Three new licensed wineries have opened in Clinton County.
Elfs Farm Winery and Cider Mill opened for wine tastings last fall.
Owner and head elf Tom Frey said there are now four wineries open for tastings, with more expected soon as cold-hardy grapes make grape growing more practical in the North Country.
"The Champlain Valley is really (like) the Finger lakes 30 years ago," he said. "The grape industry is growing and growing in the Lake Champlain Valley."
Frey said he got his Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau license in May 2009. He has had several temporary state licenses to sell wine since then.
Frey is in the midst of renovations to create a new tasting room from the drive-thru portico in front of the building, which used to be a motel.
The counter is constructed from old apple bins from local apple orchards and the windows are all recycled. The latter provide views of the vines growing nearby.
"We try to reuse everything," he said. "We are very green around here."
Frey said he's in the process of laying out a new section of his vineyard.
He is planting 300 Marquette vines he ordered from Northeastern Vine Supply in West Pawlet, Vt. Frey said it is a French-American hybrid with some pinot noir characteristics and was developed by the University of Minnesota.
"It's good to about minus 30 degrees (Fahrenheit)," Frey said.
He said some of the plants will be grown in a high tunnel. Elfs Farm received a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service grant of up to $5,200 for a 28-foot by 96-foot metal frame covered by polyethylene plastic.
The structure is expected to extend the growing season.
"I believe that will ripen the grapes better," Frey said. "That will give us a better wine."
In order to qualify for the grant, Frey must plant the same type of grapes outside the tunnel and provide the USDA four years of data on the project.
Elfs Farm offers tasting of a variety of white and red grape wines. Those who stop in for a tasting are allowed to carve a message on the indoor tasting room walls.
The room features a hardwood counter and little nooks and crannies to display artwork. Elfs Farm also has a small gift shop that offers a number of locally made products.
Elfs Farm also produces fruit wines such as a blueberry wine named I Do. Frey said a new apple wine named Lady Dis will soon be available.
He has also crafted hard and sweet cider, pear melomel and an iced cider wine is coming soon.
Amazing Grace Vineyard and Winery opened May 1. It is owned by Gilles and Mary Fortin.
"We're still working on our vineyard," Mary said.
They have two wines made from grapes they grow on site, one white and one red. She said they presently have about 410 vines of cold-hardy grapes, both native and French hybrids.
They make an additional three white and four red wines from grapes grown in the Finger Lakes region of central New York. Amazing Grace also features seven fruit wines created from fruit grown at Rulf's Orchard in Peru.
Mary said their goal is to double production every year. This year, they have about 600 bottles ready for sale.
The Fortins have converted a sunroom into a tasting room. It features tile floors, hardwood walls and a tile tasting counter.
"We've had a lot of compliments," Gilles said. "They (visitors) like the homey feel of it."
He said they plan to host a concert series featuring local artists this summer. That's one of the reasons they built their back deck, to use it as a mini-stage.
Mary said she started making wine about five years ago. She said it's in her blood, as her grandfather used to make wine.
"My mother has stories of her mother yelling at him because he made it in the bathtub," Mary said.
Most of the early grapes came from a huge Concord grape vine on the property.
"We got 70 pounds of grapes off of it last year," Gilles said.
Work is under way to convert an unattached garage to a 1,400-square-foot tasting room and store. That process depends on how good business is, and could take a couple more years, Mary said.
They've already had visitors from New York City and three women from Long Island in the area for a bachelorette party.
"We were encouraged by their visit," Gilles said. "They said our wine was as good as what they have on Long Island."
Last Sunday (June 13), Montreal resident Thomas Dussert stopped in during a bike trip to New York City. He tried a few samples before heading south to find a camp site for the night.
"I thought the red was surprising," he said. "It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's really original. The whites were also good."
Dan and Nancy Vesco opened Vesco Ridge Vineyards in early June. They converted a spare bedroom in the front of their home to a tasting room, complete with hardwood floors and a ceramic tile tasting counter.
Dan said he started growing grapes and making wine as a hobby four years ago. He planted 48 vines the first year.
"We have 400 vines growing here," Dan said. "Last year I planted about 250. I planted the rest this year."
He also uses some local grapes grown by Rob McDowell, vice president of the Lake Champlain Grape Growers Association.
"He's been a lot of help to a lot of people in this area," Dan said.
Nancy said her husband started with one little room in the basement, but the operation now takes up almost all of that space.
Dan is making almost 500 gallons of a variety of wines each year. Vesco Ridge Vineyards currently has five types of white wines and four reds available for tasting.
"In this area, we are kind of limited in the kind of grapes we can grow," Dan said.
Currently, he is growing Leon Millot, Frontenac, St. Peppin, Marquette, Lacrosse and Sabrevois grapes. Dan said that helps him make wine for all tastes, as some people like their wine a little sweeter and others like it a little drier.
The tasting room also features a small gift shop. Nancy has acquired a number of items, such as corkscrews, aerators and wine bags, and is always on the lookout for more.
The labels are being printed by the Border Press, located in Rouses Point.
"They have been great to work with," Dan said.
Even though they've only been open for a few weeks, the Vescos were visited by a couple from Florida who heard about the winery through word of mouth. The guest book has also been signed by visitors from Connecticut and Indiana.
"It's fun because you meet so many people," Nancy said. "Some are very serious, while others are just out to have fun."
She said plans call for vineyard tours also, but that remains a work in progress
Winemaking involves a lot of work, Dan said, but there are also some great perks.
"My favorite part is quality control (sampling). You've got to make sure everything is going right," he said with a laugh.
The first licensed winery in Clinton County was Stone House Vineyard, owned by Philip and Bonnie Favreau. It opened for business in 2007.
Philip said he is presently offering 28 types of sweet, dry, red, white and fruit wines in the vineyard tasting room.
"We also offer tours of the vineyard and have (grape) vines for sale," he said.
All four winery owners are members of Lake Champlain Wines, an organization of the Lake Champlain Grape Growers Association. Its mission is to "promote grape growing and wine making in the Lake Champlain Valley with an emphasis on developing a viable commercial wine and grape industry."
It conducts workshops and features forums for posting questions or seeking solutions to problems in grape growing. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in grape growing, wine making and wine tasting.
One goal is to create a wine trail, linking a number of local wineries to attract visitors to the region.
For more information, visit www.lakechamplainwines.org.
E-mail Dan Heath at:
dheath@pressrepublican.com
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