![]() White Silo's sales are anchored at its tasting room, while DiGrazia and Jones sell from their wineries and also self-distribute to independent wine and spirits retailers across the state. White Silo sells approximately 1,200 12-bottle cases a year, while DiGrazia sells 4,000 cases and Jones sells approximately 5,000. "This brings in a nice percent of customers, especially towards the fall," he said. Co-owner Eric Gorman credited both the state's Passport to Wine Connecticut Farm Wineries Program - where wine enthusiasts get a passport-style booklet that can be stamped at Connecticut wineries to qualify for several prizes - and the Connecticut Wine Trail promotion by the nonprofit Connecticut Vineyard and Wine Association - with calling attention to his operations. Location is also a challenge for White Silo Winery in Sherman, the outermost town in the northwestern corner of Fairfield County. "We are in a residential area, as opposed to being next to a casino or the seashore," he said. "So, we are either the victims or the beneficiaries of the weather, both on the growing and the sales sides."Īt DiGrazia Vineyards in Brookfield, business manager Mark Langford lamented being in an area away from the main tourist attractions. "Since we are direct marketing our crop, with so many people coming here on weekends, it is also essential to have good weather on the weekends too." Jones said. ![]() The New England climate is extremely variable, so dealing with those challenges keeps a farmer on their toes." More than four decades later, there are 37 licensed wineries in the state, including three in Fairfield County, that produced more than 160,000 gallons of wine last year, accounting for more than 800,000 bottles of Connecticut wine and approximately $1 million in direct sales, according to estimates by Malloy's office.įor Connecticut grape growers, "One of our biggest challenges is dealing with the unpredictability of the weather and how that affects your stock," Jones said. The first licensed farm winery, Haight-Brown Vineyard in Litchfield, opened in 1975. Compared with other states, Connecticut's wine industry is relatively young.
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