About Us

About Arbor Hill Winery

Arbor Hill Winery is located in South Bristol just north of Naples, New York, which is located at the southern end of Canandaigua Lake in the famous Finger Lakes Region. In 1987 Arbor Hill opened in just one building. Now it sits in a complex of antique buildings (including the original), in a wonderful warm New England country setting. The Brahm family takes great pride in the fact that they produce their products on the premises. In their country complex they have several buildings; one is the retail shop, another is The Brown Hound Bistro (restaurant), and two barns serve as the wine cellar and the food production area.

History

This is truly a family business that goes back generations. In the early 1900’s, on John Brahm’s side of the family, Anna Randall married Elmer Standish and started a Naples grape-growing tradition. This tradition has spanned four generations. Katie Brahm’s father gave John and Katie’s farm the name “Arbor Hill.” That is where the trademark originated. Today, John and Katie continue the traditions as owners of Arbor Hill, an award-winning producer of gourmet food products and wine. With a degree in Pomology from Cornell and a successful 23-year career at Widmer Wine Cellars, John started the gourmet food business with the Brahm’s Wine Syrups. Now, Arbor Hill offers about 45-50 different gourmet foods. The newest additions are the wine-based finishing sauces.

John and Katie Brahm - Owners

Sherry Brahm - Buyer & Office Manager

John & Katie’s daughter, Sherry, manages the gift shop which offers the largest line of gourmet food products in the Finger Lakes Region. She is interested in continuing the business and manages the office, processes the online orders and emails and handles customer service. If you email or call with a problem, you will be directed to her.

The Story of the Grape Pie

One of the area’s most popular attractions is the Famous Naples Grape Pie! The rich tradition that began sometime in the 1960’s with Al Hodges, who commissioned Irene Bouchard to make this unique grape dessert for his historic Redwood Restaurant in Naples. Each year, during the Annual Naples Grape Festival (last weekend of September), thousands come to celebrate the harvest and sample the grape pies. Today, dozens of bakers produce more than 30,000 grape pies during just six weeks of the year.

Grape pies have continued to grow in popularity. Some people have bought the grapes in an attempt to make their own filling. Most quickly gained a deep appreciation for the amount of work required to make the grape pie filling and eventually gave up on the idea.

If you are interested in making a grape pie, but don’t want the hassle of making your own filling, you’ll want to get some Healthy Purple Topping and Filling. It is a luscious grape product that contains the natural juice pulp and skin of the grape for the highest concentration of heart-healthy compounds. This versatile product is great as an “out-of-the ordinary” topping for cheesecake or vanilla ice cream. It’s also the perfect filling for kuchens, coffee cake or any other fruit-filled desserts. And, of course, GRAPE PIES!