Complimentary Winery Tours

Our vineyards are the backbone of our operation.  During winery tours, we discuss our hilltop location being just 9 miles from the Atlantic ocean and how that affects our seasons.  We grow five varieties here on 20 acres of land.  Rich soils filled with stones and minerals from the glacial age provide firm footing for our vines.  As grapes are sensitive to wet soils, our vineyard has been 'tiled' to promote excellent water drainage and soil aeration.  Our hilltop location reduces our risk of late spring or early fall frosts.  

 In California we have long term supply contracts with growers in Napa Valley, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County), and Lodi.  All of our grapes are sourced from separate vineyard sites allowing us to access fruit from specific micro-climates that are best suited to our targeted varietal.   In order to make fine wine in our industry, you need to grow the highest quality grapes.  You either buy the best fruit or grow it yourself - we decided to do both.  

Our largest vineyard in Connecticut at 8 acres is planted to Chardonnay.  The other three whites varieties are Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and newly planted Grüner Veltliner.  Cabernet Franc is our only estate red.   We'll visit the crush pad and discuss fermentations, aging and bottling.  We currently produce a wine portfolio of 10,000 cases annually. 

Each year we have two distinct harvests at JE.  We grow five cold hardy varieties in Connecticut - Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, newly planted Grüner Veltliner and Cabernet Franc.  Our Estate grapes are harvested, de-stemmed, crushed, pressed, fermented, aged, filtered and bottled at our winery in Connecticut.   We are a small crew and very hands on.  On any given day you'll be able to see us working in the cellar located just off the Tasting Room.  

The grapes grown in the warmer California climate are harvested, de-stemmed, crushed, pressed and fermented in California.  Once the juice is fermented into wine in the west, it travels to Connecticut for aging and bottling.  Our "boots on the ground" approach during the West Coast harvest allows us to make critical decisions in real time to maximize quality.  We are involved in every step of the process.  This collaborative winemaking approach has driven our success.    

We age in stainless steel and oak - mostly French, and American with some Eastern European.  We age a few of our whites and all of our reds with varying degrees of new and neutral oak for each vintage.   Each wine may include a combination of new and neutral wood depending on the flavor profile our winemaker is trying to achieve.