Dreams in a bottle:
Obstacles no match for winery owners Rich and Tara Nimmo
By Amy L. Stock
Rich and Tara Nimmo, owners of Saratoga Winery and
Tasting Room, knew they were taking a risk opening a winery during a serious
economic downturn. However, the success and growth of their business in just
one year is proof enough that having a dream and following your passion pays
off.
Opened in October 2009, Saratoga Winery has already
undergone one major expansion to meet the growing demands of their business.
“We’ve tripled the business that we projected since
opening,” Rich said.
For the Nimmos, who have
always been “opportunists” according to Tara, running the winery is a dream
come true, especially following Rich’s battle with cancer, which changed the Nimmos’ perspective on life.
“A lot of people said we were crazy for starting a
business at such a time. We heard it all. But, we had come through so much, we
thought, why not?” Tara said.
Entrepreneurial spirits at heart, Rich and Tara have
worked in sales and started several businesses, including A1 Powerwashing and Painting, which they still operate.
The Nimmos began making wine
in their cellar 10 years ago as a hobby. Their passion for wine grew out of
many visits to Rich’s uncle in rural Pennsylvania, who first introduced them to
the art of winemaking.
Each year, the Nimmos threw
a New Year’s party and served that year’s batch of wine. After friends
repeatedly asked, why the couple didn’t sell their wine, they began to think
about turning their hobby into a business venture.
In February 2008, just as the Nimmos
were ready to begin to start a family and take their passion for wine to a new
level, Rich was diagnosed with cancer. “We went from having this world of
dreams in front of us to not knowing if Rich was going to be around to make it
happen,” Tara said.
After several months of living day to day, Rich
underwent an extreme surgery to remove the cancer that had spread through his
body. As Tara tells it, when he woke from that surgery the first words he spoke
were, “I just want to make wine.”
Since then, the Nimmos have
not looked back. While Rich recovered from the surgery and chemotherapy
treatments, Tara researched the legal requirements to set up a winery.
The couple approached Bob Bolt about renting the
former Split Rail Farm greenhouse building, which Bolt had recently purchased.
Volt quickly embraced the winery idea.
“We had been looking for a location. It needed more
work than anything else we’d seen,” Tara said. However, its location on Route
29 outside of Saratoga Springs was ideal. In October 2008, within days of
getting the word Rich was cancer free, the couple signed the lease on what
would soon become the Saratoga Winery.
After months of planning and dealing with legal
requirements and approvals, the Nimmos started
renovations in July 2009. By this time, Tara was also pregnant, so the couple
needed a lot of help.
“It was a complete rehab,” Tara said. The building,
which had fallen into disrepair, needed serious work. “If we didn’t have great
friends supporting us and helping us with the renovations, we wouldn’t have
been able to get it going so fast.”
Saratoga Winery opened on Oct. 1, 2009. More than
1,000 people came through the doors the weekend of their grand opening in
November.
“Within four months of business, we outgrew the space
and realized we needed to expand the show room,” Tara said.
This past winter, they expanded the tasting room by a
third and added a deck off the back of the building.
Their friend and colleague, Cory Claudio, owner of
Adirondack Enhancements, completed the new space. The expanded tasting room is
built in the same Adirondack-style interior of the original tasting room, with
tongue-and-groove siding, log beams across the ceiling and walls and Birch
accents. The timber-floored deck features an attractive railing made from
skinned cedar twigs.
The deck is a huge hit with customers, especially on
Friday nights when Orapello’s Wood-fired Pizza out of
Amsterdam pulls up with its portable clay oven. Customers can enjoy fresh
pizza, a glass of wine and live music, a regular offering every Friday night.
For those who don’t want to drive out, Saratoga Winery has arranged a special
with Saratoga Horsin’ Around
Trolley Tours, which picks up at the Hampton Inn on Lake Avenue in Saratoga
Springs at 6 p.m., returning at 9 p.m.
The Nimmos also offer space
for special events such as bridal showers, birthdays and other parties. They’ve
hosted several nonprofit fundraising events, most recently the annual Double-H
Ranch fundraiser, which had more than 300 guests in attendance.
Giving back to the community is important to the Nimmos, who have received so much from friends and family.
Their next major event, called the Hillbilly Bash, will raise funds for
children whose parents are in the military in hostile environments and war zones.
Scheduled for from 2 to 10 p.m. Sept. 25, the event will feature live music
throughout the day, a pig roast, games and other activities. Several bands are
lined up, including the Hillbilly Horns.
Committed to supporting other local businesses,
Saratoga Winery sells a selection of local food products, including homemade
pies from the Little Bakery in the Grove and cheese and Greek yogurt from
Willow Marsh Farm in Ballston Spa, among others. Soon they’ll be selling
Saratoga Salsa and Spice products, including a special salsa made using one of
their wines.
So much is happening at the winery, one could forget
it all goes back to the wine. Their signature melomel
recipe — an all-natural sulfite-free wine made from grapes and honey — was
passed down to them from Rich’s uncle, who says he was given the recipe by an
old Hungarian man.
All their grapes come from vineyards in the state’s
Finger Lakes Region. The Nimmos make all their melomels on site, while their other wines are made at a
facility in Seneca Lake then transported here to be bottled and labeled.
The first year they bottled 14 wines, totaling 22,000
bottles. As fall approaches, the Nimmos are preparing
for the grape harvest and winemaking with plans to double the amount of wine
they bottled last year.
Their growing selection of wines ranges from dry reds
to sweet whites. Recently, they bottled 2,800 bottles of merlot along with 250
bottles of a special Adirondack Red limited edition, made from merlot grapes
and whose label features a photo of a deep purple-red sunset over the
Adirondacks taken from their boat on Sacandaga Lake.
Catering to a broad spectrum of wine enthusiasts,
customers are welcome to taste any bottle on the shelf to ensure they purchase
a bottle they like.
Always looking for a new challenge, Tara says one of
their goals for the next few years is to get approval to make and sell their
own beer. They are also in the process of buying the building and the adjoining
two acres.
“We’re always looking ahead to the new challenges.”
Tara said.
At the heart of the winery, and perhaps most
importantly, is the friendly welcoming atmosphere. “Rich — he makes people
laugh and have fun,” she said
Truly a family adventure, Tara brings Tyler, their now
6-month-old baby, to work with her every day.
“The most important thing is we’re making people
happy, making wine, and building a great future for our kids,” Rich said.
Saratoga Winery & Tasting Room
462 Route 29, Saratoga
Springs
518-584-WINE (9463)
e-mail: thesaratogawinery@rocketmail.com
Check the website for updated hours.
Amy Stock is a freelance writer and environmental
educator living and working in Saratoga Springs. Her writing and work focuses
on “green” living, sustainability and supporting local business. Check out her blog at www.goinggreensaratoga.blogspot.com