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Senator Pam Helming, Senate Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, recently hosted a Winery Roundtable in Albany with Senator Tom O’Mara, Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, a member of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, joined, as did Pat Hooker, Deputy Secretary for Food and Agriculture to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The event featured presentations by Sam Filler, Executive Director of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, Jeff Williams, Director of Public Policy at New York Farm Bureau, and Julie Suarez, Associate Dean for Government and Community Relations at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Eight wineries and vineyards participated, including Miles Wine Cellars, Three Brothers Wineries and Estates, Frontenac Point Vineyard-Estate Winery, Atwater Estate Vineyards, Anthony Road Wine Company, Sheldrake Point Vineyard, Saw Mill Creek Vineyards, and Gridley Vineyards. There were also representatives from the New York Wine Industry Association as well as the New York State Wine Grape Growers Association. There are more than 200 wineries and vineyards located in the Finger Lakes region.
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“I am proud to represent the Finger Lakes region and all of the exceptional wineries and vineyards that call the Finger Lakes home. Wineries and vineyards are great drivers of our local economy and culture, and they attract tourists from all over the world. These businesses are unique in that they are primarily family-run, and they are instrumental in promoting New York tourism and helping our local agriculture to flourish. I will continue to advocate for the Finger Lakes environment and our grape growers and wineries. Together, we will continue our work to strengthen and grow the Finger Lakes wine industry,” Senator Helming said.
