Spring 2025 Update
Greetings Club Members!
Winter (we think) is mostly behind us now and what a season it was. Since the fall update, we have had some great changes & improvements at Seven Birches Winery. The biggest news is our partnership with Amoskeag Beverages for the distribution of our Rhythm Ciders. Since 2020, we’ve been producing hard ciders under the Rhythm brand and selling them to customers visiting our store(s). Now, we are in 120+ stores statewide and growing. Popular ciders such as the Rhythm Cider, Blueberry Cider, Strawberry Cider, Hoped Cider and everyone’s favorite, Honey Cider are now on shelves across the state. Of course, we have them in our tasting room as well.
We’ve learned so much about cider production and now have the ability to craft what we need for distribution, but also some special ciders, like our Maple Cider on tap right now in our tasting room. For a full list of where to buy our ciders, visit the WHERE TO BUY page at RhythmCider.com.
The grapes that we harvested from our estate vineyard at RiverWalk have all been fermented, some blended, and the first new wines being produced. Some of them, like the Marquette, are surprisingly good! Some of them need some further blending, most likely with vinifera wines that we have already made utilizing California grapes. For those of you that are Vine Club Members (you own a vine out back), we are not intending to utilize the wines made from the 2024 harvest for your “included bottle” as we needed a full year for testing and perfecting. We do hope that the 2025 harvest is the one that will supply the grapes we need to make your bottle of wine using the grapes from your vine. Stay tuned throughout the season for updates.
Speaking of the vineyard, we are headed out for pruning season. Every year we have to prune and retrain the vines to grow onto the trellis in a vertical shoot positioning format. That helps the vine grow strong and produce the most optimal crop. The pruning is done in late winter before they start to grow in May. We’ll post some pictures of the process for sure.
In the cellar, Nate & Gage are working on bottling and prepping for a LARGE spring harvest from South America and South Africa. We will be going big on the reds, to start growing our inventory of aged red wines. It has depleted severely over the years due to space restrictions. But, now that we are in our new winery space (5000 square feet of space), we can increase the red wine program to where it should be. Whites are right behind that.
We are nearly 1 year into our new tasting room, which has allowed us to do some very fun things. We’ve hosted private parties (up to 120 people), we have held our own educational events (floral design workshops, painting classes, etc) and we are holding this year’s Spring Club Weekend, mostly in our tasting room. The Birch Room has become the go-to for smaller parties (up to 40 people). Seems like our architectural design is working! And, there is so much more in the works. Check out what is coming up next.
Lastly, about upcoming trips. Our Tuscany trip in July is sold out, but we do have a few more spots available for France this fall and plenty of spots for Ireland and the Danube. Check out the details below. We are also planning another trip the NY Finger Lakes in September. More details coming on that soon.
This is our personal favorite time of year because we know that warm weather is coming. We hope you enjoy the wines that we’ve selected for you and we hope that we get to see you sometime this summer. Take care!
Mark, Stephanie & Team at Seven Birches Winery
NY Finger Lakes at Harvest Time!
September 12-14, 2025
Our 2nd time to this amazing wine region in the Finger Lakes of New York State.
New York is just behind California for the number of wineries and wine production in the USA. Both v. vinifera and hybrid grapes are planted there and due to the micro-climates of the lakes, they are able to produce some unmatched wines.
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.
Discover Ireland! A week on the Emerald Isle
May 14-22, 2026
Land Tour, Circuitous Itinerary
Join fellow Seven Birches Wine Club Members on this bucket-list trip to Ireland, May 14-22, 2026. This 9-day, 8-night trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland will bring you to another world of breathtaking views, Irish culture, food and heritage in a most affordable way.
Danube Dreams for Wine Lovers – Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary
November 3 – 10, 2026
8 Days / 4 Countries – Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary. Unbelievable!
Cruise along the peaceful Danube River through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary—stopping at some of Central Europe’s most splendid capitals and charming towns. A Certified Sommelier will travel with you on your cruise to host lectures, tastings, and tips on food–and-wine pairing.
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
2025 – Rhythm Cider Distributed Statewide
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.
