I first tasted Elmaro Vineyard at Eastern Winery Exposition 2020 in Lancaster, PA just less than a month ago.
Elmaro Vineyard features a white pine on the label. The one featured on the label has been on the property about twice as long as the owners' family. The vineyard site was homesteaded in the 1850’s, and the Elmaro tree is estimated at being 300 years old. Elmaro is family owned and run, they planted their first vines in the spring of 2006.
There are five owners of Elmaro. Lynita Docken, Mark Delaney, Todd and Laura Roessler, and Cameron Delaney.
Lynita May Docken was one of three women master plumbers in Wisconsin. When she discovered the University of Minnesota grape hybrids she was hooked. She planted Marquette. In 2010, she completed her enology (study of winemaking) certificate from the University of California – Davis.
Mark Edward Delaney has farmed since he was a boy. He and his dad, Robert, planted soybeans as their first crop on the family homestead. The old farmhouse foundation sat underneath an over 300 year old white pine tree in the middle of the eighty aches of sandy loam that started as Mark’s great-great-great-grandparents’ dream. Mark and his parents continued to farm this land and up to 1400 acres more every season since he was a boy. They formed Elmaro Farms Incorporated and the name equally represents them in the first two letters of each of their names: Elaine, Mark, and Robert. Then came the grapes…Mark sold almost every piece of farming equipment he owned March 15, 2010 and turned it over to start a winery. He said, “I accomplished my dream of farming. It’s time to help someone else achieve theirs.” He managed the vineyard and any other task put before him till this spring when he decided to take a little more time for himself.
Elmaro Marquette 2017 is aged in American and French oak for two years. It is a medium bodied red with notes of fresh cherries, raspberries, and a big note of plum with hints of vanilla. The wine is complex and well balanced. a Lovely, lovely wine!
Elmaro Edelweiss is a varietal wine.
According to Wikipedia, "Edelweiss is a very winter-hardy wine grape variety, pale green in color, derived from crossing the Minnesota 78 and Ontario grapes. It was developed by Elmer Swenson in 1980 in cooperation with the University of Minnesota. The clusters are large and rather loose, weighing a pound or more. Early picking of the grape is essential for making a wine. Should Edelweiss not be harvested early, the completely ripe Vitis labrusca flavoring becomes too strong for the palate of most. Edelweiss was first developed as a table grape. This variety bears the Minnesota winters...Edelweiss has strong resistance to grape disease and fungus and can tolerate negative thirty-five degree temperatures."
Elmaro Edelweiss is a light bodied crisp semi-sweet white. Edelweiss has notes of fresh pineapple and pear. Lovely tropical fruit and sweetness are balanced by a nice acidity, so this is a delicious wine, but also very refreshing.
Lovely pair from Elmaro!