There aren’t many producers nearer and dearer to our hearts than Kim Engle and Debra Bermingham, the fiercely individualistic and jovial duo behind Bloomer Creek in the Finger Lakes. This isn’t a region known for organic, natural winemaking to say the least- when they started out, they were met with skepticism- told it couldn’t be done. What they have achieved is a singular gift to the cold-weather dwellers on the east coast- they are a gem of the region.

Bloomer Creek Vineyard started when Kim and Debra purchased the house and land, planting vines in 1999, but the inspiration came much earlier. In 1978, Kim, then a student at Cornell, worked at a vineyard near Cayuga Lake, and fell in love with vineyard life. Before completing his studies at Cornell, he studied viticulture and enology in California, and got to work buying land and planting vines upon his return. He met Debra through a mutual friend- she is an accomplished artist, showing work nationally and internationally since the 70s. It’s no surprise that Bloomer Creek possesses the identity they do, one of committed and detailed work paired with sensitivity and artistry – the result of two insightful souls pursuing a dream together.

They have a few different distinct parcels: Morehouse Road and Auten Vineyard, planted in 1999, with Barrow Vineyard added in 2012. They take care to bottle the wines from each vineyard separately, highlighting each site’s unique terroir.

Bloomer Creek has two parcels of Gewürztraminer – Morehouse Road Vineyard with vines that are 26 years old and Auten Vineyard with 7-year-old vines. At harvest, we do two passes. The first occurs early in the season and the grapes are picked for acidity. The second pass comes later when the grapes are riper. Both batches, the earlier picked and the later picked, spend time fermenting on the skins. We have no set recipe as our eventual blend depends on the unique characteristics of every vintage. We spontaneously ferment on the skins generally for eleven days and three weeks. Blended together, these fermentations offer a juicy core supported by earthy, dried citrus peel and tannin. The 2020 Skin Fermented Gewürztraminer features a new label incorporating a fragment of a field diagram drawn by vigneron Kim Engle. Unfined and unfiltered, with minimal S02 only at bottling.

-From the producer