Freelance writers, guidebook authors, kayak guides…We can now add another skill to our resumes: wine bottlers!
Along with some other paddlers, we got to help Holly Grove Vineyards, a new Eastern Shore winery, bottle the final batch of 2008 Sunset Rose.
I envisioned pouring wine through funnels and applying labels by hand. Oh no! Owner Jonathan Bess has a shiny new bottling assembly line that fills the bottles, corks them, affixes the foil cap and the labels. All we had to do was load the bottles and box them at the end.
Oh, and quality control tastings. Lots of that!
Like many Virginia wineries, Holly Grove is a small, family-run operation, and each bottle truly gets individual attention. The family built their own house here. When the kids get out of school, they help with chores. A pair of pet goats, geese and couple of dogs roam the vineyards.
But the results are anything but home-grown. Bess’ Chardonnay and Merlot have been winning awards in international blind tastings. The new Rose we bottled is a drier style that is very refreshing for summer porch sitting. The label features sunset at the mouth of Nassawaddox Creek.
Each wine's label features a different waterfront or sunset scene from the cove in back. Another new wine, the 2008 High Tide Traminette, may just become a summer favorite for our wine porch: the label has kayaks on it!
Jonathan welcomes tours and tastings at Holly Grove daily. Pay him a visit, and then proceed on to nearby Chatham Vineyards, another family-run, award-winning winery here on the Eastern Shore Wine Trail!
Bill just did his first wine kayak tour of the season at Chatham for Southeast Expeditions! Check out our story and photos about the trip here.
Posts
1 comment:
This was a new expedition for all those involved! To cap off the almost one year handcrafting of the wine we give in to an almost robotic machine to ensure the fruits (wine) of our labor are safely sealed in bottle. The results are positive!: The Sunset Rose' was just awarded Silver and Bronze medals in the Lodi Int'l Wine awards in Lodi Ca. Our High Tide Traminette was a TriMedal winner taking two Golds and a Silver! Check out the competition at www.lodiwineawards.com. Come visit by sea by signing up for a kayak/ winery tour thru Southeast Expeditions!
Jonathan Bess
Winemaker
Post a Comment