Looks innocent…
It’s been a stressful time lately. We are understaffed. We’ve been closing @flxprovisions because we just don’t have enough people to handle it. I’ve been on the floor somming and/or cooking for the last month.
So, farm/winery operations have been packed into my Tuesday/wednesdays…with the exception of emergencies…bud break was 2+ weeks early, and then temps dropped. I’ve done three overnight shifts in the vineyard moving air in the last 3 weeks, after and before 16 hour restaurant days.
Today felt different. We planted 200 new Chardonnay vines in my last block to be replanted. It was a beast of a day. Cold and rainy…hot and sunny…cloudy and windy…down pour with huge droplets…lightning storm…hail.
So, this is my digger. It’s an aggressive motor, with an auger. This morning, the gas cap broke, and the gas tank cracked.
It’s temperamental. It’s strong, and you control the speed with the same hand trying to hold it in place (it’s you vs the earth), so, when you catch on something and the machine gets wrenched from your hands, you instinctively squeeze tighter, only speeding it up. Then comes the impact…you could be standing in a way that braces the machine against your legs, in which case, with all its force it bucks against any place between your belt and your shin. Alternatively, if your legs are too beaten to take any more, you could chose to stand in a way that nothing catches the spinning motor other than your weekended arms and shoulders.
but, despite the challenges, we now have 200 new baby Chardonnay vines in the ground and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say someday. No matter how hard to work, the feeling of accomplishment is amazing.
Anyone want a job?
200 more vines in the ground!
Buy more finger lakes wine!
We’ ve partnered with Restaurant Lento to bring you an exclusive evening of exceptional cuisine and rare, cellared wines on Wednesday, May 6th at 6:30 pm!
Join us for a 6-course Surf & Turf pairing dinner featuring a curated wine selection from Master Sommelier and Winemaker Christopher Bates, of Element Winery!
Featuring cellared wines from past vintages, this is an experience designed for those who truly appreciate great food and wine. To make a reservation, please call or email the restaurant. See you there!🥂
Well, here goes nothing (everything actually…for me at least)…
despite looking fairly far behind just two days ago, we have now clearly started to see leafing out happening, unfortunately, this not abnormal frost/freeze event means that nothing good is going to happen. What temperature is dropping down to 25°, it’s likely that we’re gonna lose most of our primary buds. I’m heading out to spend the next 10 hours doing my best to move air and mitigate damage, but the odds aren’t looking good on this one.
I’ll let you know by 8 AM I think worked out
As beautiful as it looks out there right now, the next 36 hours could be brutal for wine and fruit growers across the Finger Lakes.
A stretch of warm weather pushed an early bud break—great in theory, until you remember how fragile those first green shoots really are.
Tonight dips to around 30°F, but with enough wind to hopefully keep things moving. Tomorrow night is the one that keeps farmers up—temps dropping into the low 20s, no wind, and not much standing between a healthy crop and a very hard year.
This is the reality of farming here. The same climate that gives us wines with precision, energy, and balance… also comes with real risk.
If you’ve ever wondered why these wines matter—this is part of the answer.
In the meantime, the best way to support the region is simple: drink more Finger Lakes wine.
@elementwines@inourelementwines@colloquialwines are all available on our website now. If you’re curious what makes it worth it to farm here, grab a few bottles—we think you’ll understand pretty quickly.
Thursdays are delivery days here @flxtable …and, some delivery days are better than others…
@alchemistbeer heady topper is a staple around here
@wulfsfish is back in the house with giant mussels for a new dish
And, @pajzostokaj esszencia is not to be missed… stop by @flxprovisions today, and grab a spoonful!
A nice little reward after a crazy day of bottling @elementwines ! Today we bottled a Chardonnay base sparkling wine made up of current and reserve wine ranging from 2017 to 2025. A small portion of this will be released it five years of age, but the majority won’t begin disgorgement until 10 years on lees. It’s been a bottling that has been in the works for a long time, and just continued to grow. Thankfully, it’s all safely put away.
So, in order to celebrate we went to @flxprovisions and drank some of both the most delicious and rarest sherries in the world!
While at the moment we are bottling everyday, we also know, this is just around the corner! I am looking for someone to join my crew on the farm for the season. It will be a split between farm days and winery days. Experience with wine a must, interest and passion for learning mandatory, a positive, self motivated and curious mindset indispensable. Vineyard, tractor and winery experience would be cool, but not mandatory…that can all be learned.
Thank you all for your patience. We got a new reservation system which seems to be a different page. The new link is in our BIO, but if you have difficulties, please give us a call to make your reservation!
Back to my regularly scheduled programming.
This was a pretty fun lineup of white wines from unexpected places.
The gruner from @drfrankwine was quite pretty. It had an interesting, salty quality on both the nose and the pallet and a little Gruner spiciness.
The work that @bachelder_wines is doing in Niagara with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay is nothing short of miraculous. This line was simply gorgeous.
And then, for something way outside of the box, Chardonnay from the Czech Republic. This one was quite enjoyable, though, maybe a little bit heavy-handed with Oak and reduction, but showed great potential. Looking forward to tasting more of these Wines the next time I’m there.
This is not paid for. This is not political. This is just a personal expression of concern.
It worries me how a barrage of misinformation degrades trust.
I’m not saying there aren’t long lines at tsa these days, there certainly are (there always are), but, I’ve been on 11 flights in the last 10ish days and it’s not been my experience. These photos are Rochester with the shortest I’ve ever seen the line there (2pm), Atlanta at 7:30 pm and again at 2:30 pm.
Again, I know some folks have been stuck in horrible lines, but, the headlines seem bent to convince us we are up against apocalypse.
It’s just sad to me that folks livelihoods are compromised in the polarized times.
