)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
The Winemakers at Work
The Winery
A Traditional Craft in a Rustic Barn
Our winery, which produces approximately 12,000 cases each year, was designed in 1982 by an award winning team of Cornell architects. Enclosed within the shell of a seventy-year-old scissor-trussed barn, it accommodates a laboratory, tasting and retail sales, a wine production area and a private tasting room.Its unique white cathedral-like interior counterpoints the bare wooden walls and sleek Italian stainless steel tanks.
At work inside, winemaker Fred Merwarth works daily with Hermann to exact the very best from our vinifera grapes. Our processes pay homage to the ancient winemaking tradition of Hermann's ancestry while engaging the best of current practices. Our sparkling wines are riddled by hand, our still wines manually racked, and all vintages subject to daily scrutiny by Hermann and Fred.
Some of our vinifera can only be described as 'high-maintenance'- requiring very labor-intensive practices to draw out the best of the harvest. Notably, our Pinot Noir requires a high level of hand selection and stemming, even prior to the highly monitored fermentation processes. In our initial fermentation, we choose open-top fermetors in recognition of the finesse and creativity required to produce truly exceptional Pinot Noir. To increase the contact between juice and skins, the fermenting grapes must be punched-down within the fermentor. For our Pinot Noir, punch downs are performed by hand, resulting in wines with more fully-developed flavor.
At the Hermann J. Wiemer Winery, we craft wines in very small lots. Although small-lot production is more labor-intensive that some of the industrial practices, it allows our winemakers to have greater control over the final product. Rarely a day passes that our winemakers do not share a tank sample and detail ways to maximize the bounty of the particular vintage.
We invite you to join us for a taste and experience the difference for yourself. We have an intimate retail shop inside the barn with all our current vintages available for purchase. We have a small tasting bar within the retail shop and a larger one in the production area of the winery, and offer tastings for a nominal fee. Our experienced retail staff is on hand to guide you through the wine list and answer any questions about our facilities nad processes. In season (April through Christmas) we are open daily. Winter hours are posted seasonally here and at the winery. Appointments are requested for parties larger than 6, and any limousine service.