Argus Vineyard

In the 1950s, Greyton and Walter Taylor envisioned Bully Hill as something far greater than a traditional winery, launching a range of ambitious ventures across Keuka Lake. Among them was Argus Champagnes, a planned sparkling wine house housed in a historic 1860s stone building originally founded by Philip Argus. Greyton acquired the property and began converting it into a modern facility, with Walter Taylor and winemaker Hermann J. Wiemer overseeing the project. The site was also identified as prime ground for vinifera plantings, but those vineyards were never established and the Argus project ultimately stalled as Bully Hill’s growing success shifted focus back to the main winery.

Decades later, the Argus site found new life. Although the building was sold, Bully Hill retained the land across the road, recognizing its exceptional vineyard potential. In 2015, the property was planted with Riesling and Pinot Grigio, and the roughly ten-acre site has since produced some of the winery’s most expressive fruit. The vineyard’s position along Keuka Lake creates ideal conditions for Riesling, yielding wines with vibrant acidity, refined minerality, and elegant aromatics—now forming the backbone of some of Bully Hill’s most distinctive estate wines.

Our 2025 Argus Vineyard Riesling is the first single-vineyard wine ever produced from this site.

RIESLING

Classic Germanic grape that creates a spicy and fragrant wine with notes of apricot, ginger, nectarine, and honey.

Grown at our Middle Road vineyard location. This and Pinot Grigio are the only Vinifera grapes that we grow.

9.00 Acres

Pinot grigio

A classic wine variety with a nice balance of white peach and lemon flavors.

Grown at our Middle Road vineyard location. This and Riesling are the only Vinifera grapes that we grow.

1.00 Acres

KEUKA LAKE

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 miles 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