One of Ridgefield’s special amenities will have a different flavor this year as the City Council approved a nearby winery to turn the city’s grapes growing in roundabouts into a rosé-style wine.
The city voted unanimously to approve 14 Acres Winery as the vendor for the 2023 harvest of the city-owned roundabout grapes. Located at the Pioneer Street roundabouts at 56th Place and 65th Avenue, the grapes have already been used to produce the aptly-named Ridgefield Roundabout Red.
The city’s dip into wine began in 2014 with discussions on how to promote the area’s viticultural industry, City Manager Steve Stuart said.
The grape grown is the Marechal Foch variety, picked by local enologist Gary Gouger who has a slew of awards from his vintages. Prior to the new deal, Gouger produced the red wine style for the city.
Between 2014 and 2021, the council periodically discussed what civic uses the grapes would be used for, Stuart said. In 2021, the city agreed to determine what each year’s harvest would go toward on an annual basis.
As they are city property, the grapes must be used for nonprofit means, Stuart noted.
This year, the city reached out to local winemakers around the county to see if they would want to store, process and bottle wine from the city’s grapes. David Regan, owner of 14 Acres Winery to the southeast of the city, answered the city’s call.
Regan and his wife recently bought Three Brothers Winery and rebranded it to 14 Acres as a reflection of the size of the property, he told the council. His wines have won awards in international competitions in Seattle, Los Angeles and Texas, he said.
“It’s an honor, actually, to make wine for the city,” Regan said.
Picking immediately was good given the weather and the sugar levels of the grapes, Regan said. He proposed the idea of making a rosé as the city has already made vintages of a red variety.
Regan said the Marechal Foch was a “very aromatic grape” that would lend itself to a similar quality when processed. With the council’s approval, he said he could have bottles and labels ready by the end of September.
That quick turnaround was indicative of the rosé variety, Regan said.
“The first day it’s bottled is the best day of its life,” Regan said.
Councilor Clyde Burkle was another of the regular volunteers at the vines. He agreed that the city needed to make a decision, lest the produce be gobbled up by opportunistic wildlife.
“Having worked on the grapes for a number of years, I know if we don’t act quickly, we will lose all of them to the birds,” Burkle said. The city had such issues in the past two years, he said.
The next morning, volunteers set out to the roundabout to pick the grapes.
Councilor Ron Onslow noted that Regan has been helping the city with the roundabout grapes, and also getting advice from other wineries on their management. Onslow, along with other past and present city officials and community volunteers, have been the workforce for taking care of the vines since they were planted years ago.
