Summer Wine Getaway to Greenvale Vineyards
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
This summer, GoLocalProv's wine critic Steffen Rasch is exploring the region's Coastal Wine Trail. This week he visits Portsmouth's Greenvale Vineyards.
Greenvale Vineyards is tucked away on a gorgeous 24-acre piece of land overlooking the Sakonnet River. Here, the Parker Family has been farming and raising livestock since 1863. In the early 1960’s Cortlandt Parker and his wife Nancy, the family’s 4th generation of farmers, started growing grapes as a hobby. In 1982, the Parkers officially made the switch to growing commercial grapes full-time, originally as a satellite operation for Sakonnet Vineyards. Among the first plantings were the hybrids Cayuga and Vidal, both white grape varietals suitable for Southern New England’s cool climate.
As more and more acres were added to the operation, so did the number of grape varietals that were planted. In the late 1980’s the decision was made to plant the traditional Burgundian varietals Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. When it came time to harvest the Parker’s were surprised how unevenly the Pinot grapes had ripened. After a closer inspection revealed that the ripened grapes were in fact Cabernet Franc, which had accidentally been mixed in the plantings, the decision was made to stick with them and drop the Pinot.
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Today, Greenvale Vineyards grows a wide variety of grapes including the crowd favorites Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Gris. The vineyard no longer sells its grapes but grows for its own labels exclusively. With less than 4,000 cases produced annually Greenvale Vineyards is considered a small producer. Instead of focusing on quantity, the vineyard is dedicated to producing quality wines that reflect the true ‘terroir’ of Southern New England.
With no built-in irrigation or drainage systems in the vineyard, winemaker Richard Carmichael counts on Aquidneck Island’s unique micro-climate to give his vines what they need. Richard, who joined Greenvale in 1997, maintains low yields (as low as one cluster per shoot!) to maximize the amount of nutrients available to each cluster. The diligence shown in the vineyard produces some delicate cool climate wines that I suggest you try over this summer. At a recent visit to Greenvale's beautiful tasting room overlooking row after row of vines, I tasted the current lineup, including the creamy and medium-bodied 100% barrel-fermented ‘08 Chardonnay Select and the crisp and acidic ’09 Vidal Blanc, displaying just a hint of sweetness before being taken over by green apple and citrus notes.
Not all of Greenvale’s wines are in distribution so if you want to taste their Cabernet Franc or the Rosecliff Pinot Gris you will have to pack a lunch and get moving. If you also like Jazz you should consider coming down soon as Greenvale hosts its ‘Live Jazz at the Vineyard’ events every Saturday from 1pm-4pm during the month of July. See you there.
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