We farm distinct vineyard sites that lie on the western and eastern slopes of Seneca Lake.

The Vineyard Map

A fixture in the Hermann J. Wiemer tasting room, this 10-foot-high centerpiece is a meticulously crafted, hyper-detailed display of the many vineyards we farm. It offers a comprehensive visual overview that includes location, elevation, proximity to Seneca Lake, vine age, row and vine spacing, varietal, clonal selection, planting orientation, soil type, and acreage—all thoughtfully arranged in a design by architect and Cornell University professor Aleksandr Mergold of the firm Austin & Mergold.

Every detail has been considered, illustrating just how many elements contribute to the character of a vineyard site. The map is as educational as it is beautiful, designed to both inform and inspire curiosity. We often joke that each time we stop to admire it, we uncover something new, a small detail or a surprising connection we hadn’t noticed before.

It’s this complexity and diversity across our vineyard sites that enables us to craft the full spectrum of Hermann J. Wiemer wines. In many ways, this map is more than just a reference—it’s a window into the heart of our viticulture.

HJW Vineyard

Our HJW Vineyard features Hermann’s original plantings on Seneca Lake of Riesling and Chardonnay from 1977 and 1978. Mature vines, combined with the site’s shallow topsoil and shale bedrock, produce lower yields, resulting in expressively vibrant flavors. Higher elevation and a greater distance from Seneca Lake contribute to a cooler growing season resulting in leaner, more austere wines with intense flavor and excellent aging potential. In 2009, we planted two more blocks of Riesling, bringing the total acreage to 33. In 2015, we began our venture with biodynamic farming and have converted the entire property. In 2023 we received Demeter Certification for our HJW Vineyard.

Magdalena Vineyard

Uniquely situated, our Magdalena Vineyard’s warmth and consistent ripeness shine through in the wines sourced from this site. A beneficial air exchange with Seneca Lake moderates the temperatures, creating a warmer and more protective site in the colder months and a cooling effect throughout the summer. The airflow keeps the vineyard dry, and deep soil provides room for spreading root growth. The lime silt loam soil that the site is celebrated for is crucial to the development of flavor intensity in the grapes.

The Magdalena site was part of Hermann’s 1998 purchase of land from the Taylor Wine Co. He then began planting the site in 1999, beginning with Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, and continued to add Gewurztraminer, Lemberger, and Cabernet Franc. Though just 10 miles north of our HJW property, this site has proven able to ripen and protect varieties that do not thrive in our other vineyard locations and we’ve introduced exploratory measures regarding dense vine spacing, and vineyard orientation to open airflow and increase hang time.

Josef Vineyard

The Josef Vineyard is located 10 miles north of our HJW property and home to multiple parcels of old vine Riesling. These mature vines produce wines of intense flavor owed to their lower yields and longer hang times. Josef’s ideal slope, deep soils, and proximity to the lake add further to the site’s potential ripeness. In addition to Riesling, we have plantings of Gruner Veltliner and Gewurztraminer at this site.

Hermann purchased the Dresden property (now our Josef and Magdalena Vineyards) from Taylor Wine Co. in 1998 and began efforts to restore the site. The vineyard was healthy but had been farmed for high yields and years of deferred maintenance meant that there were some problem areas. The vines had been head-trained with high fruiting zones in order to both machine-harvest and machine-prune. In the years following this purchase we repositioned and retrained the trellising system during winter pruning to lower the fruit zone, reduce yields, and promote fewer, but more flavorful clusters. Moreover, we have since worked to address the health of the site through the introduction of natural soil corrections, cover crop usage, and the removal of herbicides (we have been herbicide-free at Wiemer since 2004). The retraining of a vine is crucial, but so are the efforts focused on restoring the health of the soil and the surrounding biosphere.

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