Schweiger Vineyards News

“Pink it´s my new obsession,
Pink it´s not even a question…” –Aerosmith

One of the most amazingly fun things about working in a small winery is the amount of flexibility and creativity you can have as the winemaker.  As I write this, I’m finishing preparations for a very small bottling run of a brand new and slightly quirky product, Mr. Pink.

The whole idea started during harvest when I was sampling one of our Merlot blocks.  Earlier in the day, I had been flipping through one of the wine rags which was ranting the new found popularity of pink/rose wines.  I recalled earlier in the year seeing wine shops who had dedicated entire sections to these new popular pinks.  I couldn’t help but think that soon, everyone would be getting into the act…but not me…no…I make serious reds.  A pink wine from Schweiger?  Never!

“Never say never” –James Bond

…So here I am, out in the vineyard, tasting fruit that has nice light components, low tannins, and still not too sweet.  A thought starts to form…this fruit would make an awesome rosé.  By the time I was finished, I had started to actually think how and when we could bring in the fruit to produce a small production, wine club exclusive bottling on the heels of our highly successful Extended Family cuveé.  Joe, my assistant, supported the idea with this pearl of wisdom, “We might make the most awesome rosé known to mankind…but we’ll never know if we don’t try”.  After discussing it with the family, we decided to go for it.

I’m so glad we decided to try something unique.  I think we actually spent more time belaboring what to call this wine than whether we should make it in the first place.  Everything came together beautifully and I can’t wait to hear the response from our wine club.  Will we do it again…well, that’s essentially in the hands of what our wine club says now. –Andrew Schweiger

Back in mid-January of 2007 we experienced some record breaking lows for this region…and just this past week we had a light dusting of snow.  When this occurs, many people have asked me how this would effect the vines. Actually, the cold is beneficial for many reasons. First off, the cold helps delay budbreak. In the past we’ve occasionally had very temperate Januarys and Februarys which have resulted in unusually early budbreak, leaving us susceptible to frost damage should cold temperatures return. Also, any overwintering mold spores on the cane wood can be inhibited or even die in these cold temperatures, making for a much cleaner vineyard in the upcoming season. Finally, there is the old farmer belief that the cold helps sturdy the buds for the next year.

So, all things being equal, the cold, the rain, even the occasional snow…it’s all good. Now, if it happened in May, you would hear me singing a different tune. –Andrew Schweiger