Making Wine

Height can make a huge difference.

In basketball.

In measuring mountains.

And also when it comes to making great wine.

That’s what one French winemaker discovered when he started Terrazas de los Andes winery in Argentina.

“That was the vision,” Herve Birnie Scott said during a recent one-on-one online interview and wine tasting.

Scott moved to Argentina three decades ago and soon started growing grapes at dizzying heights (as high as 1,650 meters or more than 5,400 feet in elevation) near the foothills of the Andes Mountains near Mendoza, the Argentinian city now famous for its world-renowned vineyards. But it wasn’t always that way, Scott explained.

Moet & Chandon (whose parent company owns Terrazas de los Andes winery) approached Scott about starting a winery in Argentina. The famous French Champagne company had been making sparkling wine in Mendoza since 1959. But the company wanted to do something different in Argentina, Scott said.

“They were looking for a winemaker oenologist to start a brand new initiative for still wine that was worth exporting,” Scott said. “At the time, Argentina was producing a lot of wine but exporting zero.”

So in 1991, Scott moved to Argentina with the goal of starting a world-class winery. Terrazas de los Andes (which officially opened in 1996) refurbished an old winery built in 1898. But Scott didn’t stop there.

Soon after he moved to Argentina, Scott saw something many other winemakers hadn’t noticed before – the potential of the area’s dry, high-altitude climate.

“I quickly realized we are in a desert,” Scott said. “It rains only six inches per year. Water is scarce.”

“What I discovered also as a newcomer is this plateau near the Andes,” Scott added. “When you get closer to the Andes, you have this amazing variation in elevation… The soils in the lower elevation area are heavier and they produce a lot of grapes, a lot of table wine that Argentinians used to drink a lot.”

But it was the higher elevation areas that intrigued Scott as a winemaker. Most winemakers at the time didn’t see what Scott envisioned. Many of the high-altitude vineyards that produce Terrazas de los Andes’ grapes weren’t even vineyards in 1991.

“I got lost in the mud, stuck in dusty roads looking for places to grow grapes at higher elevation where they had never been planted before,” Scott said.

What was it about the higher elevation vineyards that intrigued Scott so much?

“High elevation, cool climate, gravity soil,” Scott said. “All this soil we have here is erosion from the Andes through rivers that change their flows over time. The heavier sediments, the bigger rocks settle at higher elevation. When these rivers go down, you only have silt and clay at lower elevations.”

“The higher you go, the cooler the climate,” Scott added, noting that he believed the rockier, higher elevation soils were ideal for growing high-quality grapes.

“After five or six months, I was sure that we would have to start from scratch with our own vineyards in order to produce international quality wines from cold climates,” Scott added. “I arrived in August (which is wintertime in the southern hemisphere) and the harvest was in February 1992, I spent nearly five months looking at all the statistics of climates available from Mendoza and different elevations… I realized if I drove 40 miles south, down the slope, we had average temperatures similar to the south of Spain. The opposite way, we go to an elevation of 1,000 meter (3,000 feet) more to 5,800 feet where the temperature more or less is similar to northern France, to Champagne.”

A native of France’s Loire Valley, Scott felt right at home making wine in this type of cool climate.

However, Scott added that there are challenges to growing wine at higher elevations. For example, dry creek beds in high elevation vineyards can quickly become raging rivers in the spring. “You have to respect these dry creeks that can become very, very strong,” Scott said.

In addition, spring frost can be more severe at higher elevations. “Everything above 3,300 feet gets frost basically,” Scott said, adding that some years they have lost 80 percent of the grapes. However, he did add that one year, “the 20 percent left was beautiful.”

“We had so much to learn,” Scott added. “However, we can say that after 30 years, we can finally say we’re experts at high altitude viniculture. Frost, big rainstorms, the orientation of the rows, the water you need in very rocky soils – all of that has been a lot of learning.”

But while growing grapes at high elevation can be challenging, it’s worth the effort since the grapes grown there produce “amazing” wines, Scott said.

“Altitude brings you something very, very interesting, which is slow ripening,” Scott said. “Basically, you have three maturities for red wine. You have the aromatic maturity, from green pepper to red fruit and black fruit. You have (another) maturity, where you start to have more sugar and less acidity. And you have the tannins.”

“When you have a warm area… the sugar goes too high too fast,” Scott added. “You have a lot of sugar, a lot of alcoholic wines but you don’t get the time for the skin to ripen and you have very alcoholic (wines) and very harsh tannins.”

“But when you have a cold area, the vine synthesizes the sugars slower,” Scott said. “It keeps its natural acidity much more balanced…. and also keeps the aromatics quite fresh. The higher (the vineyards), the lower the alcohol, the higher the natural acidity, the fresher the fruit and the riper the tannins… It (the altitude) changes completely the profile of the wine.”

WINES RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK

2017 Terrazas de los Andes Grand Malbec ($47 Suggested Retail Price)

2017 Terrazas de los Andes Grand Cabernet Sauvignon ($45 SRP)

WINE TASTING NOTES

(Scott’s descriptions of the wines in Italics.)

2017 Terrazas de los Andes Grand Malbec

(“We decided to not be a single vineyard (wine). We used to be a single vineyard wine for the best expression of Terrazas de los Andes’ vineyards. As these vineyards from the Uco Valley really start to get mature, we realized we had to blend terroir to get the most complete expression of Malbec. This wine has a lot of soft tannins, a lot of silkiness, a lot of floral character, violets… Freshness is key to us. No oak. Nothing overcoming the fruit. Just elegance.”

Writer’s Tasting Notes – Dry, intense fruit flavors with a long, powerful yet subtle finish. Distinct, light raspberry fruit flavors add another layer of complexity. The second day after opening the bottle, the fruit flavors are even more intense yet subtle, with a flintier finish. Absolutely magnificent.

2017 Terrazas de los Andes Grand Cabernet Sauvignon

(“You will see with the Malbec and the Cabernet Sauvignon, these are two, high altitude areas that express the cold climate. And you can really see the difference with the type of grapes. It’s not overripe, it’s not excessive alcohol. When it’s overripe, everything is the same. You can’t tell the difference between a Malbec, a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Syrah. It just tastes like crystalized fruit. When it’s not overripe, you don’t overload with new wood. You keep that fruit forward expression. You can really see the difference in the type of grapes and the terroir, of soil expression… We could have huge wines, very tannic, but it’s nonsense. If you have a huge wine, you lose all the dimension, finesse and elegance that we want to maintain in our wines.”)

Writer’s Tasting Notes – Dry, well-balanced wine with a tight, intense finish. This wine definitely has a rockier, flintier, more mineral-like finish with hints of granite. There are also wonderful fruit flavors, especially hints of dried blackberry. The second day after opening the bottle, the wine tastes even flintier, rockier and earthier with beautiful sharp edged flavors balanced by a wonderful, vivid fruit notes. Truly impressive.

Cheers!

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CUMBERLAND — The Charis Winery was awarded gold for their table wine Gabriel at a recently held spirits competition in upstate New York.

Charis Winery, 16 Howard St., took first place in the 2021 Finger Lakes International Wine and Spirits Competition. Charis’ awarded-winning wine, which he named Gabriel after his grandson, was produced using grapes grown in Allegany County at the Black Bear Vineyard in Oldtown.

“I was surprised … elated to hear we won the gold,” said Chuck Park, Charis Winery owner and winemaker. “This is really special to me because the grapes were grown here in Oldtown. It starts at the vineyard and it was amazing to me to get such high quality grapes here in Allegany County.”

The grapes were grown at the Black Bear Vineyard on Bear Hill Road in Oldtown by owner Michael Hutton and his wife Barbara.

“I’m glad Chuck entered the competition because he deserved the honor he got,” said Michael Hutton. “This was his first time using our product and he did a wonderful job with those grapes.”

“People talk about how hard it is to grow good grapes in these mountains,” said Park. “But, yes you can and Michael has proved that. Mike and his wife Barbara do a superb job of caring for those grapes.”

The Finger Lakes Spirits Competition included entries from all 50 states and 23 different countries including large corporate wine producers.

The production process for making his award-winning wine, Park said, almost didn’t get off the ground if it wasn’t for surprise help from strangers. On the day Michael Hutton delivered the grapes in October, Park found himself without help to crush the ton and a quarter of grapes.

“When the grapes arrived, the people who had volunteered to come help were not able to be there and I was looking at having to do it myself,” said Park. “I was wondering what to do when these four guys came in who were on the bike trail traveling from Washington to Pittsburgh.

“They stopped in to do a tasting and they saw the grapes and were asking about it. They asked if they could volunteer to help. I said, ‘are you sure you want to do this?’ They said, yes and came in. They went at it and the grapes were crushed and put in the fermenter by four guys traveling on the trail.”

Chuck said wine is crushed these days by pushing the grapes into a crusher/destemmer machine.

“They love wine and had a desire to be a part of the process. I basically supervised and let them go and couple of hours later we were done,” said Park. “I meet some amazing people here. Some are off the trails and there are people and their families from all over and they meet in Cumberland.”

Park said one of the four people who helped crush the grapes came back through recently. “They picked up bottles of the wine they helped process and took some back for the rest of the guys,” Park said.

Park and Hutton got their start about the same time. Park began making wine at home as a hobbyist in 2007. Michael Hutton, retired from Boeing in Washington State, purchased two-acres and got his 3,000 vines in the ground in 2008. Hutton had his first harvest in 2011 while Park began making his wine professionally the following year in 2012.

“I had a lot of help from Earl and Louise Cooper and from Gus and Ros Gower which has been a huge help,” said Hutton.

Hutton’s Black Bear Vineyard, which grows pinot blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris, cabernet blanc, and dolcetto, is strictly a grower and does not produce wine commercially.

Hutton began by by making wine for Paul Roberts at Deep Creek Cellars in Garrett County.

“Chuck has wanted to buy our grapes ever since we started,” said Hutton. “But we had an agreement with Paul. Then the Pandemic hit him hard and he didn’t need all the grapes we grew. So I went down to talk to Chuck. He said he’d try the pinot blanc. He had some ideas for it. And he has made some of the best wine I’ve ever tasted out of our pinot blanc.”

Park also won silver for his coffee rum. The rum was produced using a blend of dark and medium roast bean purchased locally from Hayden Ort-Ulm of Basecamp Coffee.

In addition to selling retail at their location by the Canal Place shops, Charis Winery products are in nearly 30 stores and restaurant through the Western Maryland Distributing Co.

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Local wine industry leaders were recognized Friday night for their hard work and creativity when it comes to all things wine.

The wine industry awards took place at the California Mid-State Fair.

There were three winners in three different categories.

“Lucas Pope” of Coastal Vineyard services won Winegrape grower of the year.

“Jordan Fiorentini” from Epoch Estate Wines won Winemaker of the Year and “Lorraine Alban” from J&L Wines was recognized as Wine Industry Person of the Year.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all but it basically means that people were watching what I’ve been doing and accomplishing over the last 11 years without even knowing it,” Fiorentini said. “And all the things that I’ve come so naturally that I wanted to do because I love making wine and promoting Paso and I’m getting an award for it which is unbelievable.”

The honorees are evaluated on their leadership and accomplishments in California’s third-largest wine region, San Luis Obispo County.

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Pastor Brian K. Brown, St. Mark M.B. Church

Genesis 9:18-22

God has spared our lives in this pandemic that we may do something in service to him.  Remember that the one worthy of praise is God.  As we start to do things that we haven’t for over a year, we should be careful, cautious, and concerned because it’s not over just yet and we shouldn’t be careless.

As we look at the text, Pastor Brown pointed out that there was some carelessness on Noah’s and one of his son’s part that caused problems for all.  In chapter 8 and verse 20 one of the first things Noah did as the waters had receded and they emerged into normalcy again was Noah marked the moment with praise.  But here in chapter 9, we don’t see praise, instead Noah started working, growing crops, tending the beast, planting grapes, harvesting them, and creating wine from the grapes.  The first point offer is from this, Believer, Be Careful with Your Time.

It’s not for us to spend all our time in worship or working but have good time management, spending time worshipping God while we spend time working for God.  The question to ask is, how am I managing my time. Noah failed to commune and connect with God because he was so busy doing work for God that he forgot to worship him.  Most of the fatal mistakes we’ve made in our lives, we can source back to something that was awry when we decided to disconnect our time with God.  As the world opens up, be careful that we don’t spend less time with God and more time for ourselves.  We shouldn’t be such a great worshipper that we are of no earthly good, nor should be so consumed with the earth that God can’t use us.  We need to live balanced lives.

Point 2 comes from verse 21, Believer, Be Cautious with Your Talents.  Noah had a talent for growing grapes and from them he started making wine.  The question for us is are we drunk off our own success.  Noah was successful growing grapes and making wine but then he started drinking his success.  As we become successful, we should not become of no good to God.  What good is it to gain the whole world and lose our soul.  Our success is not because of the way we do things but what God does though us when we yield ourselves to his control.

The final point from verse 22 & 23, Believer, Be Considerate with Your Team.  What can you handle that might cause someone else to trip is the question we should ask.  Noah could handle his own nakedness, but his son could not.  This changed the dynamics between father and son.  We must be considerate of others.  Many times, we display things we can handle but others can’t.  If they saw, they might not be able to handle it like us.  There are things God knows that we will never know, and he is always considerate about the team and does not put us in a space for us to know some things that will trip us up.  Be considerate to others and let others see good by modeling good before them.

Live stream services are on YouTube @ St Mark MBC at 10:20 for Sunday School, worship service at 10:45 a.m. each Sunday and bible study on Wednesdays @ 7:00 p.m.

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PORTLAND, OR — Want for a family outing? See what’s new on your Portland Patch community calendar. Check out what’s happening and what might interest you before you make plans.

Have an event you would like to see it in the next roundup? You can add it to the calendar using this form. You can also spread the word in nearby communities by promoting your event. The cost is $1 per day per community.

Here are a few events happening this weekend in the Portland area:

OTCA Arts, History and Culture Committee

• When: Thursday, July 22nd at 4:00 p.m.
• Where: Hillside Neighborhood Association
• What: Event listing from Hillside Neighborhood AssociationContact for meeting access arthistoryculture@pdxoldtown.org  Contact: Phil Lundberg & Aisha Musa Email: arthistoryculture@pdxoldtown.org Learn More

School Board Meeting (Events) – Baker SD 5J

• When: Thursday, July 22nd at 6:00 p.m.
• Where: Baker SD 5J
• What: Event listing from Baker SD 5JThis will be in person at the Baker City Hall Chambers upstairs. Procedures and protocols TBA.Read more Learn More

Community for Positive Aging Summer Get Together

• When: Friday, July 23rd at 1:00 p.m.
• Where: Hollywood Senior Center
• What: Event listing from Hollywood Senior CenterCommunity for Positive Aging Summer Get Together The Community for Positive Aging, an organization borne of the absorption of The Giving Tree by the Hollywood Senior Center, and is happy to announce and in-person community event in Dawson … Learn More

Street Bazaar

• When: Friday, July 23rd at 5:00 p.m.
• Where: Nova parking lot at the Electric Blocks, 1615 SE 3rd Ave. at the corner of SE 2nd Avenue and SE Clay Street
• What: Street Bazaar brings Portland’s food, drink, art and music scenes together for a series of festive Friday nights in the Central Eastside. Come see some of the city’s rising chefs, artists and performers in an open-air outdoor experience. Dates: July 23 | August 27 | September … Learn More

Recycling Event at Century High School

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 8:00 a.m.
• Where: Lenox Elementary School
• What: Event listing from Lenox Elementary SchoolRecycling Event at Century High School Saturday, July 24, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in the North parking lot. List of materials being accepted here: https://bit.ly/3xVCk4M Learn More

Special School Board Work Study – Riverdale High School

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 8:00 a.m.
• Where: Riverdale High School
• What: Event listing from Riverdale High Schoolhttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/774952704394915085 Learn More

CWGC Meeting – Claremont Civic Association – Fireside Room

Love Notes: Flash Prose – Literary Arts

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 10:00 a.m.
• Where: Literary Arts
• What: Event listing from Literary ArtsIn this prompt-driven 2-day intensive participants will create a series of connected flash love stories. With the aid of experimental exercises exploring prose and poetry (epistolary, lists, photo captions, etc.) we will celebrate and write abou… Learn More

Summer Saturdays at Styring – Oregon Wine

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 11:00 a.m.
• Where: Oregon Wine
• What: Event listing from Oregon WineSummer Saturdays at Styring are back! Reserve your outdoor tasting flight, where you can enjoy selections from our award-winning portfolio of grape-to-table wines: Pinot Noir, Riesling, Petit Verdot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Sparkling and Dessert…. Learn More

Gourmet Burgers & Brew – Oregon Wine

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 12:00 p.m.
• Where: Oregon Wine
• What: Event listing from Oregon WineNoon – 4:00 PM or until they SELL OUT! We are pleased to offer Gloria’s gourmet burgers for purchase in our food tent. Each Saturday during the summer we will feature a different gourmet burger – perfectly paired with Reustle wines. Our burgers ar… Learn More

Rally for Medicare for All – Multnomah County Democrats

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 12:00 p.m.
• Where: Multnomah County Democrats
• What: Event listing from Multnomah County DemocratsDetails Calling all Medicare for All supporters! Show up for a big Medicare for All Rally. Family-friendly, permitted event with speakers, music,… More https://www.facebook.com/events/466621511263864 Learn More

Sparkling Wine Dinner – Oregon Wine

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 5:30 p.m.
• Where: Oregon Wine
• What: Event listing from Oregon WineSPARKLING WINE DINNERFeaturing Chef Scott Dolich and his crew from Stone Soup Saturday, July 24, 5:30pm$135 per person, $120 for members, includes your choice of a bottle of RMS Sparkling wine to take home. Chill out in the garden at ROCO for a Sp… Learn More

Drive-in Movie: The Princess Bride – North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District

• When: Saturday, July 24th at 8:30 p.m.
• Where: North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District
• What: Event listing from North Clackamas Parks & Recreation DistrictDetails Travel to faraway lands for adventure and fantastical creatures – all without leaving your car. Join NCPRD for a special drive-in screening… More https://www.facebook.com/events/1842817412565635 Learn More

Linfield Summer Wine Course: Winemaking

• When: Sunday, July 25th at 12:00 a.m.
• Where: Oregon Wine
• What: Event listing from Oregon WineLinfield Winemaking SeminarCome learn about making wine in the heart of Oregon wine country! Dates: July 25-August 6 (Online: July 25-August 2, Field Days: Aug 3-6) This seminar course is designed to introduce students to wine-making, starting wit… Learn More

Adult Take and Make Craft: Crayon Melt Rock Art

• When: Monday, July 26th at 12:00 a.m.
• Where: Cedar Mill Community Library
• What: Event listing from Cedar Mill Community Library Pick up a kit with everything you need to create beautiful colored stones with melted wax. Take and Make kits are available for adults at the Cedar Mill and Bethany libraries while supplies last. Look for another craft for adult… Learn More

There Was No Silence Film (available for streaming through July 28)

• When: Monday, July 26th at 12:00 a.m.
• Where: Mittleman Jewish Community Center
• What: Event listing from Mittleman Jewish Community CenterStreaming of  There Was No Silence  Film Leading up to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Virtual J in partnership with JCC Rockland will stream  There Was No Silence,  a documentary showing what is being done to bring light and … Learn More

Intro to Survival Skills *FULL* – Audubon Society of Portland

Art Outside *1 spot left* – Audubon Society of Portland

Owls! *FULL* – Audubon Society of Portland

District Board Meeting – Abernethy Elementary School

• When: Tuesday, July 27th at 6:00 p.m.
• Where: Abernethy Elementary School
• What: Event listing from Abernethy Elementary SchoolSee the Board of Education webpage and Board meeting materials. Learn More

See all the local events posted by your neighbors, or add your own, on the Portland Patch community calendar.

Editor’s note: This article was automatically generated based on event information mainly provided by community members. Patch has not independently verified most of this information, always check with organizers to confirm posted events are proceeding as planned. Click on any event in the list for more details. You can also reach out to content@patch.com with any questions or other feedback about this article.

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From left to right: Daniela Medrano, John Merrick. The founders of MEA Wine. Photo by Saab Sahi.

MEA Wine will be pouring at the Mid-State Fair

–MEA Wine is the joint creation of John Merrick and Daniela Medrano. They opened their tasting room doors at their Atascadero winery and tasting room building on May 1.

The couple met around five years ago and have worked together to build MEA Wine by using a combination of Merrick’s winemaking expertise and Medrano’s extensive business experience. Merrick originally worked in building and architecture down in Southern California for 15 years, whereas Medrano originally worked in a variety of businesses that ranged from banking to her mother’s restaurant.

Both of them fell in love with wine before meeting each other through travels they took when younger to places like Napa Valley and various countries in Europe, like France.

Merrick first purchased his ranch property in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles, but only intended for it to be a vacation home until plans changed in 2011 when he decided to plant a small vineyard on the property.

He planted six different grapes on a one-acre vineyard but soon grafted it down to four of his favorite wine grape varieties. Those varieties are Syrah, Tempranillo, Albarino and Vermentino for a total of two reds and two whites.

MEA also procures other fruit for wine from vineyards close to its ranch to keep the flavor profile of their wines similar while allowing for a bigger variety of wine to be made.

Merrick started making wine at home in 2014 after the grapes yielded fruit, then the couple first bottled wines in 2017 and 2018.

“We’re all a bunch of artists looking to portray ourselves in our craft,” said Merrick about winemaking.

MEA started by renting space in Paso Robles for production but had no location to sell the wine that they made, so a few years of wine backed up in storage.

The two considered building a winery and tasting room on the vineyard ranch yet decided against it as the property was off of a private road and the costs would be too high to develop on agricultural land. Instead, they looked at different opportunities ranging from those in Paso Robles to Santa Margarita and that’s when they discovered their current location at 4405 Traffic Way in Atascadero only around a five-minute drive from their house.

The location already had a partition inside that perfectly fit having a small tasting room on one side and a compact winery space on the other, so they had very little work to do to convert the place.

Merrick built a bar for the inside tasting room and some picnic tables for the outside area, they painted the tasting room and changed out the lights.

MEA Wine Tasting Room. Photo by Saab Sahi.

On the winery side they added refrigeration, insulation, water filtration and moved in all of their equipment and wine.

The winery side of MEA Wine. Photo by Saab Sahi.

There are still plans in the work for future changes like landscaping to reduce the sound of traffic, adding a fountain, installing a music system and getting packaged food from places like Alle-Pia Fine Cured Meats to ensure that their tasting room is an inviting family and dog-friendly destination where people can relax and enjoy themselves while learning the couple’s story.

MEA is excited to be a part of Atascadero’s local community and has joined the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce. They’ve already participated in the chamber’s mixer event and are part of the Wine Passport event.

“We’re at the ground floor of this becoming a cool and hip town,” said Merrick.

MEA will be pouring its two gold medal wines, 2019 Vermentino and 2017 Merlot, at the Mid-State Fair this Friday.

To schedule a reservation at the tasting room, reach out to MEA Wine through its contact page.

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As a young girl in Brooklyn, New York, alumna Dwana Smallwood knew she was a dancer,
but she never dreamed she would become a business owner. “The language I speak is
dance,” says the dancer, choreographer and educator who founded Dwana Smallwood Performing
Arts Center in the neighborhood where she grew up. The word “entrepreneur” didn’t
register, even as she designed and sewed T- shirts, created custom dolls, and braided
hair to pay for dance classes.

T. Oliver “Tim” Reid (B.M. Music ’93) was practically born performing in Gastonia, North Carolina. While at UNCSA,
he had enough savvy to supplement his classical voice degree with dance and acting classes to create his own customized training program for musical
theater. “It’s part of my DNA,” he says. “I have to be creative, and I have to be
a strong leader.”

Louis Jeroslow (B.F.A. Design & Production ’95) arrived at UNCSA with a wide range of interests developed through arts magnet
schooling in Miami, Florida. While Design and Production focused his future, his insatiable
desire for knowledge set the stage for an extraordinarily varied career, from Blue
Man Group to winemaking.

Since discovering theater in a sixth-grade writing assignment, Sean Murray (B.F.A.
Drama ’89) nurtured a goal of becoming an actor. After earning his degree, he spent the
next 14 years collecting accolades as an actor, director and producer. Determined
to take ownership of his career trajectory, Murray and his husband, Bill Schmidt,
formed the award-winning Cygnet Theatre in San Diego, California, near where Murray
grew up.

While their experiences are unique, these four alumni share characteristics that are
common among successful entrepreneurs, according to Iris Cole, who teaches a course
for the new academic minor in entrepreneurship that is offered by the Division of Liberal Arts. These characteristics include vision; creativity; people, team and partnership building;
resiliency; and a growth mindset, she says. And the alumni agree that those traits
— if not born at UNCSA — were definitely nurtured in the conservatory environment.
 

After studying in the contemporary dance program at UNCSA, Smallwood became a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
for 12 years. During that time, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” after which
she was asked by Oprah herself to become the architect of the dance program at the
Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. She spent four years there.
While in South Africa, Smallwood had an “aha” moment that led to the next phase in
her career. “That was where I came closer to finding my purpose,” she said. Smallwood
felt called to give back to the neighborhood she had grown up in by opening her own
dance school. “Brooklyn had given so much to me. And I wanted not just to give back
but to say thank you. I’m not sure where I would be if that neighborhood had not supported
my dreams.”  

Dwana Smallwood helped to develop the dance program for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership
Academy for Girls in South Africa.

In 2013, after returning from the Winfrey Academy, Smallwood followed her vision by
establishing a nonprofit organization and then searching for a facility in Brooklyn.
After one look at a 4,000-square-foot loft with soaring ceilings, skylights and huge
windows, she knew she had found her creative home. “I knew this had to be an arts
space,” she says of the former stone-and-granite business. “I knew I could build a
space here where kids could feel safe, be free from bullying and relax in the lobby.”

Smallwood recalls helping organize an international tour for the School of Dance while
at UNCSA. Advanced dancers learned how to assemble dance floors and to set up lights,
and then traveled to Europe, taking classes and performing alongside their peers in
Germany, England and Scotland. “I was gathering all the things needed, pulling all
the details together. You have to be prepared for anything and be ready to change
on a dime,” she says. “I went so many places I never thought I would go, and met so
many people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”  

She says that was good training for starting a business. “Nothing is ever what it
seems. So you adjust, you adapt.” 

Reid started flexing his entrepreneurial muscles while a student, connecting with peers
and campus leaders to organize, finance and produce an all-student production of “Little
Shop of Horrors.”  

Since graduating, Reid has spent 20 years on Broadway, most recently in the Tony Award-winning
“Hadestown” and “Once on This Island.” He also created and produced his own cabaret show, “Drop Me Off In Harlem.” Now he
is flexing those same entrepreneurial muscles as a founder of Black Theatre Coalition,
aimed at removing the “illusion of inclusion” in American theater. The coalition works
to reshape the ecosystem for Black theater professionals who have been marginalized
by systemically racist and biased ideology.

T. Oliver “Tim” Reid performs at an opening night gala for the New York Cabaret Convention.

Reid says he never thought of the performing arts as anything but entrepreneurial.
“It requires all the skills you have as a performer — music, dancing, acting — plus
people skills and communications, being able to fundraise and express your ideas to
get attention,” he says. “UNCSA is great for that because there are so many people
with different skills and knowledge, some of the brightest minds.”  

While Jeroslow focused on Design and Production’s lighting program, he took extra
classes in welding, technical direction, set construction and drawing. “I took every
class they would let me into,” he says. “I wanted to absorb everything I could fill
my head with.” His driven pursuit of knowledge fueled a career that has encompassed
— often simultaneously — touring with rock bands; building and managing show components
for Blue Man Group; flipping houses; teaching helicopter pilots; and making wine as
a partner at Elkin Creek Vineyard, creators of award-winning European-style wines in North Carolina’s Piedmont region.
 

Louis Jeroslow is co-owner of Elkin Creek Vineyard.

Jeroslow says UNCSA was instrumental in teaching him problem-solving and collaboration,
two critical skill sets of an entrepreneur. “You have to leave your ego at the door
in a collaborative environment,” he says. “Everyone is bringing ideas to the table,
and the point is to find the best outcome for the project.”

At UNCSA, Murray learned to be versatile. “We weren’t taught just one way of working.
We were given a lot of different options,” he says. “I left with a lot of threads
I then wove together to find my own way.” As an actor in training, he was required
to learn about costume design, set construction, lighting and other crafts. “I loved
it,” he said. “Not everyone did. I couldn’t get enough, and now, 20 years later, I
tap into those skills every day.”  

Sean Murray stars in “On the 20th Century” at Cygnet Theatre.

He also learned to take risks, which helped him take the leap to found Cygnet Theatre. “It was terrifying. We had no idea what it would take, but we took a deep breath
and we went for it,” he says. Cygnet has grown from a startup theater organization
in a strip mall storefront with an annual budget of $20,000 to an organization with
a 246-seat theater in the arts district and a budget of $3 million. “When you produce
something yourself, you are responsible for its success,” he says. “You can’t blame
someone else if it doesn’t succeed, but you don’t have to wait for someone else to
approve what you are doing or making.”  

Like artists and entrepreneurs across the globe, these alumni faced a big problem
in 2020: how to keep their dreams alive during a pandemic that caused so many organizations
to cancel, suspend or severely curtail operations for more than a year. Conservatory-instilled
resilience helped them pivot and power through.  

With performance opportunities limited and his passion fueled by the death of George
Floyd, Reid focused on his Black Theatre Coalition (BTC), determined that when Broadway
reopens, there will be opportunities for all. “There were no Black general managers
working on Broadway when 
it shut down,” he says, adding, “Less than one percent of Black artists working in
theater will make it to Broadway.”  

Through its apprentices, fellowships and workshops, BTC advocates for inclusive hiring
practices on Broadway and throughout professional theater and is working to make sure
that artists of color are ready when opportunity knocks. Reid’s five-year plan calls
for a 500% increase in Black performers working at the top level of their fields.  

Across the country, Murray has used the past year to indulge one of his passions:
supporting the work of new playwrights, particularly writers from underrepresented
populations. Cygnet has offered online readings of new plays by Black and Asian writers.
“We weren’t going to do something just to be doing something,” he says. “We were only
going to do something that was meaningful to us and supported our vision.”

Passion was also the lifeline for Smallwood’s organization. “I watched institutions
and businesses devastated,” Smallwood says. “I was fearful, but I could not embrace
that as my fate.” With classes moved online and her dream “surviving, but on life
support,” she turned again to the neighborhood that had always supported her. Parents
and donors came through, and she was able to eventually open her doors for hybrid
instruction, retaining her staff of 14. She has spent the year writing grant proposals
at the rate of two per week, creating videos to market her programs, and planning
for the next emergency.  

UNCSA gave me the tools I’ve needed to meet any challenge. That’s been the case all
along, and it’s true now.

Louis Jeroslow

A sigh of relief — both hesitant and triumphant — is in her voice as she asks, “Did
I just make it through that?”  There is no hesitation for Jeroslow in describing how
he and his many ventures have survived. “UNCSA gave me the tools I’ve needed to meet
any challenge,” he says. “That’s been the case all along, and it’s true now.”

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Certain wine regions and particular types of grapes often get unfairly overlooked.

That’s why I made a point recently of writing about several, outstanding Pinotage red wines from South Africa.

This week, I wanted to highlight another outstanding type of wine from this country on the southern tip of Africa that’s ideal for sultry, summer afternoons and evenings – Chenin Blanc.

France’s Loire Valley might be better known for making wines with this versatile white wine grape.

But no matter where Chenin Blanc’s grown, these delicious, dry white wines often get overshadowed by Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs from around the world.

What a shame.

They’re subtle, understated, refreshing and – best of all – many of them cost less than $15 a bottle.

Below, you can learn more about five South African Chenin Blanc wines, including one that’s a blend of mostly Chenin Blanc and several other grapes. The other four wines are 100 percent Chenin Blanc and absolutely delicious. Hope you enjoy.

WINES RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK

2019 Raats Original Unwooded Chenin Blanc ($12.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield)

2020 Terre Brulee Tania + Vincent Careme ‘Le Blanc’ Chenin Blanc ($15.99 Suggested Retail Price)

2020 Painted Wolf The Den Chenin Blanc ($13 SRP)

2019 Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc ($9.99 at Table & Vine)

2019 The Curator White Blend ($9.99 at Table & Vine)

MORE ABOUT CHENIN BLANC

People have been making white wine using Chenin Blanc grapes in France’s Loire Valley region since at least the late 1400s, according to the outstand wine reference book, “Wine Grapes” by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz. However, winemakers in the Loire Valley may have been making wine using Chenin Blanc grapes as early as 845 AD.

POPULAR CHENIN BLANC WINE REGIONS

No discussion about Chenin Blanc wines could be complete without discussing France’s Loire Valley. This part of western France has long been on the heartland for Chenin Blanc wines. But Chenin Blanc vines have likely been growing in South Africa since the 1600s. It wasn’t until the 1960s that researchers realized the grape known as “Steen” in South Africa was actually Chenin Blanc, which is now the most widely grown grape in the country. Other places where you can find wines made with Chenin Blanc grapes include California, Australia and Argentina.

THIS WEEK’S WINE TASTING NOTES

2019 Raats Original Unwooded Chenin Blanc

Region – Stellenbosch, South Africa

Tasting Notes – This wine vividly illustrates everything that’s great about Chenin Blanc wines from South Africa. Its flavors range from soft, light, bright fruit notes to hints of pear and green apple to tart, mineral-like hints of sea salt. The same is true the second day after the wine has been opened. Its flavors and aromas are a wonderful blend of tart, fresh-picked apples with a crisp, mineral-like finish. Absolutely outstanding.

2020 Terre Brulee Tania + Vincent Careme ‘Le Blanc’ Chenin Blanc

Region – Swartland, South Africa

Tasting Notes – This intense, dry white wine has a nutty, pear-like finish with hints of soft apple and butter. A well-rounded wine with a soft, complex finish, the pear flavors are even more pronounced the second day, along with floral aromas, sea salt flavors and a soft, smooth light finish. Fascinating wine with a fantastic finish.

2020 Painted Wolf The Den Chenin Blanc

Region – Swartland, South Africa

Tasting Notes – New Englanders will recognize the Concord grape-like flavors in this wine, which also has hints of green apple, fresh picked pears and toasted almonds. The second day, the pear flavors soften a bit, along with the green apple aromas. The finish is also longer and softer while also managing to be crisper and even more subtle.

2019 Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc

Region – Stellenbosch, South Africa

Tasting Notes – This vibrant, lively wine has a bright, refreshing, citrus-like finish with hints of grapefruit, pear and other fresh fruits. Like a blend between a Pinot Grigio and a Sauvignon Blanc, this vivacious wines tastes like summer in a glass. An easy going wine ideal for warm, relaxing summer afternoons.

2019 The Curator White Blend

Grapes – 74 percent Chenin Blanc, 13 percent Semillon, 8 percent Chardonnay and 5 percent Viogner.

Region – Swartland, South Africa

Tasting Notes – One of the best wines under $10 a bottle that I have tasted this year, this complex white wine perfectly illustrates what a skilled winemaker can do with four different grapes. The first flavors that jump out are its nutty, almond-like finish. That’s quickly followed by fresh cut grass-like aromas and flavors, along with hints of pomegranate, grapefruit and other, subtle, citrus-like flavors. Flinty yet vibrant, it’s the perfect blend of understated and refreshing.

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s weekend section every Thursday.

(Older “Wine Press” articles can be found here.)

Follow Ken Ross on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

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July 18: After a successful 3-part series of Top Ten Winemakers in India that was commended, delWine brings out a List of Top Ten Women winemakers in a 2-part series and includes Rupali Bhatnagar, (Sula Vineyards), Saritha Mishra (Grover Vineyards), Priyanka Save (Fruzzante), Vrushali Gorade (KLC Wines) and Yoginee Budhkar (Cerana Meads) in Part-1, compiled by Subhash Arora who encourages women to enter the industry to promote gender equality and wine culture in India; names are not ranked as before

Globally, women winemakers have had a chequered history in terms of presence and acceptance (with exceptional entrepreneurs likeBarbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the famous Clicquot widow who brought name and fame to Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin). We have winemakers like Gina Gallo who reigns supreme because of inheritance from her late billionaire grandfather Julio Gallo who guided her to become a winemaker. There are several impressive names like Vanya Cullen in Australia who is a world-renowned winemaker-entrepreneur.

But when it comes to the overall wine world, women were not taken seriously as winemakers in the previous century. This has changed significantly during the last 3-4 decades and women have shown their grit and passion to be accepted and become well-known winemakers in their countries.

In India where the industry is still nascent, women slowly started making inroads during the last 10 years. Most of them insist they are not discriminated against, are well-educated, well- travelled and even have a few overseas vintages under their belt. Some started in the backroom as lab assistants or assistant winemakers but with their determined approach, the serious ones are climbing fast. Many already own small wineries while others have their eyes open, looking for opportunities to become entrepreneurs or take over the role as Chief Winemaker.

Also Read : Wine Feature: Top Ten Winemakers of India under 40 (Part-3)

Fruit wines included  

Since the fruit wine industry is almost as new / old as the (grape) wine industry, some women have turned to these wineries where the opportunities of working with new commercial projects with different fruits are endless.

Many women have now started venturing out as winemakers and are dirtying their hands.  So, here it is- the first list of 5 women winemakers in this part, the balance 5 will be included in Part-2:

Rupali Bhatnagar Raghorte (Sula Vineyards)

Although we have stayed away from ranking the winemakers this year, Rupali is clearly on the Top of the Chart. She was the only woman winemaker selected in the list of Top Ten Winemakers in India published earlier.

Rupali Bhatnagar is the Associate Vice President and Senior winemaker – sparkling and white wines at Sula Vineyards. A microbiologist by qualification with no formal degree in winemaking or internships abroad, Rupali’s journey has been phenomenal. She has proven that one can rise to the ranks of a good winemaker even without a formal training in enology- only through sheer hard work, grit and setting goals. She joined Sula Vineyards in 2006 as a lab technician and progressed within the organisation by changing roles over the years.

She has held diverse roles in winemaking under the guidance of Ajoy Shaw DipWSET. During her 15 harvests at Sula, she managed every aspect of winemaking, bottling, grape selection, winemaking strategy, etc.  Initially, she was responsible only for the sparkling wine programme but eventually, the entire white winemaking was under her. She has handled different varietals- red or white, and crafted diverse wines like Sula Brut, Brut Tropicale, Chardonnay and Sparkling shiraz. Rupali has also been actively involved in the winemaking for Viognier and Riesling. She also led the switch from the Traditional to Charmat method for Il Tropicale sparkling wines a couple of years ago.  

She does not believe in making parametrically correct wines but aims at making delicious, palatable wines with the perfect balance of flavours. Winemaking for her is a skill that takes a lot of practice to convert a good fruit into a great wine.

An experimental and inquisitive winemaker, she loves trying out new techniques, winemaking styles, varietals, and even yeasts, etc. Rupali has travelled the world and explored many wine styles and regions. She enjoys learning tips and tricks from Master winemaker – Kerry Damskey and has created her own style over the years.

Coincidentally, Rupali also won the Recognition as one of the ‘Top Ten Women of Wine in India (WOW)’ in its 4th edition held concurrently with the delWine Excellence Awards in 2019. 

Saritha Kumari Mishra – Grover Vineyards (GZVL)

Born in and raised in the ancient city of Banaras and brought up in Bangalore, Saritha Mishra is the Bangalore-based Winemaker of Grover Zampa Vineyards.  She completed her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Bangalore University in 2011. She had undertaken a special project on fermentation technology which landed her the job with Grover Zampa.

Her hard work in the early days at Grover was recognized by former winemaker Karishma Grover (granddaughter of the founder Late Kanwal Grover and daughter of former Chairman, Kapil Grover, who has gone to her Alma Mater UC Davies for further studies). Saritha worked with Karishma for several years to learn the art of winemaking.

‘My passion, skills and eagerness at work impressed the French wine consultant Mr Mathias Pellissard. During my time at Grover my dedication and work ethics were noticed by the management and helped me achieve a position as an oenologist today,’ she says proudly.

Having a rich experience of 11 vintages and exposure she received over the years, Saritha is now handling the cellar with over 1.5 million litres of wine at the Bangalore winery with a stellar cellar team. She independently crafted the mulled wine, which was a great hit during the pandemic. 

Her expertise in using the advanced technology like Foudres, Concrete tanks, Clay tanks and HD Optical sorting machine, has further enhanced her capabilities and skills in handling grapes and wine in the best possible manner to craft the bottles of liquid gold with the team.

Also Read : Wine Feature: Top Ten Winemakers of India under 40 (Part-2)

Her interest and hands-on experience in pruning and harvesting grapes makes her a jack of viticulture too. 

Priyanka Save (Fruzzante)

The co-owner of Fruzzante, Priyanka Save is a small town girl from Bordi, who did schooling there but graduated in Mechanical Engineering from D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Pune. She finished her Masters in Mechanical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, USA and came back to her roots where she grew up and where her father runs a successful Hill Zill Resort. With a Certificate from Wines and Spirits Trust (WSET), she decided to become an entrepreneur where she looks after a big part of winemaking.

She noticed that 40% of the chikoo fruit her family cultivated for generations would go waste as it was oxidised and rot due to the marketing and infrastructure constraints.   She decided to use this 40% production and save it from wastage so the farmers could improve their earnings.

She started doing R&D to find the best alternative use of the fruit; making Chikoo wine emerged from her idea which was interesting but challenging to make a commercially viable project. She contacted Dominic Rivard in Canada, who had been the only fruit wine expert who had even written a book on fruit wines. With his help the first-of-its-kind homegrown range of 100% sparkling fruit alcoholic beverage Fruzzante was born, with the seed capital coming from her father who had also been a farmer earlier.

Making wine from chikoo with a perfect taste took a lot of time and was overwhelming. The process and tasting sessions became exhausting. This struggle taught her to be patient.  Once the product was in hand, she had to get it approved as a classified wine and the necessary excise exemption that took another year.

Today, Fruzzante is available in all the major cities in Maharashtra including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Goa as well. She aims to launch the complete range that now includes Mango, Pineapple, starfruit and excellent mead (Honey wine) in West Bengal, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana and Delhi. She credits a lot of her success to her husband Nagesh Pai who is also a mechanical engineer from the same college.

Her Mantra for success for the young women winemakers- Follow your dreams and don’t be intimidated by fear of failure. 

Vrushali Gorade (KLC Wines)

Vrushali Gorade’s wine journey started with Sula Vineyards as a Harvest intern (Vintage 2011) which formed part of her PG Diploma in Microbial Biotechnology at R.Y.K. College, Nasik, Pune University. During the tenure, she learnt different aspects of winemaking beginning with Vineyard sampling followed by wine analysis. It was, however, the internal tastings with Sula’s Winemaking team that allowed her to taste and differentiate between the various Red and White grape varieties. It also helped her understand how slight variations in the soil type/climate/winemaking process resulted in a wide range of flavours from the same grape varietal.

She later joined Renaissance Winery for a short stint as a lab chemist and a few months later, when she got a call from Sula for the post of Lab Chemist in July 2012. She ended up as Assistant Winemaker-White Wines and finally Cellar Master; possibly Sula’s first female cellar master (for 4 months) in 2017, she claims.

Vrushali experienced five harvests at Sula where she learned making different styles of wines and handled varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Viognier under the guidance of Neil Fernandes. Sula-sponsored WSET level-1 and 2 courses were also valuable additions to her knowledge.

After spending five years in the industry, she felt she needed a break and after saying GoodBye after the 2017 harvest and moved to Stuttgart, Germany with her family. She explored various wine regions and worked in areas like Neustadt-Duttweiler in Palatinate where she did a harvest in Weingut Geissler in 2018. She handled varieties like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Riesling. She also worked in Korb (Öko-Weingut Schmalzried) for a short period of time where she helped them in the pruning of vineyards.

Eager to learn more about New World wine styles, she did a harvest in Napa Valley, California in 2019 with Faust (Huneeus Vintners) where she worked with the winemaker David Jelinek who appreciated her tasting skills.

In December 2019, she was hired by Grover Zampa Vineyards as Assistant Winemaker. She was always curious about Grover’s style of winemaking since she had already worked with Sula. She got to learn about different winemaking styles and handle new varieties like Tempranillo, Grenache, etc. It was a good learning experience working with their consultant winemaker Matthias Pellissard and Winemaker Abhijit Shendage.

Vrushali has been working with the new kid on the block, KLC Wines since November 2020 as a Winemaker. She handles operations independently here. She gets to choose vineyards, experiment with yeasts and different winemaking styles and a lot more under the guidance of their Consultant Winemaker Ajoy Shaw.

Yoginee Budhkar (Cerana Meads)

Always interested in honeybees, an environmentalist with a keen interest in fermentation using local ingredients, Dr. Yoginee Budhkar knew that mead (honey wine) making was a marriage of all her passions. When she found out that mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey, the intrigue grew. Introduced to this beverage during her doctorate in Food Engineering and Technology Department at Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, she went on to find out that India had a rich history of alcoholic beverages and mead had an important place in social and celebratory drinking in ancient times. Our Vedas and Mahakavyas mention mead and so do Charaka Samhita and Ayurveda.

Yoginee’s drive to learn more about meads led her to study varietal honeys in India. She learnt commercial beekeeping herself and studied advanced mead making at UC Davis, California. Her passion and knowledge contributed to her partner Dr. Ashwini Deore’s natural flair for mixing various flavours and that is how Cerana meads was born.

Also Read : Wine Feature: Top Ten Winemakers of India under 40 (Part-1)

Yoginee claims she has been instrumental in the policy amendment that introduced mead as a recognised alcoholic beverage in Maharashtra state excise, which was the first in India to include mead in its repertoire of alcoholic beverages. Her efforts have led to a start of this industry not only in Maharashtra, but the entire country, she claims.

Yoginee finished her graduation in Botany-Biotechnology and her post-graduation in Zoology. She was a CSIR fellow during her doctorate in Biotechnology. Right out of her doctoral work, she started building Cerana meads with her partner. Her insights and technical know-how have led to bringing flawless, all natural, craft meads to the Indian market.

Subhash Arora

 

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TOWN OF DELAFIELD — Scott Cepolski and his wife bought their wooded, rolling lot off Silvernail Road seven years ago with an eye toward being outdoors and doing what they love best, which is growing things. With an already established love of wine, the couple started planting the first of their grapevines, hoping to someday create wine they could appreciate themselves and perhaps one day share with others. By the middle of 2019, Cepolski, who spent 20 years helping to improve the operations of multinational companies, had left the corporate world to focus on creating a boutique vineyard and winery at the five-acre property. Today Bela Vista Vineyard — “Bela” is spelled with one “l” as an homage to Cepolski’s wife’s Brazilian heritage — has about 465 vines in various stages of growth, with plans to add another 225.

 

Vine focused

A recent visit to the property found the grapevines wound about their trellises, soaking in the July sunlight, and the FeNori wine cellar already under construction.

Standing amid bunches of Maréchal Foch grapes, Cepolski said his focus is on creating truly unique wines produced entirely from coldweather grapes he grows himself.

“If I want to be a great cook, I just don’t want to buy my groceries from anyone. If I can grow them, it is going to help me be that much better. Not to mention, when I give someone that plate of food, I am going to be able to tell them, from the beginning, what went into that dish,” Cepolski said.

“To me that’s what wine is really about. It is not just how it tastes. It’s ‘what is the story behind it?’ That is my personal goal here. It’s not, how can I retire making the most wine? Or have people saying, ‘Scott’s got the best wine.’ It’s ‘OK, what’s unique about it?’”

 

Cold-weather revolution

While there are plenty of wineries that produce wine from cold-weather grapes, Cepolski says many of them combine the juice from those grapes with those from grapes they buy. He wants to be a leader in making wine solely from cold-weather grapes. Right now, he has the Maréchal vines, which can withstand below-freezing weather, as well as some of extremely cold-weatherhardy La Crescent grapes, which can survive temperatures of 36 degrees below zero.

Eventually he hopes to grow other varieties, like Frontenac grapes, which can also handle frigid weather.

Unlike European varieties, which have been grown for centuries, most cold-weather grapes were only developed around 30 years ago by universities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York State. Being on the frontier of working with the grapes is something that excites Cepolski.

“I probably won’t be alive when cold-weather grapes really start to get big, but the opportunity to be at the beginning of that growth is awesome,” he said.

In addition to the five acres here in Waukesha County, Cepolski has land in Sawyer County, where he hopes to someday grow around 9,000 vines of the coldest-weather-hardy grapes, and even someday make ice wine, where grapes must freeze on the vine before being harvested.

 

Growing experience

Although Cepolski could end up making wine from his four-year-old Maréchal Foch grapes this year, whether he’ll be in a place to sell any of that wine will depend on whether he likes the wine himself and wants to share it, and if he has all the necessary approvals.

In the meantime he’s focused on making sure his youngest vines grow up to be just as healthy as the Maréchal vines. Doing that requires a lot of picking and pruning to ensure that the roots grow deep into the soil and produce plenty of cordons, which are the woody parts of a grapevine that produce the grapes.

“You want to have more of those little buds that can survive in case there is a frost. It’s your new growth that produces the grapes,” he said, inspecting the La Crescent vines.

He’ll also be spending plenty of time honing his craft, both in viticulture (vine growing) and oenology (winemaking).

“It’s like carpentry. I grew up doing it, because my dad did. How to hit a hammer with a nail is one thing, but then you start learning all of these nuances of how to be a carpenter. It’s the same thing with viticulture. It’s all about the experience,” he said.

“I took classes to get that basic knowledge. Now, it’s all about making mistakes and getting things right. From a viticulture standpoint I think I am about 90 percent there, but that’s as far as I am going to get, because I am always going to be learning.”

Although Cepolski is mainly focused on growing vines that will produce the best possible grapes, he recently received approval from the town Plan Commission to run what Cepolski has dubbed FeNori Winery out of the couple’s soon-to-be-expanded home. The name is a combination of his father’s and mother’s first names: Felix and Norine.

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