The New Labelle Winery Now Open

Labelle Winery has uncorked its new locatio, on Route 101 in Amherst, near the Bedford border, that promises to bring a totally new experience to the area.

The new winery opened to the public on Wednesday and is ready for visitors to come in for tastings, tours and events. Owners Amy Labelle and Cesar Aboleda (who also happen to be husband and wife) were already in full gear yesterday and excited to unveil their new business location.

“I am feeling grateful,” said Labelle. “I am grateful to live in a country that allows these opportunities, the support of my family, and the community support. This is a dream come true.”

Aboleda said that their new winery will focus on more than wine, with an emphasis on education and integrating the arts, cooking, music and more into their business. They see the new building as a cultural hub to bring people together.

Amherst Patch stopped by on opening day to see what they have in store for you. Events manager Paulette Eschrich gave a tour of the many different parts that make up the winery.

Tasting Room

The Labelle Winery tasting room greets visitors right when they walk in with a wide variety of tempting delights at its disposal. Their 23 varieties of wine are on display and most all of them are available for tasting. Among their selection are three new wines: a white grape wine called Dry Riesling, a spiced dessert wine with vanilla, maple and cinnamon flavors called Dulce and their first-ever sparkling wine called Shimmer.

They also offer their own line of wine-inspired cocktails alongside a full catered menu from The Black Forest Cafe that has been designed to pair with their many wines. Check out the full menu here.

These offerings also come alongside with their new line of culinary line of jams, jellies, honey & chocolates. All of these can be enjoyed in their outdoor seating area, which boasts a fire pit for those chilly autumn nights.

Labelle Winery now sits atop the Bragdon Farm hillside, which is adjacent to the popular sledding hill.

“We expect a lot of parents will drop their kids off and come over here and stay warm while they are out sledding,” said Eschrich.

The Great Room

This beautiful space can hold up to 200 people and is open for weddings, winery events and any desired function. The massive space has giant windows that offer a fantastic view of the property’s many features, including their now-growing vineyard.

An outdoor terrace is attached to the huge vaulted ceiling room for outdoor fun and socializing. The space also offers full bar service with their signature cocktails, liquor and beer available.

Eschrich said that they already have a wedding taking place in the room this Saturday, and 17 more already booked until 2014.

The Vintage Room

 This smaller, yet still beautiful room can be rented for private parties of up to 32 people and also boasts its own private terrace.

Right outside lies their gallery where visitors can peek down on the wine-making process as they relax with their drinks and treats. Eschrich said that many people are renting out both of these areas for their functions.

“It is designed so people can see what is going on and have somewhere to sit and relax after the tasting room closes.

The whole building is also wifi enabled, and offers customizable music options for each area of the winery.

Winery

 The heart of the new Labelle building is of course the wine it produces, which they make on the bottom floor.

One of their giant 23-foot-tall tanks has already been set up (with some effort) and four more will soon join it, each carrying 3,1000 gallons of wine. There are also a total of eighteen smaller tanks, including Labelle’s first-ever chardonnay.

Their production will be almost quadrupled at their new location at 25,000 cases a year maximum. This crushes their previous output of about 7,000 cases a year at their old location. This is thanks to their new mechanical bottling line that can push out 1,5000 bottles an hour, rather than do everything by hand.

Eschrich said the manufacturing space is also available for cocktail parties, which have already been booked for people who want to be among the tanks.

Also located amongst the tanks is “Wine Makers Laborator,” where Labelle tweaks the characteristic of her wine down to the smallest levels.

“It is her domain where she can do what she loves to do, which is make wine,” said Eschrich.

Fermenting The Future

The owners of Labelle Winery have plenty of community events and functions in store for their new home. Plans include a harvest wine dinner, holiday bazaar, moonlight tour of the vineyard and more happenings to bring the community together.

Of course, they are looking forward to seeing them host weddings, showers, birthdays and all other special occasions at their winery.

According to Eschrich, Labelle is also working on connecting to the local schools and using the winemaking process to teach them about chemistry.

“Amy feels that part of our mission in creating this facility is for it to be educational and take the mystery out of winemaking,” she said.

Labelle Winery is open Wednesday – Sunday (and holiday Mondays) at the following times: Tasting Room hours: 11am – 5pm, Terrace at LaBelle Winery hours: 11am – 8pm

LaBelle Winery will celebrate its official grand opening with several ticketed events. For more information or to learn how to become a sponsor for one of the events listed below, visit labellewinerynh.com or call 603-828-6862.

• Thursday, October 18: Cocktail Reception
• Saturday, October 20: Black Tie Gala
• Sunday, October 28: Brunch and Artists’ Exhibit

Find out more information at Labellewinerynh.com.