It's a first for Williamson and a dream come true for a Wayne County farming family who lives there.
Young Sommer Winery opened 10 days ago, making it the first commercial winery to operate in what was until recent years a dry town.
Owners Herm and Wilma (Sommer) Young hope their new venture will not only provide them with a meaningful and rewarding retirement (still a few years away) but will also inspire their neighbors in this largely agricultural community to look at the grape and wine industry as a means to economic development and growth.
"We really believe it can happen in Wayne County. We have so many wonderful fruits up here," says Wilma Young, a native of Germany.
In addition to holding full-time jobs (Herm is a Xerox engineer and Wilma publishes the weekly community newspaper, The Sun & Record), the couple also grow apples, cherries, peaches, plums and pears on their 20-acre orchard that they sell at the Fairport Farmers Market. Some of that fruit is being diverted for winemaking, as fruit wines or fruit-grape blends. They are poised to put in a couple of acres of vines next spring, but rely mostly on grapes from regional growers for their French-American hybrid and vinifera grape wines.
With a farmland viability grant, savings, loans and untold hours of sweat equity contributed by the Youngs' sons, siblings and other family members, the couple were able to build a tasting room and winemaking facility.
The endeavor has taken several years, and there is still a lot of work to be done, says Herm Young. "It's been a long ride."
For fellow Williamson resident Jan Klapetzky, the opening of Young Sommer Winery marks his transformation from award-winning amateur winemaker to pro. Once the winery got its license last fall, the retired Kodak chemical engineer began the mad rush of winemaking. For the winery's opening weekend, he managed to have three apple wines (featuring three of the Youngs' 20 apple varieties), four white wines, three reds and two cherry-flavored Traminettes (another hybrid). Additional fruit blends will be available this fall.
During opening weekend, which drew about 400 people, the Youngs sold nearly 10 percent of what they have so far bottled. "If we have 10 weekends in a row like that, we could close the door and go home," jokes Klapetzky.
Herm Young, a fourth-generation Williamson fruit farmer, attests that the town's dry past is still part of the culture. Even his parents still don't drink. "It's just the way you grew up," he says.
But perhaps the most rewarding moment during that first weekend was when his 81-year-old father, a quiet man who spent opening day in a corner just watching the crowd, approached his son with a grin and told him, "I think you are going to be OK," says Herm Young.
In 1996, Williamson voted to allow retail sales of alcohol. But it wasn't until 2004 that alcohol could be consumed at restaurants, bars or wineries. Part of the groundwork that went into the Youngs' new business was working to change that law.
"I think it has helped Williamson" to be able to serve beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages in such venues, says town clerk Marlene Gulick.
Grapes — mostly native varieties used for juice — have played a significant role in the region's agricultural history, says Wilma Young. But they appear to be poised to re-enter the Wayne County landscape once again.
Young Sommer Winery and Thorpe Vineyard in Wolcott are currently the only wineries in a county known best for its robust apple production. Swedish Hill Winery will soon open a satellite tasting room in Barbara Jean's Furniture store in North Rose. The Cayuga Lake winery will sell wine under its Goose Watch, Penguin Bay and Barbara's Vineyard labels. Swedish Hill also has a satellite tasting room in Lake Placid, Essex County.
"Wayne County has a long history of fruit growing, farm markets and fruit orchards. We think we will mix with the right cross-section of people," says Dave Peterson, general manager at Swedish Hill, Goose Watch and Penguin Bay.
In 2002, the state approved legislation to establish the Lake Ontario Wine Trail, which linked wineries in Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego and Jefferson counties. Several charter members have since moved or gone out of business, says Fumie Thorpe, owner of the 20-year-old Thorpe Vineyard and wine trail member.
Thorpe and the Youngs hope to revive the trail. They have helped get a new bill in the pipeline that would extend the trail westward to the Monroe County line. That would enable Young Sommer and other potential wineries in the western part of the county to take advantage of the trail's marketing perks.
Dave Smith, farm manager at Smith Bros. Farms Inc., is also hopeful that the Lake Ontario trail will evolve into another big-draw wine and grape-growing region in New York.
Smith Bros. grows apples, cherries and other tree fruit on about 350 acres in Huron, Wayne County. Seven years ago, it set aside an acre to see how well hybrid and vinifera wine grapes would grow. The yields proved promising enough that Smith Bros. planted 10 more acres last year, which should be ready for harvest by 2010. Both Thorpe and Young Sommer buy some grapes from Smith Bros.
"The potential gross revenue for an acre of good wine grapes is higher than it is for all varieties of tree fruits. ... We are optimistic that this is a good diversification for us. Looking at the bigger picture, this could be a good thing for agritourism and the fruit industry along the south side of Lake Ontario," says Smith, adding that the fruit growers wish to remain growers but have no plans to expand into winemaking.
"(Wayne County) farms are dabbling in grapes right now. With the Finger Lakes booming, why not?" comments Beth Claypoole, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County.
