About Us

In the spring of 2006 we contacted Mark Malosay a tree and landscape expert in Warwick to clear two and a half heavily wooded acres for the vineyard. Frank worked with a chainsaw helping Mark and in less than two weeks the job was done.

In 2007, we purchased a new John Deere 3720 Compact Farm Tractor with several attachments. After having six-thousand pounds of lime dropped on one and a half acres of the clearing, we had Steve Myruski, “a neighboring farmer” come over with his three bottom plow. Frank then went over the field one more time with a rototiller. This was followed by laying out the direction and width of the rows of vines. Then the nine-hundred holes were dug by Frank with the four foot long, twelve inch diameter auger attached to the tractor. This was difficult due to the steep slope of our soon to be vineyard. Next, we ordered the eight varieties of grapes we thought would grow well and produce good wines. Then in just over two weeks with the help of many friends and family we planted all nine-hundred grape vines. Our dear friends from our former parish, Saint Theresa’s in Briarcliff Manor donated money which helped pay for some of the vines.

In the spring of 2008 we started putting up the steel trellis system and a seven foot high fence around the vineyard. With the help of a few friends we got the fence up in just over a week and most of the trellis that summer. The vines started to grow fast and we took off most of the fruit as fast as we could, to put the energy back into the vines. We picked a small amount of our Cayuga White grapes and made our first ten bottles of wine. Karen personally crushed them with her feet and we squeezed the grapes through cheese cloth and fermented the juice in a glass carboy. The following year we received a gold award for that wine in the amateur competition of the Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association.

2009 was a difficult year for most wine growers, because of the large amount of rain and lack of sun. Clearview Vineyard faired far better than most; partly due to the steep slope of our vineyard and also because of the vigorous organic spray program. We were able to produce enough grapes to make five-hundred and fifty bottles of estate wines. Another five-hundred and fifty bottles of wine were made from grapes we bought from a vineyard in the Finger Lakes. All of these wines are now available for tasting and sales.

2010 has turned out to be a great year for growing wine grapes in New York State, with lots of sun and not too much rain. Close to 6,000 pounds of grapes were picked and should produce about 2,200 bottles of estate wines for 2011. Another 1,800 pounds of grapes were bought in the Finger Lakes and will produce about 600 bottles of red wine. On March 29, 2010 we received our Federal Liquor License, only two weeks after applying. It took almost five months more to receive our New York State Liquor License which arrived on August 26, 2010. You need both licenses to operate.

During the next years, Karen and Frank have attended many workshops, visited many of the Hudson Valley Wineries, read several books on wineries and vineyards and learned much through trial and error. Some of Clearview Vineyard’s success is the result of help from fellow vintners and the staff of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. In particular, we thank Steven McKay and Steve Hoying from Cornell Cooperative Extension here in the Hudson Valley. Special thanks goes to our good friend and vintner Paul Deninno who started Bashakill Vineyards one year before we started Clearview Vineyard. Paul has given us a lot of valuable information and advice. Thanks also to Dick Eldridge at Brimstone Hill Vineyard for help in determining the alcohol levels in our 2010 wines.

We would like to thank the many members of the Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association for their advice over the past four years. And last but not least, we give heartfelt thanks to our many friends and family. They devoted their time, effort and continuous support in planting, pruning and harvesting the vines. They have given us encouragement and shown great patience and understanding when the vineyard and winery have taken time normally spent with them.

Our new winery and wine tasting facility is open. The building is 3800 square feet, with 1700 square feet in the basement for the winery and over 1300 square feet for wine tasting and entertainment. We also have a 600 square foot porch with beautiful views.

God has shown us grace and given us strength to carry out our dream. It is our hope that the vineyard and wines give you happiness, joy and some serenity.

Come visit our winery and beautiful vineyard and taste some great wines and enjoy a tour of the winery and the incredible view from the top of our vineyard. We are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm, from April through December or by appointment. Live music on weekends, from 2pm to 5pm.