King of the Vine

Wine master Joseph Maxian, owner of Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna, Pa., reveals a few trade secrets. The winery will host Pinot Noir Weekend Sept. 29-30.

By: Jodi Thompson
   THERE are 72 acres on top of a hill next to the Delaware River where the weather is perfect: hot summer sun, cold winter chill and a steady breeze. Perfect — for grapes.
   Joseph Maxian, owner of Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna, Pa., believes this area can produce top-quality wines, wines he would pit against any from California or Europe without hesitation.

The Sand Castle Winery cellar has enough barrels imported from France to age 8,000 gallons of wine. Staff photo by Jodi Thompson

   For those not convinced, Sand Castle will host Pinot Noir Weekend Sept. 29-30. Pinot Noir is called the King of Wines, a red burgundy aged in oak barrels. Visitors will taste newly made, but not released, 2001 Pinot Noir and compare it to newly released 1999 stock. What makes this so exciting for Mr. Maxian is that both 1999 and 2001 were excellent years for grapes.
   "1999 was a drought," Mr. Maxian says, "so the quality of the wine was exceptional. Wineries do like drought."
   Wine lovers should remember the vintage 2001, too, for the wonderful weather. Wine from grapes grown this year will be available in two to nine years. It will be worth the wait, according to Mr. Maxian.
   "Autumn like this I don’t remember. This is a Godsend," he says. "The flip-flop of the temperatures, cold nights, it brings the sugar, it brings the fruit. Incredible circumstances come together to create a really unsurpassed harvest. It must be a sign of the new millennium."
   It should prove to be an excellent year for wines across the board, not only Pinot Noir.
   "Unless we mess it up in the cellar," Mr. Maxian says. "I always say you cannot improve a wine, you can only mess it up. What comes from the vineyard is the quality you can maintain, and if you’re good at what you do you will not lose it."
   Mr. Maxian should be good at what he does, as he spent his childhood near vineyards. He and his brothers were born and raised in the capital city of Bratislava in the heart of Czechoslovakian wine country. The oldest sibling, a retired mathematician, still lives in what is now Slovakia. The Yardley, Pa., residents, Mr. Maxian, a geologist, and his brother, Paul, a civil engineer, immigrated to America in 1969 and worked in construction. The business allowed them to purchase their original 40 acres in 1974 and begin clearing and preparing the land.

Sand Castle Winery owner Joseph Maxian harvest grapes in Erwinna, Pa. Staff photo by Jodi Thompson

   "We grew up in wine country, so whether you want it or not, you’re in," he says. "My father always rented additional vineyards for income, to keep the flies out of the head and the kids out of the streets, even though we hated that part."
   Yet, here he is, in the thick of winemaking, seemingly loving it. Paul Maxian still works in construction. The middle brother proffers business advice to his younger sibling on a regular basis.
   "It’s always good to have somebody come in and, from a little distance, see the things which you don’t see everyday walking around," Mr. Maxian says.
   One thing they both saw was perfect land for grapes. Being atop a hill affords an absence of shadows, which Mr. Maxian says is vital. A nearby body of water, the Delaware, offers a moderating effect as well, a steady breeze.
   "In here, there’s always a breeze," he says. "That is very important because our biggest enemy is humidity."
   If it seems odd for him to concentrate so much on growing grapes as opposed to making wine, he explains that the vineyard makes the wine.
   "You put the best, and it costs a lot of labor and time to raise it in this area the way you want it," Mr. Maxian says. "If you don’t raise your own grapes, then you are subject to someone else’s scrutiny of quality. If someone raises the grapes to be sold, of course it’s different than when you raise them yourself. What is unique here is not only do we raise all our own grapes, but it is 100 percent vinifera."
   Vinifera means wine-bearing in Latin. These grapes’ sole purpose is to make wine.
   "With the weather which we have, we have enormous benefits," he says. "We have the sunshine of southern Italy and we have winters of northern Germany. This enables us to grow such cold varieties like Riesling or Pinot Noir and also varieties that love the hot weather, which are Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon."
   From the hot, dry and windy fields, the grapes go to the cold, damp, still environment of the wine cellar, but not before a great deal of labor, by hand and machine. The center of the vines is picked with a harvester, but the top and bottom is gleaned by hand.
   "The tedious work is to do the little part by hand," Mr. Maxian says, "but it’s a respect to the grape not to leave anything behind."

Mr. Maxian siphons wine from an oak barrel. Staff photo by Jodi Thompson

   It takes a crew of eight to work the fields and winery. Ten people comprise the sales staff.
   "That’s how disproportional this business is," he says, chuckling.
   Still, the grapes require a lot of labor. Each vine must be hand-tended at least five times a year, often nine. Pruning November through April is followed by tying the pruned shoots. Then there is selection of the shoots, hedging and the harvest.
   Lucille Ball’s expertise isn’t needed at Sand Castle; there is no foot stomping of grapes. A mechanical crusher/de-stemmer does the job. The cellar has double-reinforced walls that are 18 inches thick. The walls are covered with murals and a light coating of mildew.
   "You always have some mildew coming in here, which creates, actually, the environment of the cellar," Mr. Maxian says. "Visitors might not look at it as being pretty, but if you look at the European cellars, they have mildew that’s thick and the wine comes out of it just magnificent. The cellar has to have its own environment. If it’s good environment, it will help the wines."
   Within the walls, 30 feet high, are 15 vats with a 110,000-gallon capacity. Oak barrels hold an additional 8,000 gallons. The winery averages 150,000-200,000 bottles of wine each year.
   The grapes enter the press in the cellar first. Then, the settlement tank. The clean juice and yeast are put in a new tank to ferment. Fermentation takes about 10 days, but it may linger longer.
   "The process is so dynamic that the wine master should come in and check it even at night," he says.

Mr. Maxian serves as on-site wine master along with his cellar master, Richard Adamek, a Slovakian native educated at a wine institute there. Staff photo by Jodi Thompson

   Mr. Maxian serves as on-site wine master along with his cellar master, Richard Adamek, a Slovakian native educated at a wine institute there. Sand Castle flies in some of the best wine masters in Europe for their expertise and advice. Mr. Maxian has worked with five wine masters from five different wine families. Each has parted with some of their knowledge. Custom indicates the wisdom is passed from father to eldest son, no further.
   "I feel privileged and forever indebted to those who took that journey and helped us to start, because now we can proudly stand against California or any other country’s top wines," he says. "People are amazed what this little Pennsylvania hillside can produce. This is a touch of Europe in Bucks County."
   Sand Castle imports wood barrels from central France to age its wines, despite losing a case each year from evaporation in each of the numerous rows of barrels in the cellar. The barrels lose their wonderful oak flavor after 12 years and must be replaced.
   "If the barrel is properly wined in (bad wine in a barrel can ruin it for good), it will give you enormous flavor of previous vintages, which many times could be worth a lot more than that oak flavor," Mr. Maxian says. "That’s a part of not messing it up. See the potential of it is there. By not using all the techniques to develop that potential, that’s where you come in short with the winemaking for whatever reason. It might be economy. Somebody has to sell the stuff to stay alive. Someone else can afford to age it and therefore the wine will come to the full potential."
   Sand Castle Winery takes the time. It keeps Mr. Maxian out of the streets and the flies out of his head.
   "You really get beyond money here," he says. "If you do this for the money it would not make sense. However, to see the struggle of the plant produce fruit and the fruit produce world-class wines, and the reaction of the people tasting it is the ultimate reward."
Sand Castle Winery, 755 River Road, Erwinna, Pa., will celebrate Pinot
Noir Weekend Sept. 29-30. Wine prices range from $7-$30. Basic tours cost
$3 and take about 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary. Barrel tasting
tours are $7.50, take 45 minutes and an appointment is recommended. The
VIP Educational Tour is $15, 90 minutes and requires an appointment. An
intensive wine and food course is available for $25. The winery hosts events
and festivals throughout the year. Winery hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.;
Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For information, call (800) 722-9463.
On the Web: www.sandcastlewinery.com