From Our Family to Yours: The Story Behind Our 2024 Chambourcin
As we prepare to share our 2024 Chambourcin, we’re looking back at where this vintage began and the family members who helped start it.
Chambourcin has been part of our winery’s story for years, with vintages from 2018, 2021, and 2022. Now, we’re excited to continue that tradition with our 2024 Chambourcin, nearly two years after its winemaking journey began.
For our family, this vintage carries an especially meaningful story. Sandy, Brian, and Cindy, the owners of the winery, grew up on this property, which was passed down to them by their parents, Joseph and Helene Mikelaites. When they created Jolene Family Winery, they combined their parents’ first names, Joseph and Helene, in memory of them and to honor the love they gave their family.
And in a way that feels especially meaningful to our family, Helene’s story is woven into this vintage from the very beginning.
The Start of Fermentation
Before the grapes were ever harvested, while they were still hanging on the vine and ripening in the vineyard, rain from Hurricane Helene touched the vines and the fruit. Helene was not only our mother’s name, but the name of the woman whose love and legacy are part of this property and our family.
It feels almost as though Mom, Grandma, and Great-Grandma Helene had a hand in preparing this vintage.
Later that fall, Helene’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren became part of the wine’s story themselves, helping begin the fermentation of what would become our 2024 Chambourcin.
This is the stage of winemaking known as pitching yeast, when wine yeast is added to the grape juice, or must, to begin fermentation. The yeast consumes the natural sugars in the grapes, transforming them into alcohol and carbon dioxide and setting the winemaking process in motion.
For most wines, it may seem like a small moment in a much larger process. But for our family, this one was especially meaningful. The hands that helped begin the fermentation were those of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Helene, whose name and legacy had already become part of this vintage long before the grapes were harvested.
It was the beginning of a wine that would carry a little bit of our family’s story with it, all the way to your table.
Generations in the Cellar
That day in the cellar became more than just another step in making wine. It was an opportunity to bring generations of our family together and give the younger ones a glimpse into what happens behind the scenes.
Showing the next generation where wine comes from and how much time, care, and patience go into making each vintage is special. At the time, we were simply beginning the process for another Chambourcin. Looking back now, nearly two years later, those moments feel even more meaningful knowing that the wine they helped start is finally ready to share.
And thanks to the photos from that day, we get to look back and remember a moment when multiple generations of our family were part of this vintage from the very beginning.
FROM 2024 to Today
Since that day, the 2024 Chambourcin has continued its journey through the cellar, developing with time and care until it was ready for its next chapter.
Our Wine Club members will be the first to enjoy the 2024 Chambourcin, with its release happening on September 3rd. The public release will follow soon after.
For us, this vintage represents more than another bottle of Chambourcin. It’s a continuation of a wine we’ve been proud to make over the years, following our 2018, 2021, and 2022 vintages. But this particular vintage carries something that makes it especially close to our hearts.
From the rain that fell on the grapes while they were still on the vine, bearing the name of the woman who helped shape our family and this property, to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who helped begin its fermentation, Helene’s presence can be felt in this wine in more ways than one.
And now, nearly two years after its journey began, we’re excited to finally share what’s in the bottle.
The 2024 Chambourcin is a beautifully pleasing wine that strikes a wonderful balance between fruit and spice. Aromas of stone fruit, cranberry, and cherry cordial mingle with delicate notes of white chocolate. On the palate, ripe raspberry, lavender, and licorice unfold alongside a subtle hint of cigar box. The long, lingering finish reveals layers of fruit marmalade and a touch of black pepper, all beautifully balanced by a hint of residual sweetness.
From Our Family to Your Glass
We love that wine has a way of connecting people. It connects generations of our family through the work of growing grapes and making wine, and eventually, it connects our family with yours when you share a bottle, enjoy a glass with friends, or make a new memory at the Winery by the Lake.
So before you take that first sip of our 2024 Chambourcin, we hope you’ll think about the story behind it: the vineyard, the cellar, the time, the patience, and the family moments along the way.
From our family to yours, we’re excited to finally share the 2024 Chambourcin with you.
Cheers to another vintage, another chapter, and the generations who help make it all possible.