Anthony Road Wine Co. has become the first U.S. winery outside California to be represented by Napa-headquartered Quintessential. Anthony Road is based in New York’s Finger Lakes region.
Anthony Road Wine Co. was founded in 1973, when John and Ann Martini took the advice of a friend who touted the joys of grape growing in the Finger Lakes. They moved from Baltimore, Md., where John worked for WR Grace, to fertile land along the west bank of Seneca Lake. Neither John nor Ann had any farming experience but, with the help of family and friends, they were able to plant their first five acres.
It quickly grew to 30 acres by the 1980s, and they were making a good living selling bulk grapes to larger wineries, primarily New York State’s largest, Taylor Wine Co. Taylor was sold in the mid-1980s as the demand for grapes shifted and Anthony Road was left with once-popular varietals dying on the vines. At this time, John and Ann made the fateful decision to start making their own wines.
In 1990, Anthony Road was incorporated, launching the 1989 Rieslings, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, all well-suited to the cold weather that usually starts in October and lasts well into spring. They were quickly acknowledged as a “Winery to Watch” in wine trade publications, and they were soon producing more than 10,000 cases a year, with national and international distribution. With more than 100 acres of vineyards in production, Anthony Road has become instrumental in the cultivation of the Finger Lakes grape-growing industry.
By the early 2000s, Ann and John’s four children had gone to college, and all took circuitous routes back to the winery.
In 2013, the family met over dinner to discuss the future of the vineyard and winery. It was decided to keep it all in the family, continuing to build on the foundation Ann and John made. Management of Anthony Road has shifted to the Martini’s children and their spouses. As their mother put it, “The kids helped in the vineyards when they were young, from cane-tying to picking, and saw how much work it takes. I didn’t expect them to come back, but am sure glad they did.” Peter is currently Vineyard Manager, Sarah is Business Manager, Maeve is an integral part of both Martini Vineyards and Anthony Road as Office Manager, and Liz is the Tasting Room Manager and tends to the gardens.
Peter has been involved in New York State’s VineBalance Program, guiding Anthony Road to become among the first to have their vineyards Certified Sustainable. Currently, only 34 vineyards/wineries in New York State carry this designation.
Anthony Road has also always been involved in education in the winegrowing/winemaking industry. John says, “Anthony Road is a strong supporter of grape and wine research, educating future growers and winemakers. I like to say that our grandchildren’s children will reap the benefits of the trials and errors that we’ve experienced and have overcome.”–Lorraine Raguseo
(A note from Joel: This piece was submitted by Lorraine Raguseo, a longtime friend of the newsletter. We normally strip releases down to pretty much “just the facts,” but Lorraine did such a great job, I thought, in writing this as a human interest piece beyond the first paragraph that I decided to publish it pretty much as she submitted it. I’m open to similar pieces that meet extremely high journalistic standards.)