Johnson Estate

The "Chateau" or Estate Tradition

Wines can be no better than the grapes from which they are made. This concept is the basis of the centuries-old estate or "chateau" wine-making traditions of France and Germany.  An estate, or farm winery, uses grapes grown from its own adjacent vineyards. The entire vinification process, including the crushing, pressing, fermentation, aging, and bottling, occurs on site.  Since grapes ripen at different ...

The largest and finest grape growing area east of the Rockies is found along the southeastern shore of Lake Erie in western New York and Pennsylvania. In this place are the classic wine-growing conditions:   a northern latitude with the resulting long hours of summer sunlight, well-drained sand, gravel and shale soils which grapes prefer,  left from the retreat of ancient glacier, and a climate moderated by an adjacent body of water, Lake Erie...

At a chateau or estate winery, there is a special collaboration between the winemaker and the vineyard manager/owner – it begins with the selection of the grapes to be grown, a decision that can be planned for several years,  and includes vineyard site selection, pruning methods, fertilizing and sustainability programs, and pre-harvest decisions including de-leafing and de-fruiting to optimize fruit flavors.

It is the winemaker who tes...

In the fall, once the leaves have fallen from the vines, the vineyards allocated for ice wine are covered with netting to protect the fruit from being eaten by birds.  This portion of the harvest is delayed until the middle of winter, usually until December or January, and can only proceed if and when the grapes are completely frozen. When temperatures have fallen to roughly twelve degrees Fahrenheit for a day or more, the grapes may be harves...