26 WINE from 3
an heirloom variety origi- nally from Kazakhstan, are relatively large for crabapples and produce an off-sweet, tangy wine which serves as a great aperitif and also an excel- lent partner with a wide variety of foods, including spicy dishes, light meals and breads. Another wine, the Foch
Mead, is made using Marachel Foch grapes from winemaker Ken Hardcastle’s backyard
THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, July 7, 2011
vines which were planted over 35 years ago for use by New Hampshire wine- making pioneer John Canepa, and honey from bee hives that he main- tains in his backyard. An intense wine with
very unique flavors and aromas which will contin- ue to improve as it ages, the Foch Mead appears destined to become a bou- tique wine favorite. “The Foch vines are nev-
er sprayed and we can use the natural yeast on the
grapes for fermentation. It adds unique flavors unavailable anywhere else in the world,’’ says Hard- castle. He said that there is no attempt made to separate minor amounts of hive materials, allowing the flavor and healthful com- ponents found in pollen and propolis to be incor- porated into the mead, much like the wines of the ancients. Hardcastle, originally from Stoneham, Mass.,
Visit the Castle and you’ll see.
Ken Hardcastle, winemaker at Hermit Woods Winery, checks a recent batch of wine.
COURTESY PHOTO
Ken Hardcastle, Chuck Lawrence and Bob Manley in the tasting room at Hermit Woods Winery.
CASTLE CLOUDS
IN THE JULY 7TH
Jazz at Sunset • Enjoy a bite to eat while taking in the magnificent views $10.00 PP Reservations Required
1-603-476-5900 ❖ W
JULY 15TH Heifetz Concert
See more Details on the website Open Daily
www.castleintheclouds.org
In Moultonborough, N.H., overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee Original art by Peter Ferber
returned to New Eng- land from California in 1989 and took a job with Biospheric Consultants International in Meredith as a geologist and over the years developed a reputa- tion among his friends as one of the state’s best beer makers. He loves anything that ferments and is in charge of the wine making at the winery, which on the day before it opened had just completed its 99th batch. One of his favorites is
a Blueberry Wine, made from low bush blueber- ries, which he says is not sweet and more akin to a Pinot Noir than a fruit wine. The blueberry wine is best served slight-
ROGER AMSDEN PHOTO
ly chilled to cool room temperature and comple- ments a number of foods, including fish. Manley, who is using
his artistic skills and pro- motional and public rela- tions background to get word about the unique wines produced at Hermit Woods out to the public, says that growing good wine grapes with such a short growing season, only 130 days compared to 160 in California, has always been a challenge for wine makers in the Northeast. Hybr ids developed
from French grapes like Marechal Foch, Fronte- nanc and Cayuga, which See WINE on 27
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