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Click on any question to jump to the answer.
1. Why don't we produce Chardonnay (or Pinot Noir,
Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Melon, etc.)?
2. Why did you
sell in Oregon where the quality potential is proven and move to Ohio, of all
places?
3. What is an
"estate" winery?
4. What is "vineyard
designated"
and why do you make vineyard designate wines?
5. Why do you choose not to grow
hybrid or native varieties of grapes?
6. How should I
store my wine?
7. Where are your
wines available?
8. How do you set
prices for your wines?
9. Corked wine
10.
I like Merlot, what wine do you have that I would like?
11. I like a sweeter wine like White Zinfandel. What would you suggest?
12.
Why isn’t the winery at the vineyard?
When did you plant the vineyard?
14.
How many acres are planted?
15.
Are you planting any more?
16.
How many plants are there?
17. Why did you move to Ohio?
18.
Describe the row spacing to control vigor.
19.
Describe
viticultural practices not common on the East Coast
20.
What kind of predators does the vineyard have?
21.
How much do the barrels hold?
22.
How many bottles
do you get out of a barrel?
23.
Are the barrels American oak or French oak?
24.
Did you grow grapes before?
25.
What is vinifera?
26.
Why don’t you
grow hybrids?
27.
Do you buy any
fruit from out of state?
28.
Why don’t you grow Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Noir?
29.
What was in your
Revelation blend?
30.
Why aren’t you
making red Revelation this year?
31.
What is white Revelation?
32.
What is an estate winery?
33.
What food would you serve these wines with?
34.
Where are your wines available?
35.
When will your
red wine be released?
36.
What about the
Viognier/Roussanne?
37.
Do you use natural cork? Why?
38.
When is the
harvest?
39.
Can we pick
grapes? Stomp grapes?
40.
How should I store my wine?
41.
What does
“terroir” mean?
42.
How do you price
your wines, they seem expensive?
43.
Will there be
any more Kinkead Cellars wines (second label wines)?
44.
How did you find the farmhouse?
45. Do you have any funny stories?
46.
Will you be at the Cincinnati Wine Festival?
47.
What competitions do you enter? What other festivals?
1. Why don't we produce
Chardonnay (or Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Melon, etc.)?
All these
varieties ripen too early in our warm climate, resulting in mediocre wines. We
intend to focus on later maturing varieties which ripen more slowly in late
September, producing wines of greater depth and complexity. The best wines are
made where the grapes just fully ripen in an average vintage.
2. Why did you
sell in Oregon where the quality potential is proven and move to Ohio, of all
places?
Ignoring the oppressive land use policies in Oregon, the answer lies in the word
"proven". This area and specific site offer an unproven but
substantial opportunity to produce fine wine in a new region. Oregon is
"old hat" due to pioneers such as Erath, Lett (Eyrie), Ponzi,
Adelsheim and Fuller (Cooper Mountain). We are but a blip on the screen... for
now.
3. What is an
"estate" winery?
An estate winery makes wines from grapes
grown on site or from nearby sites managed by the estate. An estate winery has
several advantages that no large winery can match; it can carefully and directly
supervise the cultivation of its grapes. Since the grapes ripen at different
times, a small winery located at the vineyard is much better able to harvest the
grapes at their optimum ripeness. Lastly, grapes begin to deteriorate the moment
they are picked, and the farther they are transported and the longer the time
until they are crushed, the greater this problem becomes. An estate winery has
an obvious advantage in this regard. Thus, it has long been recognized that
estate wineries usually produce the finest wines and are proudly labeled as
such.
4. What is "vineyard
designated"
and why do you make vineyard designate wines?
Vineyard
designation simply identifies on the front label specifically where the grapes
were grown. At its worst, it lacks real meaning and confuses customers. At its
best, it gives just credit to the vineyard (and grower) producing the grapes and
provides useful additional information for the wine buyer. We have allocated a
space on our labels for vineyard designation and will use it when appropriate.
5. Why do you choose not to grow
hybrid or native varieties of grapes?
Hybrid (and American)
wines will always have a place in my heart and the marketplace. True confession:
I harbor a special fondness for well-made, 100% Catawba, blush wine. With few
exceptions, though, they match up poorly with suitable vinifera grown on a good
site.
In the case of red
wine, the contrast is stark. With the possible exception of Norton
(Cynthiana), I know of no hybrid red varieties which rise above the level of
California jug wine in quality. Note: Norton is technically not a hybrid and is
believed to be 100% native Aestivalis.
White hybrid
varieties show more promise. I have tasted well-made samples of Seyval which
remind me of Sauvignon Blanc, Traminette which could pass for Gewurztraminer,
and Cayuga which makes me think of Muller-Thurgau. There are others of course;
but these are my favorites.
--Ron, winegrower
6. How should I
store my wine?
Wine ideally should be stored at a temperature of 50 degrees or
so. Reducing temperature fluctuations to a minimum is almost as important
as absolute temperature. In our area of the midwest, most people have basements
and a corner of the basement which is not exposed to external heating is often a
good place to store wine. In any case, wine should not be allowed to get above
80 degrees at any time or irreversible degradation may result. For this
reason, storing wine in a house without air conditioning, or worse yet an
uninsulated garage is fatal to wine quality.
7. Where are your
wines available?
Call us or e-mail us and we can determine the closest place for you to purchase
Kinkead Ridge wine.
8. How do you set
prices for your wines?
How great it would be to have some system or equation into which we could
plug in numbers, turn the crank and come up with pricing. We don't have a
system, but we do have a philosophy. We feel that our wines should be priced
competitively with similar wines from California & Elsewhere. We don't pay
much attention to the pricing policies of any particular winery. We taste as
much wine as possible and try to price fairly. We never want a Kinkead Ridge
customer to be disappointed at any price point. As our wines continue to evolve
and improve over time, we likely will increase prices somewhat, but don't
anticipate dramatic increases.
9. Corked wine
Even though we use the best quality natural cork we can buy, it is
inevitable that occasionally a wine will be corked, or a "leaker". We
completely stand behind our wines. If you open a bottle that appears corked,
please recork the bottle and return the bottle, cork and wine to your retail
outlet or to us. We will replace it with a wine of equal or greater value,
depending on our inventory
10.
I like Merlot, what wine do you have that I would like?
The closest would be the Cabernet Franc, releasing next September. If you
like Merlot, don't go to see the movie "Sideways".
11.
I like a sweeter wine like White Zinfandel. What would you suggest?
Kinkead Ridge Riesling.
12.
Why isn’t the winery at the vineyard?
We had to fire an architect and couldn’t get the building done in time for
the 2001 harvest. That year we crushed the grapes in Akron. In desperation, we
built the winery as a small production facility. In the future we may put up a
winery at the vineyard, and this will become a storage facility. Unlike many
wineries in Ohio, we do not have a restaurant or souvenirs, and are exclusively
focussed on fine wine production.
13.
When did you plant the vineyard?
1999. Another section in the back in 2001. You can see the difference in the
trunk diameters. The older part of the vineyard has much thicker trunks.
14.
How many acres are planted?
Five.
15.
Are you planting any more?
Possibly 2-1/2 more acres on the left of the driveway.
16.
How many plants are there?
About 5,000.
17.
Why did you move to Ohio?
Ron grew Pinot Noir for many years in Oregon, and wanted a new challenge.
Ron and Nancy looked at eastern Washington (Walla Walla), southern Oregon and
southern Ohio. Ron chose southern Ohio because of the soil. This site was also
chosen because the house was in good condition.
18.
Describe the row spacing to control vigor.
In a hot humid climate, plants want to put a lot of effort into making
leaves not fruit. We stress the plants by planting the rows very narrow, only
7-1/2 feet apart. This controls vigor. We have a special narrow vineyard
tractor.
19.
Describe
viticultural practices not common on the East Coast:
We hedge the vineyard several times a year, keep weeds down, and pull leaves
by hand out of the fruit zone so sun and air can get to the fruit, preventing
disease.
We hedge the vineyard several times a year, keep weeds down, and pull leaves
by hand out of the fruit zone so sun and air can get to the fruit, preventing
disease.
20.
What kind of predators does the vineyard have?
Deer and wild turkey (kept out by the fence), possums, rabbits, raccoons and
birds. Raccoons have no saliva glands, and that’s why they wash their food. So
on a rainy night, they can do a huge amount of damage in the vineyard. We use
propane bird cannons to scare off the birds.
21.
How much do the barrels hold?
55 gallons.
22. How many bottles
do you get out of a barrel?
About 25 cases, 12 bottles per case.
23.
Are the barrels American oak or French oak?
We have premium American oak barrels. We have hybrid barrels that have
French oak tops and American oak sides. The oak is white oak.
24.
Did you grow grapes before?
Yes, for many years in Oregon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and Riesling.
25.
What is vinifera?
Vinifera are the classic European grape varieties like Cabernet and Syrah.
26.
Why don’t you
grow hybrids?
The wines, though they can be pleasant, aren’t as complex and rich as
vinifera wines.
27.
Do you buy any
fruit from out of state?
Absolutely not.
28.
Why don’t you grow Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Noir?
These vines ripen too early or not early enough in our climate.
29.
What was in your
Revelation blend?
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
30.
Why aren’t you
making red Revelation this year?
We made
Revelation because a frost in 2002 took out 80% of the crop, and we had to blend
all the reds we had together to get enough to bottle. Only about 100 cases were
made, compared with 350 the year before, and about 1000 this year.
31.
What is white Revelation?
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and the miscellaneous white grapes from
the vineyard, which includes a tiny bit of Chardonnay.
32.
What is an estate winery?
Wine can only be labeled estate bottled if the winery has complete control
over the production and harvest of the grapes and the manufacture of the wine.
Estate Bottled is a prestigious label.
33.
What food would you serve these wines with?
Riesling is a little sweeter, it could be served with dessert, or with a
white meat. Revelation would go with seafood, chicken, pork.
34.
Where are your wines available?
Ask us this question, and we can give you a list.
35.
When will your
red wine be released?
Early September.
36.
What about the
Viognier/Roussanne?
July 2
37.
Do you use natural cork? Why?
Yes.
We are considering synthetic corks for our white wines, and are investigating
screw cap technology for 2007.
38.
When is the
harvest?
Mid September to mid October. The grapes tell us when… when they’re ripe
39.
Can we pick
grapes? Stomp grapes?
We don’t use volunteer labor for picking grapes. Sorry, no stomping.
They’re crushed by a machine. If you’re interested in harvesting (paid by
the pound), leave us your name and number.
40.
How should I store my wine?
We store the wine in the winery at 68 degrees. A cool spot in the house is
good, the worst thing is temperature variation; in other words don’t stick the
wine in the fridge, take it out, stick it back in the fridge, etc. An
uninsulated garage is not a good place to store wine because of the hot cold
temperature variations.
41.
What does
“terroir” mean?
This is a French word which refers to all the characteristics of a site,
soil, elevation, etc., that contribute to the unique taste of a wine. Terroir is
why a syrah grown in France might taste different than one grown in Australia.
42.
How do you price
your wines, they seem expensive?
These are ultra premium limited production wines. The vineyard work is very
labor intensive. Making wine in small quantities always costs more than
thousands of cases due to label costs, bottle costs, cork costs, and capsule
costs being higher in small amounts. We price our wines appropriately in
relation to other wines similar in stature and style. We never want a customer
to be disappointed in a Kinkead Ridge wine at a given price point. Too many
wineries in Ohio overcharge for their wines, and a disappointed customer won’t
return to buy another bottle. Red wines need to be aged in expensive oak
barrels, French or American, and unlike wineries that push their barrels to the
limit (7 years), we plan to rotate in new barrels and only use barrels for 4
years.
43.
Will there be
any more Kinkead Cellars wines (second label wines)?
We
have renamed our second label River Village Cellars to avoid confusion. We will
have a Traminette. These wines wil be pleasant,
inexpensive, every day wines. Many European wineries use this model of a first
and second label.
44.
How did you find the farmhouse?
We looked on the web for farms, Cincinnati area, 5 acres or more, and this
house is the first picture that turned up. After 3 years of looking, multiple
plane trips, and this house being on and off the market, it all came together
and here we are.
45. Do you have any funny stories?
Oh yeah! Ask us about the cows in the vineyard, the bottle of water that was
labeled as Riesling, the pencil stuck in a barrel to stop Cabernet from spraying
all over the place.
Or check our blog, www.KinkeadRidgeWinery.typepad.com
46.
Will you be at the Cincinnati Wine Festival?
Kinkead Ridge has not yet participated in the Cincinnati Wine Festival in March,
because our limited production precludes us from doing so. In February 2006,
five of our six wines were already sold out before the festival in March. Our
production is increasing, so we hope to participate in future years. Unless you
have a booth at the festival, you cannot enter the wine competition.
47.
What competitions do you enter? What other festivals?
We enter a small number of international competitions. Entering
competitions is an expensive business, with entry fees per bottle and up to six
bottles of a particular wine. We enjoy being compared to wines around the world.
Actually, Ron and I have different philosophies about festivals. I am a
"medal junkie" and Ron is not all that interested in medals. Re
festivals, with our small production, we will never be in a position to do
really large festivals. In certain months, our wines are sold out before the
festival occurs. We try to attend festivals to support our wholesale customers,
e.g. the Dayton Wine Fest, or A Taste of Duveneck.
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