Bet the Farm Winery celebrates years of success

Nancy Tisch moved from her home state of Rhode Island to the Finger Lakes in 1998 to take a one-year postdoctoral position at Cornell University. In 2006, having fallen in love with the region and all the wineries surrounding it, she left academia to pursue her dream of owning her own winery.

“One day, I just woke up and decided that I wanted to leave academia,” Tisch said. “I got up and decided that I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I was tired of the complexity, instability and politics of it all.”

At that time, her vision was to fill a shop in Aurora with the foods and wines of the Finger Lakes. Upon learning that, under New York state law, wineries are the only retail operations that can carry both food and wine, she decided the time was right to open her own.

Despite receiving a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Rhode Island, Tisch said she knew her days in the academic world were over for good.

Tisch started looking for mentors to help her expand her knowledge and teach her the intricacies of making wine. She eventually found Lou Damiani and Phil Davis of Damiani Wine Cellars in Hector.

Damiani and Davis allowed Tisch to borrow and use the equipment she needed to produce her product and to use the facility space set up in Davis’ garage.

“We produced our first vintage wine in 2006,” Tisch said. “I asked Lou and Phil for special farm winery tanks and barrels. We produced 150 cases our first year. Pretty soon, Phil’s garage was bursting at the seams with the amount of production and business. Eventually, they moved to a new facility they built in Burdett that is situated on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes wine region.”

In 2016, Tisch and her husband, Kit Kalfs, decided to start looking at properties that were befitting of the vision Tisch had in mind for production as well as a tasting room.

“We looked at three places in 2016 that ended up not suiting what we wanted,” Tisch said. “We really liked the Trumansburg area. As luck would have it, in 2017, we came across a parcel at 4204 Krums Corners Rd. that seemed to be exactly what we had been searching for.”

The vacant cornfield they had discovered was an ideal location for what Tisch envisioned, boasting breathtaking views and being centrally located within the nationally recognized Finger Lakes wine trails.

Tisch had previously purchased Pinot grapes from Sunrise Hill Vineyard in Interlaken and had sourced Gamay grapes — known for their naturally high acidity that’s light bodied and fruity — from Sheldrake Point Winery in Ovid.

“I knew that I wanted to grow grapes,” Tisch said. “Sheldrake had stopped offering the Gamay grapes. After talking to a lot of growers, I learned we weren’t going to be able to source them anymore. I already knew that I wanted a location to produce wine and that I wanted a tasting room. I had decided I still wanted to use these grapes that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I wanted property to grow them myself.”

Although the property perfectly fit what Tisch was looking for, the financial commitment to a 25-acre parcel made her nervous.

“Naturally, I was already nervous about starting a place that would be all my own,” Tisch explained. “I was trying to decide what to do and sat down with my husband to discuss it all.”

After going back and forth about all the specifics and finances, Tish expressed her reservations. She felt that the location was perfect but was reluctant to commit to the whole 25 acres, telling her husband that she was seriously considering purchasing a smaller part of the land but was still worried whether she’d be able to pull it off.

“Kit reassured me that he would be there to help me,” Tisch said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I’ll help you with this — you can bet the farm on it!’”

In that moment, Tisch decided to take the plunge and started the process to purchase 13 of the 25 acres to start her very own winery.

“I decided I also liked the sound of that expression [bet the farm] and the promise behind it,” Tisch recalled.

Having purchased the 13 acres, Tisch and Kalfs started planting the grapes she would use in a facility in front of the vineyard, which would produce the wine and house the tasting room. With that, Bet the Farm Winery was born.

“We decided to also offer a menu featuring rotating local culinary treats,” Tisch said. “You can pair them with your wine tastings, and they will be featured on menus for special events.”

The winery has featured different varieties of hummus from Ithaca Hummus, a collection of cheeses from Lively Run Goat Dairy and seasonal offerings from all over the Finger Lakes region to accompany her small batch, award-winning wines.

“It’s not just wine that motivates me but the hospitality experience and sharing what I love with others,” Tisch concluded.

Hours, events and updates can be found at the winery’s website, btfwines.com, and on its Facebook page, facebook.com/btfwines.

Trumansburg Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Half chickens for rescue tool

The Trumansburg Volunteer Fire Company is having a fundraiser to raise money for their hydraulic rescue tool fund on Feb. 13 at the Trumansburg Fire Company Firehouse, 74 W. Main St., from noon until they sell out. The cost is $6 for a half a chicken, which will be pre-marinated in a barbecue-style marinade. No sides will be available. The format will be grab and go only.

For more information, visit facebook.com/TBurgFD/.

Correction

In last week’s Trumansburg Connection article, the photo caption misidentified the subject as Madeline Brainard. The photo has since been replaced with an accurate photo of Brainard. View the full article at tompkinsweekly.com/articles/t-burg-rotary-announces-students-of-the-month/.