The Story Behind the Vineyard
Deer Creek Vineyard's winemaker, David Martin, first became interested in making wine after a family European vacation. The Martin's drove through some of the most famous wine regions in the world -- along the Rhine and in the Mosel areas in Germany; into Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland's hillside vineyards; and finally through Burgundy, Chablis, Champaigne, and the Alsace in France. After seeing thousands upon thousands of acres of vineyards and buying a few bottles of wine along the way, David thought that he should be able to make some wine. Combing his Bachelor's of Science degree in Medical Technology from Oklahoma State University with his 25 years laboratory experience, he was right!
After returning home, David started reading everything he could find on making wine. He joined the Oklahoma Grape Growers and Wine Makers Association, which is the statewide organization providing educational opportunities and information for the industry. He also joined the Lincoln County Grape Growers Association. Based in Chandler, Oklahoma, LCGGA provides educational speakers and cooperative purchasing for vineyards. David served as the LCGGA's President in 2004.
In addition to the Oklahoma Associations above, David started taking classes at Grayson County College in Denison, Texas. This community college embraces the long and rich history of grape growing and wine making through it's Viticulture and Enology program. To date, David has taken 5 classes at GCC.
Armed with this information, David bought a wine kit on the Internet and made his first batch of wine. "This was when it started to go horribly out of control," he said about his wines.
David entered his wines in the 2003 Oklahoma State Fair, which is held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and came away with surprising results.
His very first wine, a dry White Zinfandel, captured Best of Show as well as a Gold medal. The second wine he made, a White Bordeaux style blend (Ambre Ruelle), earned a Silver medal. A sparkling wine (Oklahoma Stars), David's third wine, won a Bronze medal. "I took this as a sign," he said about his wine making abilities.
These three wines were entered into the WineMaker Magazine's International Wine Competition in 2003. In a field of almost 1500 entries from 6 countries, David's three wines took home a Silver and two Bronze medals.
The vineyard got started before any wine was made. In February of 2003, David bought 188 vines of Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noit through the LCGGA's co-op in California. While a grape vine can take at least 4 years to mature, David's vines produced a small amount of grapes in their second season. The 2005 season looks to be a great production year, and, hopefully, next year will be even better -- that is if no late frost or hails hits the vineyard! David took the Oklahoma State University's Extension Program in Viticulture to help him produce the best possible grapes in his vineyard.
All this knowledge helped spring board David to the 2004 Oklahoma State Fair -- 27 medals were awarded in multiple categories. Out of the 27 medals, he earned 18, including Best of Show, 3 Gold medals, 4 Silver medals, and 11 Bronze medals.
The medal winning wines:
Riesling Icewine style (Best of Show, Gold medal)
Red Bordeaux style blend (Gold medal)
Muscat Canille, made with Oklahoma grown grapes (Gold medal)
Apple (Silver medal)
Chenin Blanc (Silver medal)
Liebfraumilch blend (Silver medal)
Pinot Noir (Silver medal)
White Bordeaux style blend (Bronze medal)
Cabernet Sauvignon (Bronze medal)
Chardonnay (Bronze medal)
Gewürztraminer (Bronze medal)
Merlot (Bronze medal)
Plum (Bronze medal)
Sangiovese (Bronze medal)
Red Zinfandel, made with Texas grown grapes (Bronze medal)
Shiraz (Bronze medal)
Strawberry (Bronze medal)
Sparkling Wine (Bronze medal)
David sent 15 entries into the 2005 WineMaker Magazine's International Amateur Wine Competition (there was no competition in 2004), and has recently learned the results! Although they were joined by a field of over 2200 wines, David's 15 submissions captured 9 medals, including 3 Gold medals, 2 Silver medals, and 4 Bronze medals.
WineMaker Competition's medal winning wines:
Chardonnay (Gold medal)
Riesling Icewine style (Gold medal)
Pinot Noir (Gold medal)
Cabernet Sauvignon (Silver medal)
Gewürztraminer (Silver medal)
Merlot (Bronze medal)
White Bordeaux style blend (Bronze medal)
Red Bordeaux style blend (Bronze medal)
Sparkling Wine (Bronze medal)
While waiting for the results to the 2005 WineMaker Magazine's International Amateur Wine Competition, David participated in the Edmond Arts Festival (2005) plus a special wine tasting event hosted by Cole's Garden.