year of growth.
This year has been a unique one, indeed. With the holiday season in full swing, we pause for a moment to reflect. Of all that eclipsed our path, one word emerged — Growth. It may have not been the easiest year, but often growth is encouraged in years such as this. In the tidings of the winter solstice, which is upon us, we wanted to give our account of highlights that has transpired in a spirit of thankfulness.
Drew’s Health: Our family and team have never been more sure that what is truly meaningful is the gift of being together. After two years of remaining apart for the health of our greater community, this year was looking to be especially full of love, laughter, and togetherness. In late April, our family was hit with devastating news — Drew, one of our founders had Leukemia, once again forcing separation from family and friends for months and months. Drew's livelihood is community-driven and not being with loved ones, missing meaningful events, and not being able to spend his days with the team was devastating. After nine grueling months of intense treatments, procedures, tests, and a successful bone marrow transplant, we are thrilled to report that Drew’s cancer is in remission!
Planting More Vines: On Earth Day, we were so thankful for our slice of earth, for life and a team that works the ground with us. The sun shone across our backs as our hands were in the dirt, bringing a new vineyard to life. As we planted 10,000 more grapevines at Burnt Hill, we hoped to steward what we are given well. Drew was able to join us virtually from the hospital to see his vision and planning for these vines come to fruition. And we are thankful for the team and community that came together to accomplish it.
Summer Solstice: After a two year interlude, we once again hosted our Summer Solstice Festival at Burnt Hill Farm and were able to celebrate the longest days of the year with friends near and far. Summer Solstice is a celebration of the best low-intervention winemakers from around the world under a giant circus tent atop a wild hillside. The festival is all about discovering the beauty of regenerative farming and soulful wine in an undomesticated environment. We had over 50 incredible producers pouring at the event and over 1000 attendees. We opened our farm for an outdoor gathering featuring winemakers, farmers, artists, musicians and purveyors from near and far. Our guests were able to sample 200+ unique wines, eat amazing food, listen to unique music and enjoy our stunning hillside.
Our Growing Season and Grape Quality: Harvest 2022 is one we’ll never forget. We had an incredible growing season. A welcome reality to the health struggles we faced on our team. We gambled a bit by letting all of our reds (except Merlot and Regent) hang through the remnants of hurricane Ian and it paid off. We received far less rain and wind than originally forecasted and the fruit held up perfectly. After several weeks of bright sunshine, wind and cool nights, we captured the reward of our gamble – perfectly ripe grapes. Our wine maker Lisa Hinton fermented these beautiful grapes with native yeast and bacteria in estate-grown ashwood foeders. In hindsight, we had a perfect vintage. We’re so thankful for and proud of the hard working team of incredible humans who made it all happen.
Polyculture Paradise:
Berkshire Woodland Hogs — Our Berkshire piglets grew quickly living in the shaded under the canopy of the forest - able to root in the soil for acorns and feel the sun on their backs. This year, we had a herd of 20 free ranging woodland hogs that went to butcher mid-november. It was a privilege to care for them. While it’s sad to see them go, we know that while they were under our care we did well by them. Everything has a cycle and we are proud to steward what we have been given with love.
Bees — While bees are not essential to a vineyard’s success, bees are vital to preserving agriculture as we know it, and we are committed to protecting these pollinators. We have a dozen apiaries currently in their winter cycle atop the hill. Typically, the bees remain in the hive during the winter except for cleansing flights when there’s a warm day. Whenever the sun’s rays warm the hives to around 50 degrees, all hives are active at the entrance. It’s good to see healthy hives. This gives us confidence we have given the colony a chance to come into spring
Mushrooms — We’re growing a dozen strains of shiitake & oyster mushrooms on 300 logs/totems. We scouted the woods for the ideal environment and found a hollow between two hills by the stream. We selected and cut the perfect logs (white oak, sugar maple, poplar, beach) 4” x 40” at the peak of color change. We let the logs rest for a few weeks, sourced spawn, and built a bench for drilling, inoculating, and waxing the logs. We built beautiful log formations along the forest floor – there’s something special about arranging logs in an orderly fashion within the wildness of the woods. And the fruits of our labor can be found atop wood-fired pizzas at Old Westminster Winery!
It’s truly been a fantastic year. Our family is healthy, Drew is on the road to recovery and the new wines are showing tremendous potential. None of this would be possible without the dedication and skill of our wonderful team and the emotional and financial support from our family, friends and customers.
Much love & many blessings,