Lab Upgrade 🔬

Wine is made in the vineyard…and the lab. Modern winemaking has come a long way from the days of grape-stomping, and that’s a good thing for sanitation standards as well as wine quality.

We found ourselves spending more and more time analyzing wine samples with our traditional equipment, and while these tools work well, there are more efficient options available. With that in mind, we recently decided to invest in a high tech instrument that could do it all, and quickly!

This little blue machine is called an OenoFoss, it’s made by a company called Foss Analytics out of Denmark. Foss supplies the world’s leading labs with specialty testing equipment for wine, beer, milk, and more. The machine uses infrared spectroscopy (fancy) to analyze wine samples for parameters like sugar, acid, alcohol, nitrogen, etc.

There is certainly lots to learn with this new piece of equipment, and we’re looking forward to using it to analyze our grapes in this upcoming harvest. At the end of the day, it’s all about making the best wine possible 🍷!

Strong Shoots

Some of our vines have rebounded from the late April frosts. In particular, our hybrid varietals such as Chambourcin and Seyval seem to be growing plenty of baby grapes. The wine made from these hybrids may not be as well known as Chardonnay or Merlot, but it is certainly more reliable for us here in North Carolina!

Many of our mature vinifera vines don’t have much fruit, but they do have plenty of green regrowth. This is good news, as the freezing temperatures don’t seem to have damaged the internal vascular systems of the vines. We’ll give these vines the year off from their grape producing duties, so hopefully this will allow them to put more of their energy into their root systems for continued long-term health.

Another interesting effect of the frost is that our harvest will likely be pushed later on into the Fall. Typically we begin harvesting white grapes in late August, but this year we’re not expecting harvest to begin until September. That will mean more comfortable temperatures for our harvest crew but more grapes hanging through the heart of hurricane season! Farming is always an adventure.

‘20 Seyval Blanc

We’ve recently released a new vintage of Seyval Blanc at Shadow Springs. This off-dry wine (slightly sweetened with its own juice) is always one of our most popular whites.

The new 2020 vintage evokes juicy peach flavors and soft citrus notes. Seyval has a wonderful summer feel and is the perfect companion for a picnic with your closest friends.

Check out our virtual tasting here

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