Winery is natural extension of wine, beer supply business
Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of stories about area winemakers participating in the Observer-Reporter’s Corks and Kegs Festival Aug. 22 and 23 at The Meadows Casino.
Don’t be misled by the word, “Beer,” emblazoned across John Burgess’ T-shirt.
It just so happens that the Washington winemaker also enjoys making – and drinking – beer, too.
As co-owner – with wife, Angela – of The Washington Winery and A&M Wine and Beer Supplies, both housed in a 10,000-square-foot space at the corner of South Main and East Maiden streets in the city’s downtown, it’s only natural that he has an allegiance to both beverages.
“I didn’t think I’d be having my picture taken,” John says.
“A lot of people do make both,” Angela points out.
So, which came first: love of beer or love of wine?
Well, John started making beer in 1997, but it wasn’t until 2008 that the couple began dabbling in wine-making.
“We got into making it, had a bunch of wine we were making for ourselves, and people were tasting it, and said, ‘This is great. You should open a winery.'”
So they did.
When the couple purchased A&M in 2012, the store sold only wine-making supplies. The Burgesses decided to add home-brewing equipment to their inventory, making it a one-stop shop for the home winemaker and the home brewer, Angela said. Establishing the winery just seemed to be a logical extension of the enterprise.
“We really wanted to expand the business and complement the business by teaching people more about making wine and beer, as well,” Angela said. “We decided we needed to be a winery in order to better educate our A&M customers.”
Adds John, “It fit with the growth and the ability to teach and explain wine-making to people.”
A chemical engineer by day, John has invested countless hours reading and researching wine-making, and home winemakers can benefit from that depth of knowledge and expertise, he said. As part of their business, the Burgesses offer a variety of wine-making classes ranging from beginner to advanced, with a class on barrel-aging scheduled for fall. “I say, ‘These are techniques and these are ways you can improve on what you’re doing. This (The Washington Winery wine) is justification and validation of what I’m telling you,'” John said.
An urban winery – the Burgesses don’t have any vines – the grapes used to make their wine are imported from California. The couple make fruit wine, as well.
“We wouldn’t use any of the East Coast grapes,” Angela said, noting that the climate produces a very acidic grape. “Pennsylvania, New York grapes tend to be sweeter, so you can balance sweetness and the acidity, whereas the grapes in California are grown in a more arid environment, which the grapes like and thrive in, so you can have a drier, fuller-bodied wine, but it’s not very acidic. It’s dry without having to add that extra sweetness to balance the acidity. It offers the opportunity to get a more robust wine.”
They are producing their wine off-site for now, and have plans to move production to the downtown storefront after the space is remodeled. While the Burgesses have a few people who help with production, most of the wine-making is done by John and Angela.
“We stage our barrels, so we don’t put everything in the barrel at the same time,” she said. “We have wines in different stages all the time. Right now, there’s tanks ready to be bottled. Instead of botting the whole tank at once, since we’re a very small operation, we bottle as we need. Sometimes it’s just me. I did 120 bottles this morning.”
The winery boasts 11 different wines on tap in its tasting room. Its top seller is Washington Red, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Zinfandel, oak-infused blend. Also popular is the Riesling, an off-dry selection, and the Red Moscato, a semi-sweet offering that can be served either at room temperature or chilled, added Angela. The summer specialty is Main Street Melon, a sweet watermelon wine.
Interested in promoting the community in which they do business, the Burgesses have named many of their wines in honor of Washington’s history and landmarks: Washington’s Cherry, Jefferson’s Raspberry, Rebellious Raspberry, Presidential Pomegranate (an ice wine) and Bushel of Peaches – a tribute to the Main Street Farmers Market – to name a few
A new member of the Washington Business District Authority board, Angela hopes to work with other local businesses in an effort to bolster commerce in the downtown.
“We’re a little bit different from other wineries because we don’t go to a lot of festivals. We prefer smaller events, focusing on the city of Washington,” Angela said. “We partner with a lot of different people. That’s what our forte is – partnerships, smaller venues. I’ve poured wine at five different banks for different events, at the courthouse. We’ve worked with the (Washington County) Bar Association, the Bradford House and the Rotary Club of Washington. People have happy hours here at the winery or I will go there and pour wine for their events. We thrive in these partnerships that we’ve started to develop with groups in Washington.”
The Washington Winery and A&M Wine and Beer Supplies is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The business is closed on Mondays. For more information, visit the website www.amwinesupplies.com/.