I stopped briefly in the little village of Naples, NY which lies just south of Canandigua Lake. I was amazed at how far spring has advanced in the village as compared to Canandaigua which sits on the northern end of Canandaigua Lake. Along Main Street, the trees were beginning to leaf out and I stopped to take a few pictures of a beautiful flowering tree. I guess that one shouldn’t be too surprised that spring comes early to Naples as the village of Naples, NY lies protected between the Bristol Mountains on the west and Italy hill to the east.
Over on the other side of Main Street, you can see new life sprouting from a couple of trees in the distance as well as on the trees which populate Italy hill. The low lying areas along Naples creek are flooded from all of the spring rains but the vineyards which were planted in the valley a long ago were not underwater.
It is indeed good fortune for the village of Naples that the Hazlitt 1852 Winery bought the buildings and property which was formerly owned by Constellation Brands (Widmer Wines). I am wishing them great success and hoping that they will prosper and re-establish the tours through the old Widmer Wine buildings. I love to see the old giant 10,000 gallon oak casks which were used to ferment the wine for hundreds of years as most wineries today in the Finger Lakes remind me of a dairy farm with all of the stainless steel tanks and stainless steel piping. Making wine is a labor of love, good weather, and good marketing. But what would Naples, NY be without its vineyards, wine making, and grape pies?
