Old N.Y. wine region shifts to different vines A half-century

Old N.Y. wine region shifts to different vines

A half-century ago, Vince Bedient spent his days chopping down trees for his father’s sawmill, stealing time during harvest to haul farmers’ grapes to a Welch’s juice factory.

His seasonal job soon had him daydreaming about the splendors of cultivating his own vineyard, and a mishap with an ash tree in the snowy woods in 1963 made up his mind fast.

‘I had one moment of carelessness, didn’t move out of the way quick enough and got my left knee busted up pretty bad,’ he said. ‘I decided there was a safer way to make a living.’