Constellation Rejects Smoke-Tainted Grapes
Throughout California Wine Country, as the harrowing 2017 harvest nears its end, small-scale growers like Will Bucklin are facing a harsh reality: Wineries may not be willing to buy their product because they don’t want to sell smoke-tainted wines to consumers. When that happens, it’s largely not the wineries that take the hit, but the growers.
During the earliest hours of the Nuns Fire, flames ripped through Bucklin’s Old Hill Ranch, decimating two homes on the property, knocking over more than 40 trees and scorching several century-old vines. Most of Old Hill’s grapes had been harvested already, but some — including the parcels contracted to Constellation — remained on the vines. For days, thick smoke lingered.
Constellation’s smoke-testing process takes on a scientific approach, according to vineyard owner Will Bucklin, looking for the presence of the chemical compounds guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol, which contribute smoky aromas and flavors.
“They tested the grapes before they were set to pick and found the compounds present,” Bucklin said. “And they rejected the grapes based on that.” Read more here, from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Give Local Business a Shot
A writer for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette notes that Three Rivers Distilling Co. is adding a 7,000-square-foot tasting room that, hopefully, will be open by Thanksgiving.
While it usually takes some time to age bourbon, Aaron Pence, vp-sales and marketing, says Three Rivers has figured out how to advance the process. It’s the fluctuation in temperatures that helps bourbon age, so the crafters built a winter and summer room that can heat up the alcohol or cool it down.
The company also built its own fermentation tanks that are on site.
In the soon-to-be complete tasting room, there is an outside patio area that will have a covered dining area, a tasting bar and a gaming area. The tasting room inside will have a cater kitchen that will serve small food offerings such as cheeses and small salads.
And of course, customers will get to try Three Rivers Distilling’s products such as Harvester Vodka, Three Rivers Early Bourbon, Summit City Gin, River City Rum and 122, an un-aged corn whiskey. All of the alcohol is named to give a tribute to Fort Wayne and its history, including 122, which is a shout out to the 122nd Fighter Wing – all the way down to its label that features the mascot black snake.
Three Rivers Distilling is the first legal distillery in northeast Indiana since Prohibition. And while that makes it unique on its own, the company also works to use all Indiana products in making its alcohol, Pence says. They get their grain from Lebanon, and their 5-gallon wooden barrels used to age the rum and bourbon are made by a local cooper.