[Growwine] Glenda's story

[Mark Hart]

Very nice write-up.

White Baltica?

Mark
On Mar 19, 2008, at 10:32 PM, Larry Paterson wrote:

> Also forwarded by Dave Gamble of Canadian Grapes to Wine, the story  
> about the Good Witch of the North, Glenda...
>
>
> Lardy
>
> Larry Paterson, lfw, rd, adcc
> (Little Fat Wino, Roving Drunk, Alcohol Distribution Channels Critic)
>
> http://www.littlefatwino.com/
>
> ************************************************
> Last year we featured an article on Dark Cove Vineyard at Gambo,  
> Newfoundland which enjoys relatively mild winters in a terroir that  
> can support Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as hybrid varieties.
>   Glenda Baker said that this winter "a ton of snow" helped protect  
> the vines though typically the temperatures were not that bad,  
> reaching -23C. once or twice. The latest news from Newfoundland is  
> that the provincial agriculture department is about to take an  
> active part in the development of a Newfoundland grape growing  
> industry. Glenda said that the department will assist in the  
> development of a new vineyard which they will establish on a grant  
> of 44.5 acres of crown land in nearby Smaller Dark Cove Bay.  
> Glenda's established 5 acre test vineyard is located a few  
> kilometers away at Freshwater Bay, also at Gambo.
>   The initial planting of the new vineyard will cover 20 acres which  
> the department will help clear and prepare. Drawing from the success  
> of varieties in the test vineyard, the new block will include Pinot  
> Noir which does very well, as well as Chardonnay which Glenda finds  
> is even more winter hardy than Pinot Noir, though it needs all the  
> time it can get to reach full ripeness and sugar levels. Other  
> winning candidates inlcude the hybrids David MacGregor, a derivitive  
> of Merlot which easily reaches Brix 20, and Frontenac which is a  
> huge success in Quebec.
>   As an example of how varieties express themselves differently in  
> different terroirs, Glenda said that in Newfoundland, unlike Quebec,  
> Frontenac's acid levels are low. Last year she said it came in at .9  
> T/A, and after malolactic fermentation it was softer than she would  
> have liked. This year, no more ml for Frontenac.
>   Among the white varieties will be the ES8 243 hybrid and Deslile  
> which ripens quickly with high sugar levels. Others include the  
> Russian varieties black and white Baltica which ripen in August!  
> Last year Glenda did not leaf-pull these two varieties and the birds  
> didn't see the early ripening fruit.
>   Meanwhile, Glenda is often called on to help others in the  
> district who are interested in getting into grape growing. A nearby  
> fruit winery has expressed interest in adding grape wines to its  
> list, and this fall they will likely receive fruit from the Dark  
> Cove vineyard.
> www.dccw.ca
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