Growing Conditions

The HJW Vineyard is where it all began. On a bench of land seven hundred feet above Seneca Lake, Hermann planted the estate's first Riesling vines in 1977. We spotlight this block each vintage in the limited release Riesling HJW Vineyard. The site's cooler mesoclimate shows through with racy acidity underpinned by a dense mineral backbone.

Our HJW Vineyard features Hermann’s original plantings on Seneca Lake of Riesling and Chardonnay from 1977 and 1978. Mature vines, combined with the site’s shallow topsoil and shale bedrock, produce lower yields, resulting in expressively vibrant flavors. Higher elevation and a greater distance from Seneca Lake contribute to a cooler growing season, resulting in leaner, more austere wines with intense flavor and excellent aging potential. In 2009, we planted two more block of Riesling, bringing the total acreage to 33. In 2015, we began our venture with biodynamic farming and have converted the entire property. We are awaiting Demeter certification.

Harvest

Hand-picked

Winemaking

Hand-sorted, whole cluster press, 7 month indigenous yeast fermentation

- RS: 0.7