Hunt Country Vineyards

Hunt Country Vineyards is a vineyard and winery located near Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes AVA region of New York State, USA.

Hunt Country Vineyards was founded in 1981 by Arthur C. Hunt and Joyce H. Hunt. The property was first purchased by Arthur Hunt's great great grandfather, Ambrose Hunt (b. 1803) in 1852 and has been farmed continuously by his descendants until the present day. The oldest grapevines on the vineyard were planted in 1904 and are of the concord and Niagara varieties. When the current generation of Hunts took over the farm in 1973, there were 18 acres (7.3 ha) of the two varieties planted. In 2008, 50 acres (20 ha) of grapes were harvested.

The farm is located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Branchport, New York. The vineyard soils are glacially deposited gravelly loam, with a 5–7% slope.

The Hunts enrich the soil with natural compost made from the grape pomace (seeds and skins) left after pressing the grapes, mixed with manure from a neighboring farm.

Between 1984 and 1988, the Hunts collaborated with Cornell Cooperative Extension Grape Specialist Dr. Tom Zabadal to convert undesirable grape varieties to more promising wine varieties by the use of field grafting in cold climate vineyards. Under normal conditions, it takes seven years to convert a vineyard to a new variety. This includes removing old vines, planting other crops to replenish the soil and remove all traces of the old root stock, replanting new vines and allowing them to grow to maturity. The field grafting process reduced the time to two years.

The vineyard produces several French-American varieties, including Seyval blanc, Vignoles, Vidal blanc, and De Chaunac, as well as three Cornell varieties: Cayuga White, Horizon and Valvin Muscat. Two Vitis vinifera varieties are also produced: Riesling and Cabernet Franc, and three native varieties: Concord, Niagara and Delaware grape. The vines yield an average of 4-6 tons of grapes per acre.

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