Why a vineyard in New Hampshire?
Open a Winery, what better way to hang out with your kids!
As we tour the world, we search out historic areas, many times a vineyard or local restaurant is close by. That in its own is fairly common but the owner of a local vineyard in many cases is a farmer, travel guide & historian.
For a vineyard to succeed you have to have a delicious product and a compelling reason for people to visit. Stopping by and enjoying a sample of wine slows down the world and lets you off the merry-go-round for a few minutes.
Having a three-story barn in scenic New Hampshire and plenty of space has its advantage. So, after studying every book and website we could get our hands on and visiting many types of Vineyards, we planted over 500 plants from Nevinesupply.com in Vermont. A list of the plants we grow are at the bottom.
Stephanie who worked at a building supply store saved a bunch of Grape Vines at the end of their season in 2012. They were Niagara, Concord and Catawba. We had four plants that grew quickly and gave us the fruit we bottled. Stephanie is now our Marketing Manager, opening up Farmers Markets, Online, Restaurant and wholesale store sales and. She also holds Crafting classes.
Elizabeth has a degree in food science and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Boston. Beth mustered friends to help prepare the winery and is now the General Manager and Chef. You'll find her creating charcuterie boards, special wine drinks, #WineCream ice cream, Wine slushies and special events.
Jacob is Operation's Manager and Assistant Winemaker. Jake is in charge of our Organic vineyard, buildings, and making wine. Patrons enjoy "Wednesdays with Jake", every Wednesday Jake takes over the tasting room. On Select Sundays you will find Jake host "Taste, Tour and Bottle" a wine bottling event.
Robert shares the dream with Steph, Jake and Beth. The Winery was the tool in which the family's skills are used to create a fabulous adventure in wine, cuisine and events. Bob creates the wine, organizes growth and maintains the vineyard, advertising and host on Select Sundays of the very popular "Taste, Tour and Bottle".
We have created a great event space in our "Outdoor Tasting Room", in the winter we add igloos for to our magical location. We designed the crush pad for weddings, comedy nights, Barre & Yoga classes and private events.
For a really in depth look at our history consider taking the very popular Tour, then share your Vineyard adventures with us!
Bob Waite
Vigneron
Averill House Vineyard
bob@averillhousevineyard.com
603-371-2296
These are the plants:
Frontenac Blanc is a member of the Frontenac family. You may be familiar with Pinot noir or Pinot gris. The berries are yellow gold when ripe, producing a very light straw-colored wine. The flavors are said to have a Stone Fruit or Melon nose making Dry white wine. As an added bonus with a late harvest making, it possible to make Ice Wine.
Brianna is popular due to its big tropical fruit aromas. It also does well in below zero temperatures and is harvested in early September. In addition to being able to be blended with others it is also delicious as a table grape for snacks. I am sure we will see these on the Cheese plates Chef Elizabeth Waite is planning for the yet to be named Vineyard Cafe.
Frontenac does well even below -30F, these also ripen late and have a garnet color to them. Their flavor has been described as a teaser of Cherry, Plum and sometimes Chocolate. It produces a medium bodied red wine or even making a port. Some wines are then made from the naturally dried Frontenac and called Straw wine.
Canadice Red grow in large clusters of light pink berries in medium size. The ripen in October and do well to -20F. As an eating grape they have a great shelf life, as long as four months! What I enjoy about these is they have a spicy flavor that adds some fun to a glass of wine.
Himrod was produced as a combination between Thompson and Ontario grapes. It produces large bunches of White grapes which when turned into wine have a honey like flavor. They also are sought after for Jams and juice. They will be the first to ripen of the group. Beth will certainly make these on to a plate of some sort.
Concord Seedless is Americas favorite grape! Makes an awesome grape juice that you want to dive into. The smell is rich and sweet, they make great Jams and Jellies. Plan on seeing these mixed in with several of the others for some complex flavors in a rich red wine.
Niagra are very common in white grape juice and when turned into wine have a Riesling flowery note. They have a very late harvest and the berries are big and light translucent green. These are the first two plants we grew.
Catawba played an important role in Early America. During the 19th Century it was the most widely planted grape in the Country. It was one of the most widely distributed wine Acclaimed by Nichols Longsworth in his Ohio Sparkling wines that shipped to every coast and even back to Europe. This will make a light rose or pink colored wine like we made this year. Some say it has a grapefruit aroma. With such a high sugar content it certainly produced enough alcohol content.
Marquette is Complex with cherry, black pepper and spices. Used on its own and in blends.
Sabrevois has a fruity flavor with nice berry aromas.
Petite Pearl has a spicy complex flavor with an essence of earthy aromas.
Any questions please send me a note.
Please share your Vineyard adventures with us!
Bob
As my children started their careers and grew up we had the desire to work together. We collaborated over three years and developed a business plan that allowed us to all contribute in our chosen areas. Five years later the business is strong and employees full time three of the partners. Best of all I see my children every week and they are a constant in my life, I can't imagine anything for fulfilling.
