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Volume XI, Number 2 - Holiday 2006
In this Issue
To the Next Twenty-Five - a personal letter from Art & Joyce Hunt
From the Cellar - great news from our winemaker Christopher Wirth
Vineyard Dirt - news from the vines, by Art Hunt
Meet Bonnie Barney - a portrait of our talented Gift Shop manager (and watercolor artist!)
Art & Joyce Hunt receive Pride of NY Award - for their dedication in promoting NY food and agriculture
Late Harvest Vignoles wins Top Prize - beats out 180 competitors in Connecticut contest
Hunt Country sponsors Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University
Ask and We all shall Receive - an easy way for us all to promote NY wines
Terrific Winter & Spring Events at the Winery - don't miss the festivities!
Pets' Corner - Gus and Bärli hit the big time!
Order Wine Directly & Easily from Us - we can ship to an expanding number of states
Silver Stores - these select wine retailers across New York State stock a broad range of our wines
To the Next Twenty-Five
Dear Friends,
We couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful 25th Anniversary celebration. Thank you so much for joining in the festivities, for your cards and kind words.
We launched our celebration in June with a beautiful six-course Winemaker’s Dinner for sixty prepared by our great friend Chef Paul Mach and several of his culinary students from Penn College in Williamsport, PA. In addition to the delicious food and wines (including an amazing Hunt Country 1987 Chardonnay) and warmth of the occasion, we recall the energy of our staff who had just one hour to set all the tables and arrange perfectly nearly 800 wine glasses. Guests enjoyed the evening so much that Chef Paul heroically agreed to an encore performance in October, with a menu and wines matched to the season.
At the end of July, we welcomed over 200 area friends and colleagues to an evening reception. We admit to feeling quite emotional seeing so many friends who have helped and supported us over years. That weekend, and again for our Gourmet Harvest Festival in the fall, we opened doors to the public for a weekend of special anniversary activities and wines, including barrel tasting workshops by our winemaker Chris Wirth and cooking seminars by Chef Paul. Our guests enjoyed tasting and buying a number of older wines from our private cellar, and a portion of those proceeds has been donated to the Yates County Humane Society.
Our oldest daughter, Carolyn, is back on the East coast attending law school at Northeastern University in Boston. She is pursuing her long time interest in immigration and human rights law. She is enjoying her coursework and reports that even the “heavier” topics are interesting due to the many actual cases they review. Carolyn and her boyfriend, Ben, are now engaged. The wedding dates and details are yet to be determined but we’re delighted that they have decided to hold the happy event at Hunt Country.
Suzanne continues to work for the Worldwatch Institute in Washington DC on global bioenergy issues. The new leadership in DC has vowed to make renewable energy one of their major priorities. Recently Suzanne spoke on renewable energy and met with policymakers in Bonn, Brussels, Rome and Madrid. With strong political leadership in Europe and key countries like China, India and Brazil, renewable energy production is growing exponentially. Suzanne will be addressing our annual Yates County Cooperative Extension meeting on December 7 with a talk entitled “Biofuel Energy: Global Context and Local Opportunities.” A summary of how we are incorporating sustainable energy practices into our daily operations at Hunt Country can be found on our website.
Jonathan, our youngest, was an integral part of the grape harvest and is currently working on a carpentry project for the winery. He also conducts wine-tasting events around the state and participates in management meetings, then dashes off to work on his “fixer-upper” house, which is coming along nicely.
We are all healthy and will be together here for Thanksgiving, the greatest blessings of all. On behalf of our family and our employees, we wish you and yours a wonderful, peaceful holiday season and New Year.
Art and Joyce Hunt Back to the Top
From the Cellar
by Winemaker Christopher Wirth
From first light to past dusk virtually every day through September and October, this fall’s harvest season has been a whirlwind of activity for our winemaking team. Even with two new 3000-gallon tanks, we struggled before finally finding homes for all the grapes and juice. With the crush now complete (except for ice wine), we can take a deep breath and look forward to some very exciting new wines that we will be releasing in the coming months!
First, in December, we will introduce a new Meritage 2004, a rich blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, from grapes all grown in New York State. Then in January, we will release a spectacular full-bodied Cabernet Franc 2005, oak-aged for one year. Capping off our new range of reds in February or March will be a delicious smooth Merlot 2005, our first ever, aged in French oak for 16 months. These three reds are finished in tall, dark and handsome bottles with elegant linen labels.
We have some great news for white wine lovers, too. Later in the spring we will release our first Pinot Gris 2006, a delicate Burgundian wine and one of my favorites!
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Vineyard Dirt
by Art Hunt
Every growing season is different. Last year was close to ideal with hot dry weather late into the fall. The first half of this summer was warm with plenty of rain, then frequent heavy rains took over from August well into the fall. Luckily the grapes were ahead of average maturity going into the fall. Enough sunshine squeezed in between squalls to ripen the grapes quite well. This year’s vintage is bountiful with very good quality overall. We are not complaining! Next year should bring some lovely new wines.
In the meantime, the Vidal Blanc grapes that we craft into Ice Wine are still hanging on their vines, waiting for the cold snap that will freeze them solid and trigger our final harvest of the year, by hand in the 10-degree chill!
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Meet Bonnie Barney 
Recent visitors to Hunt Country Vineyards have been treated to an enlivened tasting room and gift shop, thanks to our new Assistant Manager, Bonnie Barney. The shop is a trove of unique and affordable gift items, colorfully and artistically displayed.
For many years, Bonnie taught elementary school in Bath, NY and later trained teachers. She retired, anticipating a lot of free time for her passion, watercolor painting (see her lovely Ice Vines at right), then found herself a happy but overloaded volunteer. Bonnie serves on the boards of the Yates County Arts Center, the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival and the Finger Lakes Boating Museum. Her great organizational skills, artistic eye and facility with computers made her the perfect choice for these organizations’ newsletters, brochures and press releases, among other things. Now that she is working at Hunt Country she has less time for volunteer activities, but she still finds time for her beloved painting, birding, bridge, gardening, hiking, travel and wine tasting. Since her retirement, Bonnie has painted on four continents, but has found that everyone wants pictures of Keuka Lake!
Bonnie and her husband, Dick live on Keuka Lake. She has three children, three grandchildren and two “fuzz children” (Rudy, a miniature poodle, and Kramer the cat).
Bonnie really enjoys her job. She confided, “It’s like Christmas shopping for the world!”
Hunt Country’s Gift Shop....jpg "Hunt Country's Gift Shop")
...offers great holiday shopping for everyone! Just give us a call at 800.946.3289. We love to help with ideas!
We have a bevy of great wine items:
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Wine racks of all sizes
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Mouth-blown glass stemware
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Wine accessories and gadgets
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Wine hats and t-shirts
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Miniature wine bottles for your tree
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Decks of cards with 52 white or red wine grapes
For those who have “everything”, food is always a great idea:
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Locally roasted coffees
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Delicious regional cheeses
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Amish soups, jams, mustards and condiments
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Gourmet grapeseed and olive oils in gorgeous bottles
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Chocolate Body Frosting makes a naughty gift!
For book-lovers and dog-lovers:
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“Wine Dogs” (see article in this newsletter)
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“Death on Crooked Lake”, a local thriller
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Tapestry Christmas stockings in 11 different dog breeds
Remember Hunt Country and snuggle up with a:
- T-shirt with “Got Wine?” in rhinestones, or with “Foxy Lady”
- Hunt Country fleece vest, sweat shirt, t-shirt or cap
Back to the Top
Art and Joyce Hunt Receive
Pride of New York Award
At the tenth annual Pride of New York Harvest Festival held recently at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, Art and Joyce Hunt received the first ever Pride of New York Award.
Pride of New York is the state’s program to market and encourage demand for New York food and agricultural products. Its membership includes nearly 2000 growers, food producers, retail outlets and other supporters of NY agriculture.
 State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan commented, “The Hunts…are an exceptional example of the kinds of farm families we have… They take great pride in providing their customers with a superior product. We honor them not only for excellence in their business, but for helping make the Pride of New York the success it has become over the past ten years.”
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Late Harvest Vignoles wins Top Prize
At the 2006 Northeast Gold Wine competition, held in Cromwell, Connecticut, Hunt Country Vineyards was awarded six medals and two major honors. Wineries in all seven Northeast states submitted 182 entries, which were judged in blind tastings by Amenti del Vino, one of the oldest wine societies in New England.
Our Late Harvest Vignoles 2005, a seductive after-dinner wine with citrus and exotic fruit aromas, was awarded a Double Gold Medal and was voted “Best New York Wine” and “Best of Show”. Hunt Country’s nationally acclaimed Vidal Blanc Ice Wine 2005, featured earlier in the year on NBC’s Today Show, also won a Gold Medal.
Since 2004, fourteen Hunt Country wines have received 31 major awards (Gold medal or higher) in prestigious competitions across the country.
Hunt Country Sponsors
Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship
at Syracuse University
Hunt Country Vineyards was recently named the exclusive wine sponsor of Syracuse University’s Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship. Part of SU’s Whitman School of Business, the Falcone Center’s programs focus on fostering venture creation and growth. Their events draw audiences from the Central New York area and beyond, including business professionals, entrepreneurs, faculty and staff of Syracuse University and high-level keynote speakers and panelists. Hunt Country wines will be served personally at all events by our own entrepreneur Joyce Hunt, a proud alumna of SU.
The first program, “Insight CNY: An Entrepreneurial Vision for Growth” took place in October. Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop and author of “Business as Unusual”, captivated the audience with her strategy for success and playful, edgy spirit. We highly recommend the book. In April 2007 the Falcone Center will present the symposium “WISE: Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship” and Hunt Country will again be an active participant.
Ask and We all shall Receive!
It is gratifying, after many long years of struggle, to begin to see more New York wines on retailers’ shelves and on wine lists in fine restaurants. We at Hunt Country and our fellow New York wineries are working tirelessly to improve every aspect of our winemaking and our marketing. But things do change slowly. Happily, together, we can accelerate the pace. No single action is more effective in sparking change than our own actions and comments as consumers. If you do not find your favorite New York wine on a wine list or wine store shelf, please take a deep breath and mention it nicely to the manager.
Thank you for being an active friend of New York wines!
Terrific Winter and Spring Events
Holiday Wines & Pines...a seasonal sale-abration!
December 9 through 17, 2006 // Ring in the holidays without the rush and stress! How about a wonderful getaway to the heart of the gorgeous Finger Lakes? Holiday Wines & Pines is sponsored by Hunt Country Vineyards, Heron Hill Winery and Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars. Taste our wines and, on weekends, gourmet delights. Browse a wide and wonderful array of gifts. Check out our Red and Green Tag Sale, and gift baskets. Find the perfect presents and stocking stuffers for family and friends. Stock up on wine for the holidays. And let the beautiful scent of pine follow you home. Admission is FREE and no reservations are required. Open from 10am to 5pm on weekdays and Saturdays, Noon to 5pm on Sundays. All 3 wineries are just 20 minutes apart on the beautiful western flank of Keuka Lake. Come out and see us!
Be Mine with Wine
Saturday & Sunday, February 10 & 11, 2007 and February 17 & 18, 2007 // Spend the weekend tasting the best romantic foods Keuka Lake has to offer! Each of the 8 participating Keuka Lake wineries will offer a tantalizing food paired with a different and unique wine. Plan for a great getaway weekend. Tickets may purchased at www.KeukaWineTrail.com, by calling (800) 440-4898, or at selected Wegman's stores. In advance $20 per person, or $25 per person at the door. Open Saturday 10AM to 5PM and Sunday Noon to 5PM.
Beat the Blues
Saturday, March 3, 2007 // Enjoy live Blues music and special offers at three premier Keuka Lake wineries. Jump in the car and come see us! Singer-guitarist Keith Harden will entertain at Hunt Country Vineyards from noon to 4pm. Offered by Hunt Country Vineyards, Heron Hill Winery and Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars. Admission is FREE and no reservations are required! All 3 wineries are just 20 minutes apart on the beautiful western flank of Keuka Lake. Open Saturday 10AM to 5PM and Sunday Noon to 5PM.
Spring Break!
Saturday, March 17, 2007 // Warm your bones at 3 premier Keuka Lake wineries with live classic Rock & Roll, specials on white wines and a chance to pick your own award-winners before the year’s wine competitions. Singer-guitarist Keith Harden will rock your socks off at Hunt Country Vineyards from Noon to 4:00pm! Sponsored by Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, Heron Hill Winery and Hunt Country Vineyards. Admission is FREE and no reservations are required! All 3 wineries are just 20 minutes apart on the beautiful western flank of Keuka Lake. Open Saturday 10AM to 5PM and Sunday Noon to 5PM.
Murder Mystery Tour
Saturday & Sunday, March 31 & April 1, 2007 // Another serving of murder and wine! Come crack the case at Keuka Lake! Every year a sell-out, the Keuka Lake Wine Trail is proud to present another of our infamous and humorous homicides. Come join the fun, meet the suspects and follow the clues! Enjoy wines and hors d’oeuvres at each of the nine wineries as you unravel clues and piece together a solution to the crime. Event hours: Saturday 10AM to 5PM and Sunday Noon to 5PM. Tickets may purchased at www.KeukaWineTrail.com, by calling 800.440.4898, or at Wegmans Food Markets. In advance $20 per person, or $25 per person at the door. Designated Driver tickets are available at a 25% discount.
We hope to see you soon!
 Hunt Country Pets’ Corner
Our two Bernese Mountain Dogs, Gus and Bärli, made the big time! A year ago Australian photographers, Craig McGill and Susan Elliott, came by to photograph our “boys”. Craig and Susan believe dogs are one of God’s finest gifts to mankind. Their book of Australian winery dogs met with so much success, they decided to publish Wine Dogs – USA Edition. The book is a dog lovers delight. Along with all the great winery dog photos is a list of each dog’s favorite toy, favorite food, naughtiest deed (and known accomplices!), pet peeve and favorite pastime. Interesting stories and quotes are also woven into the book’s 536 color pages ($35.95). This terrific holiday gift for your favorite wine and dog lover is available by emailing us at gifts@HuntWines.com or by calling Bonnie or John at 800.946.3289.
On a sad note, our winemaker Christopher Wirth lost his beloved Alaskan Malamute, Kiva, at the age of twelve. Kiva enjoyed relaxing in the cool wine cellar near Chris. Her gentle presence is missed by human and dog friends.
Back to the Top
Ordering Wine and Gifts
Directly and Easily!
We’re making progress! Thanks to a US Supreme Court ruling in 2005, more states than ever now allow direct shipments from out-of-state wineries. Several more states are reevaluating their restrictive laws and regulations. We offer free shipping for orders of 12 bottles or more (any mixture of wines). (For a six-bottle order, we'll discount your shipping by 50%.)
We can now ship wine to ... Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau), California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, Washington State, West Virginia
We can ship non-wine gifts to ... Everywhere!
Click here for a Comparison Chart of all our wines.
Click here for our Order Wine Online page.
If you would like to ship to a state not on the “Yes” list, DON’T DESPAIR…please call us for the latest information! The list of “Yes” states is increasing month by month! Our resourceful customers just refuse to accept “No”! Some ask us to ship wine to a cousin, friend or colleague in a “Yes” state. Others have asked a relative or friend to stop by the Winery to purchase for them.
You can call us at 800.946.3289 (ask for John, Jim or Bonnie) or place wine orders to “Yes” states on-line! We hope to hear from you!
Back to the Top
Silver Stores!
Hunt Country Silver Stores are a select group of wine retailers across New York State where you will find a broad range of Hunt Country and Foxy Lady wines in stock*, sales staff who are particularly knowledgeable about our wines, and periodic free tastings of both our classic varietals and newer releases. Thanks for supporting them and us!
Greater Rochester
Pittsford · Clubhouse Liquor · 2947 Monroe Ave. · 585.461.0150
Greater Buffalo
Kenmore · Prime Wines · 3445 Delaware Ave. · 716.873.6688 · www.PremierGroup.net
Orchard Park · Prestige Wine & Spirits · 3410 Amelia Dr. · 716.825.9848 · www.PremierGroup.net
Williamsville · Premium Wine & Spirits · 7980 Transit Rd. · 716.565.3020 · www.PremierGroup.net
Corfu · Kutter’s Cheese Retail Store · 857 Main Rd. · 888.700.5275 · www.KutterCheese.com
Finger Lakes & The Southern Tier
Canandaigua · Ryan’s Wine & Spirits · 16 Parkway Plaza · 585.394.4740
Farmington · Bombace Wine & Spirits · 6081 Rte 96 · 585.924.3290 · www.Bombace.com
Geneseo · Good Spirits · 4270 Lakeville Rd. · 585.243.0220
Ithaca · Northside Wine & Spirits · 222 Elmira Rd. · 607.273.7500 · www.NorthsideWine.com
Central New York
Fayetteville · Superior Discount Liquors · 105 Towne Dr · 315.637.8909
Cortland · Plaza Discount Liquors · 1108 State Rte 222 · 607.753.8575
Adirondacks
Keeseville · Village Liquor Shoppe · 1727 Front St. · 518.834.9640
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