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+--- Thread: Plug for Glenora (/thread-14123.html)
- Kcwhippet - 03-30-2004
Saw this and thought it was interesting.
www.stargazettetimeout.com/wine/wineGuy_Day4.html
- winoweenie - 03-30-2004
How come I can't click that httml//.. thingie and have the article appear?ww
- Kcwhippet - 03-30-2004
Cut and paste.
- winoweenie - 03-30-2004
And how pray tell Oh Wise KC can I cut into the screen to paste this hummer? No need to answer as another site had this in the blue color where I just clicked and read. WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
Gene should be very proud of his accomplishments. Am looking foward to trying some of his SWs' soon.
[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 03-31-2004).]
- Thomas - 03-31-2004
ww, to copy and paste, highlight what you want to copy with your cursor; then, hold down the control and c key (this makes a copy); then go to the location where you want to paste the copy and hold down the control and v key (this inserts the copy).
With your typing, however, the control and c or v keys could be movable objects, so beware...
- Drew - 03-31-2004
Just in case WW can't figure it out.
Drew
Glenora still looks to grow
- Seneca winery says customer service is key to success.
The wine guy column by JEFF RICHARDS
Star-Gazette
"Ed, I think it's time to get involved in the wine business." Twenty-six years later, Gene Pierce and his partners in Glenora Wine Cellars are still exploring different ways to expand the wine business in the Finger Lakes.
JEFF RICHARDS/Star-Gazette
Gene Pierce, president of Glenora Wine Cellars, left, and Steve diFrancesco, winemaker, sample red wine that is aging in oak casks in Glenora's wine cellar.
In the early 1970s, Gene, Ed Dalrymple and Eastman Beers were grape growers along Seneca Lake. Some of their grapes were pressed at Gene and Eastman's Jensen's Juice plant in Penn Yan for use by home winemakers.
After the Farm Winery Act was passed in 1976, the partners decided to start their own winery and Glenora Wine Cellars was incorporated on Jan. 17, 1977. Their first two wines were Cayuga, a hybrid, and Catawba, a labrusca. The Catawba was a delightful semi-dry pale pink wine, unlike a lot of sweet Catawbas that were common at that time.
A few years ago, Gene would wince when I mentioned my early memories of his Catawba. However, for Glenora's 25th anniversary, I noticed that it has been reintroduced. As it continues to expand its horizons, Glenora is comfortable with its beginnings.
Most of the wines the first few years came from the original vineyards. Production grew from 5,000 cases of wine the first year to 15,000 cases in 1986. "There was a lot of pressure being put on our industry to be more like California and Europe," Gene said. "So there are things you have to do," like chardonnay and Riesling. Gene believes that there is a bias against labrusca and hybrid grapes so a winery has to make other types of wines.
In 1981-82, Glenora made a marketing decision -- the winery wouldn't try to make red wine. Instead, the focus would be on whites. Glenora believed that the winery would have a better chance of success focusing on white wine. It wasn't until 1987 that Glenora started working with red wines again.
Gene said the French paradox had a big impact on the wine industry in the 1990s. The paradox refers to a study issued in 1991 that linked red wine with a lower risk of heart disease in the French.
Americans heard about it from the CBS TV show "60 Minutes." Having turned its attention to red wine production in 1987, Glenora was positioned to take advantage of the increased interest in red wine, and added cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
Today, Glenora's wine list is a mix of fine, dry dinner vintages and less sophisticated, fun wines.
"In the early years we were idealistic," Gene said. "And over the years we have tempered that with realism. The majority of visitors (to the winery) has limited wine knowledge. They like lighter, fruitier wines.
"We find ourselves at Glenora in the hospitality business as well as the wine business," Gene said. In 1998-99, Glenora built a 30-room inn and restaurant catering to visitors to the wine country and people looking for a beautiful place to hold a wedding or other special event.
In September 2000, Glenora bought Knapp Vineyards Winery and Restaurant on the west side of Cayuga Lake. This gave them an additional source of grapes for making wine and offered dining on another lake.
As business grew, it became more challenging to host special events at Veraisons, the inn at Glenora. Logan Ridge Winery and Restaurant, overlooking the east side of Seneca Lake, was created at Ed Dalrymples' former house to accommodate large groups.
There is a lot more to the winemaker's job now than when Steve diFrancesco assisted Glenora's winemaker from 1987 to 1991. As winemaker, he is now responsible for making wines in three distinct styles for three different wineries.
Glenora strives for elegance in its wines, often using French oak. At Knapp, the focus is on more reds using American oak with bigger oak taste. At Logan Ridge, Steve has an opportunity to experiment, using American and Russian oaks and uncommon grape types. Steve has made some interesting wines like rose of sangiovese, rose of cabernet franc and barrel-fermented vidal.
"I think the places I look up to are Robert Mondavi and Berringer," Steve said, referring to West Coast wineries.
Glenora has been known for its sparkling wine for many years and Steve likes the challenge of carrying on the tradition. Glenora used to produce its sparkling wine using methode champenoise, a very labor-intensive process.
During this process, wine is fermented a second time and aged in the same bottle. During the aging process, the bottles are rotated on a regular basis and the angle of the bottle in the racks is increased to work the yeast down to the neck of the bottle, where it is removed.
Although this process is still used in the production of Glenora's more costly sparkling wines, about two-thirds of their wine is made by a second method, bottle transfer, for the less expensive line of bubbly. Using the two methods, Glenora makes about 5,000 cases of sparkling wine each year.
Glenora is one of the larger wine producers in the Finger Lakes.
In 1977, the winery made 5,000 cases of wine; in 2002, sales had increased to 43,000 cases.
The production at Knapp has increased from 4,000 cases to 12,000 cases in the last of two years.
Marketing of Glenora's wines differs from many of the smaller Finger Lakes wineries. Rather than depend on visitors for the majority of its sales, Glenora works extensively with distributors. Of the 43,000 cases sold by Glenora last year, wholesalers marketed 30,000.
"There are great things happening in the Finger Lakes," Gene says, adding that Glenora projects that five years from now it will double its volume from the three wineries to 125,000 to 150,000 cases a year.
Scott Welliver, who joined as a partner in 1998, will provide some of the organization's growth. He has planted more than 50 acres of grapes at his Norbud Farm in Hector that will be used to make wine at all three wineries.
For all of its history, Glenora has been successful by anticipating customer needs and working hard to meet them. "In order for it to work, you really have to work seven days a week," Gene said.
"I love Sunday mornings," Gene said, because it is a time when he can get a lot of work done without distractions. "On Saturday, that's when I get into customer relations."
In trying to keep Glenora's customers happy, there is no job too big or too small, Gene believes. That may explain Gene's always-attentive ear as customers leave Glenora Wine Cellars while he is tending to the flowers.
"If you want to hear what people have to say about your wines, go out and pull weeds for an hour."
For comments or questions, Jeff Richards can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: thewineguy@stargazette.com.
Wine Guy picks
Here are some recommendations on wine produced at Glenora Wine Cellars:
- 1998 Glenora Brut: Toasty flavor, with good fruit and delightful small bubbles.
- 2001 Gewurztraminer. Spicy taste but not overpowering, with a soft, supple finish.
- 2001 Vintner's Select Riesling. Soft rounded flavor, citrus and honey tastes too.
- 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep color, soft tannins, cherry and raspberry balanced with oak flavor.Wine Guy Tour
Star-Gazette wine columnist Jeff Richards writes about different Finger Lakes wineries Sunday through Friday. His wine column normally appears each Thursday on the Twin Tiers Life Food page. This week's schedule:
- Sunday: Sheldrake Point Vineyard & Cafe at 7448 County Road 153 in Ovid. Web site: www.sheldrakepoint.com.
- Monday: Red Newt Cellars Winery & Bistro at 3675 Tichenor Road in Hector. Web site: www.rednewt.com.
- Tuesday: Lakewood Vineyards at 4024 State Route 14 in Watkins Glen. Web site: www.lakewoodvineyards.com.
- Today: Glenora Wine Cellars at 5435 Route 14 in Dundee. Web site: www. glenora.com.
- Thursday: Keuka Spring Winery at 273 E. Lake Road (Route 54) in Penn Yan. Web site: www.keukaspringwinery. com.
- Friday: Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars at 9749 Middle Road in Hammondsport. Web site: www.drfrankwines.com.
- Thomas - 03-31-2004
This is the paper for which I do a regular Monday column, but not about wine.
Jeff got that slot while I was away from the paper for four years. He is also a good photographer.