The three evolutionary phases of viticulture at CARONE and now onto the next stage
The viticulture philosophy at CARONE has changed over the years. We were in the vineyards today, walking by early plantings of hybrids used in some of our lower priced wines, which we have been slowly replacing with modern and better quality vinifera grapes.
Phase 1: “Follow the herd to the watering hole”
The first phase was quite simple, we saw what everyone else was doing and tried to replicate that in the Lanaudière region. This involved obtaining grape cuttings of what was available at the time in the early 1990′s. At that time, French and American hybrids were planted mostly in the Eastern Townships area of Quebec. Seyval, Foch, Eona, Vidal varieties were among some of the most popular cultivars. Victor Dietrich, who provided my Dad with our original cuttings, was a great vignerons but had limited insight of Quebec wine trends. Little did we know when we planted that these grapes had fallen out of favour years before we had even decided to start our winery in Lanoraie.
Phase 2: The “grape to end all grape” in cold climate regions.
So those 1st phase vines were replaced by the second wave of hybrids – the “super-hardy”! A variety that promised to be everything the earlier hybrids were not – cold hardy, disease resistant, heavy producers, excellent wine quality, etc…. Professionals, grape breeders and nurserymen from as far away as Denmark, Sweden, Minnesota, Ukraine, Belarus all spoke the gospel of Minnesota grapes. The hype was astronomical. St. Croix, St. Pepin, Frontenac, Marquette and the thousands of ES-numbered nominations came to market quicker than the Crusades converted heathens (or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could regulate). Plantings of these grape varieties not only thrived, they multiplied by the hundreds of thousands practically overnight. Storming the Quebec landscape, to the discontent of many established wineries in the Eastern Townships, vineyards and wineries were now possible in other regions. Every single rolling hill as far away as Gaspé could produce wines. It did not matter so much the quality. Hey “we can produce wines” where corn fields once ruled. We were all drunk with enthusiasm. All, except the customer. The wines produced from these grape varieties had teeth-shattering acidity, too much color, and hardly a trace of tannin. They tasted fruity, one-dimensional and over-the-top. So much for hype! At CARONE we looked to push the limits, we were determined to make quality red wine products, so we looked back to the traditional.
Phase 3: What is the rest of the “real” wine growing world doing and can we do it here?
Translation: Steer as far away from the current local thinking as possible.
There are currently a handful of very progressive thinking wineries that have undergone a dramatic “about-face” and taken on a huge risk hoping to reap huge gain. At CARONE we decided that we want to compete at an international level. We want to do so by comparing apples-to–apples, or rather grapes-to-grapes and, in turn, wine-to-wine. Small, discreet vinifera plantings have popped up, in as recent as the last 5 years, in very specific sites suited for cultivating internationally recognized varieties such as Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Cabernet Franc. The vines are still young, but among wine writers circles the shear effort of such winemakers has already gained much respect! Finally Quebec viticulture is starting to mature. Okay, it’s not a Burgundy Chardonnay or Pinot noir, but its Pinot noir for crying out loud, and in Quebec! That, on its own, deserves the respect of the wine world. Never mind that yields will be low each year and that Mother Nature likes to whack us at harvest.
Phase 4: The next step
What lies ahead, this of course is a mystery which requires some crystal ball-reading skills. Maybe Quebec can carve out a niche for itself on an international level with one specific grape or wine style? As Burgundy has done for centuries; a definite QC style on its own that can be compared to similarly produced wines/grapes from other countries. There is no doubt in my mind this is where the industry is headed. Those who disbelieve this, only need to look how other wine growing regions – Finger Lakes, PEC, Long Island, Maryland, Virginia, Niagara – evolved. It’s the nature of evolutionary progress.
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November 11, 2011
Categories: Carone Comments, Vineyard . Tags: anthony carone, Eona, Foch, Frontenac, Marquette, quebec, Seyval, St. Croix, St. Pepin, Victor Dietrich, Vidal, vines, vineyard, vinifera, vitis.vinifera . Author: caronewines
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Evolution of Viticulture at CARONE
The three evolutionary phases of viticulture at CARONE and now onto the next stage
The viticulture philosophy at CARONE has changed over the years. We were in the vineyards today, walking by early plantings of hybrids used in some of our lower priced wines, which we have been slowly replacing with modern and better quality vinifera grapes.
Phase 1: “Follow the herd to the watering hole”
The first phase was quite simple, we saw what everyone else was doing and tried to replicate that in the Lanaudière region. This involved obtaining grape cuttings of what was available at the time in the early 1990′s. At that time, French and American hybrids were planted mostly in the Eastern Townships area of Quebec. Seyval, Foch, Eona, Vidal varieties were among some of the most popular cultivars. Victor Dietrich, who provided my Dad with our original cuttings, was a great vignerons but had limited insight of Quebec wine trends. Little did we know when we planted that these grapes had fallen out of favour years before we had even decided to start our winery in Lanoraie.
Phase 2: The “grape to end all grape” in cold climate regions.
So those 1st phase vines were replaced by the second wave of hybrids – the “super-hardy”! A variety that promised to be everything the earlier hybrids were not – cold hardy, disease resistant, heavy producers, excellent wine quality, etc…. Professionals, grape breeders and nurserymen from as far away as Denmark, Sweden, Minnesota, Ukraine, Belarus all spoke the gospel of Minnesota grapes. The hype was astronomical. St. Croix, St. Pepin, Frontenac, Marquette and the thousands of ES-numbered nominations came to market quicker than the Crusades converted heathens (or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could regulate). Plantings of these grape varieties not only thrived, they multiplied by the hundreds of thousands practically overnight. Storming the Quebec landscape, to the discontent of many established wineries in the Eastern Townships, vineyards and wineries were now possible in other regions. Every single rolling hill as far away as Gaspé could produce wines. It did not matter so much the quality. Hey “we can produce wines” where corn fields once ruled. We were all drunk with enthusiasm. All, except the customer. The wines produced from these grape varieties had teeth-shattering acidity, too much color, and hardly a trace of tannin. They tasted fruity, one-dimensional and over-the-top. So much for hype! At CARONE we looked to push the limits, we were determined to make quality red wine products, so we looked back to the traditional.
Phase 3: What is the rest of the “real” wine growing world doing and can we do it here?
Translation: Steer as far away from the current local thinking as possible.
There are currently a handful of very progressive thinking wineries that have undergone a dramatic “about-face” and taken on a huge risk hoping to reap huge gain. At CARONE we decided that we want to compete at an international level. We want to do so by comparing apples-to–apples, or rather grapes-to-grapes and, in turn, wine-to-wine. Small, discreet vinifera plantings have popped up, in as recent as the last 5 years, in very specific sites suited for cultivating internationally recognized varieties such as Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Cabernet Franc. The vines are still young, but among wine writers circles the shear effort of such winemakers has already gained much respect! Finally Quebec viticulture is starting to mature. Okay, it’s not a Burgundy Chardonnay or Pinot noir, but its Pinot noir for crying out loud, and in Quebec! That, on its own, deserves the respect of the wine world. Never mind that yields will be low each year and that Mother Nature likes to whack us at harvest.
Phase 4: The next step
What lies ahead, this of course is a mystery which requires some crystal ball-reading skills. Maybe Quebec can carve out a niche for itself on an international level with one specific grape or wine style? As Burgundy has done for centuries; a definite QC style on its own that can be compared to similarly produced wines/grapes from other countries. There is no doubt in my mind this is where the industry is headed. Those who disbelieve this, only need to look how other wine growing regions – Finger Lakes, PEC, Long Island, Maryland, Virginia, Niagara – evolved. It’s the nature of evolutionary progress.
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November 11, 2011
Categories: Carone Comments, Vineyard . Tags: anthony carone, Eona, Foch, Frontenac, Marquette, quebec, Seyval, St. Croix, St. Pepin, Victor Dietrich, Vidal, vines, vineyard, vinifera, vitis.vinifera . Author: caronewines
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