Sunset Meadow Vineyards ~ 2009 Spring Barrel Tasting

May 15, 2009 by MTB

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Saturday afternoon, May 9th, I once again headed into the Litchfield Hills, this time for the Sunset Meadow Vineyards (SMV) 2009 Barrel Tasting. This was the winery’s first barrel tasting, and they hosted a marvelous event, complete with catered hors d’oeuvres, live music and tours of the winery and barrel rooms starting roughly every 30 minutes.

SMV is very much a family operation; co-owners Judy and George Motel were both on hand, greeting everyone, asking questions and making everyone feel welcomed and comfortable. George, who has an enological degree from University of California, Davis, and is Sunset Meadows’ winemaker, and their son, George, Jr. conducted all the barrel tastings and winery tours. They run the winery and the vineyards themselves with a staff of about 10.

When the Motels bought the property about 15 years ago, it was a working farm, complete with cattle and lots of hay. They farmed the property for the first five years, and about 10 years ago began planting their first vines, choosing Cayuga and St. Croix to begin with because of their hardiness. The vines did so well that they continued to expand, and now grow Chardonnay and Merlot in addition to the original Cayuyga and St. Croix. They have about 7,000 vines on 40 acres, and they grow almost all their own grapes on site through sustainable agricultural practices. All of the vines are hand-pruned and the grapes hand-picked. They’ve been producing wine for a number of years, but 2008 was the first year for winery sales.

The winery buildings are housed in several 19th-century barns; the Tasting Room is the most “authentic” with most of the original wood and beams left intact during the renovation. The storage room was originally a 19th-century cattle barn, complete with hay-loft, but the Motels gutted and retrofitted it so it better house the tanks and barrels. But the essential structure of the barn remains and has been worked into the winery design: the large doors at the back of the barn which would have opened onto a large fenced-in area to help herd the cattle into the barn each evening, has been transformed into a large outdoor patio where the grapes are brought for destemming after harvesting. From there, the grapes are brought into the storage room to begin fermentation and pressing.

As George related the history of the winery and the process they follow to make their wines, we worked our way through the barrel tastings:

The 2008 Cayuga White, which will be bottled in June – light, crisp and refreshing.
The 2008 Chardonnay, also scheduled to be bottled in June – this wine is aged in Oak for about 3-4 months giving it a bit more character and body than the Cayuga White. It also undergoes a second fermentation process, which helps give it more of a buttery flavor.
The 2008 St. Croix scheduled to be bottled in April 2010- an interesting wine, still very young it doesn’t yet have the strong fruit notes that are characteristic of a St. Croix, but there’s a smoky mellowness to it that’s really nice. We contrasted that with the
2007 St. Croix, which will be bottled this June – the fruitiness and character of the St. Croix are much more prominent in the “older” vintage.
The 2008 Red Dawn – a brand new wine, a blend of Merlot and St. Croix, this is scheduled for bottling in April 2010. A very nice blend, the wine is still young and the additional aging should really bring out the wine’s character. Definitely one I will be coming back for in Spring 2010.
The 2008 Merlot, which will be bottled in April 2010 – a really nice Merlot, smooth, mellow, still very young, but showing a lot of promise. Another wine I’m making a note to return for in 2010.
And last, but not least, a new dessert wine being bottled this summer, the Candy Apple Red – a port-style wine, this wine has a rich sweetness and mellowness that I really liked.

We ended up back outside on the patio, where we helped ourselves to more wine and hors d’oeuvres and settled in to enjoy the weather, the company and the music. All in all, a great event, and something I hope SMV will make an annual event.