In case you missed Harvest Market’s Holiday Wine and Cheese Pairings in December, don’t worry! We have more planned for 2014, and in the meantime, take a behind-the-scenes peek at our educational trip to Paradocx Winery & Vineyard from November, 2013. Harvest Market staff members accompanied Paradocx vintner Gabriel Rubilar on a tour of their vineyard and winery. There, we learned about how the grapes are grown and how the wine is made.
Located just over the state line in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, Paradocx Vineyard sits on 100 acres of land and maintains 30 acres of vines. With the harvest in September, the vines were barren with just a few shriveled berries remaining. Even on a late fall day, we found the vineyard to be breathtakingly beautiful.
Gabriel’s infinite knowledge of how to care for and harvest the grapes was astonishing. We were very surprised to learn all that goes into producing the perfect grape and wine! A little over a year ago, Gabriel moved from Argentina to take his current position as the vintner for Paradocx Vineyard. He explained that it is a challenge growing grapes in the Pennsylvanian climate. This challenge is what drove him to make great wine at a small family operated business. He was happy to say that he continues to learn something new everyday.
This netting (at right) was left behind from before the harvest. Netting is used to deter birds and deer from consuming the fruit. In such a small vineyard, which is already in a challenging region, every berry is precious!
Another technique used to produce the most flavorful and abundant bunches is called “leaf pulling.” Leaf pulling is essentially what it sounds like. The vineyard workers know which way the sun follows the rows of grapes. Pulling leaves away from the bundles of grapes allows the sun to shine directly on them. This helps to allow the grape maintain perfect sugar to juice content, and also helps regulate moisture levels and the spread of fungus.
After our tour in the vineyard and production area, we visited the tasting room. This is where our delicious gourmet cheese comes in! We brought along a selection of cheeses from Harvest Market to pair with Paradox wines. The staff at Paradox put together a wonderful tasting, which made it even more difficult to decide on three wines and cheeses for our event. Let’s just say that many of our cheeses matched deliciously with their wine. Gabriel’s favorite pairing was the Beecher’s Flagship Reserve paired with the Paradocx Vidal Blanc wine.
Maintaining a vineyard requires attention to detail, energy, and passion. The drive behind Paradox and their employees is remarkable and commendable. We encourage everyone to learn more, taste, and buy from Paradocx Winery at their new tasting room location at The Market at Liberty Place in Kennett Square, PA. To view all the breath-taking photos from our trip to Paradocx and our Wine and Cheese Pairings, visit our Facebook Photo Album.
