From Vine to Glass: Our 2026 Season, New Wines & What’s Ahead

Matthew
4 days ago
4 min read

Hello from Knox Vineyards!

As we move into early September, we wanted to share a full update on how the 2026 growing season has gone, where the grapes stand, when we plan to harvest, our tasting room reopening plans, the new wines we’re excited about, and some new equipment that will make a big difference in the cellar.

How This Year’s Growing Season Has Been

This has been an interesting and challenging season. Spring brought mild conditions, a few frost scares, and what seemed like endless rainfall. I don think I have ever mowed the lawn this much. The vines are certainly happy. We had a decent fruit set in May with even berry growth. Summer delivered periods of heat and humidity with well-timed rain. We managed the canopy carefully to keep the fruit healthy and well-exposed. Overall, disease pressure stayed manageable and the vines have responded beautifully. This is also the second year in a row I have not seen one single spotted lantern fly. We’re pretty optimistic about the quality of fruit hanging in the vineyard right now.

Current Status of the Grapes

The grapes are looking strong across the board. Our native and hybrid varieties — including Niagara, Catawba, Maréchal Foch, Noiret, Corot Noir — are progressing nicely. Sugars are climbing, flavors are developing, and the berries are showing good color and condition. We’re currently monitoring Brix levels, acid, pH closely and expect the fruit to reach optimal ripeness in the coming weeks. Quality looks promising for a well-balanced 2026 vintage.

Harvest Date Announcement

We are planning to begin harvest around September 12–13 depending on final ripening and weather.

Early varieties will come in first, followed by the later-ripening blocks. As always, harvest is a busy but exciting time here. If you’d like to see the process or help out, feel free to reach out — we love having friends of the vineyard. There will be additional announcements on the website and social media.

Tasting Room Opening Announcement

We’re happy to announce that the tasting room will reopen for the fall season on October 3rd.

Our planned hours will be Friday 3 -7 pm, Saturday–Sunday, 12–6 pm.

We’ll continue to welcome families, dogs, and picnics. Outdoor seating will be available, and we look forward to sharing the new wines with you in the relaxed setting you know and love.

New Wines – List & Stories

We’re especially excited about the new releases joining the tasting list this fall:

Riesling! – Grown in the Finger Lakes, we partnered with Tango Farms located on Seneca Lake and were able to bring outstanding Riesling grapes to our winery. Fermented and refined in our winery we are very excited to release this new addition. A bright, aromatic white wine with notes of crisp apple and citrus with a clean, refreshing finish.
Red Blend from Washington State – A blend of incredible flavors and intensity, Sourced from Washington State with grapes not suited for our area. 38% Merlot, 33% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Aged in oak barrels for 7 years. Oak lovers, brace yourselves. This is your new religion. Big, bold and shamelessly oaked.
2025 Niagara – The classic you love. Crisp and floral with that distinctive "grapey" flavor. This year its slightly off-dry with 0.5% residual sugar.
2025 Catawba Rose' – Deep pink in color, this year is on the sweet side. Sitting at 3% residual sugar with a very nice balance between sweetness and acid.
2025 Corot Noir – Our award winning Corot Noir is back. You'll recognize the medium body, fruit forward style. Notes of black cherry and soft tannins even out this Pinot Noir style wine.
2025 Foch – We actually have a few cases this year. Foch is one of my favorites. Instead of the usual wine jargon, the best I can describe it is, delicious.
2025 Noiret –Another wine we haven't been able to offer in two years! Medium bodied with bright raspberry and blackberry fruit. Smooth tannins and a long finish balance this wine out nicely.

Each of these wines reflects the character of our vineyard and the care that goes into every bottle. We’ll have them available for tasting and purchase once the tasting room opens.

New Equipment

This year we invested in some important upgrades in the cellar, including a new Crusher/Destemmer. This machine is the first step after the grapes have been picked from the vine. This is essential in the process. Grapes are dumped into the hopper, stems are removed, and the fruit is squeezed between two rubber rollers that break the skin and release the goodness inside. Stem removal is important because they can impart very bitter and harsh flavors. Excluding as many stems as possible is the main goal and our new machine was built for just that. We will have better control over fermentation, gentler handling of the fruit, and more consistency from tank to bottle. The result should be even cleaner, more expressive wines that truly showcase our estate-grown grapes.

Looking Ahead

We’re proud of the work that has gone into this season and can’t wait to share the results with you. Whether you stop by to taste the new releases, help harvest, or simply enjoy a glass outside with friends, we’d love to see you.

Thank you for supporting Knox Vineyards. We’ll keep you updated as harvest progresses and the new wines become available.

Cheers,