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Shaw Vineyard

"When I was a kid- back when kids actually worked- we worked in the vineyards," Steve Shaw recollects. Shaw, a native to the Finger Lakes, has spent his lifetime among its vines and vintners, and counts Hermann Wiemer, Charles Fournier, and Guy Devaux among his personal mentors. He planted his first vineyard in 1981 with the intention of starting a sparkling wine brand but ultimately found that he lacked the capital. Instead, he sold his fruit to other wineries and eventually became the assistant winemaker (later, partner) at Silver Thread. Silver Thread was fully committed to organic farming at the time, a practice that Shaw does his best to keep up with. He launched his own brand in 2004 and currently makes around a dozen different wines.

Shaw is something of a godfather to the new generation of winemakers cropping up in the region. In him they see an iconoclast, an original thinker, and a seriously compelling winemaker. Shaw’s wines are unlike anything on offer from the appellation today. They are made purely from the gut. Fruit is picked when it tastes good ("I used to have a refractometer but somebody stole it," he told me, half-joking), sorting is done only in the vineyards, even if that means that some underripe or overripe berries end up in the mix, and almost everything is fermented via indigenous yeast. He is a big believer in extended barrel aging, and all of his reds will see a minimum of 3 – 4 years in oak prior to bottling. He makes a range of whites including a couple of skin-contact versions, as well as a non-vintage Pinot Grigio. Generally speaking, all his whites will spend a year or more in tank on their lees. In addition to the extended elevage, Shaw will also bottle-age his wines for quite some time, only releasing a vintage when he believes it to be ready-- a practice he carries almost to the extreme. Among his “current releases” are a 2007 Merlot, a 2005 Dry Riesling, and a 2003 Chardonnay. While those with more classical palates might take issue with these often wild creations, many find the wines fascinating.

From Finger Lakes Rising (Jul 2016) by Kelli White

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2005 Dry Riesling

Release Price: $22

2003 Chardonnay

2013 Sauvignon Blanc

NV Pinot Grigio LiBella

2012 Riesling Roadblock Reserve

2013 Gewürztraminer Vin Rustique

2010 Pinot Noir Reserve

2014 Cabernet Franc Unoaked

2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

2007 Merlot Reserve

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