Masquerade red blend

Fall Bright, The Winemakers Shoppe, 10110 Hyatt Hill, Dundee, NY 14837
HOURS: We are open all year round! We have always been closed on Mondays.

November to May 31: Tues-Fri: 10-5 Eastern Time   Weekends (Saturday or Sunday) by appointment 607-292-3995
June to harvest Tues-Fri : 10-5 Saturday 10-4    Eastern Time
Harvest (Sept-Oct): Tuesday to Sunday 10-5 Eastern Time

Free catalog, mail order of supplies but not grapes and juices.

Once upon a time in the quaint and sometimes fabled Finger Lakes, a Wine Cellar Baron noticed something amiss while checking his inventory calculations. Realizing that, he called upon his helper elf to figure out what happened, and to both of their chagrin, realized somehow 2 batches of juice got put into the same cask. After recovering from their horror, they both had an “A-HA!” moment (much like that TV commercial from many moons ago when 2 people got their peanut butter and chocolate into each other’s afternoon sidewalk snacks) and realized they had inadvertently come up with something very unique.

“But what do we do?!?!?!” they both cried. “Certainly, the knaves we sell our wares to will think we’ve gone totally blonde!” said the Baron. “And no knight worth his armor could ever forgive us”, said the elf. “And what fair Maiden could ever feel confident with us being at their beckoned call, knowing of this mistake?” said the Baron. After the fear of being tarred and feathered down Hyatt Hill Road, and into the drink past the restaurant by angry mobs calling out, “Ne-er do wells!” “Nincompoops”, and other less glorious and more colorful exclamations, they came up with a plan.

The elf offered, “Well some of the most important discoveries came from mistakes”, and the Baron agreed, saying, “A now famous winery once did something similar and though we are cursed with White Zinfandel, blush wines have become a popular seller.” And while the Baron and the elf both agreed they hated White Zin, maybe this Waterloo might become their Watermark moment instead. They both had throbbing headaches from their recent distress and coupled with many proceeding days of gloom and cold fog hanging over the Rieslings to their east, and The Bluff to their west, they decided to turn in early, sleep on it and figure out a plan the next morn.

The next morning as they arrived at their shop, an extra message had been assembled on the sign that already read, “Call 607-292-3995”, declaring, "Mystery Red Blend…Masquerade: $8/gallon…while it lasts”. After both realized one was as shocked as the other and that they had no knowledge of the origin of the message, they noticed a small sticky note on the shop door…”Couldn’t wait until the morn to help you out, so added the message to the sign last night. Hope this helps, (signed) The Wine Fairy”.

“That IS mysterious,” said The Baron. “Indeed”, replied the elf, as he peered toward a line of cars coming up Hyatt Hill in the continued mist and fog. “IN-deed!”

Greg Smerdon is a long time Fall Bright winemaker who helped out several hours at Fall Bright and in the vineyard this 2006 season in addition to a full time job. Not only is Greg a winemaker but he has imagination and a flair with the pen. He coined the name masquerade and came up with the following idea that we have decided to pursue....

Dear Winemakers,

Just when you thought you were finally done with the 2006 vintage, watching the bubbles diminish in numbers and size in you airlocks and carboys, and feeling satisfied with your bounty and results so far...we'd bet there are a certain number of you that came upon some extra cash wishing you made another 5 gallons of wine this year. Or an inheritance (hope not...but sorry about Uncle Fred or Aunt Mildred)...anyway, we have a very unique RED blend ready for the Holiday fermenting season, called MASQUERADE.

The thing is, we will not tell you what is in it (YET, anyway) but just as you have to guess who is masquerading at the Mardi Gras (when we think this juice would be ready for early consumption), this wine will surprise you when you find out...and if you are the first winemaker to guess the blend correctly (employees of Fallbright are automatically disqualified) , then you can receive either another free 5 gals of the juice, or a $ 40 credit toward your account for next year. Your best guess does not require a purchase! Only one winner to the correct guess.

This is a once in a lifetime offer; this juice will never happen again! So at $ 8 per gallon (supply is limited, but still enough here to tickle the fancies of those with an empty carboy or so), you can be celebrating Mardi Gras with this wine while you let your cherished blends and favorite varietals age to maturity before bottling. Think of it as a mid-season Nouveau!!! So, if you have a friend who always wanted to make wine (what a great Christmas present), or if you just want a few more gallons for yourself...this is the ticket!!!

As usual, we do not ship our juices. You must pick up at Fall Bright.

A little competition should develop out of this like:

Correctly name all the components of the mystery blend, Masquerade
Best dry wine
Best sweet wine
Best label
Best package (bottle and label)
Best of show (bottle, label, wine quality)

This competition could center around an outdoor (late) spring party where everyone brings a dish to pass that compliments the wine, plus a bottle of wine for the judging, of course, and to share the rest with the meal and company.

The qualification for attending this picnic would be a bottle or two of Masquerade that you made from this mystery red and a dish to pass.