On Saturday Hector Wine Company, a popular Finger Lakes winery with deep historic roots, celebrated its tenth anniversary and marked the milestone by releasing two new wines.
Hector Wine Company was founded in 2010 by seventh generation viticulturist Jason Hazlitt and veteran Finger Lakes winemaker Justin Boyette. The idea was to create a more stable and focused vision for Sawmill Creek Vineyards, Hazlitt’s family vineyard, and to make wines that were representative of the southeast side of Seneca Lake. In 2012, Alexandra Bond joined the winemaking team and has since become a partner in the winery as they continue to push the boundaries of winemaking and Hector hospitality.
“Hector Wine Company has become a community place for people to share their voice, art, music, and to celebrate life. The winery’s focus has always been on handcrafted wines and providing a friendly soulful place to enjoy them,” Hazlitt said. “We will continue our hands on approach to growing and winemaking. The last ten years have been challenging and we have had to constantly change and tweak things to become better. We would like to give a big cheers to our club members, supporters, and new friends to come.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a larger celebration had been planned to commemorate this milestone anniversary, but these plans were shifted to ensure the safety of customers and staff members. Instead, the winery served seated wine flights and released two very special anniversary wines; a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
“The 10th Anniversary Chardonnay was made from Chardonnay vines that Jason’s family planted 40 years ago across the road from the winery at his seventh-generation farm. It was fermented using indigenous yeast and made in 100% French oak and is a great example of the style of white wines that we are passionate about making,” explained Bond. “The 10th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the first of a series of reserve Cabernets that you can expect from us. We selected four barrels from the 2017 vintage that were truly dynamic, aged the wine in barrels for 18 months instead of the usual ten, and then bottle aged it for an additional year.”
The anniversary wasn’t the only cause for celebration on Saturday, as Bond also welcomed her first child, fully solidifying the bond between her and Hector Wine Company.
Hector Wine Company is open everyday from 12pm until 6pm and serves seated wine flights everyday until 5:30pm. To ensure the safety of customers and employees, the winery offers guests the ability to sit outside underneath a sided tent, along with a few socially distanced indoor seating options. The winery recently added heat lamps to their tent to keep customers comfortable as the weather turns cooler.
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