During the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi, California, I had the great pleasure of meeting Stephen Havill of Bella Grace Vineyards. During one of the conference lunches, he led me over to his table where he was pouring some of their wines. After tasting a few, I was immediately smitten...
Red Hook Winery was founded in 2008 by Mark Snyder to focus on New York State's best vineyards, particularly those located in the North Fork of Long Island and the Finger Lakes regions. Winemakers include Abe Schoener, Christopher Nicolson, and Robert Foley, whose name you may recognize from his...
A lifetime ago, when I was a community college professor who knew nothing about wine, I was contemplating a move to New York. I interviewed for a job at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. I stayed overnight there and thought it was such a great little city. I jumped at the...
In August 2015, before I was an American Winery Guide correspondent, I spent a day visiting Hudson-Chatham Winery, Columbia County, New York's first winery. It was a fantastic experience, and I wrote about that day on my website. A month later, I began writing for AWG. It was only a matter of...
On August 1, 2013, just over two years ago, winemaker and proprietor Johannes Reinhardt opened his own winery, Kemmeter Wines, to the public after being the winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company since 2000. Reinhardt, who emigrated from Germany to make wines in the Finger Lakes, has a...
Countless American wineries begin with a moment of clarity when someone decides to change direction and follow his or her passion. Such is the case with Galer Estate Vineyard and Winery in Chester County, Pennsylvania, founded in 2005 by Brad Galer, a doctor, and Lele Galer, an artist, who at...
In 2002, longtime wine importer and distributor, Gino Razzi, after having successfully made his first Italian wine, a 1997 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo called Symposium, set out to find out more about Pennsylvania wine production. In his research, he discovered that vineyards were growing good...
La garagista farm + winery is located on Mount Hunger in the Piedmont hills near Barnard, Vermont. The homestead and land have been farmed for over 200 years. Acquired by Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber in 1998, the farm's gardens provided vegetables for their sister project, a restaurant named...
Three miles north of Middlebury and 25 miles south of Burlington in New Haven, Vermont, is one of Vermont's premier wine producers, Lincoln Peak Vineyard. Situated on 16 acres of picturesque farmland are 12 acres of vineyards and a couple of modest buildings, including a tasting room and a...
Shelburne Vineyard is a partnership between Ken Albert, Scott Prom, and most recently, Sam Coppola. The idea of winegrowing in Vermont began approximately 35 years ago when Ken Albert was growing grapes in his backyard as a hobby. Later, he leased three acres from Shelburne Farms to begin...