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74 WINES&VINES May 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS WINE EAST S yracuse, N.Y.—The East- ern Winery Exposition (EWE) returned March 22-24 to a cold and windy Syra- cuse for its sixth annual confer- ence and trade show. At the industry celebration dinner held March 23, the conference pre- sented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Jerry and Kathy Forest, owners of Buckingham Valley Vineyards in Buckingham, Pa. The Forests planted an experi- mental vineyard in 1966 with 37 grape varieties they received from Philip Wagner, the pioneer of grow- ing French hybrid grapes in Mary- land. A permanent vineyard of 10 varieties was planted in 1968, and the Forests opened their winery in 1974 with an initial production of less than 1,000 gallons. By 1982, the family had expanded the vine- yard to 15.5 acres; today there are 22 acres planted. In the early years at Bucking- ham Valley, most of the wines were made from French hybrid grapes, and all were sold at the same price: initially $2.25 per bottle. The Forests' goal was to make consistently good wine and sell it direct to consumers from the tasting room attached to their resi- dence, because that gave them the best profit margin. In those days, Kathy Forest ran the winery while her husband Jerry Forest was the winemaker and also worked a full-time job. Kathy Forest was on the committee that formed the Pennsylvania Wine Association in 1976, and both were active in that association over the years. The winery grew, and Jerry For- est retired from his final job outside the winery on his 40th birthday. More recently, he has served on the advisory board for EWE. As production and sales ex- panded over the years, the Forests built nine additions onto their house, often underground. One cellar room was devoted to spar- kling wine production after the couple purchased equipment in- cluding a gyro-palette during one of their trips to European trade shows. Production at Buckingham Valley in 2016 was approximately 20,000 cases. Three generations of the Forest family now work at the winery. Jerry Forest is the winemaker, and Kathy Forest manages the business end of the winery; the second gen- eration includes Jonathan (sales manager), Kevin (vineyard man- ager) and Chris (vineyard manage- ment). Members of the third generation are entering their teen- age years and help around the vineyard and winery on occasion. "We're receiving an award for not having worked for 50 years," Jerry Forest said upon receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. "If you do something you love, you won't work for a day in your life!" —Linda Jones McKee Wine East Covering Eastern North America Pa. Winery Owners Honored for Lifetime Achievement Wine Packaging by Packaging Designed & Manufactured by a Wine Maker, for a Wine Maker 4138 Vineyard Road Stewartstown, PA 17363 Tel: 800-292-3370 Fax: 717-993-9460 Phone: 717-993-2431 Naylor Wine Cellars is a lifetime member of Wine America, Pennsylvania Wine Assoc, Ohio Wine Producers and NY Wine & Grape Foundation WPN is a premier supplier to over 2,000 wineries and wine & spirits shops. Our auto bottom carriers & shippers are the perfect sturdy solution for your retail & online sales! www.NaylorPackaging.com Features & Benefits - Extra sturdy construction for the most protection - Quick & easy to pack & set up - Folds to conform to many different bottles - Trademarked design - Bio-degradable - Quick delivery from our stock - Lies flat for easy storage - Takes up half the space of comparative packages - Tested & approved by UPS and Federal Express as a preferred method of shipping bottles - Custom imprinting and packaging is available to display your logo, enhancing your brand image Kathy and Jerry Forest