Finger Lakes, Day 2: Silver Lining
The next stop on my Finger Lakes tour was at Silver Thread Vineyard
Posted: Oct 9, 2012 3:00pm ET
After my visit to Ravines and a quick lunch, I headed up to Silver Thread Vineyard, which is under new ownership
since being purchased by the husband-and-wife team of Paul and Shannon Brock.
Paul, 36, is the former winemaker at Lamoreaux Landing and he also currently
teaches viticulture and winemaking at Finger Lakes Community College. He
accentuates the professorial background with his tussle of wiry black hair and
thin-rimmed glasses. Shannon, 35, was wine educator at the New York Wine &
Culinary Center in Canadaigua, so she also knows what it's like to stand at the
head of a class and educate others about wine, and she commands attention with
her bright, vivacious personality.
The
couple, high-school friends who grew up together in Saratoga Springs, got the
wine bug early in life while both pursued other careers in Washington, D.C.
After going their separate ways through college, they reconnected, married
(they have two children) and eventually decided to get into the wine business and
feed their passion. They weaned their initial love of wine with regular
trips to the Finger Lakes, and being not that far from Saratoga Springs, it
seemed the logical plan to move to the region and put down roots.
Housed in
the tiny winery down the end of a dirt road, Silver Thread was an enigma
before the Brocks bought it. A small estate (just 27 acres, with 7 acres of
vines in production) that was basically a one-man show under the previous
owner, Richard Figiel, the property was worked organically, but the wines were
often riddled with problems, such as brettanomyces, volatile acidity or other
faults of shoddy winemaking. However, the turnaround here has been quick and
dramatic, with the lineup of 2011 Rieslings providing some outstanding quality.
The
Brocks assumed control halfway through the 2011 season and immediately began
changing the vineyard's canopy, to allow for a full canopy and thus slightly
higher yield. The site itself, next door to Shalestone, is on very shallow
soils, resulting in low natural vigor, so higher yields are a relative thing
here. The density, with quite a few missing vines, needs to be raised as well.
In 2011, the Brocks brought in just 10 tons of fruit from 7 acres of vines.
While low yields can mean higher quality, at a certain point they can be too
low, providing diminishing returns and an inability to be financially viable.
The couple produced just 1,500 cases in 2011 and will make 2,000 in 2012.
They're aiming for a maximum of 3,000 cases in five years.
"With full
canopies, you get more efficient production while still maintaining ripening," said Shannon. "Getting the vines into full production was the first big step
here. It's a process, but it's definitely better this year than it was last
year."
Despite
the work needed to get the vineyard running at full speed, one of its pluses is
its strong health, with some 30-year-old vines at the top of the vineyard still
in production (old for Finger Lakes standards). In addition, the Pinot Noir is
planted to Dijon clones, also rare for the area, as many of the early Pinot
Noir clones in the Finger Lakes are Champagne clones (better-suited to
sparkling-wine production and not generally as well-suited for still wine as
the Dijon clones).
"Definitely
because they were pruned so short, that has helped them survive. They've still
got lots of energy to give," said Paul as we stepped over the electrified wire to
ward off dear from the vineyard. Inside, rows of Cab Franc look ripe and
healthy—where there are bunches. The lower-hanging bunches are often stripped
to the stems thanks to turkeys, foxes, racoons and other critters.
"That's
the Finger Lakes for you," said Shannon. "We've got it all here."
Inside
the small vinification area, the Brocks showed me one of their housewarming gifts.
Tacked inside a closet door is a hand-drawn map of the vineyard left by the
previous owner, noting which varieties are in which rows—some rows have more
than one variety planted. There are also a few scrawled notes as to some areas
of the vineyard that might have some problems, where the drains are, etc.
"He did
everything by himself and pretty much by hand, so we didn't have a lot to go
on. I'd worked with some fruit from here previously so I had some familiarity
with the place, but it's been a mystery for sure trying to piece together how
everything was done here before," said Paul.
The
Brocks have also changed the viticulture from the previous owner's organic
methods, though they still aim to be sustainable.
"You can
be sustainable in a better way than being organic," said Paul, the teacher side
in him showing through. "I can use synthetically derived compounds in the
vineyards that are basically biodegradable the moment they hit the ground. In
organics, for example, the use of copper is a real detriment to the vineyard as
it takes forever to wash out of the soil."
When it
comes to winemaking, Paul combines both a technical approach and a
willingness to be hands off.
"I'm not
against back-sweetening," he said when discussing one of the winemaking
techniques the region is known for. "Scientifically, there should be no reason
why it doesn't work just as well. It's just glucose and fructose. But
ultimately I'd rather not. I like to tinker, but ultimately I want to stay out
of the way. However, I'm not a 'natural winemaker.' That school of winemaking
has basically ruined lots of good grapes. I give each lot a chance to do
something different and maybe tinker as needed. Ultimately the idea is to get
the vineyard into the bottle out of respect for the grower."
Along
those lines, the Brocks have three single-vineyard bottlings, though only 23
cases were made of each.
"The
single vineyards are the individual instruments. The 'dry' bottling is the
orchestra," said Paul. "I like to show what the single vineyards bring, so I
keep some separate, but I really like to put the components together and make
the best possible wine I can make that way."
A 19th century vineyard post leans against a tree at Silver Thread Winery in Lodi, N.Y.
Sourced
from the parcel closest to the lake but on shallow soils, resulting in it being
the warmest spot but lowest yielding, the Riesling Seneca Lake STV Estate
Vineyard 2011 is
intense, with piercing chamomile, slate and quinine notes that are long and
intense. Sourced from purchased fruit, the Riesling Seneca Lake Doyle East
Seneca Vineyard 2011
features deeper soils but is in a cooler spot, and the wine shows more apple,
blanched almond and white cherry notes. Equally distinctive is the Riesling
Cayuga Lake Randolph O'Neill Vineyard 2011, sourced from a naturally vigorous but east-facing
site (as opposed to the two warmer west-facing Seneca vineyard sites). It
offers the highest-toned profile, with lots of talc, white ginger and blanched
almond flavors and the boniest feel of the three. All three vineyard sources
provide lots which make up the blend for the Riesling Finger Lakes Dry 2011, which pulls together a range of
quince, slate, pear and jasmine notes with a long, tangy and mouthwatering
finish. Though it's the entry-level Riesling in the portfolio, there are just 275 cases made.
Silver Thread has been around a while, but it's being dusted off by new owners Paul and Shannon Brock.
It's an
impressive start for the Brocks and their new winery. They will have their
challenges managing the low vigor of their site, but they clearly have a bead
on smart, skillful winemaking. And with the tiny production, they'll be able to
maintain control over the fine details. The wines won't be easy to track down,
but Silver Thread is one of the region's new wineries worth seeking out and
keeping an eye on.
Interestingly enough, this is one of the new wineries I had already been planning on visiting this weekend on my trip up to the Finger Lakes. After reading this, I'm convinced this will be a good addition!