The 2018 vintage of “Stony Hill White” is an estate dry white wine made from a blend of white grapes all grown on our family farm: 70% Chardonel™ grapes and 30% Traminette grapes. Chardonel ™ was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University as a disease-resistant cold climate grape suitable for the Finger Lakes Region. Traminette is a hybrid grape, specifically a cross between Seyve and Gewurztraminer, created at the University of Illinois. The seeds were then sent to Cornell's grape breeding program, where they were further developed into Traminette. Traditional vines are grafted because of their lack of disease-resistance. Our vines are own-rooted, meaning that the root system is true to the desired variety, and not grafted.
 
All the grapes in this wine are hand-pruned and hand-picked, which contribute to its exceptional quality. The vines are grown using a VSP trellis system. The grapes were hand-harvested at 22 Brix, destemmed and lightly crushed. The pomace was allowed to sit for 12 hours on the skins, and then pressed. Once fermented, the wine was allowed to go through malolactic fermentation, creating a much softer acid profile. Unlike other white wines, this example has a fruit-forward flavor profile, high minerality, and moderate alcohol profile of 12%.