Under The Tent: Farm Market Doings!

Hello Everyone! Even though the official date of summer is in the third week of June, Memorial Day Weekend was the kick-off of yet another season of setting up the Millbrook Vineyards & Winery tent at local farmer’s markets in Westchester County and Brooklyn. I came on board with Millbrook to help with this venture last year, after much planning had already been done by the great team at Millbrook. They basically set me up with the usual "farm market necessities" and my husband Joe and I managed to fit it all into our Honda Civic and set out on a new adventure touting Millbrook's wares at five markets.

Well, thanks to all of you "market-shoppers" out there who came and tasted and bought wine, we've now tripled the operation! You can find Stephanie at Park Slope on Sundays, and Eric or Kellen rotating in Westchester County, and I'm making the rounds in Mount Kisco, Pelham, Croton, and sometimes Hartsdale.

It seems more important than ever to support one's own community and local growers, so shopping at a market is not only good for your health (eating locally has been said to improve overall well-being) it's also good for your local farmer, who depends on your patronage to keep delivering amazing products. In my time out there in the market community, I have found these hard-working folks to be friendly, warm, earth-loving people who would welcome you to chat them up about anything from growing conditions to recipes. In the Millbrook tent, we set up a "mini tasting bar" for you to sample four of our phenomenal New York State wines. We can answer questions for you about how to serve it, what to serve it with, directions to the winery, and more. It's good to be able to taste what you're buying, so find your way to the Millbrook Farm Market tent and come say hello! Visit, taste, laugh, enjoy, and buy some great wine!

-Marika Becz

Selling Wine In The Hudson Valley, By Scott Koster

As the Director of Sales at Millbrook Vineyard & Winery, it is my pleasurable task to introduce area restaurants and retail stores to the wonderful wines our winemaker, John Graziano, has produced for 25 years. I also am the face of Millbrook in the market place which is the part of my job that I LOVE! Making sure that each of our clients receives the best service and attention to their needs keeps my job varied and interesting. We are very lucky to have the support of so many talented chefs and wine shop purveyors.
This time of year, once the autumn harvest season and holiday rush is over, we are planning and projecting for the upcoming year. I will be more focused on our wholesale markets.
For the fourth consecutive year, we are involved as a major sponsor for Hudson Valley Restaurant week. During what is normally the slow season for the restaurant industry, Hudson Valley Restaurant Week provides a unique and affordable dining experience.
Sourcing local foods and products has become very popular among many in the food service today. Chefs are enjoying the superior freshness of products grown locally. In this fast paced world it is important to have a relationship with the farmer or producer of the products that are making their way to your restaurants table. More and more the chef is asking for and highlighting local ingredients on their menus.
We are fortunate to live and work in the Hudson Valley which is a rich, diverse culinary treasure box. Culinary tourism has also grown tremendously over the last few years. Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is a culinary celebration and dining event promoted by the Valley Table magazine. The popular event has gown to include over 125 restaurants who will serve over 150,000 diners during the two week period of March 15-28th of 2010.
Chefs will be highlighting their signature dishes while sourcing locally from small farms and artisanal producers. I am proud to say that Millbrook wines will be poured at many of these establishments and have been selected to compliment the cuisine.
What are you waiting for? Check out hudsonvalleyrestaurantweek.com, select the participating restaurant of your choice, and enjoy the bounty of the Hudson River Valley. While visiting the restaurant, please don’t forget to enjoy a glass of Millbrook wine with your meal!

The Inaugural Post, by Tim Krause

As the writer of this inaugural Millbrook blog I thought I might begin by introducing myself. My name is Tim Krause and I have been working at the winery for 3 harvests. During that time I have participated in just about every operation at the winery including, the tasting room reserve bar, bottling, deliveries, and now Ct. wholesale sales. But I am most proud of my picking for the 2009 harvest even though I wasn’t very good. As I have observed the winery in action from all its different angles I have been most impressed by the dedication and loyalty the entire staff has toward producing award - winning wines.
So with the Olympic music playing in the background, I set out to find how Millbrook Winery actually goes about producing award-winning wines. My first stop was to visit with the winemaker of every Millbrook vintage and the most decorated of all-time, John Graziano. (Not be confused with the legendary Dick Button although both skate well.) I asked John how we determine what events to enter and what wines do we pick. I was trying to ascertain whether this was a random selection or whether these were the hand-picked individual selections by John himself. He was quick to inform me that the selection process is handled by the marketing department.
This led me to my next stop to see the second longest serving employee at Millbrook winery, Stacy Hudson. She said every year we only send our estate grown wines to the Hudson Valley Wine Competition that is put on by the Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association. Some years we will send our wines to other competitions if we are asked to compete, but for the most part we basically allow for the wines to speak for themselves. We enter the Hudson Valley competitions so we can be good neighbors and support the efforts of our wine making region. And our participation has been rewarded year after year with our most recent victory awarding our 2007 Pinot Noir Block Five East as the Cornell Cup winner (Best Wine of the Hudson Valley).
Although we have just sold out of this wonderful wine, the 2008 vintage was just recently bottled. This wine will probably be bottle aged for 4-6 months before it is released in our Tasting Room. Until then…cheers!