PHOTOS FROM THE ICE STORM AT

HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY

Last week Columbia County, and the capital metro region of New York state, were hit by an unrelenting ice storm. A state of emergency is still in effect for some parts of the region. Schools were closed for several days, and power was lost by upwards of 20,000 households in the region. Indeed, many local roads, especially back roads, were littered with downed tree trunks and limbs, as well as crisscrossed by downed power lines which lay in the road like so much cold spaghetti.

The ice storm hit us hard. We lost at least half-a-dozen trees, and hundreds of limbs were felled. Luckly, nothing has yet hit the house nor the winery, but there are still numerous storms to be weathered.

The storm forced us to be closed that Friday. Most of our time was spent buying propane heaters and hooking up a wire to our car, in order to restore some semblence of warmth and electricity back to our home. Few generators for sale were to be found. Meanwhile, countless businesses were affected. Pi, a restaurant in Kinderhook, that was hosting a candlelight dinner Friday night, were stallwart, and hosted their dinner regardless. Countless folks cancelled their reservations, but the proud folks, hosting a charity fundraiser, went on with the show. Numerous people who showed up were rewarded with fabulous candlelit dinners. The atmosphere and the food were incredible.

All through Friday night I worried about the heat in the basment of the house, the barrel room, and the winery. Freezing might costs us a new set of pipes, or worse, the loss of product in bothe the storage room or the winery. I musy have gotten up three or four times to check them or rearrange them for maximum but safe use.

Our power was only regained in the early hours of Saturday morning, and we were able to open in our normal fashion. Business was slow, and many in the area struggled with the necessicities. We perservered, and were surprised to see so many people on the open road...some looking for wine, some looking for warmth. By Sunday, we even happily hosted a few folks who needed showers.

Here are a few of the wonderous photos from that awfully dangerous weekend.