150ish THE LOCAL DISH Highlights Hudson-Chatham Winery and Hudson Berkshire Beverage Trail
May 16, 20131 | Photo Deirdre Malfatto
Marisa:
“What are you doing this weekend?” Carlo: “Oh, I’ve got to run to Long Island
to pick up a truck load of grapes.” That’s not a typical work-day conversation,
but—full disclosure—Carlo DeVito, co-owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery, used to be
Marisa’s boss. She’s been the happy recipient of many a holiday bottle of his
wine and has often entertained Francesca with stories of how Carlo, publishing
exec by day, managed to hold a full-time job while starting an upstate
winery—let alone one that is winning high praise and high scores after less
than ten years. As is often the case, he has a smart woman by his side.
Here’s the
dish. Carlo and Dominique DeVito met through their publishing careers: she is a
dog expert and freelance writer, a former publisher of pet books; he is a VP
who developed the Wine Spectator book program and currently directs the
publishing of Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Wine Course. Wine lovers both,
vacations were often spent visiting vineyards worldwide and, after years of tasting
other people’s wines, the couple finally decided they’d rather be tasting their
own.
New York’s wine history goes back way beyond
the current fashion of eastern Long Island—the Dutch and the Huguenots were
planting grapes in the Hudson Valley in the seventeenth century, and the area
is also home to the country’s oldest continuously operating winery:
Brotherhood. New York is third in grape production behind California and
Washington—now, granted, around 80-percent of those grapes are Concords, but the
rest are fine wine grapes like Riesling, Pinot noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and
Chardonnay, as well as many French hybrids. A big reason behind that fine
20-percent is the New York Farm Winery Act of 1976, which allows a winery to be
established whether or not grapes are actually grown on the estate.
Let’s face it, New York isn’t an easy agricultural climate, no matter what part of the state you’re in. Winters are harsh; the growing season is short. But allowing bourgeoning wine makers to purchase grapes from a variety of growers, and then blend their own wines to sell while waiting for their own vines to bear fruit, makes starting a winery here a little more practical than your average pipe dream.
Carlo and Dominique were drawn to the Hudson
Valley by its history and its scenic beauty—to be successful as a destination,
a winery needs good looks as well as good wine. “It took us about nine months
to find the property, and we absolutely love it,” Dominique remembers. “There
were several wineries further downstate, but we liked this area. It’s beautiful
and we’re in good proximity to Hudson and Albany.”
In 2005, the
couple purchased the remaining intact 14 acres of a 500-acre, long-dormant
dairy farm in Ghent. Lucky for them, it was the land parcel on which the 1780
farmhouse still stood. Four acres were planted with Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir
vines, as well as a few other hybrids. They opened Hudson-Chatham—the first
winery in Columbia County—in September 2007, selling wines they made and
bottled from grapes purchased close to home and state-wide.
Today, the winery offers a dozen different
small-batch wines, including their own estate-grown Seyval Blanc, two
well-regarded Baco Noirs, and a Chelois. Another Hudson-Chatham wine that has
attracted a lot of attention is their Empire super-blend, with equal parts Long
Island Merlot, Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes, and Hudson Valley Baco
Noir. As Dominique explains, “the wines that we target here, they’re not very
familiar, but they’re great wines that have great appeal. That Chelois is
practically a cult wine.”
One of the
attractions of the area to the DeVitos was Columbia County’s great reputation
for local food. Immersing themselves in the community, their Tasting Room shop
is a showcase for local labels. They offer one of the largest selections of
Hudson Valley cheeses, including selections from Twin Maple Farm, Old Chatham
Sheepherding Company, and R & G Cheese, in addition to local honey,
chutneys and other condiments, as well as four balsamic vinegars (regular,
white, cassis, and raspberry) that they make from their own wines.
They are also among the founding members of
the Hudson Berkshire Beverage Trail, which leads travelers to three wineries, a
brewery, and a distillery, with a wealth of artisanal food stops along the way.
“The Hudson Valley is really ripe for becoming a prime destination for wine
lovers,” Dominique says. “The one thing that makes us different is that the
wineries are more spread out and that’s a little more challenging. But there’s
so much local food interest going on around us that people can make a really
great weekend of it. The beverage trail is a nice loop, and guys love that it
includes a brewery and a distillery. We call ourselves the libation
destination!”
Comparing
the Hudson Valley to New York’s other wine-making regions, Dominique reflects,
“It’s nice that the Finger Lakes has Reisling and Long Island its Merlots, but
there’s real authenticity to the wines that are being made here; people are
true to the tradition. The Hudson Valley has some really interesting individual
terroirs, and it’s great for people to come and visit because they’ll taste
different things at each of the different wineries. It’s a vibrant community.”
Memorial Day
weekend will see the first annual Hudson Berkshire Wine & Food Festival
take place Saturday and Sunday at the Columbia Country Fairgrounds, and
attendees can sample goods from the Beverage Trail and beyond in a single spot.
Hudson-Chatham Winery also hosts a full calendar of events every weekend year
round. This summer, look for their Gourmet Gardening series, which features a
master gardener at each session discussing heirloom vegetables that will grow
well in the area. Attendees receive a packet of seeds and a related recipe—all
combined with a wine tasting. Their signature event is the Sangria Festival,
which takes place in August, Dominique tells us. “We make five different
sangrias with our wines, there are two flamenco guitar players, and this year
we’ll have a dancer. Other vendors bring their products, and it’s just a great
day of sangria.”
Looking back
at how far they’ve come in just a few short years, Dominique tells us, “Like
anything that involves hard work—and it’s been a lot of hard work—it also has
great rewards. I think our wines have developed a really good reputation, and
that’s been really satisfying for us. The vines have matured and the tasting
room has become established. Things we were just thinking about six years ago
are now coming true: we’ve expanded and we’ll be expanding further.”
Dominique
remembers the couple’s sons Dylan and Dawson helping to plant the original
vines, “and now they can run the bottling machines. If nothing else, we’re
confident they now know enough about wine to impress their dates.”
1900 Route 66, Ghent, New York
Open year-round Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 12:00 to 5:00.
Visit www.hudson-chathamwinery.com for more
information, including a list of local retailers and farmers markets where
their wines are sold.
The Hudson
Berkshire Wine & Food Festival
May 25 and 26, at the Columbia County
Fairgrounds, Route 66, Chatham, New York.
For more information about the festival and
the trail, visit www.hudsonberkshireexperience.com
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