An ascent up a winding dirt road in Marlboro leads to Benmarl, America's oldest vineyard. With a name that is Gaelic for "rocky hill," the vineyard sits atop a knoll, providing a stunning view of the Hudson River. Rows of terraced vineyards stretch down the hill toward the river's banks.
Benmarl's winemaking operation, gallery and museum are open to visitors seven days a week for most the year. Grapes have grown for centuries in this part of Ulster County, its rocky soils and climate naturally suited for viticulture. "When Henry Hudson went up the river in 1609, he noted wild grapes growing," Benmarl owner Mark Miller explains.
Early American settlers cultivated grapes here in the 1700s. By the end of the Civil War, grape growing was one of the Hudson Valley's most promising agricultural industries. By 1900, the region boasted 13,000 acres of vineyards. "The grape and wine industry of the United States started in this valley," Miller says.
Although most of the area's grapes were grown for fruit, some Hudson Valley growers began to cultivate grapes for wine in the 1700s. After the Civil War, the original owner of Miller's vineyard, Andrew Caywood, became an authority on hybrid wine grapes that can prosper on American soil. The region became known as "the birthplace of American viticulture."
When Miller purchased Benmarl in the mid 1950s, most Hudson Valley farmers had turned to apples. He was convinced, however, that wine could catch on in America. "In the early 1970s, America's wealthy drank wine, but only European," Miller says. "I was able to convince New York City liquor storeowners that we could get the public interested in domestic wine."
In the mid 1970s, Miller helped engineer the emergence of small farm wineries in New York State. A photo on the winery wall shows him at the signing of the Farm Winery Act in 1976. The act allowed New York wineries to sprout from Suffolk County to the Finger Lakes region. Miller received Farm Winery License number one. "We then could sell directly to the customer-the only way we could make money," he says. "These farm wineries were pioneers. We created an industry." |
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| Benmarl, America's oldest vineyard, produces some excellent vintages. |
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