Heritage

BULLY HILL STORY

In the heart of Finger Lakes Wine Country stands Bully Hill Vineyards, the region’s most popular estate winery. Bully Hill’s history started almost 150 years ago when master cooper Walter Taylor decided to branch out into winemaking by founding the Taylor Wine Company in 1880. Like many other winemakers of his time, he started small and rustic; by the mid-century, Bully Hill eventually became the largest winery on the eastern coast.

Nearly a hundred years later, history would repeat itself as Walter's grandson, Walter S. Taylor decided to start his own winery on the very spot his grandfather had; the hillside commonly known as Bully Hill. Walter S. Taylor wanted a back-to-basics approach to winemaking. His philosophy was “a product is an extension of a person’s soul” and Bully Hill was quick to shake up the region by utilizing estate-grown French American hybrid grapes as the basis for the winery, creating a wine portfolio that helped revitalize a region that had become stagnant. Walter began making wine at Bully Hill in the mid-sixties, and the winery was formally incorporated in 1970. During this time, starting a new small winery in New York in those days was almost unheard of, but Bully Hill quickly developed a reputation for high-quality varieties, bolstered by the curiosity of the consumers eager to try new wines and Walters’ larger-than-life personality.

One thing that separated Bully Hill from other wineries was its labels. Walter, himself a gifted artist, designed and illustrated all of his own labels. As the years went on the labels evolved and became more artistic, colorful, and irreverent. Then came an unusual wine label called Love My Goat Red. The label featured an orange goat with his tongue sticking out, above him a line read, “they have my name & heritage, but they didn’t get my goat”. The label was a representation of the years of court battles over the “Taylor” trademark, the wine went on to become the winery’s bestseller, spawning two other hugely popular wines: Love My Goat White and Love My Goat Rosé. To this day, the winery continues to be recognized by comsumers for its artistic labels.

The winery initially produced a few thousand cases.The winery now produces over 230,000 cases a year, and distributes to more than twenty states. The winery has become a legendary summertime destination boasting a world-class restaurant, wine museum, tasting room, and gift shops all within the pristine vineyards that continues to be farmed by the Taylor family. Bully Hill prides itself on continuing a tradition that has made it New York State's largest family-owned winery. The aesthetic here at Bully Hill is down-to-earth and casual but we take our wines and vines seriously. It’s the commitment to a quality product that allows our consumers to enjoy affordable premium quality wine with a strong regional focus.

KEUKA LAKE | TERRIOR

Bully Hill is located on the southwest hillside of Keuka Lake in the acclaimed Finger Lakes Wine Region. Although the winery has been growing grapes since 1830, the Finger Lakes Wine Region became an official American Viticultural Area ("AVA") in 1982. At roughly 4,000 square feet and just over 10,000 acres of vineyards, the Finger Lakes AVA is small in size, but has become an internationally known producer of premium wines. The Finger Lakes was the first American wine region to ever win medals in a European competition in 1867. The Finger Lakes AVA lies at about the 42 parallel in what is considered a cool climate grape-growing region. Intense hot and humid summers lead to moderate dry fall weather giving the grapes ample ripening time. Winters are bitter and cold plummeting into the negative teens and springs are wet and windy with an average rainfall of 35 inches a year which means no irrigation is needed.

The magic of the Finger Lakes lies within deep freshwater lakes that are its namesake. These eleven lakes are a result of glaciation, a process that dug out natural tributaries resulting in incredibly deep freshwater lakes surrounded by steep slopes and picturesque hillsides.

Keuka Lake, known for its unique Y shape, is the only lake in the United States that flows both north and south. Keuka can also freeze completely solid in the winter. On average it is less than half a mile wide but has an incredible maximum depth of 187 feet. This creates a unique mesoclimate that extends the growing season in the fall because the lake itself acts as a thermal battery releasing its warmth in the fall as the days get cooler. Frosts are also moderated in the springtime and the fall by the lake's heating and cooling effects combined with the steep slopes surrounding the lake.

These slopes surrounding the lakes that offer optimal airflow, water drainage, and sunshine to keep vines healthy and productive. Bully Hill sits at an elevation of 1,100 feet with soils that are a mixture of silt, clay, and shale. All of these factors contribute to wines that are world-renowned with incredibly bright acidity and exquisite fruit character.