“There’s nothing new
Under the sun,
But there are new suns.”
– Octavia E. Butler
New Suns is our home vineyard on the west side of Cayuga Lake.
It is, and will forever be, a vineyard in transition.
New Suns is located less than a half-mile from Cayuga Lake. It was planted by Kelley and Angela O’Neill to Cabernet Franc and Riesling in 2005, and we took it over in 2021. In the years since – with the challenges of viticulture in the Finger Lakes and the realities of climate change clearer than before – our vision for the site has changed.
As the vineyard changes, so will our wines. The varietal makeup of each New Suns release will simply be a representation of the productive varieties. Starting with the 2025 vintage, the hybrid varieties will make up ever-larger portions of the final blends.
In 2023, we began the process of “replanting” to inter-specific hybrid varieties. We don’t remove thriving vines, only replace dead or dying ones with hybrids. NY-81 (Aravelle) and Helios now grow among the Riesling, and Marquette and Noiret alongside the Cabernet Franc. As of 2024, New Suns is roughly 80 percent vinifera and 20 percent hybrids.
Our farming here has changed over the years, too. As soon as we took over, we eliminated the use of herbicides and insecticides. In 2024, we started farming one-third of the vineyard organically and introduced biodynamic preparations. The vineyard will go fully organic in 2025.
