gather clusters and drop them into the harvest lugs.  -Ken

Check out this short video of Ethan pruning a Marquette grapevine.

Lisa Arms

Where’s all the snow?  It’s mid-January and our grapevines are sporting only a dusting of the white stuff.   Good enough for me- I’m happy to consider it a snow day and stay home and cook.  Here’s a great cold weather recipe with deep flavors that will warm you and transport you to an exotic place.   I think our Cabernet Franc Merlot is the perfect red to pair with this dish.  Red wine with chicken you may ask?  Yes!  Our CFM is earthy and soft with notes of dark fruit – it marries beautifully with the dried fruits and complex Moroccan flavors in this dish.  I used 100% organic Ras el Hanout spice blend from Teeny Tiny Spice Co. of Vermont- a small, local, family run business offering exotic spice blends based on cuisines around the world.  Enjoy!  -Lisa

Moroccan Roast Chicken Stuffed with Couscous

 
Couscous Stuffing:
1 1/4 cup couscous
1 cup hot water
¼ cup dried dates, (chopped)
¼ cup dried cranberries (chopped)
(dried figs, apricots and raisins work well too)
2 tsp. coriander
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 Tbsp. honey
Salt and pepper

1 3lb. chicken (local option: Misty Knoll)
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. Ras el Hanout (local option: Teeny, Tiny Spice Co.)
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Preserved lemon, halved (optional)
Chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start with couscous in a large bowl.  Bring 1 cup water to a boil, then add to the couscous, stirring with a fork until fluffy and all water is absorbed.  Stir in dried fruits and spices.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

Rinse and dry chicken and place in a roasting pan.  Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the cooled couscous mixture and preserved lemon, if using, and tie the legs together.   Make a compound butter by mixing the Ras el Hanout, paprika and garlic into the softened butter.  Spread the butter mixture all over the chicken.  Drizzle the chicken with honey and season with salt and pepper.  Add 1/3 cup of chicken stock to the bottom of the pan.

Place in pre-heated oven and roast the chicken, basting occasionally and adding small amounts of stock to the pan when needed.  Roast until golden brown, about 1- 1 ½ hours.  Transfer chicken to a carving board and let rest about 15 minutes before slicing.  Serve with couscous, pan juices and SV CabFranc Merlot.

Shelburne Vineyard grapevines with a dusting of snow.

Ken Albert

I have the belief we can make world class Ice Wine here in Vermont.  Currently the mecca for Ice Wine is the Niagara Bench (the land lying above the south shore) of Lake Ontario on the Canadian portion of the lake.  There in Ontario, due to the influence of the “warm” waters of Lake Ontario, harvest must frequently wait until January, or sometimes February, before they get a day cold enough to harvest.  Here in VT, Lake Champlain is also a moderating influence, but not quite as much.  The rule of thumb for Ice Wine is that the harvest can only take place at a temperature no warmer than -8C (17.6F).  The latest we have harvested here at Shelburne Vineyard has been the 29th of December.   The grapes are in much better shape the earlier the harvest.   Late fall and early winter freeze and thaw episodes really do a job on the grapes. This, along with all the nibbling (actually devouring) the birds and raccoons do, makes for a very precious and challenging harvest.

The Ice Wine grape variety of choice is Vidal Blanc .  This is because:

—-Vidal clusters hold fast to the vine under winter conditions and

—-the grapes retain a considerable amount of acidity when ripe.

A quality sweet wine needs a balance of natural sweetness and natural acidity.

Many ask why we wait for a serious freeze before harvesting.  At 17.6F the high sugar content liquid in the grape is still not frozen as very sweet juice freezes at a lower temperature than water.  Pressing a Vidal grape during normal harvest time would produce juice with a sugar content of 21 to 22% by weight.  When we begin pressing the partially frozen grapes the juice that flows first is over 40% by weight sugar.   The longer we press the lower the sugar content of the juice as the frozen water portion of the grape begins to thaw.  We can pick the sugar point to stop at.

We harvested on Sunday, Dec 18 2011, at 10F.  It was a crisp, bright, windless morning. We harvested 900 pounds of grapes.  Ethan our winemaker and his crew pressed until the entire juice content was 34.5% by weight.  (34.5 Brix).    The acidity was 9.7 grams/liter (0.97%) and the pH was 3.0. We stopped pressing after 27.5 hours and produced 56 gallons of juice.  Marathon over!

The next step is introducing (“pitching”) the yeast.  Due to the high sugar content, fermentation is a very slow process.  We will monitor the progress and stop fermentation when the residual sugar is around 12%.  This will make a nice dessert style wine with approximately 11% alcohol.

Over the last two seasons we have increased our acreage of Vidal Blanc by 200% so we hope to have more Ice Wine available …when these vines mature….over the next few years.Since it seems like we can never make enough!

- Ken

Want to see more photos of our 2011 ice wine harvest?   Click here >>

Rhiannon Johnson

What makes a better gift than wine? Nothing! No really, few gifts are more appreciated than a great bottle of wine. This year, we decided to step up the quality of our gift baskets just a bit. Festive bows and locally made baskets really make these gifts special (although I have to confess, I only know how to tie one type of bow so far). We have several styles and price ranges to choose from and of course, each basket features our wine. The most unique baskets this year are hand woven by a Salisbury, VT resident, Maura Clancy.  Some are filled with wine and Vermont artisanal food products, while others simply have a bottle of wine and two glasses with our classic logo.

Click on any image for details..

 
The ultimate wine lover’s gift basket includes a bottle of our Vermont grown, New World Red along with two wine glasses, a Vinturi Aerator, a corkscrew and VacuVin Wine Pump – this would make the perfect gift for any wine enthusiast or someone who just discovered the pleasure of drinking wine.

 
These baskets were a lot of fun to put together and we hope that you will enjoy sharing them with your friends, family and clients (but if you want to pick one up to treat yourself, I won’t tell anyone!). You can purchase these gift baskets in our Tasting Room or give us a call if you’d like to have one shipped (802.985.8222).  -Rhi

     
Bob and Macy                         Food Shelf Donations           Bread and Butter Farm

Thanks also to our fabulous vendors who donated raffle prizes to benefit the Food Shelf, and who served up a delicious and festive array of local foods and wines to sample and purchase.  Some of the delicious local food offerings included, a selection of Cheddar Cheeses from our good friends at Shelburne Farms (the perfect taste with our Cayuga White), Gouda from Taylor Farm, Bacon and Summer Sausage from VT Smoke and Cure as well as Croutons and Stuffing Mix from Olivia’s Croutons.  One could also sample gorgeous handcrafted breads from Bread and Butter Farm, tender bites of Quail from Cavendish Quail, cheeses and butter from Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery, cheese and caramel from Fat Toad Farm, and artisan Black Flower Chocolates that looked like little jewels in a box.

   
VT Smoke and Cure             Olivia’s Croutons                   Shelburne Farms

   
VT Butter & Cheese             Fat Toad Farm                        Black Flower Chocolates

Wine tastings included offerings from our friends at Eden Ice Cider, East Shore Vineyard, Artesano Meadery and of course a full selection of our own Shelburne Vineyard wines.  American Flatbread produced pizza to order from their mobile wood-fired pizza oven.  Every time the front door opened the mouth-watering aroma of flatbread wafted in!

   
East Shore Vineyard            Eden Ice Cider &  Artesano    Shelburne Vineyard

Our Autumn Wine & Food Festival has become one of our most popular, annual events and every year, we brainstorm ideas to make it even better.  This year, we decided to expand the festival into our processing room to enhance the flow through the tasting room and allow for a bit more elbow room for guests and vendors.  It worked beautifully and visitors enjoyed wine tasting among the tanks and barrels.  We’re already talking about next year- we’d love to hear your thoughts!  Thanks to all who came and we hope to see you again soon!

   
American Flatbread              American Flatbread            Taylor Farms

Lisa Arms

Shelburne is a tasty town; a place where one can eat local, and eat well.  Within our historic town and it’s environs, we have neighbors growing and producing most anything we could want for our Vermont table – cheese and dairy products, meats, fruits, veggies, grains, breads, beer, honey, sweets, and of course wine.  Eating and buying local is a great way to support our neighbors and our community. So, to kick off Eat Local Week, I’d like to offer this Neighborly Apple Pie.  It’s made from apples picked at Shelburne Orchards, served with Shelburne Farms’ Cloth Bound Cheddar Cheese, and our own Duet Ice Wine made from Vidal Blanc and Arctic Riesling grapes grown right here on our vineyard in Shelburne.

A Neighborly Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 420 degrees

Crust
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour    (local option- Nitty Gritty Grain pastry flour)
1/2 lb salted butter    (local option-Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery)
Pinch salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup ice water

Filling
8-10 tart apples    (local option-Shelburne Orchards Macintosh)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
1/3 cup cornstarch
4 tbsp butter

To make pie crust:
Put flour and salt into a food processor.  Chop butter into bits and add to flour.  Pulse until butter is the size of peas.  Slowly add ice water and process until dough just starts to hold together.  Turn the dough onto floured board and press into 2 disks.  Try not to handle it too much, you want to see bits of butter throughout.  Cover the disks with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

After the dough is chilled, turn one disk onto a floured board and roll out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.  Keep surface well floured so the dough doesn’t stick.  Fit loosely into the pie place and letting the edges drape over the sides.

To make the filling:
Wash, peel and core the apples.  Chop into 1 inch pieces and toss with sugar, spices, extracts, lemon zest and cornstarch, then let sit about 5 minutes.  Pour the apple mixture into awaiting pie crust.  Dot top of apples with butter.

Roll out the 2nd disk of dough and drape it loosely over the top of the apple pie.  Press down edges to seal, trim excess dough and crimp the edges.  Cut vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape.  If you want, brush the top crust with a little water or cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake the pie at 420 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes, checking occasionally for over-browning.  If crust begins to get too brown, cover with foil for the remainder of baking.  Cool completely before slicing.

Serve this pie with a couple of slices Shelburne Farms Cloth Bound Cheddar Cheese and a small, chilled glass of Shelburne Vineyard Duet Ice Wine – a combination that’s sweet, tart and a little sharp.   For more information about Eat Local Week, check out Healthy Living’s website at www.healthylivingmarket.com I’d love to hear from you….. how did your pie turn out?        Lisa