Morten is a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. He grew up on Domaine de Castel Roubine, a 250-acre estate in Cotes de Provence which produces about 40,000 cases annually. After working on a Ph.D. in Theoretical Astrophysics in the United States, he returned to France in 1993.
He completed his Diplome Nationale d’Oenologue at the Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Agronomie in Montpellier, the only school in France to offer a full graduate curriculum in both enology and viticulture. After an internship at Chateau Cos d’Estournel in St. Estephe, and winemaking positions with Cordier Estates in Ft. Stockton, Texas, and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, he held the position of chief winemaker at Dr. Franks’s for 6 years.
Ravines Wine Cellars was founded with his wife Lisa in 2002, as perhaps the first winery in the Finger Lakes to specialize in dry wines. Currently, Ravines farms about 125 acres of vineyards and produces about 25,000 cases annually. His wines have consistently gained accolades and contributed to bringing more recognition to the Finger Lakes wine region. Media Inquiries morten@ravineswine.com | https://ravineswine.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, & memorable about your winery brand?
When we arrived in the Finger Lakes region in early 1999, it felt like an early pioneering experience. Wine had been made in the area for about 150 years and, occasionally, some very good ones. At the time, Peter Bell a Canadian winemaker, trained in Australia, was the only other “trained” winemaker in the region. I’m not saying that you need an enology degree to make good wines – there are countless counterexamples – but it gives a good indication of where the Finger Lakes was as a region.
We immediately saw the potential in the region and decided that we wanted to be part of a small group of people to mold and define the Finger Lakes as a wine region. It’s an opportunity that you rarely get. California went through such a transformation back in the late 60s and Oregon a couple of decades later.
Because of my background, we focused exclusively on dry wines which would not have been a very original idea in many places, but in the Finger Lakes, it still was. Most wineries were taking a “shotgun approach” and making an assortment of dry and sweeter wines to please everyone. We decided to take this route.
Additionally, most wineries purchased grapes from growers they knew with little scrutiny. We were able to “cherry pick” some of the best vineyard sites in the region such as the Argetsinger vineyard, Sixteen Falls vineyard, and Serenity vineyard. Over the years, we’ve had opportunities to either purchase the vineyards or develop long-term exclusive contracts highlighting these great vineyard sites, and over the last 20 years, we have had a chance to transition to about 85% estate-grown grapes.
In the early days of our tasting room on Keuka Lake, for every three visitors walking in, two would walk immediately out again, as our wines were not what they were looking for. Over time, the word would spread, and wine enthusiasts favoring dry wines would find their way to Ravines Wine Cellars.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
My answer here might seem a little surprising. Not much would change.
We would continue working with the same vineyard sites. We would continue to expand our sparkling wine program. We would continue to release our wines with substantial bottle age. The only unrealized project remains a small planting of Nebbiolo on the tip of the bluff on Keuka Lake, surrounded by water on three sides.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and winemaking style? Tell us its story.
The answer here would have to be the Dry Riesling from the Argetsinger Vineyard. Shortly after arriving in the region in 1999, I met Sam Argetsinger and had a chance to see his vineyard and work with his grapes; Riesling in particular.
It only took one vintage to understand that here was a Riesling vineyard that stood out from the rest; not only in the Finger Lakes but, arguably, in North America. Planted in the early-mid 80s high above the southeast corner of Seneca Lake, it’s a vineyard of rare potential. A rocky site, with low vigor, and self-regulating growth, the Riesling from this site provides truly outstanding focus and intensity.
Eventually, we released one of the very first single-vineyard Rieslings from this 4-acre site. Click here to read the Dry Riesling wine review.
Bonus Question – Why Winemaking?
I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. When I was 15, my family purchased an existing estate in Cotes de Provence with a history going back to the Templar Knights and the mid-1300s. While the 270-acre estate was a near-idyllic place to grow up, I was determined to study astrophysics in the US. After high school in Nice, I spent 8 years studying Physics and Astrophysics. However, little by little wine would “pull me back in”. I had spent many days working in the vineyards and at the winery, including a full fall season after high school, but I never thought of winemaking as a career.
However, eight years into my studies, while working on my Ph.D, I decided to leave it all behind, return to France, and enroll in the Viticulture and winemaking school in Montpellier. Ironically, I did not end up working very long at the family winery in Provence. While working as an intern at Chateau Cos d’Estournel in St. Estephe, my family lost control of the winery after 17 years, and winemaking took me back to the US.