Oliva Vineyards

What a wonderful Saturday trip. We had a tasting reservation for 3pm, but ran late. Called as we were on the way up to let them know we were running behind and they were super nice about it.
We arrived and were cheerfully greeted by one of the owners Debreen and a very nice member of their staff. We had a seat in a nice screened in porch and started in on a nice cheese plate with some fresh fruit and a taste of Winners Circle White. Winners Circle White was a Cayuga White/​Chardonnay blend if I’m not mistaken. Very balanced and tasty. If we had saved any cheese it would have paired nicely.
After relaxing on the porch Debreen took us on a tour of the property. Debreen showed us vines, their production space and horse stables while telling us all about how they got into horses, wine and more. She was sweet and genuine with a wonderful energy. We were given a bag of carrots to feed the horses and made our way back inside.
We set back up in the tasting room and worked our way through the rest of the wines. The wines were nice and had very good balance. Balance is the key and often hard to find which is especially impressive for just one year in production. After our tasting finished, we grabbed a glass and went back out onto a deck overlooking the Hudson to relax.
Tony, the other owner made his way out onto the deck and chatted with. He was also very kind and humble. After finishing our wines we made our way back into the tasting room to buy a couple bottles before leaving.
Oliva Vineyards was a wonderful experience. It’s very special to make the connection between their clear passion for horses and wine. The ability to bring both together makes a lasting impression and comes full circle. It was a pleasure to have met Tony and Debreen and they were sure to let us know that on Friday they often have live music and invited us back to hang out and relax in the space. I can’t wait to take them up on the offer.

Stopped by Oliva on our way home to New Jersey from Lake George/​Adirondack Park. We had gotten tips about the winery from people in the region. My wife had checked the tasting room hours on a Google Search, but we should have called or directly checked the website. Unfortunately the winery wasn’t open for business, but we met Tony who was sincerely apologetic about not being able to give us a tasting. Once he heard that we were from Jersey, and not local he was even more apologetic. He said they were preparing for a special event and the tasting room wasn’t available. I think he was more disappointed than we were. As we said goodbye, Tony raced inside and then back out to our car with a chilled bottle of white wine. He said it was a gift and we should enjoy it after our ride home. We were completely shocked and will return to Oliva to «payback» the gracious gesture. We had the wine with Chinese take-​out and it was a perfect way to end our vacation.

My husband and I were so impressed with this new vineyard up in Fort Edward. We redeemed a Living Social voucher for a tasting, and the owners were so personable and pleasant. They definitely have a passion for wine and horse racing! We’re moving in a month, but I’m so glad we got to check it out!