What is our DNA?
Bud break is officially here. The promise of a new vintage lies ahead. As we see the 10 acres come to life, I can't help but think of the past five years that led up to today.
In 2021 I had the vision of expanding the vineyard from 3 acres to 10. Having a good soil/vine relationship is key to growing fine wine. So, I decided to consult with a geologist to help me choose which varieties to plant, and where to plant them. We have three distinct soils types at Catoctin, plus various aspects, and slopes. What to do?
While I happen to absolutely love Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, that's not the reason why I decided for the hillside to be planted with mostly those varieties. Our rocky shale soils are shallow and situated on a steep grade. The slope and rock content help evacuate water - this helps tremendously with ripening. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are also later ripening varieties with thicker skins - good choices given our changing climate and hurricane threats. In Maryland, all of these factors are needed to help bring these two noble grape varieties to the finish line with regards to ripening.
While I love the exotic varieties like Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir...I'm afraid that they wouldn't work well on our site. Their skins are too thin and fragile to hang through towards the second half of September, which is when I prefer to harvest. We learned this lesson with Syrah - it made gorgeous wines in a perfect vintage, but in an average year, the skins would start degrading in late August. Not ideal. So, I pulled it out in 2023. When planning a vineyard, you can't bank on a blockbuster vintage every year. You plant with average vintages in mind.
According to one of world’s top viticulturists and terroir specialists, Kees Van Leeuwen, the ideal ripening window is sometime between September 10 - October 10. But, that's only if your goal is to grow wines that maximize terroir expression. For the time being, we sit in this window with everything we have planted, except for Chardonnay. This generally picked around September 1. Still makes a nice wine, but could something else do better?
During these last five years, we've made headway in discovering what might work best on our site. Despite the challenges that are typical with farming, I think we're headed in the right direction. The vineyard and the resulting wines have become a metaphorical tapestry woven by the inspiration and knowledge that I’ve acquired from mentors, internships, consultants, and programs in Bordeaux. But most importantly, it represents every soul who’s ever helped farm this small pile of shale in Thurmont, Maryland. This is is our DNA.
The learning and pivoting never stops - we continue and evolve with every vintage. Sometimes we make big changes, other times we make small ones. One thing remains constant though - the desire to grow better wine every year. We don't know all the answers, but trying to find them within the confines of our terroir driven philosophy is what makes this game very fun and stimulating. We hope that the resulting wines bring that much more soulfulness and joy.
Adam
