Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

What’s in the rest of the barn?

Zach and his friends have been working hard on the center section of the barn.  They are preparing for a small wedding this weekend.  Zach leveled and secured the floor with insulation and plywood.  They also drywalled and primed several sections of wall.

For the wedding twinkle lights and fabric will be hung to cover the unfinished areas.  This will be a great practice run for when the Winery holds events in the future.  It will also serve as extra space when the weather is too poor to use the deck.

There is still a lot of work to be done before it is ready to use by the Winery but the progress is exciting.

Posted by Anja Weyant and Samantha Weyant Shaffer

Why We Use Cork in Our Winery

Cork is a sustainably harvested product that is natural, renewable and recyclable.  Cork forests support high levels of biodiversity and prevent desertification in the Mediterranean region , where most of these forests are found. Additionally, cork oak trees store carbon in order to regenerate their bark.  According to WWF, a harvested cork oak tree absorbs up to five times more carbon than one that is not, and cork forests absorb millions of tons of CO2 each year.  With a global decline in the natural cork use for wine, cork trees are being lost and countries are experiencing desertification, which also threatens the habitats of some critically endangered species, like the Iberian Lynx in Portugal.

Let’s start with a brief summary of the types of wine bottle closures:

Natural Corks
Natural cork has several advantages, it is a natural product, it is porous and traditionalists will say that cork creates the perfect oxygen/wine ratio for cellar aging. The oxygen transfer rate of natural cork is approximately 0.0179 mg/L or between 3.00 and 6.83 micrograms of O2/day. Cork is also recyclable and cork forests contribute to biodiversity and prevent desertification of the Mediterranean region. A high quality cork offers long term aging potential, though with very high end wines it is recommended to re-cork after 25 years, as the cork will start to fail at that time.

But there are some major disadvantages, including problems with leakage as well as sources of off-odors. Leakages can be caused by structural imperfections of the cork itself, of it could be caused by wrongly aligning the cork and bottle during the corking process. Rapid temperature changes may also cause leakage. Another serious problem with cork is the possibility of off odors, including TCA (Trichloroanisole), as well as microbial growth from a variety of sources.

Concerns about structural imperfections of corks as well as cork taints have been the major reason for the development of alternative closures.

Synthetic Corks
Synthetic corks are inexpensive, they are consistent and they will never have the taint issues of real cork. They can also be used without the need for new bottling equipment. However, plastic allows the diffusion of oxygen at varying levels, ranging from 0.0052 cc/day to 0.0076 cc/day, while other evaluations of synthetic cork show diffusion from 5.7 to 13.99 micrograms of O2/day. Oxidation of wines under a synthetic cork can be observed as early as in a year, though ongoing research is addressing this issue. Plastics are not generally a renewable resource.

Screw Caps
Metal screwcaps are a major alternative to cork when it comes to closures. The metal cap itself is not the actual closure; rather the bottle is sealed with a plastic foam pad that is either lined with saran and a tin layer, or saranex only. A main advantage of these closures is that they are very consistent; they are great at retaining SO2 and they minimize oxidation. They are pilfer proof, and eliminate the need for a cork screw. There is no risk of TCA and the bottles do not need to lie on their sides.

There is some research suggesting that screw caps may lead to reduction in wine (the opposite of oxidation.) And there is still disagreement as to the aging potential of wine closed with a screw cap. Another disadvantage is the cost of investing in a capping machine, which starts around $8000. The various types of screw caps in the market are not standardized so a capping machine is specific to one type of screw cap only.

“Engineered” or “Technical” Corks
A technical or engineered cork is basically made of shredded natural cork that is then “glued” back together and molded into the traditional cork shape. This type of cork provides all the advantages of natural cork, but eliminates the problems of cork taint (from musty smells to TCA) and inconsistencies with oxygen permeation caused by technical imperfections. Different grades of cork are used in this process, which – just as with the natural cork – influences the number of years that the cork is guaranteed for. This typically ranges from 2, 3, 5 and 10 years.

Regarding overall market perceptions, cork closures are still the preferred method of closures in the US for all wines, but even in countries where alternative closures are well accepted, many wineries opt to use traditional cork closures.

When deciding about the best wine closure, the overall environmental impact should not be underestimated! Cork is a sustainably harvested product. It is produced primarily by the Cork Oak (Quercus suber), but the tree does not get cut down in order to harvest the cork. The cork oak is the only tree, where all the bark can be stripped without harming the trunk. Harvesting cork starts when a tree is around 30 years old, and is repeated every 10 years or so – for about 200 years per tree.

We know that by using natural cork, we are helping save cork trees in Portugal, across Europe, and in the Mediterranean region!

Here are some links where you can learn more about how corks are sustainably harvested and the importance of cork trees:

Cork Forest Conservation Alliance

“Save a Tree, Use Real Cork” The New York Times, 2013

Cork Quality Council

 

Posted by The Long Shot Farm

First Weekend Open

It’s beautiful out but it is windy.  The deck is ready, the tasting room is buzzing with anticipation and cars are in the parking lot at 4:51.  The Winery is finally opening to the public.

Friday evening started out beautiful but the weather became so cold and windy that is was impossible to enjoy a drink on the deck.  However, many guests enjoyed a brief peak at the view.  As a result everyone was inside.  There were not enough chairs so Tina brought her own dining room chairs over from the house.  People lined the hallways, the bar, and just stood around holding drinks and balancing their flights.

Speaking of flights…they weren’t something that we were originally going to pursue.  But by 6 o’clock someone had asked about them, and by 7 we were out of dishes.  Saturday morning a quick run to the restaurant store secured more flight boards and glasses. We are selling flights for $10 now and it’s a great way to taste 4 of our wines.

Rachel and Sam manned the bar while Tina and Jeff answered questions.

Lars was running around carrying cases of wine, restocking behind the bar and running the dishwasher.

No one was really sure what to expect.  Will people just stop in, buy something and leave? Will people want samples? Should we do free samples?  Will people hang out? Will anyone even come? But by Sunday the Weyants were relieved to learn that all of their hard work over the past decade had culminated in a successful opening weekend.

Posted by Anja Weyant

Winery Sign

The Winery has a sign! It was designed by Samantha and cut out of steel by Agar Welding Service and Steel Supply with a plasma cutter.  Jeff, Zach, and Lars sunk 4×4’s into the ground, attached the metal sign and added a board below with our opening hours. The bottom portion of the sign was printed by Vispronet.  Come check it out!

Posted by Anja Weyant  

Tasting Room Open House

We hosted a pre-opening event for our neighbors, friends and supporters to thank them for all the encouragement and help during the last few years to get our winery going.  We had our PLCB inspection last week and our winery license is active as of February 28 🙂

The tasting room was spick and span and we had light refreshments from the County Butcher Shop to pair with the wine.

It was also an opportunity to work out some of the kinks.  No one really knew what to expect in the tasting room or even how to pour wine.  Our self-taught servers used wine glasses filled with the appropriate amount of water to use as guidance.  It was also an opportunity to learn how to talk about the wine.

One of the many things we had to learn and prepare for was how to use Square to accept payments. A big thanks goes out to our first official customers and helping us with our learning process!  Knud (Tina’s brother) and his wife Shannon enjoyed the Chardonel wine and Tina’s parent’s could not go away without buying their favorite wine, Chambourcin.

The open house was a success.  We even had a random customer stop in.  They were in the area, from State College, and saw all of the cars in the parking lot and the sign.  They bought 2 bottles to go after tasting a few.  Our first uninvited customers!

We cannot be more grateful for the support and encouragement from family, friends and neighbors.

Posted by Anja Weyant, Tina Weyant, and Samantha Shaffer Weyant