Welcome to White Pine Wines
Thursday, 11 February 2010 23:59 | 
Written by System Admin | 
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Welcome to White Pine Winery!
White Pine Winery showcases Southwest Michigan’s finest wines and warm hospitality in our lakeshore destination in the charming town of St. Joseph. We produce a range of delicious red and white wines and specialize in aromatic whites like Riesling and Pinot Gris. These varieties grow particularly well here given the lake effect which brings warm days and cool evenings to the vines during the important spring and fall growing seasons. Owner and winemaker, Dr. David Miller, is a noted winemaker and viticulturist with over 25 years of experience. Named after our state tree, White Pine characterizes Michigan’s natural beauty. We invite you to visit our tasting room at 317 State Street.
Spring Greetings from White Pine Winery
I think spring is everyone's favorite season. It signals the end of winter and we are all so happy to have warm, sunny days to get back outdoors. We know that longer, and even warmer days are ahead along with vacations, the beach, boating and all that the coming summer portends. Spring is a time of new beginnings: the forests and fields seemingly come alive with spring blooms and natures new-borns are all around. It's also the time when the vines awake from their winter slumber and begin the process of making another crop for another vintage. With the early warmth we have been very busy completing pruning and tying the vines since growth looks like it will begin about a month ahead of "normal". Vines for new plantings have been ordered and will arrive in early April. There is so much to do!
At the winery we are busily finishing and bottling wines. The 2011 vintage whites are ready to bottle soon and the 2010 reds have been bottled and are resting to get over their "bottle shock" before release in April. Both vintages were really awesome! The wines are better with each vintage. The 2011 Pinot grigio and Rieslings (dry and Reserve) are classic examples of those wines and perfect for celebrating spring!
The 2010 Reserve Merlot and Reserve Serendipity are wound tight with tannins and flavors but decanting lets them open into the gorgeous wines they are. They have lots of potential for aging but who wants to wait? We also have a Traminette this year that is medium sweet and loaded with tropical fruit and floral aromas and flavors from it's better known parent - Gewurztraminer. But don't take my word for it! Stop by the tasting room for samples starting in mid-April and watch here and on Facebook for news of summer activities!
Cheers!
From the Staff at White Pine Winery
Last Updated (Monday, 19 March 2012 18:34)
Early Spring at White Pine WineryWednesday, 14 March 2012 18:10 | Written by System Admin | | |
As I write this blog I’m looking out the window at a beautiful day, temperatures in the mid 60’s and the forecast is for mid 70’s for the next week. Awesome! I love warm weather and spring as much as anyone and I can hardly wait to get outside and sip a glass of wine on the deck. We are coming off one of the mildest winters in memory (and on record) and now this – spring in the middle of March. So is it all as good as it seems? What does this do to grapevines? Since we really never had a deep, prolonged freeze this winter the ground never froze solid. Without frozen ground, overwintering plants, like grapevines, start to respond to warm temperatures sometime around the end of January. As plants respond to warmth they come out of their deep, winter dormancy and start getting ready to grow. I observed soft maple trees, which typically bloom around the middle of March, blooming in February this year! Overwintering animals respond to the conditions too. I saw my first Robins in February and the Bluebirds were looking for nesting boxes the second week in March. Maples were tapped in late February too. All of this means that spring is here early and there is no turning back. It’s a great cure for cabin fever but it gives pause to those of us in Agriculture. Why? Our biggest concern is frost. With May 10th the average date for our last frost in this region we have 6 to 8 weeks before we are out of the woods. The vines have not started growing yet but my guess is we’ll see bud burst in early to mid-April, 2 to 3 weeks ahead of average giving us several weeks of frost danger. When the shoots have started growing and get frosted the crop is reduced, the magnitude depends on the severity of the frost. Now that you all can imagine Jack Frost taking our grapes this year, let me give you the counter – point. An early spring means an early start to the growing season. Some of our best and longest seasons started very much like 2012. A long season means the grapes begin ripening earlier and have longer to hang and mature. That leads to some awesome wines, especially late season reds that need the extra heat to fully mature. Also, the mild winter means there is little to no winter injury in our vines. With no winter injury all of the buds produce shoots with fruit and the stage is set for a big crop. So if we dodge the frost – bullet this spring we are in for a big crop with plenty of time to ripen and lots of great wine. As much as I want to know how it turns out, experience suggests I sip my glass of wine on the deck and enjoy the ride. Time will tell how the story ends. In the meantime we should savor the fruits of our labors from last year. So let’s enjoy the next week of mid 70’s with a glass of our favorite spring-time wine. Pinot grigio or Riesling anyone? Dr. Dave Miller 14 March 2012 Last Updated (Monday, 19 March 2012 18:38) |
Winter at White Pine Winery: "The Magical Time"Monday, 20 February 2012 17:56 | Written by System Admin | | |
From the time we prune the vines in March until the last fermenters are racked, the vineyard and winery are busy…. Very busy places. The vines require regular attention during summer as do the new must and wine following harvest. But winter is a time to slow down and recharge. It is a time of rest for all – the vines, the wines and the people involved. During this time in the wine cellar, it may not look like much is happening but it is really a magical time.
The wines cold stabilize with the drop in temperature. This simply means they won’t develop a tartrate sediment in the bottle when you chill them in your fridge but there is also a drop in acidity which softens the wine and takes off some of the sharp acidity of the new wine. Carbon dioxide from the fermentation comes out of solution during storage which further softens the new wine. The wines also clear as particulate matter slowly drops out of the wines during the months of rest. Other things are happening in the wine now that can’t be seen but can be tasted and felt on the palate. There is a chemical change in the wine as new flavors develop from the interaction of various wine components and the alcohol that developed during fermentation. The changes produce aromas and flavors that begin to make the wine more complex and interesting. In red wines there is a change in the pigments and tannins (compounds that contribute to astringency on the palate) that softens the wines and enhances the color. Wines aging in barrels extract flavor from the wood that also interacts chemically with flavors, aromas and pigments in the wines, further contributing to the complexity in aroma and on the palate.
As we taste the wines from tanks and barrels we can begin to gain a better understanding of what is to come and what the wine might be like when it “grows up”. It’s an exciting time because some of the wines are really good! There is not much to be done by the winemaker at this point, just make sure tanks and barrels are topped and that there is no activity by unwanted spoilage bacteria or oxidation due to headspace in a tank. If we did a good job in the vineyard, had a bit of luck with weather during the fall, and paid attention to winemaking fundamentals, then we know the wines will be special when they are bottled and will only improve over the next couple of years or more, depending on the wine. It really does seem magical to observe the changes occurring to the tasted and feel of the wine.
In the next blog I’ll share some tasting notes from the 2011 vintage and 2010 reds that will be bottled this spring. We will have some pre-release celebrations at the tasting room in April so stay tuned!
20 February 2012 Dr. Dave Miller |
