Winter Work at Long Island Vineyards

Filed in archive New York Wines on January 9, 2008

I'd wager that most people don't think too much about where their wine comes from and how much work is involved in the production. People tend to think about vineyard trips in the summer, when the winter is gorgeous, and in the fall, when the harvest is taking place. But what about in the winter? The vines don't just patiently wait for spring to roll around. Okay, perhaps the vines do, but there is still plenty of work going on around them. Mark Harrington wrote an interesting article in Newsday about the importance of pruning away the vines at vineyards in Long Island, getting ready for the next season.

Though tedious, the work is peaceful, steady and thoughtful. Alice Wise, the region's grape-growing expert at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Riverhead, described it as a "very meditative experience." She's been doing it for 20 years, she said, "and every time I go out, I learn something. You have to think."

The article just gives us an idea of how much work goes into making the wine you drink with dinner. It's an interesting read, and I recommend you take a minute to check it out.