The Art of Crafting New York State Wines
By Hannah Van Sickle
Photos by Jim Henkens
John Dyson is a life-long oenophile, one whose passion for wine is rivaled only by his love for New York’s Hudson Valley and the region’s embarrassment of agricultural riches. More than four decades ago, after planting vinifera grapes on his father’s farm in Millbrook, the Cornell graduate spied the southwest facing slopes of a nearby dairy farm and fancied the parcel prime real estate for laying down viticultural roots. In 1983, Dyson and his partners planted the very first vines on site at a destination The New York Times would go on to coin, “the Hudson Valley’s flagship winery.” Fast forward four decades, and Millbrook Vineyards & Winery continues to innovate and experiment (in keeping with a pair of its founding principles), as evidenced by the addition of a new winemaker, only the second in their storied history, direct from California’s wine country, no less.
“I’m learning the vineyard, learning the wines…and putting my own stamp on [both],” says winemaker Ian Bearup of an attitude that’s marked his tenure to date. The 2022 vintage, which he began bottling in April, marks Bearup’s first in Millbrook independent of 40-year veteran John Graziano from whom he learned the local ropes.
Atop a ridge, overlooking the Catskills to the northwest, Bearup takes a break from the day-long task of bottling to chat. “It’s a slow process,” he says of the 700 cases he plans to move from tank to bottle in the span of nine hours, spurred by a single light at the end of the proverbial tunnel: “We had really, really great weather last year—very dry—so I’m excited for the ‘22 vintage.”
Bearup is ultimately at the helm of 30 acres of vines—ranging from pinot noir and chardonnay to cabernet franc and an Italian grape varietal called tocai friulano—which produce close to 15,000 cases of wine each year.
“When you look at the hillsides full of grape vines, when everything’s green in color, you could be anywhere in the wine world,” says David Bova, general manager and vice president, who co-founded Millbrook Vineyards & Winery alongside his brother-in-law in 1981. Since then, visiting the winery and tasting the wines has become tradition for many (to the tune of 20,000 visitors last year alone) who flock to the verdant hills year ‘round to learn the ins and outs of winemaking before relaxing outside to enjoy both the liquid and scenic spoils that abound.
Since arriving in 2021, Bearup’s been blown away by the region’s top-notch wine production amidst the persistent challenges of a shorter, cooler and rainier growing season than in other wine making regions of the world.
As to his goal? After 15 seasons in the business, including stints in New Zealand and Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Bearup is keen on showcasing the terroir of New York—a term for the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.
As any vintner will likely divulge, the business of growing grapes and making wine is not for the faint of heart; it lies at the intersection of art and science and requires patience in epic proportions. “So few people have the luxury of really tasting that change, and smelling that change, that happens over time,” says Bearup of aging wine, a process he likens to a never-ending guessing game with myriad forks in the road.
Still, he loves the challenge of this new landscape.
“The wine industry has a long history in New York State, but it’s really starting to get serious people pushing the lines,” he says, in a nod to the team at Millbrook Vineyards & Winery.
“It’s a pretty special little place.” —Millbrook Vineyards & Winery, 26 Wing Road, Millbrook