They started out in 2008 as a micro-winery operating out of a Canada Street shop in Lake George Village. The Adirondack Winery was the first winery in the region. That inaugural year, they produced 1,000 cases of wine while offering tastings out of the storefront. Today Sasha and Michael Pardy celebrated the Grand Opening of their second tasting room located on Lake Shore Drive in the heart of Bolton Landing.
“Mike was actually making wine with his dad out of the back of the tasting room in Lake George, so that was kind of crazy,” says Sasha Pardy, “but people would come in; they would smell the wine being made. We quickly grew out of that. It didn’t take very long. We moved to a wine making facility in Queensbury where we make the wines now.” Today “our wines are sold in almost 400 liquor stores across New York. Production is about 13,000 cases, and we ship to over 35 states.”
The new tasting room is surrounded by the restaurants and shops that make up Bolton Landing’s pedestrian-friendly business district. Pardy says they had been planning to open a second tasting room for a couple years, and think Bolton Landing is the perfect spot. “Everybody just walks up and down the street. It’s so beautiful,” says Pardy.
They spent several months renovating the space to reflect the Adirondack Winery brand. The style, which Pardy calls “Modern Adirondack,” features cork walls, wine barrel tables and rustic woodwork. The bar top is made of crushed wine bottles fixed in epoxy, and a wine bottle chandelier throws a reflection of the Adirondack Winery logo on the ceiling. In addition to wine tastings, the new shop sells bottles of their wine, locally produced cheeses, crackers, chocolates, sauces, jam and wine-related merchandise.
The Bolton Landing Tasting Room had a “soft” opening at the beginning of June. Assistant Manager Bunni says business has been steady. The Bolton shop, she says, “definitely has a different vibe” from the Lake George Village shop. Tasting room visitors come in at a more relaxed pace, giving her more time to describe the different varieties of wine they offer.
Pardy says they still need to get a feel for the business in Bolton to determine the scope of activities they will offer at the new location. They may try events, such as Uncork and Craft, which pairs wine tastings with craft projects. Uncork and Craft events offered at the Lake George Village tasting room are popular and help keep the business busy year-round. While winter in Bolton doesn’t see as much tourist traffic, Pardy notes that there are always conferences coming through, and the Sagamore Resort’s ice bar is a big draw. The Winery may look at collaborating on events with other Bolton businesses.
Today’s ribbon cutting was attended by local business owners, representatives from the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Bolton Landing Chamber of Commerce, local government officials and members of the press. Bolton Town Supervisor Ron Conover says the Adirondack Winery Tasting Room is a perfect fit for Bolton. “I mean, how can it be any better? A locally grown company, with, as the sign says, locally handcrafted wines — It’s a great fit for our main street, for our visitors.”
“It is always nice to welcome a new business, a growing business, they have done so much over the past few years,” says Heidi Hess, President of the Bolton Landing Chamber of Commerce, “…. How much you’ve (Adirondack Winery) been able to reach out to people, how much you’ve been able to grow your business to be open year-round, have your different events, have your wine tastings, It’s really exciting.”
A standard wine tasting package is $7 and includes seven samples of wine and a souvenir wine glass. The ultimate package, which is $35, includes a standard wine tasting for two, additional wine tastes, a wine slushie sample and a locavore slate plate with artisan cheese, crackers and chocolates. The Bolton Landing Adirondack Winery Tasting Room is at 4971 Lake Shore Drive directly across the street from Tops Market. The shop is open daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.