August 2022 - Dutchess Magazine

Growing the Land

One day Ken Holzberg and Tom Kopfensteiner decided to look for a country house. Holzberg began a six-month cross-country trip and eventually wound up in Dutchess County.

Elysabeth Vineyard’s Very Fine Wines

Years ago a friend of mine from Argentina announced he was getting into the wine business. Wine from Argentina? You must be joking, I said. Well, the joke was on me. Today Argentina exports more than $800 million worth of wine annually to the U.S. alone.

Comfortable Grandeur

While Covid has wreaked havoc for so many, for interior designer Darren Henault it prompted a major decision—to move out of New York City and into his glorious Millbrook home with his husband Michael Bassett and their 14-year-old twin daughters Bunny and Lulu.

The House Rules

I don’t live in Millbrook but if I did I would dine at the Stissing House every night. It was my first visit back to the historic Pine Plains building in years. I remembered with fondness the French menu prepared by the previous chef but I was unprepared for how truly excellent the food is under new chef and proprietor Clare de Boer

Wendy Goidell: Making a Splash

Wendy Goidell was merely looking for a real estate investment when she found the 25-acre site in Wassaic. “It was reasonably priced and adjacent to a state park, I didn’t see a downside,” Goidell recalls. That was back in 2003 when she was renting a weekend house in the area while working as a film stylist in the city. If you noticed the flowers and greens in The First Wives Club, Analyze This, The Thomas Crown Affair, or Meet the Parents, they were Goidell’s work.

Bangallworks

Work isn’t work when you have a productive and dynamic office space. “We say, ‘work someplace beautiful,’” says Tom Ambler and Steve Bruman, partners at Bangallworks, a coworking and community building space in Stanfordville.

Cinematic Escape

Chelsea Altman still fondly remembers the first time she saw Grease in a movie theater—the excitement of picking out just the right candy and escaping into the world of the “hallowed” Sandra Dee.

Community Project

Growing up in Stanfordville is nothing short of the childhood dream, where days are spent adventuring through fields and forests, riding ponies, and playing at SPARC Park. Locals still refer to the park as the best kept secret in the area. Yet, 30 years later, this best kept secret is in need of some major updates.

The Magic of Metal

It takes some effort to find Battle Hill Forge’s workspace but once there, it is another world. Tucked away underneath a building in Millerton it is chock-a-block with metal, machinery, and some amazing finished pieces. Israel “Izzy” Fitch started his business in 2004 and has been in demand ever since and is known for his innovative quality metalwork and design.

Home-Spun

Choosing to raise Suri alpacas—and fashioning a business from their (literal) byproducts—is a distant decision that continues to shape Alicia Adams and her family.