Episode 34: New Hampshire

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Make America Grape A…

An episode of the The Make America Grape Again Podcast podcast, hosted by The Wine Monk, titled "Episode 34: New Hampshire" was published on March 18, 2019 and runs 20 minutes.

March 18, 2019 ·20m · The Make America Grape Again Podcast

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Summary

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Make America Grape Again Podcast, where we explore the wine scene in New Hampshire through the lens of the 2015 Marquette from Poocham Hill Winery. In this episode, I also have two new guests joining me: Greg Gonnerman, the owner of Laramita Cellars/Chiricahua Ranch Vineyards, and Ginger Mackenzie, owner of the Vino Zona tasting room in Jerome. One of the main features of this episode is a discussion of the complex genealogy of "complex" French-American hybrids; see the chart of the Marquette family tree on the main blog site. (http://makeamericagrapeagainpodcast.com) Furthermore, Greg's discusses his take on the wine scene in New Hampshire based on first-hand experience, and Ginger also gives us a crash course in decanting wines. Which means... this is an episode you decant afford to miss. (Ha! I slay me.) According to a chart I recently shared on our facebook page, New Hampshire has 59 bonded wineries, as of December 31st, 2018. Some of these wineries are importing grapes and juices from other viticultural regions throughout the world, or exclusively making fruit wines; others are growing on site. The history of New Hampshire wine begins relatively recently, due to the climatic challenges of growing in such a harsh environment; as of now, pure vinifera varietals cannot grow there. But with the breeding of complex hybrid varietals (such as the Marquette featured in this episode) at both Cornell and the University of Minnesota, viticulture has now become possible here. The first winery and vineyard in the state that records exist for was planted in Laconia, New Hampshire, in 1965. This vineyard, called White Mountain Winery, was later sold and changed names to New Hampshire Winery. Financial problems caused the winery to close in 1992. In 1994, Jewell Towne Vineyards, located in South Hampton opened--it is the oldest still operating vineyard in New Hampshire today. There are no American Viticultural Areas in New Hampshire as of yet. This bottle was bought by guest Greg Gonnerman from the vineyard itself, and he was kind enough to share it with us for the podcast! I'm really glad he did; this is the best red wine made from a complex French-American hybrid grape so far that I've tasted.