Leaders hear of pressures, successes in area winemaking

GOSHEN — Town officials took to Connecticut’s wine country June 12 for the annual meeting of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to learn about the realities of operating in the state’s agritourism industry from its largest winery, Sunset Meadow Vineyards.

The COG gathered in what is perhaps one of Litchfield County’s more bucolic “meeting rooms,” a cozy and rustic offshoot of the winery’s tasting room with big windows that allowed plenty of the early June morning light to stream in.

Before launching into the normal agenda, founder and owner of the winery George Motel Sr., who continues to run the business alongside his wife, Judy, and son, George Jr., took the floor to tell the COG a bit about what it’s like to run a viticulture operation in Connecticut.

COG Chair Dan Jerram introduced Motel, explaining that the winery had been chosen as one of rural Connecticut’s small business triumphs. “We’re trying to highlight our regional successes that draw people to the area and create economic opportunity for others,” he said.

Motel said he is proud and grateful for his vineyard’s accomplishments in its 30-odd years history, becoming the second largest planted vineyard in New England. But running the business has not been without its challenges. Foremost among which are the logistical obstacles that come with operating a weather-dependent industry in a climate as fickle and difficult as Northwest Connecticut’s.

Motel said that the winery is “100% at the mercy of mother nature,” affecting not only the agricultural aspects of the business but also its hospitality side.

“If it rains 17 weekends in a row, that doesn’t help our business,” Motel said ruefully, referencing the unusually wet Saturdays that 2025 has brought thus far to the region.

Other challenges are less elemental and more recently problematic, including maintaining a sufficient workforce and expenses and wage hikes outpacing profit gains. “Our sales aren’t growing at the rate wages are increasing,” Motel explained.

Still more difficulties stem deep into American history. “The alcohol laws in this country are antiquated,” Motel lamented, saying that the winery loses a significant market by not being able to sell in grocery stores.

  Sunset Meadow Vineyards is located in Goshen.Alec Linden

And of course, there’s the Litchfield Hills’ robust wildlife populations to contend with. Motel reported that netting he uses to cover the vines is effective in blocking deer and small mammals from accessing the grapes, but “not for the bears.”

The bears have their utility, however. Motel said that berry-loving mammals have very selective palates and eat only the sweetest grapes, and when he starts seeing torn netting, he knows it’s time to start picking.

Despite the challenges, the winery has managed to grow dramatically since starting out in the mid-1990s. Motel said that the vineyard started out producing five wines; now it has 26.

After Motel concluded, Jerram thanked him for sharing his insights, and, addressing the COG, appealed more broadly to the role of farmers in the region that goes beyond their production. “All the farmers in the Northwest Corner are really helping to preserve our land,” he said, helping the pastoral quality of the region to endure despite development pressures.

While the meeting was strictly business, several selectmen took the opportunity to peruse the shelves and buy a bottle or two after the meeting concluded, doing their part to support the winemakers, and their cabinets and cellars at home.