FINGER LAKES--The Hillick and Hobbs hospitality center is slated to open on Saturday, June 18 on the Southeastern banks of Seneca Lake. Part of a growing trend of new wineries, breweries and adjacent businesses opening throughout the Finger Lakes, owner Paul Hobbs is hoping to stand out.
"After an exhaustive two-year search for the ideal site to grow Riesling that could rival the best of the Old World, aided by my brother David, we finally found the property just south of Hector Falls that was reminiscent of [Germany's famed] Mosel region," Hobbs said in a statement. These qualities include slate soils, steep convex-shaped slopes, contoured ravines and western exposure.
Hobbs is an experienced vintner and winery owner with business holdings across the globe including California, New York, France, Argentina, Spain and more.
A New York native who grew up on his parents' farm, the name Hillick and Hobbs takes its roots from his mother and father, Joan Hillick and Edward Hobbs.
To help bring in customers, Hobbs said he paid a great amount of attention to the design aesthetic while working with designer Tom Johnson.
"Tom is an extraordinarily gifted designer," Hobbs explained, adding, "His ability to blend purposeful utility, simplicity, function, and beauty is thrilling. His sense of scale and form play well to my own sensibilities."
Key to that aesthetic is an Asian influence in the new hospitality center, something Johnson has experience with from his time working and living in Asia.
Along with the hospitality center, the estate vineyard is currently planted with 21-acres of high-density Riesling on steep slate soils that run with the slope. These environmental factors were key as Hobbs wanted to emulate Germany's Mosel region as close as possible.
"The Finger Lakes is a compelling region for growing world-class Riesling. Its well-drained, slate soils trap the radiant heat, and the moderating effect of Seneca Lake creates the airflow crucial for keeping the canopies healthy," added Hobbs.
Hillick and Hobbs is located at 3539 State Route 79, Burdett. On Saturday the grand opening is planned from noon to 5 p.m.