Alum faces challenges making cool-climate wines

 By Lara Herrington Watson

After watching Connecticut’s Jonathan Edwards Winery grow from infancy, Michael Harney, a winemaker and University of Colorado Boulder alumnus (B.A. Environmental Studies ‘98), understands the innovations an East Coast winery requires.

While most wine operations in the United States are in warmer regions, Jonathan Edwards opened his winery in Connecticut, because he wanted to stay close to his New England roots.



Likewise, Harney, who hails from New Jersey, landed in Connecticut because of family. On a cross-country bike ride from Seattle to Washington D.C. for the American Lung Association, Harney met Lisa Kenyon, a Connecticut native. They got married, and decided to move to Connecticut.

In 2001, Harney took a job as a vineyard worker and cellar hand at the nascent Edwards vineyard, clearing land, planting vines, and maintaining wines. He thought it would be a brief bullet-point on his resume, but “little by little, I started taking care of the vines even more,” Harney says, and in 2006 he shifted from vineyard work into full-time wine production.

As he learned the art of winemaking, aspects of his broad CU education, especially his chemistry and biology courses, helped him more than he expected.

The Edwards family began its wine journey in California with big red wines, but due to our cool climate, we can’t grow those here."“I remember being in school and thinking that knowing a little about a lot of things wasn’t going to be very good,” Harney says.

Having studied the politics of water allocation at CU, it might have made more sense for Harney to grow wine on the West Coast, but he has embraced the opportunities and challenges that come with running a winery in Connecticut.

Instead of worrying about water allocation, he deals with cool-climate issues, from fungal growth to the limited types of grapes that grow in New England.

“The Edwards family began its wine journey in California with big red wines, but due to our cool climate, we can’t grow those here,” he says.

Instead, they grow cool-climate grapes that Harney crafts into lighter varieties, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Gewurztraminer, as well as Cabernet Franc, the winery’s only Connecticut-grown red.

These wines are grown from 18 acres of planted vines, which account for about one-third of production. To balance out the palate spectrum of the wines offered, and to maintain cash flow, the winery also imports Napa Valley grapes.

“We knew we weren’t going to be able to harvest newly planted wines for a few years,” Harney says.

So in 2001, the winery bought, harvested, and fermented 1,000 cases of California grapes; now, it processes about 11,000 cases from California annually.

Although the California grapes are fermented before arriving in Connecticut, Harney maintains that “full artistic control over our wine out West. We work with growers to harvest and custom crush it at the refinery, and to monitor fruits every step of the process.”

The Edwards winery embraces its unique East Coast-West Coast model, crafting wines from both regions for its two separate labels: Connecticut and Napa.

Transparent labeling is important, Harney says, because of the value people place on local labels. “New Englanders, like other people, pride themselves on local product. What people are seeking in a Connecticut winery is Connecticut wine.”

These labels help ensure that’s what they get, Harney says. He adds that while many wineries buy fruit from other places, “not everyone is as honest and upfront as we are.”

Reflecting on winemaking and his 13 years at the winery, Harney says winemaking is not something that “you learn and finish. It has some deep crevasses that you’ll never get to the bottom of. There’s a lot of magic there.”

Lara Herrington Watson is a CU alumna (’07) and freelance writer who splits her time between Denver and Phoenix. 

 Feb. 27, 2015