Video: Why Limestone Helps Make Great Pinot

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor
Photo by Morgan Dawson Photography

Those are literally chunks of limestone sticking out of the earth.

That's unique because when we hear winemakers talk about the composition of the soil we have to use our imagination. In the case of Heart & Hands Wine Company on Cayuga Lake, the vines have not yet been planted. It's all about the site, which prominently features limestone, and we have the rare chance to see the composition up close before vines begin to grow (until his site can produce wine-worthy fruit, Higgins is sourcing his grapes from several growers in the region). In the Finger Lakes, limestone shows up in the extreme northern parts of the area -- not near many prime vineyards, in other words.

But what's the big deal with limestone and Pinot Noir? Why should wine drinkers care? What difference does it make? To get the answers I went out to Heart & Hands on a rare sunny day. In the video I'm joined by winemaker and owner Tom Higgins and his loyal dog Fion.

Comments

[Bryan]

Great interview Evan!

Tom,
That's a good looking slope. You mentioned 3 different soil types, if you don't mind indulging the soil geek in me, what types are they?

What kind of vine/row spacing are you planning?

Lastly do the other vignerons in the FL think you're crazy for planting so much pinot, lol? Seems like many winemakers would grow it if they just didn't have to worry about selling and profiting from it.

[Tom]

Bryan -

Thanks for your inquiry.

"You mentioned 3 different soil types, if you don't mind indulging the soil geek in me, what types are they?"
Soil Types:
Base (pre-parking lot) - CeB - Cazenovia silt loam - Appear to be the best draining of the bunch. This is much sandier than other Cazenovia soils I've worked with. Test pits show at least 5ft before the hard pan. Chunks of limestone appear to be mixed throughout.
Middle (1st Terrace) - OrC - Ontario silt loam - Fairly well-drained medium textured soils derived mainly from limestone glacial till and the limestone bedrock. 20-40 inches before the hard pan. This layer seems to show the least amount of surface limestone of the three.
Top (top terrace) - CeC3 - Cazenovia silt loam - The difference on this versus the first mentioned is: 1. There is significantly more shale in this layer with a soft shale outcropping creating the second terrace, and 2. The hard pan appears to be 36-42 inches below the surface. Also, significantly more limestone is mixed in this layer than the first.

"What kind of vine/row spacing are you planning?"
We're looking at 8.5 ft row spacing and 3-4 ft between vines. Still working out some of the logistics on this, but we're shooting for 3ft with a single cane vsp on the Pinot and going to space it a little further on the Riesling.

"Lastly do the other vignerons in the FL think you're crazy for planting so much pinot, lol?" Yes, but I've always gone to the beat of my own drum, so I try not to listen to the critics. I believe that Pinot can be done (and done well) in this area. My take on the '07 Finger Lakes Pinot Noir tasting we did a couple of weeks ago is pretty promising for this region. We'll probably see in 3-5 years if we were right.

Thanks again for your questions. I look forward to many more.

Cheers,
Tom