State and local officials, business leaders and friends of Adirondack Winery gathered Tuesday, August 16, to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Adirondack Winery’s new Queensbury tasting room and winemaking facility at 395 Big Bay Road.
Adirondack Winery broke ground for the new building last fall and opened its doors this spring. Tuesday’s ribbon cutting, jointly hosted by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, marks a significant milestone in the life of Adirondack Winery, which was launched by Mike and Sasha Pardy from a Lake George Village storefront in 2008.
“Mike and I started this business at 285 Canada Street on a whim…” says Sasha Pardy, speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “How we have made this happen, I don’t know, but it has a lot to do with everybody here today. We had big aspirations but we were in our 20s, like, we had no idea what we were doing. We had so much joy and heartaches and headaches along the way, that to see this finally come to life is amazing.”
The new wine production space will allow the winery to triple wine production over the next 10 years, and the new tasting room gives the winery space to offer expanded charcuterie, including brunch, and dessert options; wine by the glass, local beer, cider and spirits, outdoor seating and a full schedule of events such as Wine Wisdom classes and Uncork & Craft sessions. The new building also has an upstairs private event space.
Sasha Pardy reminisced about their first ribbon cutting 14 years ago when Mike and his father Richard began making wine. “We did 1,000 cases that first year, so, it’s little carboys, like 30-bottle carboys in the back of the Lake George store. It was tiny and three years later we moved here … it wasn’t very long that we were bursting at the seams.” By moving the wine production to Queensbury in 2011, Adirondack Winery was able to expand the public area of the Canada Street store, and the Lake George shop continues to offer wine sales and tasting sessions year-round.
The new Queensbury tasting room and winery was a long-time dream, says Sasha. “For so many years we’ve dreamed of a larger space, a place where not only could we make lots more wine, but a place where we could finally say yes to the many things that our customers have been asking us for since we’ve opened, to be honest with you, and just didn’t have room for in Lake George. So we built this building to grow and meet customer demand, but in the process, we were able to also build the tasting room and private event space upstairs.”
New York State Senator Dan Stec spoke at the Grand Opening saying, “Small business is the backbone of our economy, and the Pardys have become not only a fixture here in our Lake George Region but also certainly an important part of our community.”
Warren and Washington IDA Chair David O’Brien told the people gathered at the Grand Opening that just before the pandemic took hold, the IDA was talking with the Pardy’s about their need to expand, “… their growth has been so substantial that they had not enough space to grow, to make enough wine. They really needed to grow, and I’ve got to admire their spunk,” O’Brien said because, at a time when most businesses were just concerned with survival, the Pardy’s continued to move forward with their expansion plans.
New York State Assemblyman Matt Simpson praised the Pardys’ entrepreneurial spirit and said, “It’s just amazing what you all have been able to accomplish, and I wish nothing but the best. I know you’re going to be successful and, not only that, I am anxious to see what your next plan is going forward.”
