|
Westport Rivers Winery
Dateline: 07/25/99
|
I knew the visit would be fun from the moment I met winemaker Bill Russell at the
Nantucket Wine Festival. Bill was
friendly and knowledgeable, and when he invited me to come by for a tour sometime,
I leapt at the opportunity.
|
I thought immediately of my friend, Michele, who loves sparkling wines. My friend
who had accompanied me to the festival, Donna, also was quite interested in seeing
the operations. So it was that the three of us gathered there on a gorgeous Tuesday
afternoon to explore the wines of Westport Rivers.
|
Bill first took us out through the vine-laden trellis to the vineyards. He talked
about how they prune and care for the grapes, how they remove outer leaves during
the summer to let the most sun in at the growing fruit.
|
Sometimes, in years of
bounty, they have to remove excess grapes to allow the remaining ones to grow fully.
Bill can tell from the buds in the fall what type of grape harvest he should expect
in the coming year, and carefully tends them towards that end.
We moved into the winery, housed in an old barn. Their
stainless steel tanks are cooled to maintain a constant temperature, and at the
end of the cycle they are super-cooled to condense out tartaric crystals. Bill described
it as the same process involved in making sugar candy, something we all remembered
with fondness. They then age many of their wines in French oak - Bill finds that
2-3 year old oak is best for a good taste balance. Some of the wines then go
through malolactic fermentation, which smooths out the wine.
|
Their sparkling wines, for which Westport Rivers is famous, go through the
methode champenoise process.
The bottles are placed in riddling racks - these allow the yeasty sediment
to be slid from the sides of the bottle down to the top, against the cork. The
top of the bottle is quickly chilled, the frozen yeast plug removed, and a dosage
of wine replaces the empty space. The bottle is then corked with the typical large
cork.
|
We went into the back, wood-lined aging room, which held even more bottles of
sparkling wine. This would be a good place to be stuck for a while! We then went
out into the main barrel area again. We met with the president of a New Hampshire
wine club, who was at Westport to check up on his wines. The club has been making
wine since 1982, and has won a few awards for them. They are about to release a
Chardonnay and Cabernet.
|
Bill next gave us three tastings direct from the source. We first tried a RJR Pinot
Noir from a stainless steel tank. Next, we tried a Chardonnay from a barrel, and
third a Cabernet from another barrel.
|
It was intriguing to see what stage each wine
was at - how much of the flavor had developed, and to guess what each would taste like
when the final product was bottled. By now, we were primed for the main tasting.
|
We said goodbye to Bill at this point, took a final look around, and headed back into
the tasting room. We went through the full suite of wines at this point, sharing the
glasses amongst the three of us, enjoying each fully.
|
We bought two cases, along with a few t-shirts and other items, and asked where we
might find some dinner nearby.
We were pointed at the Back Eddy restaurant, located on the water, and
started by a famous Boston restaurant owner. We went down and had a delicious dinner
and dessert, accompanied of course by Westport Rivers Chardonnay. I would have to say
this is easily the most fun I have had in a long time, and would enthusiastically
recommend the tour and tasting to anyone who is within driving distance of
this fantastic winery!
Photo Gallery from Westport Rivers
Westport Rivers Reviews
Winery Reviews Main Listing
|
