Pruning Vines on the Last Day of 2018

First Snow

Labeling Wine Bottles

Every new wine label needs to be approved by the federal  Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau, TTB for short. (Wine labeling rules are found in Title 27 of the Code of  Federal Regulations) After the approval, they can be printed and applied.  We use a manual labeler, which we really like:

Sign Installed

Sammy designed the sign for the winery which was produced by a local welding shop, Agar Welding.  We installed it this weekend:

Concord Harvest

We are in the middle of harvesting our Concord grapes - and ever so thankful for the large walk-in cooler that allows us to store the grapes before crushing them.

Raspberries

HVAC and Dishwasher

We are happy to report that the future tasting room now boasts a heating and cooling system, which we promptly turned to cooling.  It is amazingly quiet and works great.

The other major addition this week was a commercial dishwasher!

Crazy Sunsets

Deck Railing Finished

We chose wire, rather than wood, for the deck railing to offer a better view of the vineyard.  Installation was finished today and it looks amazing.

Deck Railing and Ramp

Progress continues this week, as the handicap ramp is taking shape. The decking boards, posts and railings were installed on the ramp, which will end with a cemented landing.    The deck also has a railing as of this week, and a door from the future tasting room to the deck was added.     

  

Deck Board Installation

Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Icing

This cake is one of our favorite chocolate cakes.  It contains sour cream, which typically results in a
moist cake that keeps well.  The dark chocolate ganache is a decadent icing, which further helps to keep the cake moist.  I usually store the cake under a glass cover.

Ingredients for the Cake:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey's dark chocolate)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for the Cake:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and thoroughly butter and flour a Bundt cake pan
2. Combine butter, cocoa, salt and water in a small pot, and heat on medium, stirring frequently until butter is melted (don't overheat). Set aside to cool a bit
3. Sift the flour, baking soda and sugar into a large mixing bowl (I use a KitchenAid with whisk for this cake)
4. Add about half of the melted butter mixture to the flour mix and start whisking until combined, then slowly add the remaining butter mixture
5. Add the eggs, one at a time
6. Add the sour cream and vanilla
7. Whisk until the batter is smooth (may need to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure it is all blended together)
8. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake in center of oven for about 40 - 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. (my oven takes 44 minutes) Try not to over-bake it.
9. Place pan on cooling rack, and let cool down - about 15 minutes or so, before inverting onto cake plate.  Let cake cool some more.

Ganache Icing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate morsels  
• scant 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine 1 cup chocolate morsels (I use Hershey's dark morsel, can also break up high quality chocolate into small pieces) and scant 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream in a double boiler.  Heat on medium, stirring constantly.  Watch carefully, stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture gets shiny - pull of heat immediately (chocolate will temper quickly) and stir.  (if it seems too runny, add a few more morsels and stir them in)  While still very warm, spread ganache on the cake.

Wine Label Design Finishing Touches

Samantha has been working hard on finalizing our wine labels.  The general design and layout had been done for a while, but we had to get the labels sized correctly to fit our various bottle shapes, and we had to meet the specs of the printer.  The draft labels have been printed on two different types of paper so that we could see how well each holds up.  We actually made the bottles wet and put them in the refrigerator, and submersed them in ice water buckets to test the paper.  Now that we have all this done, we are submitting each label for approval to the TTB.

We also selected different color schemes for the various wines, and tried to match those colors to the available bottle caps.

Here is an examples of our draft wine label:

Tasting Room Nearly Finished

Just realized that we had not posted any pictures of the nearly finished tasting room - so here we go:

View from tasting room window

Mulching the Vineyard

The weather finally got warmer and dried out the ground enough to use the mulch spreader in the vineyard.  Its the finishing touch after the first round of pruning:

Winery in the News

The article below was published in the Central Penn Business Journal on April 27, 2018, written by Jason Scott.  (an earlier version appeared in the online edition):

And here is a link to a blog post by Paul Vigna 

of the Harrisburg Patriot News:

Trimming Blackberries

This year we did not start trimming blackberries until the initial grape pruning was done.  But luckily the days are getting longer ...  and a bit warmer :)

After

Before

Work in Progress....

Parking Lot and Driveway Work

After all the excavating work, 6 truckloads of shale were spread out and then covered with 4 truckloads (about 86 tons) of gravel.   After all this was done, a heavy roller pressed everything into place - and voilà - we have a driveway!

Tourism Grant Awarded from CAEDC

We are so excited and thankful to have been awarded a Tourism Product Development Grant from the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation. The official press release was issued today:


Media Contact: Kristen Rowe
Phone: 717-240-7195 Cell: 717-592-8286
Email: kristen@visitcumberlandvalley.com

CAEDC Tourism Grant Helps Fund First Winery at a Vineyard in Cumberland County

CUMBERLAND VALLEY, PA (April 12, 2018) - The Winery at the Long Shot Farm was awarded a Tourism Product Development Grant from the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation (CAEDC) for $74,550. The grant is for the addition of a tasting room to this farm winery located just north of Carlisle at 1925 McClures Gap Rd., Carlisle. They plan to open the tasting room by Summer 2018.

The Winery at the Long Shot Farm is Cumberland County's first winery with their own vineyard, offering estate bottled wine. "We have been growing grapes and berries in the Cumberland Valley for many years, and we are so thankful for the generous support from CAEDC, allowing us to share our passion for making wine," said Tina Weyant, co-owner of the family-owned and operated winery.

Nestled at the base of North Mountain and surrounded by farmland, The Winery features a picturesque view of the Cumberland Valley. The tasting room and production area are housed in a renovated stone and wood barn dating back to the early 1800’s, and a large deck will overlook the vineyards and pond allowing visitors to enjoy their glass of wine and the view. All grapes and most of the fruit are grown on the premises, taking advantage of the unique agricultural resources of the Cumberland Valley, and using sustainable agricultural practices. 

The Winery will be specializing in traditional wines, produced from hybrid and vinifera grapes as well as “country” style wines made from other fruits. The initial selection will include varietals such as Chambourcin, Chardonel, Concord and Vidal Blanc grape wines as well as Blackberry and Apple fruit wines. As production increases, a wider variety of wines will be offered including dry and semi-dry hybrid and vinifera wines and sweeter Concord and Niagara wines. 

Visitors will be able to stroll through the vineyard on their own, have a picnic (bring your own food) or participate in a vineyard and winery tour. They anticipate offering educational events such as a forum for home-winemakers, wine tasting tips, and painting classes and social events like book-clubs and knitting groups in the future.

"We are very excited to assist with the opening of the first vineyard winery in the County," said Valerie Copenhaver, CAEDC Senior Director of Marketing & Tourism. "The Cumberland Valley is already becoming a destination for breweries and distilleries, and to be able to add a locally-sourced winery to that mix only elevates our offerings."

The Winery at the Long Shot Farm will be part of the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail. Learn more here. CAEDC also assisted the Winery with a letter of support for a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant in 2016 to finish and bottle their wine.

To learn more about grant and low-interest loan options for tourism-related projects, please contact Valerie Copenhaver at 717-240-7193 or valerie@visitcumberlandvalley.com.

About CAEDC
CAEDC is Cumberland County’s authorized agency charged with leveraging and promoting Cumberland Valley’s economic development and tourism assets to drive growth, create jobs and improve the quality of life. Offices are located at 53 W. South Street, Carlisle PA. For more information, visit www.cumberlandbusiness.com and www.visitcumberlandvalley.com.

Bathroom Progress!