I had the great pleasure of spending the Sunday after Founder’s Day touring the grounds of the Millbrook Vineyards and Winery. Tucked away in rural Millbrook, Dutchess County, Millbrook Vineyards and Winery provides a beautiful escape into the comparatively unknown wine country of the  Hudson River Valley. I’ve never associated the Hudson Valley with wine.  Images of family farms, particularly apple orchards, dominante my perspective of agriculture in the Hudson Valley. Although different, I believe the Millbrook Vineyards and Winery situates nicely within this category of experiential, boutique agriculture.

Although I am senior, the idea of visiting a vineyard in the Hudson Valley had never occurred to me until confronting ideas of local agriculture in our ENST course. Dutchess Wine Trail signs along Route 44 have consistently reminded me of the presence of vineyards in the area, but they never succeeded in garnering significant interest among myself and friends. In fact, they generally only succeeded in generating ridicule or disbelief. Only after my recent visit to Millbrook am I aware of just how wrong I had been to  dismiss the Hudson Valley wine scene so quickly these past four years.

Although located only 30 minutes from Vassar’s campus, Millbrook’s Vineyard is both remote and stunning. Millbrook’s Vineyard and Winery is accessible by means of a gravel road that leads directly through the 130-acre site.  Just the drive to the entrance was enough to make me rethink my unknowledgeable, preconceived notions of what a Hudson Valley vineyard might entail.

The Millbrook Vineyard distinguishes itself from typical produce, livestock farms in an essential way.  Growing grapes and producing wine is a textbook example of value-added agriculture. Wine production typifies the amenity economy.  Millbrook is a place to be experienced and enjoyed.  Visitors to Millbrook consume much more than wine. They consume place in the form of the idyllic vineyard and wine.  Millbrook is something to be experienced. Minutes into my tour it was clear that discussing agriculture or grape cultivation would not be the focus.  Wine production and consumption, rather, is at the heart of Millbrook’s mission. Upon discovering the background of Millbrook’s founder, John Dyson, this came as no surprise.  Dyson formerly served as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce.  In fact, Dyson is the creator of the ubiquitous  “I ♥ NY” campaign. Tourism drives Millbrook.

By no means do I intend to condemn Millbrook’s push for agritourism.  Millbrook has tapped into the market for Hudson Valley experiential agriculture.  This is not at all dissimilar to pick-your-own orchards. To this goal, Millbrook succeeds. My trip to Millbrook was wonderful and I recommend it to all.  I spent several hours on site. My visit began with a tasting of six varieties of wine produced on site. Although the samples were predominantly white wines, I was pleased with the variety of wines produced and offered. I was then given a twenty minute tour of the wine production process. This included trips to the bottling and barrel rooms.  My favorite portion of the visit, though, was the walking trail through the property.  This provided an up close view of the vines and wonderful views of the property.

Millbrook deserves a visit from Hudson Valley residents. Ask me, I’d go again.