Home grown wine by one Herkimer man
By: Chelsea Rarrick
Updated: September 21, 2011
Wine is seen in your grocery store everyday, but do you ever think of
the effort that goes into the process of making it before hitting the
shelves?
John McDonnell has gotten involved in the wine process making, and has grown wine in Herkimer at his own vineyard.
It was ten years ago when John McDonnell started off by simply just making wine from a kit.
That led him to where he is today, a home grown wine maker in Herkimer.
McDonnell started getting grapes from the Finger Lakes, and decided it would be a fun experience to start his own vineyard.
He started the hunt for the perfect place for his vineyard, which brought him to finding land near his home in Herkimer.
"This one came out just beautiful with no amendments needed. So four years ago we bought this property, and little by little we'll continue to plant an acre or two," said McDonnell
It takes a few years for the vineyard to be ready to harvest, and John has just released his wine in April that he has grown to sell.
"It started with four varieties, I have Baco Noir, which is a nice dry red wine. I've got Vignoles here and Vidal Blanc, and a late harvest Vignoles, which is a desert wine," said McDonnell
But, it's not an easy process to get where John is today.
"You have to be patient, there's a huge investment," he said.
He says it is a lot of manual work planting and laying out the vineyard. John says you have to space everything just right, but in a system for the vines to grow on. You also have to monitor and spray them.
John then crushes all the grapes with a machine called a "Hopper" to get rid of stems and separate the juice.
The sugar is then converted into alcohol, that makes the wine.
Although it's a time committed dedication, John loves what he does each and every day.
"I'm having a great time doing it and I hope it continues. I hope people continue to love the wine I produce up here," said McDonnell.
His wine is now available in nine different stores and also stored at farmer's markets.
He also has another vineyard that will be ready to harvest in about two years.
John McDonnell has gotten involved in the wine process making, and has grown wine in Herkimer at his own vineyard.
It was ten years ago when John McDonnell started off by simply just making wine from a kit.
That led him to where he is today, a home grown wine maker in Herkimer.
McDonnell started getting grapes from the Finger Lakes, and decided it would be a fun experience to start his own vineyard.
He started the hunt for the perfect place for his vineyard, which brought him to finding land near his home in Herkimer.
"This one came out just beautiful with no amendments needed. So four years ago we bought this property, and little by little we'll continue to plant an acre or two," said McDonnell
It takes a few years for the vineyard to be ready to harvest, and John has just released his wine in April that he has grown to sell.
"It started with four varieties, I have Baco Noir, which is a nice dry red wine. I've got Vignoles here and Vidal Blanc, and a late harvest Vignoles, which is a desert wine," said McDonnell
But, it's not an easy process to get where John is today.
"You have to be patient, there's a huge investment," he said.
He says it is a lot of manual work planting and laying out the vineyard. John says you have to space everything just right, but in a system for the vines to grow on. You also have to monitor and spray them.
John then crushes all the grapes with a machine called a "Hopper" to get rid of stems and separate the juice.
The sugar is then converted into alcohol, that makes the wine.
Although it's a time committed dedication, John loves what he does each and every day.
"I'm having a great time doing it and I hope it continues. I hope people continue to love the wine I produce up here," said McDonnell.
His wine is now available in nine different stores and also stored at farmer's markets.
He also has another vineyard that will be ready to harvest in about two years.
