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Our History West Wind Vineyards West Wind Vineyards was started by the proprietor in 1986 with 25 acres of Concord grapes and a farm in the family since 1905. It had been farmed by our grandparents, Vincent and Marjorie Aldrich for 5 decades. At the age of 25 I took over daily farm work from the previous operator in the midst of a downsizing trend. We added land and other farms to operate over the years along with new customers and processors. As the markets have matured, the decision was made to start planting wine grapes that were hardy and easily grown. Edelweiss was our first choice due to its great cold hardiness. We are the only grower of this variety here in Chautauqua county. Year by year we added other hardy varieties such as Marquette. More recently we have been planting grafted vinifera such as Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. We are also the only grower of Merlot in this area due to its site requirements and cold tolerance levels. The addition of an Orchard Rite Frost Fan became necessary to help protect some of those varieties and it was installed in 2012. Next year we will be adding Aurore. Today we farm 230 acres of owned and leased grapes along with custom vineyard growing for other landowners. We currently grow 10 different varieties of grapes which include Concord, Niagara, Fredonia and Diamond, along with the previously mentioned grapes. We grow for Welch, Refresco, Growers Cooperative, Westfield Maid Cooperative, Ellicottville Winery, Liberty Winery, Walker Fruit Basket and out of state wineries. Whether big or small, we can provide you with the opportunity to purchase directly from our vineyards, either machine picked or hand picked. We use the latest technology to enhance our growing season with the frost fan and use a Gregoire G140SW to harvest any variety. We also can deliver to your location at any time you choose. |
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