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Volume XIII, Number 2 -- Holiday 2007
In this Issue
From the Cellar - An enthusiastic report from our winemaker Christopher Wirth
Vineyard Dirt - Harvest news from Art Hunt, including an amazing ice wine grape harvest
Silver Stores - These select wine retailers across New York State stock our wines and more
Wines and Weddings!
Dear
Friends,
Thanksgiving
weekend was again a wonderful occasion for the Hunt gang, with even more
excitement than usual. On Friday night,
a cold snap swooped in from the north – perfect for ice wine – so we dug out
our winter gear and mobilized the grape-picking brigade, family, friends and
unsuspecting volunteers included (see Art’s article, “Vineyard Dirt”, for
interesting facts and photos). In the
evenings, the dinner table was alive with chatter about two upcoming weddings
in the family.
Our son Jonathan and Caroline Boutard (photo
at right) will be married this month here at the farm. Caroline grew up in Oregon and her parents
own and manage an organic produce farm there.
Over the past year, they have been feverishly re-furbishing their
fixer-upper house up the road while Jon works at the winery and Caroline
completes her masters in entomology at Cornell University. Our own garden next to the house exploded
with delicious vegetables all summer long thanks to Caroline’s farming
expertise and she even finds time to help out occasionally with large public
events at the winery. We feel so
fortunate that Jon and Caroline plan to carry on with the family farm
tradition.
After three years
in San Diego, our daughter Carolyn and her
fiancé Ben Wiehe (left) have returned to the East Coast and are settled in Boston. Carolyn is in her second year of law school
at Northeastern University and Ben works for WGBH Boston
doing educational outreach for PBS’s NOVA Science Now and Masterpiece
Theatre. Ben met Carolyn at the University of Chicago where they were in graduate
school together. We are delighted that
they are planning an August wedding here at the winery.
Our daughter Suzanne has left WorldWatch
Institute to pursue a broader agenda of initiatives as an
independent
consultant in clean energy and principally biofuels. The field has attracted wide attention from
governments across the world, private investors and several celebrities. In our last issue, we
shared Suzanne’s adventure
driving a biodiesel-converted car from Washington to Costa Rica. On the way, she visited Willie Nelson and his
wife, both longtime champions of clean energy.
At a recent fundraiser for the Sustainable BioDiesel Alliance in New York City, Suzanne met
one of Willie’s friends and supporters, Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy
Central’s The Colbert Report.
 Our
family has also expanded with the arrival of Totem, a fourteen-year-old sorrel gelding. He and Misty,
who is part draft horse, have become devoted companions.
On
the wine front, 2007 was a stellar year.
Our first ever Pinot Gris won
Best Pinot Gris in New York (unleashing a hurricane of demand and we were sold
out in 2 months!). Other Gold medal
accolades were awarded to our Semi-Dry
Riesling (three!), Cabernet Franc,
Merlot, Seyval Blanc, Vignoles, Late Harvest Vignoles and Vidal Blanc Ice Wine! Disney’s EPCOT Center is featuring our Vignoles, and the New York Wine &
Culinary Center has chosen Meritage 2004
for one of its flights. Customers have
also warmly received our brand new Alchemy,
a dry Cabernet blend with a hint of light pepper in the finish.
Our
grapes ripened beautifully under this year’s dry sunny summer and fall, making
us very optimistic about next year’s Hunt Country wines. Our children are all healthy and happily
pursuing their interests. The Hunt
Country team is hard-working and stronger than ever. So many customers – yes, you! -- return again
and again and tell us you’re pleased with our wines and our welcome. We truly have much to be grateful for.
With
heartfelt thanks for your support and our best wishes for this holiday season
and 2008,
- Art & Joyce Hunt
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From the Cellar
by Winemaker Christopher Wirth 
Nothing is more exciting
for a winemaker than to receive bin after bin of healthy, ripe grapes at harvest
time. If anything, the quality of this
year’s Pinot Gris grapes is finer than last year’s that won the distinction of
Best New York Pinot Gris at the 2007 NY Food & Wine Classic competition in
Napa!
From Pinot Gris to Riesling to Cabernet Franc to Late
Harvest Vignoles, the wines are all fermenting nicely and tasting
wonderful. I couldn’t be more pleased,
and we are targeting availability of several delicious new vintages of our most
decorated
wines, as well as a brand new wine, in the coming months:
-
Pinot Gris
2007 (before Christmas)
- Late
Harvest Vignoles 2007 (February)
- Semi-Dry
Riesling 2007 (February)
- Valvin
Muscat 2007 (March) – First ever at Hunt Country!
The Muscat (or Moscato) is believed to be among the oldest
varieties of domesticated grape in the world.
Six years ago, Dave Mortensen, our Vineyard Manager, and his crew
planted 2 acres of a newer member of this family, Valvin Muscat. Last year’s
crop was still too small to use for a varietal but this year’s was ample. This white wine is semi-dry and deliciously aromatic
with pronounced floral notes. I am
confident it will become a favorite of mine as well as yours!
Hunt Country Wines Reach Milestone
Stop Press! With news received last night of medals awarded at the 8th
Annual Jefferson Cup Invitational wine competition in Kansas
City, Hunt Country wines
have now garnered 50 major awards in
prestigious competitions around the United States since 2004.
We strive to produce wines of world-class caliber in a
variety of major styles (e.g. a very dry Riesling to an intensely sweet Ice
Wine). Hunt Country customers have broad tastes! Our guiding principle is that the ultimate
test of our wines is whether you enjoy
them.
But we also appreciate a good competition with other fine
wineries! The judging criteria do vary
among competitions, but we consider a major
award (Gold Medal or higher) as
recognition from the judges that the wine was professionally crafted throughout
and possesses a distinctiveness and quality in its body, color, nose, taste and
finish that truly stand above the competition.
When a strong majority or unanimous panel of judges singles out a wine
for highest praise, competitions can award a Double Gold, Best of Class or Best
of Competition medal.
Please check out our complete list of major awards. Nine Hunt
Country wines currently for sale have won Gold
and Double-Gold Medals or other
top honors. All may be purchased on our
Online Wine Shop or by calling us seven days a week at 800.946.3289!
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New Wines for the Holidays
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Our renowned Vidal Blanc Ice Wine is available for sale!
Available now. We are thrilled to announce the release of a spectacular new vintage of our classic Ice Wine. Very few vineyards were able to produce any fine ice wine this year, so we again feel particularly fortunate.
Our Vidal Blanc Ice Wine first achieved acclaim when served at a United Nations dinner in the late 1990s. The wine has been ordered by the White House for the lighting of the national Christmas Tree and was featured on NBC’s Today Show in January 2006.
We hand-harvest our Vidal grapes at about 15°F and press them frozen to produce a trickle of golden nectar. Slow fermentation at low temperatures yields this rare and lusciously sweet wine that bursts with honey, apricot and exotic fruit flavors. The wine is packaged in a slim cobalt blue bottle with a gold accented linen label and premium natural cork. Enjoy our ice wine well chilled, either on its own or paired with fine desserts as a grand finalé to a special meal.
For questions or orders, please call 800.946.3289 (Mon-Sat. 10am-5pm; Sun. 12noon-5pm) or click here to order on-line! | |
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Vidal Blanc
Ice Wine 2006 Signature Magnum **New**
Available now. A special edition of our marquee Vidal Blanc
Ice Wine, limited to 24 beautiful serial-numbered bottles, each hand-filled and
hand-corked by our Winemaker Christopher Wirth (photo above) and hand-signed by
Hunt Country Vineyards founders and owners Art and Joyce Hunt. We
hand-harvest our Vidal grapes at 10-15 degrees F and press them frozen to
produce a trickle of golden nectar. Slow fermentation at cool temperatures
yields this rare and lusciously sweet wine that bursts with honey, apricot and
exotic fruit flavors. The gorgeous cobalt blue bottle measures 19" in height
and is adorned with a classic linen label with gold foil embossing.
Contains 50.7 oz of delectable ice wine, the equivalent of four of our regular
375mL bottles. Serves approximately 15-25 people. A spectacularly
distinctive and delicious gift for wine enthusiasts and for weddings and other
special occasions. $250.00,
including free shipping. | |
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Pinot Gris 2007 **New**
Available prior to
Christmas. Another amazing vintage
of our dry, refreshing Pinot Gris, with floral and mineral notes and hints of
pears. A great favorite of our winemaker
Christopher Wirth! Savor a glass on its
own, with smoked salmon, mild cheeses, and light poultry and pasta dishes. Our Pinot
Gris 2006 won BEST NEW YORK PINOT GRIS at the 2007 New York Food & Wine
Classic Competition in Napa,
California, and sold out in just
a few months. If anything, our 2007
Pinot Gris grapes were even riper at harvest than in 2006! Don’t miss the opportunity this time! Email or call us at 800.946.3289 to reserve
your bottles (or watch it appear on our website during the Holidays). $15.99, in a tall, dark and handsome bottle
with classic linen label. |
Order Wine Directly, Easily and
and Inexpensively!
We’re making progress! We recently received licenses to ship wine to residents of three more states -- Massachusetts*, Vermont and Washington -- making our total now 21 states plus Washington DC (see chart below). The picture is looking "greener"!
We ship orders of 12 bottles or more (any mixture of wine) by FedEx Ground service free of charge (except Alaska and Massachusetts where different rates apply*). We'll even discount the shipping charges for smaller orders.
Wine may be ordered easily online for shipment to all states except Alaska and Massachusetts. For Alaska and Massachusetts, please call us at 800.946.3289 and we'll take care of you in minutes!
If you
would like to ship our wines to a state not on the “Yes” list, DON’T
DESPAIR…please call us at 800.946.3289 for the latest information.
* Alaska shipments made by FedEx Ground service; Massachusetts by DHL Express 2-Day service. Hunt Country will pay a scaled portion of the shipping
charge, depending on number of bottles ordered, up to 33% for Alaska, 50% for Massachusetts.
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Vineyard Dirt
By Art Hunt
What an outstanding growing
season! I couldn’t be more thrilled by
the quality of this year’s grapes and the prospects for next year’s wines.
Last winter’s temperatures stayed above -3°F and spring brought plenty of
welcome moisture. By early summer the
weather was dry and warm, with just enough rain at the right moments to prevent
water stress in the vines. Summer lasted
and lasted, into late October. We were
able to allow each variety to hang until ideal ripeness. Picking proceeded without a hitch and the
quality of the grapes is outstanding.
We delayed harvest of
our Vignoles grapes, hoping they would develop botrytis (called the “noble rot” in France). Botrytis is a fungus that shrivels grapes,
intensifies the sweetness of the juice and makes possible our award-winning Late Harvest Vignoles (currently sold
out). Fortunately, conditions were
perfect and we were rewarded with plenty of botrytis and super sweet juice with
tropical fruit flavors. Our Late Harvest Vignoles 2007 should be
ready for release next spring.
 On Thanksgiving, I saw a
cold front in the forecast and sure enough at 5am on Saturday morning, the
thermometer on our porch read 12°F
– perfect for harvesting our Vidal grapes for ice wine. Fortified with breakfast and coffee, our crew
of pickers ventured out into the first light, among them our daughter Suzanne,
her friend Drury and Gus (left), our son Jonathan and nephew Logan Cutshall
(below with Suzanne) and our future son-in-law Ben Wiehe. They first raised the netting that protects
the grapes from birds and other hungry animals while Gus stood watch and kept
everyone company. They picked the crop and
then loaded the baskets onto a wagon for transport back to the winery (below
right). When frozen grapes are pressed,
the water that makes up the bulk of the grape remains in the berry in the form
of ice crystals along with the skin and seeds.
Out of the press trickles a tiny amount of intensely sweet, golden
nectar. Months from now, after slow and
careful fermentation, we will have a spectacular new vintage of Vidal Blanc Ice Wine to offer you.
All in all, 2007 has been a
terrific year and we look forward to an even more spectacular 2008.
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Spectacular Events at our Winery
Whether you enjoy sampling the latest wine releases, relaxing to live music, tasting food and wine pairings, shopping for unusual and wonderful gifts, expanding your garden with fresh plantings, or watching fine artists create wonders before your eyes..., we have an event for you!
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Let your Preferences be Known
It is gratifying to begin to see more New York wines on retailers’ shelves and on wine lists in fine restaurants. We at Hunt Country and our fellow New York wineries are working tirelessly to improve every aspect of our winemaking and marketing.
You can help us accelerate the pace of change. If you do not find your favorite New York winery on a restaurant’s wine list or a wine store’s shelf, please take a deep breath and ask the manager to make it available.
Thank you for being an active supporter of New York wines!
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Silver Stores!
Hunt Country Silver Stores are a select group of wine retailers across New York State where you will find a broad range of Hunt Country and Foxy Lady wines in stock*, sales staff who are particularly knowledgeable about our wines, and periodic free tastings of both our classic varietals and newer releases. Thanks for supporting them and us!
* All our wines are normally in stock, except Cabernet Franc 2005 and Seyval Blanc VS, of which we produced so few bottlesy that they are offered only at the winery.
Greater Rochester
Pittsford · Clubhouse Liquor · 2947 Monroe Ave. · 585.461.0150
Greater Buffalo
Cheektowaga · The Wine Sellar · 3843 Union Rd. · 716.681.8150
Corfu · Kutter’s Cheese Retail Store · 857 Main Rd. · 888.700.5275 · www.KutterCheese.com
Kenmore · Prime Wines · 3445 Delaware Ave. · 716.873.6688 · www.PremierGroup.net
Orchard Park · Prestige Wine & Spirits · 3410 Amelia Dr. · 716.825.9848 · www.PremierGroup.net
Williamsville · Premium Wine & Spirits · 7980 Transit Rd. · 716.565.3020 · www.PremierGroup.net
Finger Lakes & The Southern Tier
Canandaigua · Ryan’s Wine & Spirits · 16 Parkway Plaza · 585.394.4740
Farmington · Bombace Wine & Spirits · 6081 Rte 96 · 585.924.3290 · www.Bombace.com
Geneseo · Good Spirits · 4270 Lakeville Rd. · 585.243.0220
Ithaca · Northside Wine & Spirits · 222 Elmira Rd. · 607.273.7500 · www.NorthsideWine.com
Central New York
Fayetteville · Superior Discount Liquors · 105 Towne Dr · 315.637.8909
Cortland · Plaza Discount Liquors · 1108 State Rte 222 · 607.753.8575
Adirondacks
Keeseville · Village Liquor Shoppe · 1727 Front St. · 518.834.9640
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