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W i n e s & V i n e s O C T O b e r 2 0 1 4 79 WineEast Only one producer I spoke with, Hunt Country Vineyards (Branchport, N.Y.) on Keuka Lake, bottled their Muscat com- pletely still. Hunt Country assistant wine- maker Brian Berry explains that they've made the choice to keep it still because they feel the wine has enough going on that it really doesn't need any lift from CO 2 . Missick describes Villa Bellangelo's other style of Muscat as similar to "a French-style Muscat, like the wines of St. Jean de Mi- nervois and Rivesaltes." Named Muscat Vin Doux Natural, this wine is a lightly fortified dessert style for which they halt fermenta- tion with the addition of distilled spirits. Finished alcohol is 15.5%. In my experience, wines produced from Valvin Muscat have always required some level of bentonite fining to achieve heat sta- bility. The 2013 vintage was the worst case yet for us, requiring 7 pounds of bentonite per 1,000 gallons. Most years call for at least 2-3 pounds per 1,000 gallons. Other wine- makers reported similar experiences. Juice fining might be a good option for this variety. YAN numbers for Valvin can vary widely and bear some investigation. Gerling re- ported numbers as low as 47 ppm and as high as 194 ppm for Finger Lakes Valvin in the 2010-12 vintages. His feeling was that, lacking any specific information on a partic- ular lot, an addition in the range of 50-100 ppm nitrogen would probably be safe. In the Finger Lakes, some growers who are successfully growing high-end vinifera cultivars are nonetheless allotting a portion of their prime sites to Valvin Muscat. This in itself speaks highly of this variety. With the fruit bringing growers around $1,000 per ton, and most Valvin Muscat wine prices in the mid- to lower-teens, it's a win- win for growers and winemakers alike. WE Chris Stamp is president and winemaker at Lakewood Vineyards in Watkins Glen, N.Y. He started his wine career as winemaker at Cayuga Vineyards in the Finger Lakes and in 1986 took a position as enology re- search and extension associate at the Ohio Agricultural Research Development Center in Wooster, Ohio. When his family opened Lakewood Vineyards winery in 1988, he returned to New York to become the wine- maker there. Wine Packaging by Packaging Designed & Manufactured by a Wine Maker, for a Wine Maker 4138 Vineyard Road Stewartstown, PA 17363 Tel: 800-292-3370 Fax: 717-993-9460 Phone: 717-993-2431 Naylor Wine Cellars is a lifetime member of Wine America, Pennsylvania Wine Assoc, Ohio Wine Producers and NY Wine & Grape Foundation WPN is a premier supplier to over 2,000 wineries and wine & spirits shops. Our auto bottom carriers & shippers are the perfect sturdy solution for your retail & online sales! www.NaylorPackaging.com Features & Benefits - Extra sturdy construction for the most protection - Quick & easy to pack & set up - Folds to conform to many different bottles - Trademarked design - Bio-degradable - Quick delivery from our stock - Lies flat for easy storage - Takes up half the space of comparative packages - Tested & approved by UPS and Federal Express as a preferred method of shipping bottles - Custom imprinting and packaging is available to display your logo, enhancing your brand image DAILY WINE INDUSTRY NEWS winesandvines.com