BALDWIN VINEYARDS

Pat and Jack Baldwin were living in New Jersey in 1981, enjoying wine as a hobby since their first visit to Europe in 1974 had started their "love affair" with wine. As Director of Les Amis du Vins' premier new chapter, Pat had 100 members who met monthly to taste the world's great wines under the tutelage of wine industry's notables, including Marcia Mondavi. It was a club member who informed Pat that world class wines were being produced 50 miles to the north, in New York's Hudson River region. After visiting one of the region's dozen wineries that summer, Pat remarked, "That would be a nice way to live." So together the Baldwins spent the balance of the year looking at potential winery sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

During a blizzard in February 1982, they visited a 37-acre farm in the Hudson River region. After walking the property in below-freezing weather, with six inches of snow already on the ground, they "bought the farm," on two conditions:
1. the town would allow them to put up a sign - "Baldwin Vineyards," and
2. Cornell University would inspect the site and declare it fit for grape growing.
Both conditions passed, and in July 1982, the Baldwins took title to the property. Yet, not wanting to wait until Spring of the following year, the Baldwins planted their first vineyard in May before they officially owned the property, and before they could improve the lot. And so, defying all logic, they had their vineyard, Baldwin Vineyards!

With Pat's unique talent for organizing and developing, and utilizing the services of two wine consultants, the winery opened in July 1983. They sold out of their first year's wine in just a few months. Then in 1985, one of their consultants brought the Baldwins a bottle of 1919 elderberry wine found in a cellar of an old house. Not able to find any elderberries, they contracted for two tons of strawberries, and made their very first batch of strawberry wine. It became their best seller, and began garnering at least one Gold Medal each year since.

Recognizing that wine goes best with food, the Baldwins started a tradition in 2006 to have frequent Strawberry, Chocolate & Wine Festivals, which involve tasting all of our wines accompanied by three chocolate/strawberry desserts.

The food makes all the vibrant flavors in the wines stand out, and the desserts taste much better accompanied by the various wines. Imagine tasting cheesecake with a Port or Ice Wine, strawberry shortcake with Brut Champagne or Late Harvest Riesling, or chocolate desserts with Strawberry or Black Raspberry Wine.

The Ice Wine is our newest wine addition - a Riesling frozen on the vines until the juice is like a sweet, intense syrup. These very special grapes have a full-bodied luscious flavor like no other grape wine - making it the perfect dessert wine.