Page 56 - The Hunt - Summer 2024

FOOD & DRINK
Ben Cody grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and has a day job that takes him around the globe. But he still has time to grow grapes and make wines at his 1723 Vineyards in Landenberg. One of his favorite grapes comes from the rugged Atlantic Coast of Spain in
a region called Rìas Baixas. “Albariño is our flagship wine here at 1723,” Cody says. “The grapes have loose clusters and a genetic tolerance for wetter weather, making them a natural for southeastern Pennsylvania.”
Cody notes that the profile of 1723’s Albariño closely resembles that of the Albariños in the Galician region of Spain. “But our summers are a bit hotter, which creates bolder flavors,” he says. “This effectively turbocharges the grape and resulting wine—somewhat akin to what Napa does to cabernet sauvignon.”
In Spain, the grapes are grown on trellises so the clusters hang down from a canopy of green. Cody worked with the agricultural consultants at Penn State University to create a system that mimics aspects of
the pergola-style trellis. “This helps with
disease management and brings yield levels up from almost nonexistent to modest,” he says.
Anthony Vietri is known locally and nationally for his premium multigrape blends. He’s planted the many different varieties now growing at his Va La Vineyards in Avondale, trying and rejecting quite a few. “One of the white varieties we use for our
La Prima Donna wine is Tocai Friulano,” says Vietri of a grape most commonly associated with northeast Italy and neighboring Slovenia. “The vines grown in our vineyard are now in their 25th year of age. When vinified as a varietal wine, Tocai tends to show an almond and herbal character with low acidity—a bit Viognier-like in that regard.
In fact, we also sourced Viognier grapes from a California vineyard and are growing both varieties next to each other.”
When Italian winemaker Davide Creato was recruited by Penns Woods Winery in Chadds Ford, he knew he’d be producing a varietal Viognier from a one-acre plot in the winery’s hillside vineyard. Though Viognier
“Albariño grapes have loose clusters and a genetic tolerance for wetter weather, making them a natural
for southeastern Pennsylvania.”
—1723 Vineyards’ Ben Cody
54 THE HUNT MAGAZINE summer 2024