Orange County village noted for country's oldest winery

Most are headed straight to Washingtonville's Brotherhood Winery.

The winery, the oldest in America, sits in an unlikely place: behind the bustle of a strip mall, appropriately called Brotherhood Plaza, on Route 94 east in Orange County. The vineyards used to cover the earth that now supports the shopping center, said Sylvana Spisany, director of the winery's tours and sales.

"It's the oldest in America," Spisany said. "It's a nice place to visit and we're the only winery in the area with an underground cellar.''

The cellars, featured on guided tours, run under the property's restaurant, gift shop and pavilion. They are the largest cellars in the United States, winery officials claim.

The cavernous brick cellars maintain a steady 55 degrees in summer and winter and hold the winery's Grand Monarque champagne and cabernets.

In addition to tours, the winery features lunch specials and entertainment.

About 80 years after Thomas Goldsmith settled Washingtonville in 1731, cobbler John Jacques arrived in the area. In the 1830s, Jacques began growing grapes to sell in New York City. But the market was weak, and he turned to winemaking. The Jacques Winery began producing wine in 1839, said Village Historian Edward Jacques McLaughlin, John Jacques' great-great grandson.

The winery has changed hands three times since the 1860s. The Emersons renamed the winery Brotherhood and dug the cellars by hand. The Farrell family modernized the existing buildings and constructed two buildings.

The winery is owned now by Cesar Baeza. Grapes are no longer grown on the premises, Spisany said. Brotherhood buys New York state grapes and produces about 23 varieties of wine.

The Village of Washingtonville once surrounded the winery. The building that houses one of the gift shops had been a village church, Spisany said.

But the village spread south and west from the winery. The population of the village hovered around 600 until World War II and then took off, said McLaughlin. Now, about 5,000 people live there.

In addition to winemaking, Washingtonville was known for its dairy farming. Orange County butter was a prized commodity by New Yorkers, McLaughlin said.

Now Washingtonville is primarily a bedroom community for those commuting to the New York City area, he said.