What began in 1999 as a Martin family honey farm and garage meadery has grown into a Finger Lakes-based group making wines and small-batch spirits across upstate New York. The family’s unusual start with commercial beekeeping still shapes its work, from honey wines to spirits made with local grains, while third-generation Martin Zach leads the distilling operation. The company also provides contract bottling for wineries and spirits businesses.
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Martin Family Wineries & DistilleriesBorn from a commercial beekeeping family’s experiments with honey wine, Martin Family Wineries & Distilleries has grown from a Sterling garage venture in 1999 into a Finger Lakes-centered group of wineries and distilleries. The family opened Montezuma Winery in Seneca Falls in 2001, established Hidden Marsh Distillery in 2007 as one of New York’s early craft distilleries, and now carries the Martin tradition through multiple tasting rooms, including newer Swedish Hill and Either Oar locations. Third-generation Martin Zach Martin serves as co-owner and distiller, continuing a family operation that works with local growers and farmers while also offering contract bottling.OLD FORGE, NY
Martin Family Wineries & DistilleriesThe Martins are a third-generation family of New York makers whose story started with commercial beekeeping before a garage experiment turned honey into wine in 1999. Today, the family operates a growing group of winery and distillery destinations while continuing to work with Finger Lakes growers and local grains. Their production is guided by family involvement, from co-owner Ed Martin’s handcrafted tasting-room work to Zach Martin’s leadership as head distiller.HECTOR, NY
CK Cellars, LLCCK Cellars is a Finger Lakes beverage maker whose campuses on Seneca and Keuka lakes produce wine, mead, hard cider and specialty blends under several brands. Its Torrey Ridge Winery sits amid Mennonite farms on Seneca Lake’s west shore, while Earle Estates Meadery has been family-owned since 1993 and produces more than 20 honey-wine varieties. The company was named New York State Winery of the Year in 2017, and its panoramic tasting rooms make the winery a destination as well as a producer.PENN YAN, NY
Buttonwood Grove WinerySince David and Melissa Pittard purchased the property in 2014, Buttonwood Grove Winery has grown into a family-run Finger Lakes winery producing estate wines beside Cayuga Lake. Dave’s roots at the fourth-generation Beak & Skiff Apple Farm inform the Pittards’ blend of agriculture and winemaking, while the family’s expansion of the vineyards and new winemaking building carries the property into its next chapter. Its 2016 Riesling won the 2017 Governor’s Cup as New York State’s best wine, and the site now pairs tastings with lakeside music and cabins among the vines.ROMULUS, NY