In Memory of Tom Mitchell

In Memory of TOM MITCHELL

I was washing carboys when word came that Tom died. My winemaking log was nearby so I checked to see when it was I had begun buying juice and supplies from him at Fallbright. The first entry is 1983: 5 gallons of Delaware at $4 per gallon and 5 gallons of Diamond at $3.50.

So for over 30 years I put carboys in back of my car and drove to Fallbright in the fall for juice. It was always an upbeat trip. In spring training every batter believes that this is the year he will hit .300 and every pitcher that he will win 20 games. On the drive to Fallbright I always knew that this was the year my wine would be great.

On the day of the service, I thought of putting some carboys into the back of the car. It would lighten up a sad day. But the day was for Tom not for me. Instead, I filled a small cooler with ice and put in a bottle of 2013 Gewurztraminer made from Tom's juice for the reception afterwards. It was a good wine, a fitting tribute to Tom.

nicely done, Dan..were the services in Dundee?

In Memory of TOM MITCHELL

I was washing carboys when word came that Tom died. My winemaking log was nearby so I checked to see when it was I had begun buying juice and supplies from him at Fallbright. The first entry is 1983: 5 gallons of Delaware at $4 per gallon and 5 gallons of Diamond at $3.50.

So for over 30 years I put carboys in back of my car and drove to Fallbright in the fall for juice. It was always an upbeat trip. In spring training every batter believes that this is the year he will hit .300 and every pitcher that he will win 20 games. On the drive to Fallbright I always knew that this was the year my wine would be great.

On the day of the service, I thought of putting some carboys into the back of the car. It would lighten up a sad day. But the day was for Tom not for me. Instead, I filled a small cooler with ice and put in a bottle of 2013 Gewurztraminer made from Tom's juice for the reception afterwards. It was a good wine, a fitting tribute to Tom.

Dan:

A nice tribute. I hadn't gotten the word until the service had already taken place, but got to talk an hour or so with Marcy later that night.

Like you, I started buying from Tom in the mid '80s. He was the grape supplier for my small winery, Cana Vineyards--at first, he pressed for me. I used to drive over there with a pickup and an empty 300-gallon tank, drive back with it as full as that vintage of that variety would allow. With another grower, Ed Grow, Tom supplied me with fantastic Gewurztraminer and Riesling, and his Chardonnay was no slouch, nor the Cayuga and Vignoles.

I remember the first time my wife and I hosted an American Wine Society meeting at our home, I put out an extremely dry Cayuga I had made at home (before I started the winery). Tom and I met for the first time only a few minutes before he tasted that Cayuga and pronounced it "horrible, not what Cayuga is supposed to be." Tom had opinions.

I am sad over losing him, and I am worried about Marcy. She is left with a lot of work and little organized help. I will be putting into my next weekly column a call for industry people to give Marcy a helping hand to get the 20 acres pruned that Tom had not been able to get to.

Also, sorry I missed you in Hammondsport.

I had the same experience with a very dry Riesling at an Ithaca Oenological Union (IOU) meeting in the 70's. We were guests and I was proud of my dry Riesling; it's supposed to be made dry, right? One fellow tasted it and said, loudly, I can still hear it, "This is like water!"

Jon,
The service was in Hammondsport and the reception at the firehouse. Several AWSs and the Geneva Station had people there.