Massachusetts wine can be fine

Wine aficionados often discuss the world’s great wine-producing regions, including France, Italy, Spain, and Napa Valley on the West Coast. But a growing number are recognizing the value of wines created here in Massachusetts.

“We still get a lot of comments like, ‘Haverhill has a vineyard?’” said Jade Jalbert, manager at Willow Spring Vineyards in Haverhill. “When we get customers who are familiar with California or other popular wines, a big reaction is ‘Wow, this is actually good.’”

In Eastern Massachusetts, there are more than a dozen wineries to explore. No two are alike. Many boast the quintessential scenes of plump grapes dangling from vines, glistening in the morning sun. But depending on the winery you visit, you can sample wines made from blueberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, raspberries, cranberries, and even rhubarb.

Some wineries produce both traditional and more diverse varietals. Founded in 1978 by Jack Partridge, Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton is now owned by Cindy and Rich Pelletier.

“Nashoba Valley Winery started off with a focus on producing wine from fruit other than grapes,” said Justin Pelletier, the couple’s son and Nashoba’s chief operating officer. “Today, we’re still mostly known for our fruit wines, cranberry-apple being our most popular product.

“Since the early to mid-2000s, we began producing wines from more traditional grapes,” he said, which meant sourcing some varieties from the West Coast in addition to those grown on the farm. “Our Cabernet Sauvignon and Stainless Steel Chardonnay are two of my favorite wines.”

At Vandervalk Farm & Winery in Mendon, owners Sue and Casey Vandervalk have been making fruit wine for a dozen years. “We grow blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries on our farm and use the fruits we grow to make our wines,” said Lisa Vandervalk, the Vandervalks’ daughter and winery manager. “We don’t use grapes in any of our wines. We also offer sangria, wine slushies, and wine cocktails.

“Nothing is traditional about our winery, including the wines,” she said. “We offer unique fruit wines in a beautiful and laid-back farm setting.”

Grapes, however, still rule the wine roost. But local grapes aren’t always used to produce local wines. Elbridge “Brig” Leland II, owner of Marble Ridge Winery in North Andover, took over the family farm in 2020 to create a “boutique winery.” The “certified sustainable” grapes used to create Marble Ridge’s five varietals all come from California, Leland said.

“New England, and especially Massachusetts, is not known for producing good wine because it does not have ideal conditions — or terroir — for growing wine grapes,” he said. “We intentionally sourced our grapes from one of the best wine grape regions in the world.”

In the same vein, Albert DeNapoli said the grapes used at his Debevino Winery in Walpole are “sustainably grown, handpicked, and shipped in refrigerated trucks to our production facility” from northern California.

“We like to tell our customers that we get grapes from one of the three best places on earth to grow grapes to make wine — the south of France, Tuscany in Italy, and northern California,” said DeNapoli. “There is just no comparison to a wine made with premium grapes from northern California to a wine made with grapes grown in Massachusetts.”

Donna Martin of Mill River Winery in Rowley takes a different approach. Martin combined her background in the chemical industry with an entrepreneurial spirit and a love of wine and local agriculture to invest her retirement nest egg to start a winery featuring local grapes.

“The reason commercial winemaking in Massachusetts has improved is because of research done by individuals and universities developing grape vines that have excellent wine flavor characteristics and, at the same time, can thrive in cold New England and Midwestern winters,” said Martin, adding that her vineyard produces “cold-hardy hybrid grapes.

“The winemaking facility is adjacent to the main building and is equipped with temperature-controlled fermentation tanks and a state-of-the-art bottling line,” she said. “Mill River Winery has been successful with a ‘local wines — global vines’ concept, and produces wines using Massachusetts grapes from our vineyard and other Massachusetts vineyards, as well as vinifera grapes sourced from global regions.”

However, growing local produce is rife with risk. A flash five-hour freeze this past May resulted in Nashoba Valley losing its entire peach crop and roughly 60 percent of its grape crop. Mill River Winery suffered close to a 35 percent loss of its grapes.

“It’s ironic, because in 2022 we had the highest yielding crop due to a lot of sunny days and lack of rain,” said Martin. “Growing grapes is unpredictable and loss occurs wherever you grow them. California, Oregon, and Washington and other grape-growing regions have losses due to wildfires, spring rains, frost, and extreme heat, etc., so it’s the difficult and unpredictable nature of the agricultural business, not necessarily unique to New England.”

Much like local wines, local wineries boast an eclectic assortment of owners who may have taken different paths, but share the same passion. There are farmers, lawyers, engineers, construction executives, and entrepreneurs. Martin has a doctorate in analytical chemistry.

In that respect, the local wine landscape reflects the West Coast, where winery owners are an interesting mix, including celebrities from movie stars to athletes (such as former Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe), Martin said. At Haverhill’s Willow Spring Vineyards, owner James Parker initially wanted a brewery, but his wife Cindy balked, said Jalbert, the couple’s daughter. The pair pivoted, and built a winery on a neighboring parcel.

“Vines were first planted in 2002,” said Jalbert, who works with her sister, Brandi Brown, Willow Spring’s winemaker. “We officially became an LLC [limited liability company] in 2007 and at long last, the barn was opened to the public in 2013.”

Today, Willow Spring produces four reds and three whites — made primarily with grapes grown on site — and rhubarb wine. “The wines themselves are not well-known varietals,” said Jalbert.

“Some customers come in wanting their Merlot, for example, and we simply don’t — and can’t — grow and make that,” she said. “Tastings allow them to try wines that they have never heard of, and let their taste buds help with their decision.”

Debevino Winery in Walpole also has strong family roots, with five cousins ― Albert DeNapoli, brothers John, Rich, and Paul Bevilacqua, and Dom Arpino — joining forces. (The winery’s name is an amalgam of the three family names – DeNapoli, Bevilacqua, and Arpino). Those winemaking roots, however, didn’t take hold in local soil, but in the basements of their families’ homes in Roslindale.

“Launching Debevino enabled us to evolve what had been a cultural family activity that took place in the wine cellars of our homes into a commercial winery,” said DeNapoli, a lawyer in Boston. “The idea of opening a winery had been discussed by the five of us for decades. We’re all professionals who had careers to attend to, which delayed the lifelong dream of opening a winery until a few years ago.

“We have several pieces of the old equipment on display that we used in our family wine cellars when we were making the wine just for fun, including a wine press that is 110 years old and belonged to our grandfather,” he said.

Bob Vozzella, who owns La Cantina Winery in Franklin with his wife Ana, also traces his passion for winemaking to his grandfather.

“My family migrated from Italy in 1963,” said Vozzella, whose winery now offers more than two dozen varietals. “My grandfather made wine and had a big garden. I purchased the family home in 2005, and carried on the Italian tradition of winemaking. Seeing how it brought friends and family together, I decided to take it to a different level.”

Vozzella, a UC Davis California graduate, imports his grapes primarily from California, but also provides his customers a true “hands-on” experience called the Crush Crew. “We offer a winemaking co-op where customers can come and crush grapes, press the wine, and bottle,” he said. “They’re involved in the process from start to finish.”

That program reflects another common trait shared by many local wineries: a commitment to educational programs. “People come from all over for our cranberry wines,” said Michael Carr, who with his wife Pamela bought Plymouth Bay Winery in 2011 from founder Tim Cherry. “We tell everyone that you may or may not like our wines, wine jellies, jams, and sauces, but you should always enjoy your experience.

“Our wine experience includes all five senses,” said Carr. “The more our guests know about our wines the better it is for them to incorporate it into their lifestyle.”

At Nashoba Valley, Pelletier acknowledged that Massachusetts historically hasn’t had a strong reputation in the wine industry, “with many people still thinking all we can produce here is low-quality, sugar-loaded fruit wine. The tasting room allows us to break that stigma and showcase that Mass. wineries can produce very high quality and innovative products.”

Mill River’s Martin agreed. “Offering small samples of a variety of wines is a great way to introduce customers to locally produced wines that they may not be familiar with,” she said. “The best compliment is when they leave with a couple of bottles to share with friends.”

Brion O’Connor can be reached at [email protected].

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