Lenn Thompson (LT): What exactly is the Niagara Escarpment and isn't it too cold up there to grow quality wine grapes?

Duncan Ross (DR): The Niagara Escarpment is an uplift of bedrock that runs parallel to Lake Ontario in Niagara County. It’s about a 200-foot drop in elevation facing north, with slopes of one half to several miles long. The underlying rock is dolomitic limestone and - in our vineyard - we have springs where the hydrostatic pressure from the escarpment releases water. This results in a great mineral quality being imparted to the fruit, and wine.

The Niagara Escarpment also offers natural frost protection. Lake Ontario is a large heat sink and this powers wind towards the lake when the lake water is warmer than the air and away from the lake when it is cooler.

It’s a maritime climate because the lake is so large. Moderate rainfall and more sunshine than any other major U.S. city in the northeast US contribute to the uniqueness of the escarpment for growing wine. We are the second warmest growing region in New York State. Long Island is the warmest.

LT: When was the first winery founded in the region? And how many are there today?

DR: In the 1970s, there were two wineries in Niagara County. For over twenty years after that, there weren't any new ones.

Five years ago, there were two wineries opened in Niagara County and the growth has been phenomenal since then. But there is a lot of room to grow and the demand is ahead of supply right now. Niagara Falls tourism will continue to drive growth in the local wine-tourism industry.

There are only a dozen wineries in Niagara County today, but there are about 100 wineries just across the river in Ontario. They are successfully growing Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris. A specialty they have been known for, icewine, is made from both Riesling or Vidal. As warm as the summers are, it does freeze every winter, making this region one of the few in the world that can produce traditional icewine every year.

LT: What made you decide to start Arrowhead Springs?

DR: As I said before, this has been a life-long dream. In 2002, a couple of things happened that caused my wife and I to think about where our lives were going and how we wanted to work and live.

Both of us had high-pressure careers and I had been laid off in a “reduction in work force” so we did what came naturally - we decided to do a "trial run" of what was a large amount of wine for amateurs.

That year we made three barrels of wine - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend. All of the fruit was sourced in Niagara on the Lake in Ontario, Canada. We had a press, but needed tanks, a pump, barrels, hoses, etc. It was quite an investment but the wine turned out wonderfully. We found out how much work wine is at higher volumes and entered the wine in a few contests to get some objective opinions. During this time we added a lot of technical books to our wine library.

LT: What varieties are you growing and what do you plan to specialize in?

DR: We planted our vineyard in May of 2006, on Mother's day. We own 25 acres and have planted seven of them with Entav-certified clones and rootstock selected for specific growing and wine making qualities. We have Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and one row of Malbec. We specialize in a red blends, primarily composed of the grapes we are growing. We also offer another blend, which is more of an everyday red wine.

In addition to the reds, we make icewine, Riesling and a barrel-aged Chardonnay.

LT: In the vineyard, what are the challenges unique to your region and your specific location there?

DR: The cold winters are our biggest challenge. While they offer the opportunity for traditionally made icewine, they harbor the danger of vine damage. To mitigate this, we hill up soil onto the vines above the graft, which helps prevent the total loss of a vine if temperatures get too low.

LT: What other special vineyard techniques do you employ to battle the growing conditions?

DR: We are using Scott-Henry trellis, rather than VSP. This trellis system allows greater light exposure to the leaves and fruit, and more air movement. For the varieties we are growing, this has been shown to increase quality.

We are gradually employing a bio-dynamic farming style. Hawks and other birds of prey that live in the escarpment at the South end of our farm patrol the vineyard to eliminate bird pressure. Trees at the creek on the North end of our vineyard offer them a perch for surveying the vines. We have planted grasses between rows to prevent erosion and keep the soil healthy. The water that flows in springs beneath our hillside vineyard eliminates the need for irrigation.

We also get a lot of rainfall compared to places like Australia or California. To compensate for this rain, we installed drain tile down the center of each row—33,000 feet of tile in total. This ensures that the grapes won't get saturated in a rainy period. Add to this the plentiful sunshine in the summer and you have an ideal location for cool climate viticulture.

LT: What variety/grape do you think will prove to be the 'best' on the Escarpment?

DR: A lot of varieties do very well here. For reds, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon all do well. For whites, Chardonnay and Riesling truly express the terroir of the escarpment.

I am not a fan of varietal labeled wines. It worked for California in the 60s and 70s when they needed to differentiate themselves from places like France and Italy where the wines were labeled regionally.

Today, of course, all Cabernet Sauvignons are compared to California and that is the consumer’s expectation of what the flavors should be. Cabernet from cooler climates, such as ours, has different structure and flavor profile. The terroir has a great impact on the wine and terroir is regional. This is the most important thing for a consumer to know when selecting a wine.

LT: What flavors are unique to wines from the Escarpment? And, what soil or weather conditions do you attribute them to?

DR: Again, the underlying rock is dolomite limestone and we have springs where the hydrostatic pressure from the escarpment releases water. In our vineyard, this water feeds the grapes from below, bringing the mineral content with it. You can really taste it in Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from the escarpment—all varieties that express terroir well.

It is also evident in the Chardonnay and "bigger" reds, such as Cabernet and Merlot, but it's more subtle. Our fields have been fallow for over 20 years, so the organic material content is high. This provides excellent vine nutrition, which can already be seen in the young vines.

There are some similarities to soils in other areas of the world with a limestone base, such as Burgundy. The soils here range from sandy clay on the escarpment to pure sand by Lake Ontario. Most of the soils are very deep, but there are the occasional limestone shelves or giant boulders underneath.

LT: What sort of ripeness are you able to achieve?

DR: We are able to ripen with consistency to between 22 and 24 Brix. Cabernet Sauvignon can be a little trickier because it needs a very long growing season, but this can come down to site selection. On the Escarpment, spring starts earlier than on the lake, making the escarpment a better choice for varieties needing a longer season.

LT: How would you describe your winemaking style? What do you focus on and what do you do to best display the region's unique characteristics?

DR: My winemaking style is very traditional. The grapes are sorted at harvest, crushed and fermented on the skins (reds) and punched down by hand 3 times each day.

This allows for excellent color and flavor extraction from the skins. Depending on the year, skin contact can be up to 3 weeks. From here, the wine is separated from the skins and the skins are pressed. I keep this pressed wine separate as it has very different qualities from the free run.

Everything is aged in small oak barrels for 18-24 months, then blended together for the final wines. In France, this is called Assemblage, and for me, developing the blends through trials is the most enjoyable part. Each barrel is unique, each variety is unique, and all bring specific qualities to the final blend.

LT: How has the marketplace reacted to the Escarpment and its wines?

DR: The demand for quality wine is still greater than all of the wineries can supply. Based on that, I’d say the consumer reaction to the wines has been very positive. Today, sales are regional. Being recognized nationally or internationally is a different proposition. That will take time, but I’m sure it will happen.

LT: You haven’t released your first commercial vintage yet. What do you currently have in barrel and when do you expect to release them?

DR: We have Reds from 2005 aging in the cellar — Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec as well as some Sangiovese (which we were fortunate to get). These will go into our 2 red blends. We also have 2006 Barrel fermented Chardonnay in barrels and are close to bottling the 2005 Vidal Icewine (from Ontario) and the 2006 Finger Lakes Riesling. The Icewine and Riesling should be released in August to restaurants and stores. All of our other wines will be available in the late fall. Our grand opening is scheduled for Valentine’s day, 2008.

LT: Where did you source grapes for these 2005 wines?

DR: We initially wanted to use Ontario fruit as this is the closest to us regionally. Unfortunately, the winter of 2004/2005 caused vine damage on top of the damage from the previous winter, reducing the crop significantly.

There was a freak wind in 2005 that blew ice packs into the shore of Lake Ontario. Normally, the lake is open water and warms the surrounding area. Then the temps dropped to -10 F for about a week. The vines on the lake and in the flats froze to the ground. Vines on the escarpment were relatively okay, but because suppliers had commitments to existing wineries we could not get fruit.

The Finger Lakes were in an even tougher situation as it was colder there and they had experienced three really cold winters in a row. We found fruit on Long Island in good supply from growers who met our quality standards. But, as you know, 2005 was a picture perfect vintage until a hurricane parked over the island days before harvest. The rains lasted for over a week and many grapes burst.

We then re-licensed as commercial to allow us to purchase out of state and I contacted some growers and wineries I know in Northern California who supplied our fruit. The grapes were sent via refrigerated truck direct to our winery and looked like they had been picked that day. Brix levels were in the 21-24 range.

Because they came from higher elevations, they will closely profile the style we will make from fruit grown here. I am using my 2002 and 2003 wines as a standard and goal for blending.

In 2007, we will source from our own vines, Ontario and some Finger Lakes. We think we will be self sufficient from 2008 on with the exception of Riesling, which we will have planted next year, primarily for icewine.