Among the many changes that owner and winemaker Carl Helrich has made at Allegro Winery over the past few years has been a “display vineyard” that he dug out on his southern York County property in 2016.
Located a short walk from the tasting room, he thought it might satisfy the curiosity of visitors who wanted to experience a walk through a vineyard. His primary vineyard blocks are several hundred yards farther away, surrounded by a fence that’s been put up to repel deer.
He planted Arandell grapes, which were introduced at the Viticulture 2013 conference held in Rochester, New York. At the time of their debut, the Arandell grape was the first named cultivar to come out of the “no-spray” block that Cornell grape specialist Bruce Reisch established in the late 1980s. According to the story written at that time, it’s a grape highly resistant to powdery mildew, downy mildew, and Botrytis, and combines this disease resistance with good wine quality.
Knowing they would grow in an area of his property where he wanted to avoid spraying fungicides, he essentially bought and planted the grapes without much more knowledge about them than that. Per the information available at the time, growers should be able to produce clean, ripe fruit with a minimal spray program. It’s a grape that produces dark, red wines with clean berry aromas. More detailed information can be found in this Arandell release bulletin.
Four years later, they have filled that vineyard, already looking like they are ready to pick. Helrich said Saturday that he plans to use the grapes for the nouveau wine he produces in November; he’ll harvest them probably in early to mid-September after their sugar levels reach an acceptable level.
If there are other regional vineyards growing the Arandell grape, I’m not aware of them.
Cabernet Franc grapes are just beginning to turn color in the Allegro Winery in York County.
Elsewhere around his vineyard, the red grapes are just beginning to darken as veraison begins. His vineyard, as did many others around the region, was impeded by a late frost. A largely dry summer with ample amounts of sunshine and heat has helped them catch up.
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The Link LonkAugust 17, 2020 at 10:50AM
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In York County vineyard, Arandell grape already looks ready to pick - pennlive.com
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