• Jordan Barry ©️ Seven Days
• La crescent grapes ready for harvest, with the bird-deterring Marshmallow Man in the background

The new owners of Lincoln Peak Vineyard aren't selling cars, but it might seem that way to passersby on Route 7: The wiggling white arms of a giant inflatable tube man flail over the vines.

Marshmallow Man, as rookie vineyard owners Kevin Bednar and Nichole Bambacigno call him, is for the birds. Or, rather, for keeping them away. The jury's still out on how effective he is at his job.

On one of the last days of mid-September's stunning stretch of weather, under Marshmallow Man's sort-of-watchful eye, a group of 10 grape harvesters got to work in the lower block of the New Haven vineyard. The all-volunteer group clipped bunch after golden bunch of la crescent, careful not to leave anything for those pesky birds.

Bednar and Bambacigno supplied them with pruners, gloves, lunch and — of course — wine.

When the married couple put out a call for harvesting help on their website and social media, "We didn't think anyone would show up," Bednar said. They've worked plenty of harvests in their winemaking careers, usually with hired staff. For their first season making wine in Vermont, and at their own vineyard, things are more DIY.

But volunteers have shown up every day to help bring in the grapes. Some are family — including Bednar's parents — or family friends, glad to have the couple in Vermont after they honed their skills around the world. Others, like a visiting sommelier, are just there for the experience.

Bambacigno, 33, and Bednar, 32, bought Lincoln Peak in the spring and welcomed their second daughter a few weeks later. The couple met at mammoth E. & J. Gallo Winery in Bambacigno's hometown of Modesto, Calif. — about as far from tiny Lincoln Peak as it gets — and traveled the world learning the trade in New Zealand, Australia and Austria. Before returning to Bednar's native Vermont this year, they were head winemakers at competing wineries in New Jersey.

• Jordan Barry ©️ Seven Days
• Nichole Bambacigno and Kevin Bednar tasting grapes

They're figuring out the division of labor for working together, they said, and adapting to Vermont's cold-hardy hybrid varieties and Lincoln Peak's small-scale equipment. Most importantly, they're reviving the winery, which launched in the early 2000s but had sat mostly dormant since Shelburne Vineyard bought it from the Granstrom family in 2021.

Taking over one of the state's most established wineries has been a little nerve-racking, Bambacigno said. Customers have longtime favorites, which the couple may or may not bring back. Founder Chris Granstrom left the new owners his notebooks, but the couple's philosophy is more hands-off: It all depends on the flavors of the grapes. They believe the wine should be classic and clean and taste like fruit.

They're growing the grapes without herbicides, continuing a practice Ethan Joseph started when he managed the vines for Shelburne Vineyard. And they're approaching their winemaking differently, mixing native-yeast fermentations common in the natural wine world with the more conventional pitched-yeast style Granstrom used.

Bambacigno and Bednar picked their first grapes, a single row of early-ripening adalmiina, on September 3. A few weeks later, they moved on to Louise Swenson and early marquette destined for rosé. They let things hang for a week to ripen, then picked close to nine tons over four days before last week's rain.

Having never worked with the hybrid grapes Granstrom planted almost 25 years ago, "We don't really know how much fruit's out there," Bednar said.

"We're totally guessing," Bambacigno added.

They nailed their projections on the first few picks, Bambacigno said, but were "way off" on a more recent haul of marquette — thankfully with more fruit than they were expecting.

With about a quarter of the vineyard left to go, things are looking good despite an up-and-down growing season. Vermont's winegrowers celebrated the season's beautiful start, but midsummer rain stressed the vines. Bednar and Bambacigno felt lucky to commiserate with other Vermont producers whom they previously followed from afar.

"They've all been super welcoming to us," Bambacigno said, noting a collaborative community vibe she and Bednar haven't encountered in other wine regions.

"It's the same spirit with the volunteers coming out," Bednar said. "People are gung ho, even on the really hot days and even when we start at 8 a.m."

Once things dry out from the rain, they'll pick again this week and next. If you'd like to join them, they'll have pruners and wine.