Hello, my name is Johnston Moore. I am the new Assistant Winemaker here at
Boxwood Winery. I am excited to be a
part of things here at Boxwood because, after graduating with an Enology and
Viticulture degree from Cornell University, I am able to keep doing what I
enjoy most – learning about wine!
The activity at Boxwood Winery has dramatically increased
during the past week. The most notable
occurrence was a visit from Stéphane Derenoncourt, Boxwood Winery’s preeminent
winemaking consultant. For me, this was
a visit I had been looking forward to since the day I started work at
Boxwood. I had read about Stéphane
Derenoncourt’s humble beginnings and the ever-growing prestige of his many
winemaking and consulting projects, so I looked forward to the day I would get
the chance to meet him in person. For
me, this was another great opportunity to learn.
Additionally, on this visit, we had with us Lucie Morton,
our renowned viticultural consultant.
This would be the second time I had seen Lucie in the past month. Each time I expect my ampelographical
knowledge to be tested. Ampelography,
the identification of grapevines by their morphology or appearance, is just one
of Lucie’s many viticultural specialties.
Needless to say, Lucie can spot any vine species that are growing in the
wrong place.
On this visit to the vineyard on a rainy Monday morning, we
were more focused on the condition of our vines than their identity. A couple of the heavy storms that have come
through this summer brought with them hail.
This was enough to damage the leaves and some of our berries. Naturally, damage to the berries is a concern
as it sometimes can make the grapes more susceptible to disease. Thankfully for us, the hot summer days will
dry up any split berries before they can become an issue. That, along with the upcoming cluster
thinning and de-compaction that Adam McTaggart has planned should make any of
our damaged fruit a non-issue.
Next on the agenda for the day of Stéphane and Lucie’s visit
was a trip inside the Boxwood Winery cave to conduct a barrel tasting. Each varietal was carefully tasted. The goal being to evaluate their maturation
in our French oak barrels so that later in the year they can be carefully
blended into the various blends that Boxwood is known for. Around the room everyone nodded in agreement
that the 2011 vintages were developing nicely.
Speaking of development, our grapes are currently well into
veraison (the changing of the grapes from green to a deep purple) something
that will be a likely topic of discussion in the weeks to come.
