The Wine

Twice it blew away, a 40’ x 40’ tent stuck halfway up the Douglas Firs lining our driveway. The tent we called “winery” for eight years will never escape us, though it tried. We made some killer wines battling against the elements; now, it’s time to build on the past. The Final Flight is the first blend vinified entirely inside walls and a roof. With greater control, we finally tamed the mouth-bruising tannins that bullied our winemaking for years. It was perfected in a building, but shaped by the tragicomedy of that big top, now soaring only in our memories.

The Final Flight marks a new stage in our winemaking evolution. Previous vintages, impressive as they were, have always been accompanied by an asterisk: made in tent. Our only indoor workspace was an inherited basement garage that was rapidly overwhelmed by barrels; all winemaking procedures had to be done outside. Through heat waves, freezing rain, wind storms, and occasional snow, we processed, fermented, barreled, racked, settled and bottled outside. On any growing site this would be tough, but throw in the often brutish, unruly nature of an edge-of-the-bell-curve vineyard for added kicks. We’re proud of what we did, but it was hard. It was hard at 400 cases, even harder at 4,000 just five years later. Clearing the dense brush revealed large boulders strewn about the whole property. Far from ideal, sometimes a nightmare, it was a decade-long grind to bring our dream to life.

We planted the looming precipice that dominated our growing vineyard with a mix of clones and rootstocks designed to maximize the site’s potential. This wine is the first showing of exclusively those adolescent vines, with the added bonus of being vinified in a building with full climate control. It is the first time we have made a Pinot noir from vines we intentionally planted in a space we intentionally built. We see a firm and focused Pinot with the deep fruit concentration and evergreen-tinged earthy spice that we’ve embraced as our calling cards. The edgy, forceful character of our vineyard is apparent, but the mean growl has been muffled by velvet blanket. It is a refined glimpse of the future of Bryn Mawr, a preview of the next chapter of our grape growing and winemaking future. While we may be totally transformed in so many aspects, those years spent battling the elements while learning our vineyard’s character in that old, rumbling wedding tent built us into the winery we are today.

The Winery

In 2009, we found something. It was a dream vineyard, just not from the outset. There were a few acres of established vines, a precipitous ridge laden with poison oak and blackberry brambles, a well-used garage that served as a wine cellar, and a Welsh name that roughly translates to High Hill. We cleared land, moved literal tons of volcanic rocks and planted diverse vines to test the viticultural boundaries of this special site, establishing 35 blocks over a decade. We respect the classics and keep a playful eye toward the future, experimenting with nontraditional varieties and techniques.

Learn more about Bryn Mawr Vineyards
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All wine is sold FOB the location of the winery that produced the lot purchased. WVWA is not responsible for shipping wine. Shipping or delivery arrangements, expenses and insurance are the sole responsibility of the purchaser. Any shipment of wines out-of-state is the responsibility of the purchaser, who is solely responsible for compliance with the laws and regulations of said state.

The producing winery currently has distribution in the below listed countries and states. A list of distributors is available upon request.

USA: CA, CT, FL, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OR, PA, WI