The Best Wines are the Ones You Fight For
2023 was what you might call a "challenging vintage," which is wine speak for "the weather was terrible." Challenging vintages might involve frost, dreary weather during bloom, frequent rains and cloud cover during the growing season, or a harvest season hurricane. For our neck of the woods in central New Jersey, 2023 had all of that!
The season began with a crippling late May frost event which wiped out 85% of the fruit at Home Vineyard and the Amwell Ridge Vineyard, our two sites in East Amwell. While the cold weather that night was devastating, it was very localized, only affecting our East Amwell vineyard sites. I can't celebrate the loss of 30 tons of grapes in one night, but having vineyards in the Amwells, Hopewell, and Princeton allows us to spread the risks of weather across different geographic areas. The Pheasant Hill and Coventry Vineyards being slightly further south was a silver lining that night, as they were spared the sub-freezing temperatures.
2023 delivered a humid, wet growing season, making it very difficult to get the early season varieties ripe enough to make quality wine. There are no 2023 Pinot Noirs from Unionville, for example. By late August we enjoyed a dry stretch of weather which persisted into the middle of September. We grew optimistic for the potential quality of the white wine varieties that typically are fermented and aged in barrel- the Chardonnays and Rhone whites. The grapes are typically harvested anywhere from the second week of September through the end of the month.
Harvesttime rainfall is an enemy of quality winemaking, which makes picking decisions crucial and exciting. Ideally you pick just before a rain event, as the rainfall can be taken up through the root system and deposited in the grapes, diluting the flavors, sugar, and acidity of the juice. Fall is a transition season, and the forecast can change quickly and dramatically. If you could ensure that rainfall would be light and that there would be a dry, sunny stretch on the other side of the rain, you might decide to hang the grapes through the rainfall. If that bet doesn't pan out because the forecast turns cool and cloudy unexpectedly, you lost the chance to make good wine because you rolled the dice hoping for something better later in the season. It's not roulette, but bets are placed come this time of year.
Leading up to September 23rd, we enjoyed 5 straight days of sunny, dry weather. The Chardonnay and Rhone white lots came into range, and with Tropical Storm Ophelia bearing down on the mid-Atlantic, we knew that the best window we had, had arrived. I wanted every last bit of ripeness. We could have picked 3 tons a day at normal pace that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but the fruit that we would have taken in Wednesday and Thursday would benefit from hanging the extra 48 and 24 hours respectively. So we treated Friday September 22nd as our version of the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
We held on Wednesday, we held on Thursday, and we charged forth pre-dawn on Friday the 22nd. We picked from 5am that day until a little past midnight, almost 19 hours of harvesting. The pick was only interrupted for bathroom breaks, pizza, and eventually some beers to keep morale high. I think the high morale beer was Miller High Life, although the details are fuzzy and it would only have been selected ironically. It was the most tenacious day I can recall in the field here. We picked nearly 10 tons from three different vineyards, finishing with the Pheasant Hill Chardonnay. We saran wrapped the bins during transport and weighing back at the winery as Ophelia's first raindrops splashed down just after midnight. Three days later on the 26th the sun rose, and almost 3" of rain had fallen. Anything that hadn't been picked would have been ruined.
In 2023, Home Vineyard Chardonnay was lost to frost. Coventry Vineyard received anomalous rainfall, and so only Pheasant Hill could produce the quality to justify a single vineyard designation. Wine Enthusiast scored this wine 92 points. It is a graceful, concentrated wine that I find gratifying for more than its deliciousness. When I enjoy this wine I think of the ten men and women who hauled in all of the Marsanne, Roussanne, Coventry Vineyard Chardonnay, and finally Pheasant Hill Vineyard Chardonnay that day. 19 hours, 10 tons, 92 points. It makes the wine all the more special.
-John Cifelli, General Manager and Grape Grower
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Pheasant Hill Vineyard Chardonnay, 2025 Harvest. No Rain!
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Desk or vineyard? This is the question I asked myself when making the leap of faith to leave my corporate life behind to pursue my passion for wine. After working in the medical communications space for 10 years, 2022 was the year of epiphany. It may sound old fashion, but I did have a major realization in the beginning of the new year that I was not meant to work behind a desk and chug along doing work that I was no longer passionate about.
My first notion of my interest of wine came during my frequent business trips to Boston about 4 years ago. For the first time I was immersing myself in the world of wine through client dinners, networking events and a lot of self-exploring through Beantown. During this time was my first encounter with sommeliers and wine experts. I was fascinated and intrigued by the expertise knowledge of wine, wine making and learning about the intricacies that goes into producing a bottle of wine. At this moment, I thought about how amazing it was to witness such passion for the craft of wine.
I enrolled in an online sommelier level one course at the Wine School of Philadelphia and began studying and reading everything I could about wine. This is where my 2nd major epiphany happened – I asked myself, the question that I stated in the beginning “desk or vineyard?”
This is the question that started the major stepping stone to my journey. I no longer wanted my wine passion to be in the background – I wanted to be 100% committed and both feet in. Unionville Vineyards was the first winery that popped into my head when I thought about making my “9:00- 5:00” switch. I attended a wedding at Unionville the year prior and loved the atmosphere, the wine and the people. The position that I applied to was half farm work half hospitality. I was instantly attracted to the idea of being out in the field to where it all begins in wine making. Thoughts of my “office” transforming into the beautiful vineyard was something I desired. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Unionville has multiple vineyard sites with the Coventry site located within Coventry Farm in Princeton being my favorite (love the views there!) Working at the different sites allows you to see how the different micro climates, soil and land impact the vines and fruit cluster growth. Also working in the field to me was the perfect learning opportunity to understand the craft of wine making soup to nuts. Being surrounded by vines that produced grapes such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay was eye opening to me. I was so used to seeing the finished product of these grape varietals in their bottled form, but actually being able to perform farming techniques on the vines starts to create another level of perspective and appreciation for wine.
One of my favorite farming tasks to perform in the field on the vines is leaf pulling. Leaf pulling is when you remove leaves from around the fruit clusters. The rule of thumb is to remove leaves that are across and below from the fruit cluster. Removing the leaves creates oxygen flow, openness for pesticides to be sprayed and exposes the fruit to more sunlight. I enjoy seeing the satisfying result of a perfectly balanced vine with the right number of leaves removed. Working in the field creates a huge bond between you and your other field peers. You become a family unit and learn how to work together and communicate as a team. To me, this is a very important factor for having a successful vineyard. My experience with people at Unionville in general has been amazing. You have the opportunity to interact with people from all different backgrounds (teachers, college, corporate, etc.) which makes for some great conversations and comradery.
To anyone reading this, do not be afraid to follow your passion and take a chance on doing what you want to ensure your happiness. It was scary to make such a drastic shift from corporate to farm work, especially since the two are extremely opposite ends of the spectrum, but I have no regrets and I am happy with where my career and focus is going.
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