Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/72545
VINEYARD EAST COAST WATCH High-Spirited all them crazy if you want, but more and more winegrow- ers are planting their vineyards at what seems like impossi- bly high altitudes. Most of us are used to seeing vines laid out in nice, regimented rows stretch- ing, sometimes, to the far horizon across the gently rolling hills of Cal- ifornia or Bordeaux. Once you get up into the mountain wine country, however, you're more apt to run into small quilts of misshapen vine- yard patches zigging and zagging across every available dollop of dirt. One might be forgiven for won- dering why anyone would even consider taking on the challenges of producing wine up here in the clouds, where the winds can whip vines around like crazy, where frost is a perennial threat, and where anyone foolish enough to bring farm machinery up to the site is apt to see it skitter off the edge of the earth. High-country wine is gener- ally defined as coming from vine- yards located 1,000 feet or higher, and/or from sites with slopes of 30 degrees or more. Despite the obstacles involved, and the image we might conjure of isolated farms sequestered in remote hill country, high-altitude viticulture is expand- ing in the eastern United States at an astonishing rate. Four of the fastest-growing states in the num- ber of new wineries are North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland, located primarily east of the Mississippi River in the Appala- chian Mountains chain. Growing grapes at high eleva- tions may be a relatively new pur- 32 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JULY - AUG 2012 MARGUERITE THOMAS Vintners Mountain-grown grapes hold promise in the East suit in the East, yet in certain other parts of the world, the practice has a long and distinguished his- tory. In Italy's South Tyrol region, for example, recently discovered 2,400-year-old grape seeds at the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle indicate that this Alpine terroir is one of the highest continuously cultivated vineyards in the world. South Tyrol's wine country rang- es from 700 to almost 3,500 feet above sea level. Blessed by mild weather blow- ing up from the south, and protect- ed from the harsh northern climate by the Alps, this steep region is hospitable to a surprisingly diverse number of varieties including sau- vignon blanc, pinot blanc, riesling, gruner veltliner, sylvaner, kerner and pinot noir. One of the stars is müller thurgau, and in my opinion, there is no better example of this variety anywhere than Tiefenbrun- ner Feldmarschall von Fenner. "Certainly the müller thurgau Marguerite Thomas is a Baltimore-based journalist and photographer who contributes wine-related articles to several national and international publications. She is the author of the books "Wineries of the Eastern States" and "Visiting East Coast Wineries." variety is one of the most suitable vines for extreme regions," wrote Sabine Tiefenbrunner in an e-mail. "We have been cultivating our Müller Thurgau Feldmarschall von Fenner at 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) on the Fennberg Mountain since 1972." This long history of high-altitude viticulture bodes well for Eastern vintners, who can learn and gain confidence from European suc- cesses. Asked to offer one word of advice to newer high-elevation vintners, Tiefenbrunner pointed out that the acid levels of grapes cultivated far above sea level will be higher than in fruit grown at lower altitudes. This, she said, will affect physiologic maturation and harvest time. The world's highest vineyard is not in Europe, but in South Ameri- ca, soaring 10,246 feet above sea level in Argentina's Upper Calcha- qui Valley. There, Bodega Colomé's modern story begins in 2001, when Bodega Colomé in Argentina is home to the world's highest-elevation vineyard. Colomé winemaker Randle Johnson advises Eastern vintners to utilize international resources when planting vineyards at high elevations. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM