Brookview Station Winery is Coming!

Goold Orchard expands product line to include apple wineNY FarmLink provides business planning assistance from Grassroots, New York Farm Bureau, Dec 2006 Far News

Ed and Sue Miller are third generation owners of Goold Orchards, a family farm business in Rensselaer County with a rich history. Sue’s grandparents, James and Bertha Goold, first arrived by rail at nearby Brookview Station and walked to the fruit farm they had recently purchased. James, a graduate of Cornell, applied the latest advancements of his time to build and maintain Goold Orchards’ high standards for productivity and quality. The current generation of farm owners perpetuate this legacy with the early adoption of various technologies, including vertical trellises and cider pasteurization.

The Millers employ a multitude of innovative attractions to keep satisfied customers returning to Goold Orchards year after year. Their farm market offers high quality apples, cider, and baked goods in a well-organized retail space. Special events, such as a five-kilometer footrace through the orchard and a Halloween parade can entertain as many as 20,000 visitors during a festival weekend.

Goold Orchards recently undertook a project to add a new, value-added product line to the farm business—apple wine produced from Goold Orchards’ own apple cider. Encouragement to make apple wine was offered by a local equipment dealer. Further encouragement came when a local brewery purchased Goold Orchards cider for their apple beer.

The farm is also interested in pursuing another innovative “added-value” product through distilling apples to make an apple vodka, according to Julie Suarez, manager of governmental relations for N.Y. Farm Bureau. “Our lobbyists spend a lot of our time trying to open doors for farmers to pursue new opportunities, and the organization will continue to seek legislation in the upcoming state session that allows farmers to obtain a license to produce a limited quantity of a distilled beverage and sell it at their farm stand, so long as it is made from New York-grown agricultural crops.”

The Goold Orchards management team makes a practice of thoroughly evaluating all farm business decisions. They sought to develop a business plan before adding the farm winery enterprise, named Brookview Station Winery, to their existing operation.

Quick development of a feasible business plan for the new winery proved to be a challenge, but affordable and effective outside help was readily available. Staff at NY FarmLink provided assistance in developing detailed budgets for the proposed venture.

Business planning assistance from NY FarmLink is available to all farmers in New York State through a grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute. N.Y. Farm Bureau strongly advocated for the creation of the Farm Viability Institute, and is pleased that the state legislature, with the strong support of Senator Catherine Young and Assemblyman Bill Magee, provided full funding for this entrepreneurial program this year.

Sue Miller commented that “having the opportunity to crunch numbers was invaluable.” NY FarmLink’s work with Goold Orchards became an integral component of a Grow NY grant application to the Department of Agriculture & Markets for funding to offset start-up expenses in apple wine production. Recently, the Millers received news that their application for Grow NY funding was successful. Brookview Station Winery would become a reality.

James and Bertha Goold’s original fruit farm in Castleton, N.Y., continues to grow and prosper into the 21st century. In perfecting their new product, Ed and Sue Miller have so far corked and uncorked more than 150 bottles of their farm’s apple wine for experts and wine-lovers to evaluate. Brookview Station Winery will soon begin bottling wine for sale to the general public.

For more information about Goold Orchards and Brookview Station Winery, go to www.goold.com. Contact NY FarmLink at 1-800-547-3276.

Visit Their Farm Store and the Brookviewstation Winery

1297 Brookview Station Road

Castleton, N.Y. 12033

Phone: 518-732-7317

Fax: 518-732-2496
December 1st to August 31st Open Monday - Friday
September 1st to November 30th OPEN DAILY
Hours: 9am to 5 pm EST