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Pages: 1 2

- brappy - 09-24-2006

Some friends are getting together for a tasting. The theme is merlot. I want to bring a ringer. That ringer would be the Knapp merlot '02. My question is this: Do all of the grapes come from Knapp vineyards or at least New York State?

The reason I ask: Another friend and I tasted this tonight. Actually we ended up finishing the bottle in very little time. The wine has great fruit; full of raspberries and other red fruit mixed in with some cream. Outstanding finish.

I remembered loving this at the winery also but must have forgotten what a great wine this really is. For a back-up bottle, I also opened up a Far Niente Cab '99. I figured if the merlot didn't stack up, I'd have a great wine to back it up. And the Far Niente was just beautiful. But the funny thing is, we couldn't decide which was the better wine.

ANyway, I want to bring this wine as the ringer but need to know where the grapes come from. So any help would be appreciated.

mark

- Thomas - 09-25-2006

Mark,

What does it read on the label?

If "Finger Lakes" they are from the region. If "New York" 75% are from the state.

If "Estate Grown" or "Produced, Grown and Bottled by" all the grapes are from Knapp's vineyards.

If "Produced and Bottled by" plus "Finger Lakes" they are from the region but not necessarily all from Knapp's vineyards.

And--if "Merlot" only 75% of the volume need be from that grape.

This stuff holds true for all American wines, but check it further; I may have made a mistake on any one of these things, as the regs change once in a while.

- brappy - 09-25-2006

OK, so the bottle says "New York", "merlot", and "Vinted and bottled by".

So, and I'm just guessing here, I believe the juice to come from Long Island. Maybe Gene can shed some light on this.

Thanks for your help Thomas.

mark

- Innkeeper - 09-25-2006

Gene would be the best source. You can e-mail him at Glenora. My guess is that the grapes are local. They do grown some on the southeast side of Seneca. I doubt that we would bring expensive Long Island grapes up to put into the Knapp wines, but anything is possible.

- brappy - 09-25-2006

IK,

Wouldn't the bottle say "Finger Lakes" if the grapes were local?

- Innkeeper - 09-25-2006

I guess you'r right. Guess only Gene would know.

- Thomas - 09-25-2006

I can neither speak for the location of the grapes nor the production of the wine, except to say that if the majority of the grapes are Finger Lakes it would say so on the label, and if the wine had been fermented and produced at the winery it should say "Produced and Bottled by..."

Label reading is not an art, but it does need a close reading in order to understand it--drives me crazy that people who have been consuming wine for decades can still not understand label information.

Plus, anything produced in the Finger Lakes during the 2004 and 2005 vintages is a marvel of achievement, as the local crops were nearly wiped out by the climate. Survival in the wine business sometimes means sourcing. In California, sourcing is a normal course of action--in the Finger Lakes it has only recently become a reality.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 09-25-2006).]

- brappy - 09-25-2006

Ok, I didn't want to bother Gene with it as I'm sure he's pretty busy at this time of year. Or maybe he'll run across this thread sometime. I did however email Knapp Winery. We'll see what comes of it.

My guess is they bought juice, blended, and bottled. which is fine by me; like I said, this wine is great.

We drank the bottle at the restaurant(my work), which is where I left that bottle. So it was a matter of being lazy and not wanting to go to the cellar to find and retrieve the other bottle.... to read the label. Which answered part of the question. And, sorry to drive you crazy Thomas.... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

mark

- Thomas - 09-26-2006

Mark,

Everyone drives me crazy these days...it's a sign of age [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

- glenora - 09-28-2006

Sorry for the delay in responding--we are in the midst of harvest and consequently spending more time in the vineyards and on the press deck than at the desk.

Knapp 2002 Merlot is a blend of Finger Lakes (Knapp Vineyards) and Long Island (Martha Clara Vineyards) merlot. The Knapp portion was the first harvest of Merlot at Knapp. As we like to produce at least a minimum of 250 cases of any wine, we purchased merlot from Long Island to supplement the quantity needed. The actual proportions are 63% Knapp (Finger Lakes) with the balance being from the Long Island.

Glad to learn you are enjoying it--I will share that news with Steve our winemaker, and the vineyard team.

- winoweenie - 09-28-2006

GOODNESS GRACIOUS THERE I'M COMING TO JOIN YOU VIRGINIA!!!! A red frum the FL that be good? I figured Gene or someone would get the handle on real wine and get out of the SW rut eventually. (hehehe)WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

- brappy - 09-28-2006

Hey Gene,

Thought you might be a bit busy this time of year. Thanks for the response.

I also recieved a response from Knapp Winery:

Hello and thank you for your kind words about our wines and more
specifically our '02 Merlot. I spoke with our winemaker Steve
DiFrancesco and this is the information he gave me about our Merlot:

Acid-0.65%
ph-3.35%
50%-Estate Grown (Knapp)
50%-Martha Clara Vineyards (Long Island)

In addition I have attached our winemaking notes for our Merlot. We are
very pleased that you will be using our Merlot as the "ringer" at your
tasting. Reds are a challenge to grow in the Finger Lakes and we have
enjoyed your feedback. In addition we would love to hear about your
friend's reactions, if you don't mind.

Also:
Harvest Date………………..October 25, 2002
Varietal Composition……….Merlot
Residual Sugar………………0%
Cases Produced……………...310
Alcohol………………………12.5%

Great response. And I will email them the response of the tasting. Can't wait.

mark

- Thomas - 09-29-2006

Gene,

Why the "Vinted and Bottled by" designation? Does that mean the LI portion came as wine and not as grapes or juice?

- glenora - 10-02-2006

Sorry for the delay--still harvesting--Pinot Noir and Chardonnay this week

The grapes came from Martha Clara Vineyards as fruit--machine harvested in the afternoon and then a overnight truck ride to the Finger Lakes. "Vinted" is on the label as we used the red fermenters at Glenora for the on-skin fermentation. The juice/wine was then taken to Knapp for all of other processes. Thomas, as you know, if we had done the skin fermentation at Knapp we could have used the "produced" designation.

- Thomas - 10-02-2006

Thanks Gene,

It never occurred to me that the wine would have been fermented at Glenora and then brought to Knapp.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 10-02-2006).]

- brappy - 10-02-2006

Nor me. That's interesting; I would have never come to that conclusion.

Do the two winemakers work with each other often?

- Thomas - 10-03-2006

Mark,

One winemaker, Steve DiFrancesco, runs the show. He's been through 28 Finger Lakes harvests, and he still does it [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

- brappy - 10-03-2006

Maybe I'll get to sit down with him the next time we're up there. Be a good history lesson.....

And Thomas, next time I'm dragging you out kicking and screaming...

Kidding, but I do hope you'll come with us.

mark

- Thomas - 10-04-2006

I will, but only if you give me more than one two-hour period from which to choose [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

- brappy - 12-03-2006

OK

Called the guys to find out the theme for the evening. Unfortunately it was cabernet sauvignon; fortunately I thought the Knapp merlot would do fine against this.

Brought a Cab blend from australia: Elderton "Ode to Lorain". The other cabs in the line-up were: Honig cab '03, Axios '00, and Axios '01. I was definately nervous and wanted the Knapp merlot tasted first. I want to let everyone know a word of importance: All wines except the Knapp merlot were known. The merlot was kept in the same bottle but wrapped in tin-foil. So totally blind....

No one picked the grape which is interesting because I believe the grape isn't hard to tell. So I told everyone the grape and asked where it was from. I heard alot of things but NO NY. The final guess on the grape was grenache and the final guess on the place was South America.

Nothing but WOWS when I lifted the tin-foil. Surprised everyone. I have to admit not one person was real experienced with New york wines, but that may be better. Finally I got a couple of "Thank You"s from the guys knowing they would have had a thought one way or the other if they would have known.

The group basically put the wines in this order:
1. Axios '01
2. Knapp Merlot '02
3. Axios '00
4. Elderton "Ode to Lorain" '02
5. Honig Cab '03
The best part of this and any tasting is the true result which is what bottle empties first. KNAPP MERLOT. No shit.......
And maybe the Knapp finished first because it was such an anomaly. But I don't think so.... The wine is that good..... period!

mark