N e w s l e t t e r | S u m m e r 2 0 1 1

Why Oh Why WINE??Marianne always figured she’d have, at the least, a hobby making beer. The Lieberman family as a long tradition of career Brewmasters even into the big brewery transition. The early brewery was Lieberman & Sons, later Daeufer-Lieberman, on 4th Street in downtown Allentown, PA. On the Jean Doern Lieberman side, Marianne’s Grandfather, J. Oliver Doern, bought a franchise of Eagle Brewing of Brooklyn, NY. and established Old Dutch Brewery in Catasaqua, PA. Surviving prohibition with 3-2 beers, Ollie served several years as President of the North American Brewery Association when there were thousands of family breweries before consolidation! A marketing man, Granddad Doern even hired Marianne’s Dad to handle Advertising for the brewery before its sale in 1954 and helped along a start for Lieberman-Appalucci Advertising. So why wine? “While Carolyn and I still enjoy a good German or Irish style beer, my family and travel experiences led us to be interested in high quality wines and soon, rather than a brewery, a dream to have a vineyard and winery became a goal!”

It helps to have a Farm! After leaving Manhatten to help run a family airport advertising business, Interspace, Marianne and Carolyn started a long search for an area Farm. Sixteen years ago, they found “the one”, a 1750’s Farm with a lovely little stone farmhouse to live in while renovations to make the barn into a home could be planned and executed. They named “the Farm” Maple Springs in loving memory of Marianne’s Grandmother, Helen MAPLE Doern, who

left a legacy of loving sense of place and helping us establish a home. Thank goodness she had a lovely maiden name! And the non-stop underground springs that bubble through old glacier fields on the farm and feed our well drained rocky vineyard, completed the naming inspiration.

Now, with a life of business travel in the past and a first crush and winery opening in the present, Carolyn says, “Marianne still likes to over stuff every day; Vitner, Basketball Coach, Pilot, oh and Parent and Partner. Life is never boring!” But for Marianne, “Wine is all about living in the present with family and friends. All my passions pursue the same goal, the best we can be. We only want to deliver the best wine for our family and friends. Please believe, we only will succeed!”

Cheers!

“I’ve always been proud of my German heritage with both sides of my family involved in the brewery business. What’s

not to like about that as an excuse for your affection for micro-brews in college!” -Marianne

The Real DealJef Stebben, our winemaker, has been a professional in the wine industry since 1995 with experience in Napa, Sonoma, Rutherford and Washington. The award winning wine maker received his Bachelor of Science in Fermentation Sciences from University of California, Davis, the top program in the country. Jef has had experience working all aspects of production with wineries ranging from one hundred to one hundred thousand cases. Starting his career at Opus One and Carneros Creek he then traveled north to gain experience in other climates. In 2002, Jef started a consulting business focusing on small boutique wineries, filling a much needed niche for quality winemaking on a smaller scale.

Even in Jef ’s first year being on the east coast, his Paradise Springs Chardonnay won the Governor’s Cup in Virginia. Not that any of you know that Marianne and Carolyn like high quality chardonnay, but Jef ’s awards for east coast chardonnay and dedication to making great wine on a small scale was clearly the perfect fit! Jef was brought on board with Maple Springs Vineyard in June of 2010 to be part of the Project Management Team, to construct and outfit the winery to match his style and maximize the quality of the winemaking process. Timing for Jef joining the Team was also perfect as he’s been able to weigh in extensively on the planting of the next 6 acres of land. And yes, Jef has convinced us to do several reds for all of you red drinkers! Currently, Jef is making lots of big decisions from production equipment purchases to water reclamation and treatment systems. Jef comments, “I am very engaged by the challenge of starting up a new winery and the diversity of decisions that will make Maple Springs Winery unique”. Everything is extremely busy in the vineyard and on the winery construction site gearing up for production and guests! We look forward to treating you to great Pennsylvania wines!

Quietly Getting The Job DoneIf you would ask Eric ten years ago if he would be a Vineyard Manager he’d say “NO!” Back then Eric started part time helping to maintain the farm once Carolyn and Marianne adopted children. Once the vineyard became a live project the position became full time and the training began. Since then Eric has been going to Viticulture seminars and conferences. He also obtained his Private Applicator License for vineyard spraying. The Viticulture Team also includes consultant James Fisher of Soil Solutions, who since 2008 has been advising Maple Springs Vineyard on the effects of the soil, vine health, and grape quality. Eric is also grateful to have a mentor in Jeff Zick, Vineyard Manager with Waltz Vineyard in Manheim Lancaster County. Jan and Kim Waltz have generously mentored Maple Springs Vineyard and Winery since our inception. The Waltz family are perfect mentors because they consistently apply the best viticulture practices to produce the best grapes and high quality wine from Southeast Pennsylvania.

Southeast Pennsylvania is a very viable growing area for select varietals. Maple Springs Vineyard specifically has loam soil with LOTS of rocks, which are great for drainage though a good challenge for planting. From the beginning, Eric and Marianne made two critical, though expensive, decisions to insure a greater opportunity for success: a 10 foot deer fence surrounds all our vineyards due to our wooded mountain; and irrigation has been installed to compensate for occasional Pennsylvania droughts. From managing the Planting Team to keeping the Vineyard in impeccable condition despite the challenges of disease and a never ending list of bugs, Eric quietly and doggedly has taken control of our growing vineyard.

The Green Building Team: LEED CertificationAfter a slow start, the vineyard has had three years to take hold before preparing to harvest fruit. Now it was time to start thinking about a small production winery. Anticipating that the day could come, Eric and Marianne had done a joint real estate purchase/lease of a property adjacent to Maple Springs Farm, but located on Nuss Road. This provided Eric a lovely home and the winery a potential home in a small cabinet making factory located on the property. And Carolyn was lucky enough to purchase the adjacent garage! But for all the projects done on the Farm, the renovation of what The Crew calls a “butt-ugly building” into a welcoming, state-of-the-art winery destination could be the greatest feat! In case that wasn’t a big enough challenge, the Team was determined to make the renovation a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project. Wine Guy Jef was inspired by the concept of creating a sustainable winery, one of the first in Southeast Pennsylvania and registered the project with the Green Building Council (GBC) and Maple Springs joined as GBC Members. The components of a green building that we are excited to be incorporating in our winery construction include solar energy, geothermal wells, cisterning the rainwater for use in the winery, and having our own water treatment system to reclaim winery water for use in the vineyard. We also are using many sustainable finish materials including: cork floors (the only cork you’ll find near our wine), recycled crushed wine bottles for bar table tops, and recycled shredded treasury money (symbolizing how much money you shred having a vineyard/winery) on countertops. Even the few oak trees that we unfortunately had to lose in the upper vineyard are being recycled into our very own customized Maple Springs Vineyard barrels! LEED includes an extensive point collection system, a lot of documentation and is not always the least expensive approach. However, in the long run operation costs are reduced. All of the adults are learning a lot, and Meghan and Clare thinks it’s very cool!

While the winery is in construction, this year’s “first crush” will truly be “garage wine” with Carolyn’s garage turned into giant walk-in refrigerator to accommodate our very limited production. First year winery equipment purchases include: the press, de-stemmer, sorter, a bottling line, and some small tanks. Later, the garage will serve as tempature controlled case storage. The winery renovation project is divided into three phases. The first phase, is the building envelope and production floor. The systems required to obtain maximum performance for winery equipment are extensive, particularly in light of a LEED project. Phase two is the people space, tasting room, testing lab, restrooms, and furnishings which will be completed soon after phase one. Phase three, the addition of an outdoor patio, crush pad, and a wine cave is a couple of years off. Currently, the new roof is on; reinforced wall systems are up; windows are installed; and cupolas with solar lighting (another green initiative) are installed. Indoor spray foam and wall applications, the outdoor plaster application, floor drains and lots of system installations are next. Marianne is always happiest with a project underway!

New Season, New VinesWe started planting vines in 2008. We planted our first 2000 vines in two different fields. Chardonnay of course, since every Vintner will tell you they start with the wine they drink the most! And Chardonnay does work well in Southeast Pennsylvania. Three years later we are actively pruning those vines and for the first time, keeping some fruit on for our first crush in September of this year with the hopes of producing some 250 cases. Though a small amount of wine, its hugely exciting that we will be able to get our first sense of flavors of the grapes growing on our site and a preliminary opportunity for our wine maker to work with these characteristics. It will also give us a chance to see how the production floor of the winery and first equipment purchase is operating.

First harvest is with two different clones from two different root stocks, so Jef will have flavors to experiment with. In May this year, we added another acre with two more Chardonnay clones that Jef feels will further enhance the complexity of our flavor profile. Our first reds went in the ground in May 2011 too. 1000 Pino Nior vines share the horse field on the right as you enter Maple Springs Farm. Jef picked four different clones for the perfect blend of Pinot Noir characterisitics. Next year we will add a lighter white into the mix called Alberiño, a varietal from Northwest Spain. Rounding out our future selection, will be a Syrah and richer Red Rhone Blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Label and Logo CreationOver the past few months, we’ve been working on the label design process in earnest. Siran Pirani, Marianne’s friend and first Art Director in early New York Ad Agency days with Kaprielian O’Leary was the only choice for this personal assignment. Siran’s father, Walter Kaprielian, was mentor to both young women in their early careers. During the annual Kaprielian O’Leary summer reunions at Maple Springs Farm, we’ve been talking about labels and marketing over a glass of wine for years. Now the time is here!

Working from the approach of the label first to establish core identity, Siran developed three initial conceptual directions. We decided on one concept to further explore for the label and with consideration of ancillary applications for marketing. We are

*Photos Courtesy of Devi Sanford Photography

When’s The Pickin’ Party?Well, we don’t exactly know. Jef is testing the wine for Brix (sugar content). Latest read is 7 Brix with the late July weather. We’re trying for 23 Brix and moving fast! Harvest, no doubt, should be between the end of August and early September. We plan to have a few dates since early vineyards ripen at various rates. If you would like to be part of a Pickin’ Party email maplespringsvine@aol.com, let us know the number in your party and we’ll let you know the exact dates 3 to 7 days in advance. Hope to see you at the first CRUSH!

Maple Springs Vineyard91 Nuss Road, Bechtelsville, PA 19505

maplespringsvine@aol.com

thrilled with the results! Siran has achieved a marriage of the gentle, earthy tones of Maple Springs Farm with the state-of-the-art approach Jef will apply to our winemaking. Marianne says, “My Grandmother’s favorite crimson maple is represented with a backdrop of maple leaves seemingly floating as if on our ponds.” Siran expressed this high-tech winemaking aspect through an iconic embossed silver leaf framed at the center of the label.

In fact, the concept expresses our winery design too where we have incorporated earthy greens, crimson and tan tones with bold features of stainless and chrome highlighting the stainless tanks and winery production equipment. The label will be stunning on the green bottle we have selected with the soft backdrop, embossed silver leaf, and embossed silver typeface and borders. Our Stelvin screwcap foil will also be high polished silver. A clear, crisp design with a soft earthy balance matches our self image. And, an easy readable typeface works for us 50 somethings! We hope you like the look as much as we know you will like what’s inside the bottle!