2019 growing season underway
There are two things that scare us in the early growing season - frost and hail. Roughly four weeks separates bud break and the last of...
Cellar Sanitation
Cellar sanitation is one of the less glamorous aspects of wine production. It's also one of the most important. The cellar should always...
December newsletter
Harvest cellar operations are fast coming to a close. This time of year we often say we’re “buttoning up” the wines. For non-ML...
Vintage 2018
Soggy is how I and most wine producers in the Mid-Atlantic would characterize the 2018 vintage. Northern Virginia got anywhere from 40-90...
Peach wine - part one
After two seasons in which the orchard didn't produce a crop, 2018 saw a bumper crop of peaches for Antietam Creek Vineyards. We decided...
Canopy management
At some point every year a grapevine will likely produce too many shoots to effectively farm a vineyard. Left unmaintained, a vine's...
Production tasting - Cabernet Franc
Important to any professional winemaking operation is the continual refinement of production goals and styles. All too often wineries...
Red wine blending
Wine blending exercises often evoke images of swirling wine glasses and discussions of nuanced aromas. The reality is a bit different. In...
Vineyard hail damage and recovery
A client vineyard in Northern Virginia suffered massive hail damage on May 14, affecting every vine. Shoots were broken off, leaves were...
Red wine processing-whole berry tank fermentation
One trend gaining popularity in high end red wine production is the use of whole berry fermentation. Completely eliminate the crusher...
