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HEART & HANDSWine Company

N e w s l e t t e r

2012 Vineyard

Update

Find out about the vintage-

to-date, and progress on the

estate vineyard

Page 2

Upcoming Releases

Many new wines are just

about to be released! Find

out the details and plan

your visit!

Page 4

New Website

Features

Our website has a new look

and feel, and some new

features to keep you updated

on the latest and greatest!

Page 6Greetings from

Heart & Hands Wine Company!

It is hard to believe that a new vintage is already beginning. Winter offered the chance to recharge, and now we are racing to keep up with the early growth in our vineyard, and preparing our new releases! We are pleased to

share our Spring Newsletter to keep you up to date on the latest happenings at the Winery!

As always, thank you for your continued support and patronage! It

is truly appreciated, as we take steps forward in making our dreams a reality.

Cheers!

Tom, Susan and Fíon

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HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

Estate Vineyard and 2012 Vintage Report – As visitors to the Heart and Hands tasting room will know, we have been hard at work preparing our estate vineyard over the past 5 years. It began with clearing the land in 2008, tiling in 2009, planting vines in 2010, and installing posts and trellis wire in 2011 and 2012. Every year since planting, the vines have progressed, pushing out buds, shoots and leaves and developing their root structure – establishing the foundation for upcoming vintages.

In prior years, we have dropped the fruit to the ground after bloom to allow our vines to focus on developing a strong root structure, and a good foundation for future growth. This year, however, will be the first year that we plan to allow some fruit to remain on the vines, fully develop, and become a part of the first estate Heart and Hands vintage.

Thus far, the 2012 vintage has certainly been interesting! We had unusually warm temperatures during the month of March which led to early bud swell, and lots of anxiety when we saw temperatures in the low 20s during the last week of March – but the buds survived unscathed. During the month of April, we felt like we were swinging on a pendulum, rolling between 80 degree and 30 degree temperatures every few days, causing growth, then slowing things down. Mother Nature tested us again in late April with a freak snowstorm and a frigid blast on April 28th, with temperatures dropping in to the low 20s. Fortunately our close proximity to the lake and the air drainage on the site helped to protect the vines, and we had minimal bud damage. Fortunately, reports back from our other growers indicate that they too weathered the storm with limited damage.

The early arrival of the growing season means that we have been very, very busy in the vineyard over the past 3 months. The vineyard activities began with pruning in February, shifted to tying in March and April, and now include mowing, discing, planting cover crops, and removing unwanted sucker shoots in May. We are pleased to see the tiny clusters of what will be grapes emerging, holding promise for the new vintage.

Many people are already asking what the warm weather will mean for the vintage..... While it is great to have an early start (especially now that we are just about out of the frost danger zone), we have a long growing season ahead of us, and are hoping for the best!

April bud break

Early bud swell in late March

Leaves and pre-clusters emerge

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HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

Cellar Update – While we have been busy in the vineyard, the cellar has also been humming away with activity. Our primary activity for the past few months has been bottling, bottling, bottling – getting ready for the upcoming releases.

Pinot Noir:

On the red Pinot Noir front, we are tending to the 2011 Pinot Noirs, which are now completely finished with their malolactic fermentation, and will continue to rest through the summer, until we do our late-summer tasting to determine which barrels to include in the 2011 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir and Single Vineyard Pinots.

As for current and upcoming releases, our 2010 Pinot Noir is now released, the 2010 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs are bottled, and the 2009 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir is bottled , and being waxed & labeled. This summer and fall, will be releasing 3 unique 2010 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs from Elaine’s Vineyard, Hobbit Hollow Vineyard and Patrician Verona Vineyard – we are looking forward to exploring the unique characteristics of these vineyard sites!

Riesling

On the Riesling front, it seems that we have had few days that were not completely consumed by Riesling bottling over the course of the last few weeks. The good news is, the bottling of the 2011 Rieslings is about 60% complete! The 2011 vintage was a strong Riesling vintage – so we will be releasing a 2011 Reserve Riesling this year! We will continue to produce a Dry Riesling, and for the 2011 vintage, we increased our production by about 100% - producing 200 cases. Hopefully this will keep you dry Riesling fans in-stock a bit longer!

We also bottled the 2011 Single Vineyard Rieslings from Nutt Road, Patrician Verona and Hobbit Hollow. Last but not least, we will be releasing a 2011 Late Harvest Riesling this year. We only choose to make a Late Harvest when conditions allow for the development of botrytis (the noble rot) - the last year we made a Late Harvest Riesling was 2008. This year we worked closely with one of our growers to allow the grapes to hang a bit longer than normal. When the fruit came in, we did a single berry selection – selecting only the berries that were infected with botrytis. The resulting wine is dripping with rich honeyed flavors.

Polarity and the Beautiful Bubbles!

The 2011 Polarity is still resting in the barrels, but will likely be released a bit earlier in the season than in prior years – it is such a perfect partner with seafood, so a summer release seems appropriate. Many have inquired about our Brut Rose, and yes, there will be a 2011 Brut Rose! We did some taste trials of the 2011 Brut Rose a week or two ago, and it is humming along nicely – look for a mid-summer

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Current and Upcoming Releases: Current: Tasting Room:

• 2010 Riesling - $17.99

• 2010 Pinot Noir - $20.99

• 2008 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir - $39.99

Claddagh Club Library Selection:

• 2010 Hobbit Hollow Vineyard Riesling - $25.99

• 2010 Nutt Road Vineyard Riesling - $25.99

• 2010 Patrician Verona Vineyard Riesling - $25.99

Upcoming Releases:

As is often the case, much of the wine is bottled, but we are waiting on the labels prior to release. While we don’t have exact release dates just yet, we wanted to share some windows of time to give you an idea of when things will be available!

• 2011 Reserve Riesling – late May, early June

• 2011 Dry Riesling – late May, early June

• 2011 Riesling – early to mid June

• 2011 Polarity – mid to late June

• 2011 Brut Rose – late June / early July

• 2009 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir – TBD

• 2011 Late Harvest Riesling – TBD

Upcoming Claddagh Club Reserve Allocation List:

2010 Single Vineyard Rieslings and 2011Single Vineyard Pinot Noir – aligned with Claddagh Club Allocation Release dates in June, September and November

Vino Lok!As those who have tasted the Heart and Hands 2010 Pinot Noir have no-doubt noticed, we have introduced some innovative and new packaging for our wines!

The Vino Lok is a glass closure that is used to seal the bottle of wine as an alternative to cork.

We are in very good company: the Vino Lok has been used in Austria for around 13 or 14 years and is used by West Coast producers SineAnn, Calera (where Tom worked a harvest season) and Whitehall Lane, among others. Australian producer Henschke is using the Vino Lok on their high-end wines, including their $595 Hill of Grace shiraz (yes, that is $595 per bottle)!

This year, we were also able to work with the producer to allow for the Heart & Hands claddagh symbol artwork to be applied to the glass closure, as well as the aluminum

capsule which covers the closure. We are really pleased with the result! You will begin to see the Vino Lok Closure on our 2010 Pinot Noir and 2010 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs, most

HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

YOU CAN NOW

ORDER YOUR WINE ONLINE FOR PICKUP AT THE

WINERY!

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Wine Spectator Scores: In early April, Wine spectator released the latest round of Finger Lakes Riesling Scores, and Heart & Hands is thrilled with the results…

...we received 90 point accolades for two of our single vineyard Riesling offerings, as well as an 89 point score for our 2010 Dry Riesling. The full write-ups for these wines is below:

2010 Hobbit Hollow Vineyard Riesling

Wine Spectator - James Molesworth

A very crunchy, pure style, with mouthwatering pippin apple, pear skin and green plum fruit flavors racing along and a nicely defined, slate-tinged finish. Drink now through 2013. 25 cases made. Score: 90

2010 Patrician Verona Vineyard Riesling

Wine Spectator - James Molesworth

On the drier side, with a hint of talc giving way to green plum, green fig and bitter almond notes. The stylish finish lets a jasmine note echo. More grace than power, with nice length. Drink now through 2014. 25 cases made.  Score: 90

2010 Dry Riesling

Wine Spectator - James Molesworth

This has power and cut, with layers of pear skin, green almond and kiwifruit pulp, backed by a long finish filled with bitter almond and anise. Very solid. Drink now through 2013. 110 cases made.  Score: 89

Claddagh Club UpdateEnjoy Heart & Hands Wines Year-Round

We are busy preparing for the upcoming

allocation of the Claddagh Club wines. The next

“Eclectic” shipment will include an allocation of

Single Vineyard Riesling, and Single Vineyard

Pinot Noir, and one additional wine for those who

are Gold and Platinum members. The “Red

Only” Shipment will feature an allocation of a

Single Vineyard Pinot Noir. We are still finalizing

the allocation release date - and with the label

schedule, it looks like we will release in early June!

We are finalizing the wine selections, and will send

out the ship / pickup dates in the next week or so.

Our Claddagh Club includes quarterly shipments

of Heart & Hands wines, including current vintages

and limited edition wines. Claddagh Club members

receive complimentary tastings at the winery,

invitations to club-only events, and first priority for

events that are open to the general public. In

addition, members have access to our single vineyard

Pinot Noirs and Rieslings, which are only available

to Claddagh Club members. To join, or to give a

membership as a gift, please go to our website or call

the winery at (315) 889-8500

HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

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HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

www.heartandhandswine.com -An updated look and feel, and some new content!

During the Winter months this year, Tom dusted off his web development

skills and began to take a look at our website. The old site was well

designed, and met most of our needs, but we felt that it needed an

overhaul to allow us to share additional information, and be more aligned

with the Heart & Hands brand. We quietly re-launched the site about a

month ago, worked through most of the inevitable bumps in the road.

The website has some several new features, which we hope you will enjoy!

We introduced a News and Events section, which includes a Winery Diary,

among other items. The Winery Diary will allow us to share, in an informal

way, what is happening at the winery, what we are thinking about food, wine,

the industry, or whatever is catching our attention at the moment. We won’t

publish on a rigid schedule – but we will try to keep you up to date with

winery activities.

We also launched a Vintage Report page – which provides a perspective

on prior vintage conditions, and the impact on Pinot Noir and Riesling.

The rating system that we are introducing is truly our own, and is based

on our historical experience of what is a "typical" vintage for the Finger

Lakes, and the anticipated aging potential of the wines from that year

based on the growing and harvest conditions.  For example, a warmer

growing season may benefit a variety like Pinot Noir slightly more than

Rieslings, making the Rieslings a little less likely to age as gracefully as the

Pinot Noir grapes from that year. Eventually, we may tie in tasting notes

from recent tastings of our Library wines to provide a perspective on how

things are drinking, and when you might want to raid your cellar for

some Heart & Hands Wines!

In addition to the Diary, and the Vintage Report pages, there are write-

ups on the Vineyards, the Wines, Wine Reviews, Events, and more! We

hope that you enjoy exploring the new site!

Trip Advisor adds WineriesTrip Advisor, one of the leading travel review websites, has recently added a Winery category to their attractions in the Finger Lakes.  As many of you may already know, they allow customers to share their experiences and provide honest feedback of their adventures.  As we are a small winery with a limited advertising budget - this is a great way for us to reach new customers planning to visit our region.

Many of you are frequent tasting room visitors, and as such have a good perspective what makes Heart & Hands a unique wine tasting experience... We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a couple of minutes to share your experience(s) at Heart & Hands on our Trip Advisor page!

Click the logo below to write a review on Trip Advisor.

Trip Advisor

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In The News... LIFE IN THE FINGER LAKESIn the spring issue of Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine, Heart and Hands was mentioned in a new magazine feature, where the Magazine asks local chefs for their favorite local food and wine pairings. Executive Chef Patrick Higgins, and Director of Training and Service Meryl Davis selected the 2008 Heart and Hands Hobbit Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir and the 2008 Heart & Hands Sawmill Creek Pinot Noir. The accompanying menu of veal cheeks, was complimented by two different types of squash - delicata and kabocha - flavored with a medley of different herbs and spices. Each squash preparation was selected to go with one of the Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs - and to bring out the best in both the food and the wine!

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In October, Eric Asimov, the Wine Critic for the New York Times visited the Finger Lakes for the first time, visiting Heart and Hands, and several other Finger Lakes wineries. He spent the afternoon with us in the cellar and in the tasting room, talking about the region and of course, tasting Pinot Noir. We shared a vertical of our 2007, 2008 and just bottled 2009 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noirs, along with our available Rieslings. Per Asimov, our “whole-cluster Barrel Reserves are elegant, graceful and complex”. To read the full article and enjoy some pictures from the region, please click here: “From the Finger Lakes, Seriously Good Wines”

- SUMMER IN A GLASS - 2nd EditionSummer in a Glass is a book written by Evan Dawson, managing editor of the New York Cork Report, and morning anchor of 13 WHAM News This Morning in Rochester, NY, broadcasting on the ABC affiliate (as well as the local CW channel). The book tells the stories of the trials and tribulations of several Finger Lakes winemakers, revealing decisions that led them to their current vocations in the Finger Lakes. Tom and Susan are featured in Chapter 10 – “The Geologist and His Rock”. The second edition in paperback was recently released, and includes an epilogue not included in the 1st edition. To learn more about Evan and the book, please click here:

http://www.evandawsonwrites.com/book/

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Winery Dog WhispersFíon had a restful winter, beginning with her winter trip to the grandparents where she was spoiled with lots of treats and walks. The winter did not meet Swissy expectations this year – there were very few drifts to bound over, and not much snow to eat. When it did snow, she enjoyed her snowshoe visits through the vineyard, and hiking trips to the falls.

Now that spring has arrived and is in full swing, Fíon is enjoying perching on the 3rd floor and peering out, watching the vineyard work, and the assortment of woodland creatures who are now visiting the garden on a regular basis.

Fíon suspects that there may be another animal who is trying to take up permanent residence at the winery, and she is right. During all of the vineyard preparation work, Tom noticed that we have our very own vineyard cat who enjoys crouching between the rows. Fíon has yet to discover the cat, but often peers suspiciously at the woodpile where we think this cat resides. She has coexisted with cats before, but often treats them like dogs – not really understanding why they don’t want to play with her!

HEART & HANDS WINE COMPANY

A Word of Thanks...

In closing, we are looking forward to the upcoming growing season, and we look forward to seeing you in the tasting room!  

Chee,Tom, Susan & Fíon