Text of the “Radio Postcard”, recorded in March, 2001.
Andrew: This is the first time I’ve been in a vineyard in Ohio, and yet where I am, in the Ohio River Valley, it’s a little situation just outside a place called Ripley. where going back maybe to the 1840s and 1850s, there were vineyards just a couple of miles away from here alongside the river, planted by German settlers, who actually terraced the vineyards. But today I’ve come to see something quite quite different. It’s called Kinkead Ridge Winery, it’s an experimental project and the man in charge is Ron Barrett. Now Ron, you were a vinegrower in Oregon. You gave that up to come here, and you know that really must be a bit of a challenge.
Ron: Well it is a challenge. The growing conditions here are quite a bit different from Oregon, no one else is here at the present time growing off the river, and you acknowledge the history of the area, it was viticulturally beneficial in the 1840s and 50s for a reason, and given the appropriate choice of varieties, I think we’re going to do very well here.
Andrew: What sort of climate do you have, because it’s quite a chilly day here, but I don’t see any snow around, where I know there’s a lot of snow still further north.
Ron: It is considerably warmer here than it is in the northern part of the state, but we’re a continental climate, much more so than most of Western Europe, more like Eastern Europe, perhaps southern Rumania, northern Bulgaria, and I think we’re going to do very well with red wines, I think white wines are more problemmatic.
Andrew: Which sort of red varietals have you planted?
Ron: I think Cabernet Sauvignon shows real promise, I have a considerable amount of that, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah, I think that’s probably the mainstream, and interestingly enough, I think Sangiovese and Dolcetto show some promise as well. All considerations are based on winter hardiness because we do have winter damage concerns.
Andrew: Well, with all those varietals, it sounds as though you’re going to be doing some blending.
Ron: I expect to blend the Bordeaux varieties into what’s called a Meritage blend in this country; the Syrah, I expect to coferment with Viognier, which I also have here, much in the Cotes Roti style.
Andrew: Now to come into the vineyard, we came through a big protection fence to keep the animals out, so what sort of pests do you have?
Ron: Sort of the traditional ones, at least to American viticulture, it’s a moderately high deer fence. Also we have concerns about wild turkey, and there will be other pests as well, that are of concern that the fence isn’t going to work on, those are mostly birds.
Andrew: But you have a lot more with rot and little insects and so on...
Ron: Yes, this is a humid climate in the summer, and as such, we have all the common grape diseases, and we do have some insect problems although we don’t have Pierce’s disease as California has, we don’t have that problem to contend with.
Andrew: On our drive here from Cincinnati, we stopped off to take a photograph of a nameplate for a tiny little town, I’m probably joking, exaggerating to call it a town, but going by the name of Utopia because I’ve always wanted to go to Utopia. When I turned round, I saw the most massive vines creeping along the fences, wild vines. Now do you believe in the axiom that if God planted the vines, native vine, and it really thrives, therefore cultivated vines, with man’s hand on them, should work well.
Ron: Well, yes, to a point, clearly those vines are acclimated to a continental climate, and more or less to the diseases present here, but they do thrive because of the soils, they are grapevines after all, different genetically, but grapevines, and grapevines love well drained soil, primarily soils, but also climate, with the sun and warmth that we have.
Andrew: Now Ron, you’ve got the vineyard and it’s beginning to look quite impressive; it’s very well laid out and everything looks to be well organized; but I don’t quite see a wine cellar!
Ron: Well the winery is yet to be realized, but it will be in place, God willing, in August, and that should give us perhaps a month to get some equipment installed, I expect to have the first grapes harvested by mid-September. Our harvest period I think will be between mid-September and mid-October for the varieties we’re concentrating on.
Andrew: Well, I think we better follow this during the year to see what progress you’re making and find out if things really happen and that first wine gets made here, on your land.
Ron: I certainly expect it to!