2024 Fall Wine Club Release Notes

Fall 2024 Update

Greetings Club Members!

Oh my, do we have a lot going on at Seven Birches Winery.  By now you know that we have fully moved into our new space within the new expansion at RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain.  This past summer was simply awesome, with great weather, lots of club members coming in to see us and the new space and new visitors tasting wine and joining the club.  We took our first international trip to Europe in July, which was one of the best experiences of our lifetimes.  We got our new production facility up and running and we grew some wonderful grapes in our vineyard.  It was not without trials and tribulations, but as we bring the season to a close, we could not be more thrilled with where we are.

On the production front, we have just completed our fall harvest.  With the help of our entire staff and some club member volunteers (you know who you are), we were able to pick 2294 lbs of grapes from our very own backyard vineyard.  Those grapes are currently fermenting and we are very hopeful that we will be able to produce the first releasable vintage in the next 2 years.  Those of you in our Adopt-A-Vine Club might just get that first bottle from your vine!

We also received and crushed 16.5 tons of grapes and juice from California and Washington to make our 2024 vintage of red and white wines.  From these grapes, we hope to craft around 3000 gallons of wine, which would equate to 15,000 bottles (1250 cases).  All of these grapes are fermenting as you read this and will soon move into barrels for long-term aging.

As if all of the grape harvest and wine production were not enough, you know that this time of year is #ciderseason.  We are also making weekly trips to our local (New England) apple orchards, collecting juice, bringing it in to the winery and starting fermentations.  We actually never really stopped getting juice from the orchards all summer long to keep the cider moving.  One of the best outcomes from this effort is getting our first-ever canning run completed.  On August 29, 2024 we canned our flagship, Rhythm Cider and a seasonal batch of Strawberry Cider, both of which are hitting shelves across NH.    Almost 8,500 cans of cider came off the line in 1 day.  It was awesome!

Speaking of #ciderseason, we are just about ready to start distribution of our cider with a 3rd party beverage distributor in NH.  Zach and Juliana have been pounding the pavement, getting our cider into many new stores and restaurants around the north country.  With the addition of a distribution partner, we will hit shelves statewide in the coming weeks.  This launch of Rhythm Cider may just be one of the biggest endeavors we’ve undertaken as a cidery.    All throughout the cider season (Labor Day through Thanksgiving), there are events and promotions to take advantage of.  All club members receive a free cider flight or glass of cider in our tasting room during #ciderseason.  Hard to beat that!

As we look ahead, we are thankful for so many things.  A bountiful harvest, our amazing staff, our club members of course, and a very bright future.  The wines you are getting this release are a mix of old and new.  We are, no doubt, playing catch-up in the winery.  With the transition to a new space, our production timeline took a bit of a hit and we are literally running low on wines.  Not to worry though, production is now at full capacity and we will catch up.

So, thank you very much for your continued support.  We absolutely adore our club members.  Have a wonderful holiday season; we hope to see you real soon!

Mark, Stephanie & Team at Seven Birches Winery

Gourmet Tuscany!

June 29 – July 6, 2025

A culinary adventure in the world’s most renowned wine region of Italy.  **ONLY 2 SPOTS REMAINING**

Join fellow Seven Birches Wine Club Members on this quintessential trip to wine country in Tuscany, Italy in June, 2025.  This 8-day, 7-night trip to Tuscany is built for you, the wine and food connoiseur.  IF you’ve ever dreamed of taking a trip to Tuscany, but wanted a little help in planning the trip, then this is it!

French Wine Country

November 4 – 11, 2025

A week-long cruise through Burgundy, Beaujolais & Provence wine country.

Take a delightful river cruise through France along the Rhône and Saône Rivers with guided sightseeing in well-known French treasures and some hidden gems too! Take in the beautiful countryside, quaint villages and towns, as you sail through the most captivating views of France.

The Timeline

2010 – Seven Birches Winery was founded

2012 – Construction of new winery & tasting room

2013 – Opened new facility at Windy Ridge Orchard

2015 – Moved business to Lincoln, NH

2016 – Opened new facilities at RiverWalk Resort

2018 – Opened expansion tasting room at the Atrium

2019 – Planted first block of 76 hybrid vines

2020 – Launched Rhythm Brand, more vines

2021 – Opened Rhythm Studio, total vines now 454

2022 – Expansion construction starts, more vines planted; total of 518 vines.

2024 – Phase 2, Grand New Winery, Club Room, Tasting Room OPEN

The Story

Prior to 2010, Mark LaClair was a hobby winemaker, making wines at home out of all sorts of fruits. In 2010 he founded Seven Birches Winery with his partners at Windy Ridge Orchard in North Haverhill, NH. That year, Mark started the first commercial batch of Apple and Blueberry wine, followed by the first vintage of grape wines from South America in the spring of 2011. In the fall of 2012, they began construction of a purpose-built winery at the orchard to allow for some  expansion. That new facility and tasting room opened in the summer of 2013, offering customers more variety, more space, and a far better experience. It was a fantastic venue for growing the winery for the next few years.

At the end of 2015,  after having a successful five years at the orchard, Mark decided it was time to move the winery into a year round facility in the bustling tourist town of Lincoln, NH. In the spring of 2016, Seven Birches Winery moved into its new home at the new RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain, still under construction at the time. The tasting room and the resort opened that June.  In December, 2018, the winery opened its second tasting room called the “Atrium Wine Bar at the Lincoln  Village Shops” across the parking lot from RiverWalk Resort. This second tasting room allowed for a more comfortable experience on busy days, and a new venue to host public and private events.

In May of 2019, Seven Birches planted a 76-vine test vineyard in the RiverWalk Resort backyard. The vines are all hybrid grapes that will withstand the harsh winters and will ripen its fruit in the shorter NH growing season.  In October, 2019,  Seven Birches completed the renovation of a new private function space adjacent to the Atrium Wine Bar only to be renovated again in 2020 for more COVID-safe tasting room space.  2020 also saw the launch of Seven Birches Winery’s newest product line, Rhythm Cider as a stand-alone brand made by Seven Birches Winery with the intention of being distributed around New England and beyond.   218 more vines were planted in 2020 along with 160 more in the spring of 2021. There are now 518 vines in the ground with the first block harvested in the fall of 2021. Construction of RiverWalk Resort’s phase 2 began in the spring of 2022 and is now complete.

The new winery facility opened in 2024 and incorporates a 5000 square foot winery, 3000 Square foot tasting room, 1000 Square foot “Club Room” and 2000 square feet of outdoor patio space.  The “Rhythm Studio” has evolved into a full-service restaurant inside RiverWalk Resort called Rhythm Tap and Grille and Rhythm Cider is now distributed state-wide in New Hampshire.