Heron Hill Winery

John and Josephine Ingles met on their first day of classes at the University of Denver in 1960. John was studying to be an English teacher, but he was also bitten by the “back to the earth” bug and read organic gardening magazines regularly. After marrying in June of 1971, he and Josephine searched for the perfect place to live. They considered Colorado, British Columbia, Oregon, Montana, and other popular region, but they finally settled on John’s backyard—Seneca Point, Naples, New York. They now own a world-class winery and two vineyards in this gorgeous Finger Lakes town.

Heron Hills Winery is approaching its 30th year offering high quality wines from the Finger Lakes region. These taste-tempting wines include Pinot Noir, Baco Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other red, white and dessert varietals.

The Finger Lakes affords one of the finest locations to produce quality grapes. Days are warm and the nights are cool, allowing for optimal ripening of wine grapes. Growers plant their crops on the gentle slopes that get the warming influence of the deep lakes and avoid the late spring frosts that can settle lower in the valley. The well-drained, gravelly soil also helps make the Finger Lakes one of the world’s best viticultural areas.

John and Josephine Ingles—owners of Heron Hill Winery and proud residents of the Finger Lakes—discovered their passion for winemaking after helping a neighbor with the grape harvest in 1971. Something about chasing a wagon down a vineyard, carrying a 40 lb. box of just-picked grapes struck the budding oenophiles as “the good life.”

So they planted 20 acres of grapes with 12,000 vines on their own property. After four years of nurturing their vineyard, they finally had a harvest. Unfortunately, New York was experiencing a glut of wine grapes so the Ingles could find little market for their crops. To solve the problem, they built the Heron Hill Winery, right next door to other prominent winemakers in the Finger Lakes region.

Heron Hill is committed to producing wines of the highest quality. John and Josephine follow the ebb and flow of the seasons through the vineyards, and continue to spread the "good word" about their critically acclaimed wines from the Finger Lakes region.