Bay Head Vineyard Wins Prestigious Wine Award

Sherry Lees has always been a wine enthusiast. She and her husband, Red Lees, plan all their vacations around vineyards. "We've been to Napa several times, and numerous winemaking cities in France. We even take day trips to some of the better New York wineries," she said. This devotion to fine wine led the Lees to pursue their dream of creating their own vineyard.


"When we were in Paris we visited Le Clos Montmartre, which is this incredibly small vineyard right in Paris," said Lees. "I had never seen such a small vineyard, and it gave me the idea: why couldn't we have a small vineyard, too?" The one problem Lees faced was that she didn't want to move from her beloved Bay Head home. "As much as I wanted to create a home vineyard, I didn't want to leave Bay Head, and it's not like there's a lot of open land in out town." Luckily, fate stepped in.

As it happened, the house right next door to Lees' went up for sale. Sherry and Red immediately purchased the property and tore down the home. Then they shipped in some high quality volcanic soil and grape plants. That was six years ago. Today they have a thriving little vineyard in a location no one would ever expect.

The one downside to the vineyard is that its small size limits the amount of wine they produce. In the five years they have made wine, the Lees have only managed to produce a maximum of 12 bottles in any year. They believe what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. Apparently the judges of the prestigious Pire Vin wine contest agree. 

"After tasting our wine, a friend of ours suggested we submit our wine for judging at Pire Vin. We sent our 2017 Merlot not really expecting anything to come of it," said Lees. To their surprise, the Lees took the silver medal. "It was quite an honor. Winning something like this means a lot to us and can really increase the value of your wine."

Unfortunately, the Lees had to submit six bottles for judging leaving them only three bottles of the 2017 vintage. They estimate that to break even on their investment, including the original purchase of the property, they would have to sell each bottle they produce for approximately $35,000.

"For us it's not about the money," said Sherry Lees. "It's really about realizing our dream. And who knows? Maybe if we win a few more medals, we might be able to turn a profit someday."


Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 15, 2020 at 5:08 PM

    Do they sell their wine anywhere around here? They can't all be that expensive.

    ReplyDelete

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