For tour guide John Wolek, sharing the history of Brotherhood Winery is more than a job—it’s a passion.
“I’ve been here almost four years,” Wolek said. “I really enjoy talking about the history of the winery and educating people about wine.”
A bootmaker’s bold decision
Brotherhood Winery’s story began not with a winemaker, but with a Scottish-born bootmaker named John Jaques. After settling in what is now Washingtonville, Jaques opened a boot shop and general store while planting grapes as a side business.
Initially, he sold grapes to wineries in New York City. But in 1839, when grape prices collapsed to just ten cents a pound, he faced a difficult choice.
“Instead of selling his grapes as grapes, he decided to open up his own winery,” Wolek explained.
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The winery, originally called Blooming Grove Winery, first produced church wines and medicinal wines—products that met important community needs during the 19th century. According to Wolek, doctors at the time often prescribed wines such as port and sherry for various ailments, while Jaques, an elder in his local church, recognized the demand for quality sacramental wine.
A name born from history
Ownership changed several times over the decades. In 1886, wine merchant Jesse Emerson purchased the winery and gave it the name that has endured ever since.
One of Emerson’s customers was a religious group known as the Brotherhood of New Life. Although the organization eventually dissolved, Emerson admired the name.
“He liked the name because it fit with his number one product, which was still church wine,” Wolek said.
The winery officially became Brotherhood Winery, and under Emerson’s leadership expanded into champagne production using the traditional French method. The success of those sparkling wines helped finance the construction of the iconic stone buildings that still define the property today.
Surviving prohibition
Perhaps no chapter demonstrates Brotherhood’s resilience better than Prohibition.
When alcohol production was outlawed in 1920, a last-minute federal provision allowed wineries to continue producing low-alcohol church and medicinal wines.
Brotherhood qualified.
“The Cardinal of New York loved Brotherhood’s wines,” Wolek said. “He had all the churches in his diocese buy their wines from here.”
When Prohibition ended in 1933, Brotherhood held an extraordinary advantage. Before the ban, the winery had already produced more than half a million bottles of champagne, which had been carefully stored throughout the dry years.
“The New York Times called Louis Farrell the ‘Champagne King of America,'” Wolek said, recalling the winery’s remarkable comeback.
Helping build Hudson Valley tourism
Brotherhood’s influence extends well beyond winemaking.
In the early 1960s, under the leadership of Eloise Farrell, the winery became one of the pioneers of wine tourism in America.
At its peak, more than half a million visitors came each year.
“On weekends we had five to six thousand people a day,” Wolek recalled. “We had over 90 tours in a day because we had no competition.”
Long before craft breweries and distilleries became popular destinations, Brotherhood attracted visitors from throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and beyond.
“It became part of the fabric of the community,” Wolek said. “Generations of families have come here for parties, weddings, festivals, and special events.”
Rebuilding for a new era
Disaster struck again in 1999 when fire destroyed the interiors of Brotherhood’s historic stone buildings.
Rather than giving up, new owners rebuilt the property, modernized production facilities, and restored the winery’s historic character. In 2005, Chilean wine families partnered with acclaimed winemaker Cesar Baeza to purchase the winery, bringing international experience while preserving Brotherhood’s heritage.
Today, visitors can enjoy guided tours, wine tastings, weddings, festivals, concerts, corporate events, and seasonal celebrations throughout the historic property. Recent additions include grape stomping festivals, cultural celebrations, and expanded event programming designed to welcome new generations of guests.
Looking toward the future
Like wineries around the world, Brotherhood faces changing consumer preferences and a slowing wine market.
In response, the winery is exploring lower-alcohol wines while expanding entertainment and community events to introduce more people to wine culture.
“They’re trying to broaden the appeal of wine,” Wolek said.
Despite today’s challenges, he remains optimistic that the industry’s long history of adaptation will continue.
An American story
As America marks its 250th birthday, Wolek believes Brotherhood Winery represents something much larger than wine.
“It represents people willing to change and innovate,” he said. “John Jaques started as a bootmaker, saw an opportunity, and built something entirely new. Then, over the years, the winery kept adapting—through festivals, education, tourism, and every challenge it faced.”
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