Ted Marks, Owner
In 1999, Ted Marks purchased the farm of Ed and Joanne Grow and started Atwater Estate Vineyards with his daughter Ann. The Grows closed down their winery in 1989, but kept up their vineyards, selling outstanding crops to various wineries nearby. Infact, Rolling Vineyards won the first Governor's Cup issued by NY for their Vidal. Along with the rolling hills and amazing view came 80 acres of the Banana Belt's best grapes and Atwater was able to open in 2000 with its first vintages, thus getting off to a fast start.
Soon after, Ann's husband Phil Hazlitt decided to go onto different ventures. Atwater's Winemarker Vinny was first with Wölffer Estates on Long Island and after he, his wife Kim and their three kids came to the Finger Lakes joining Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. Shortly after, Vinny Aliperti joined the A-Team as Atwater's winemaker.
Atwater has since had many exciting...almost too good...assistant winemakers who seem to steal off to start their own wineries or work for much bigger vineyards. Aaron Roisen is now winemaker at Hosmer's, Tom Higgins has started Heart & Hand Winery and Justin Boyette has started Hector Wine Co. along with Jason Hazlitt. Paul Martin, who was Atwater's vineyard manager in 2006, has started his own CSA, Sweet Land Farms. Vinny and his wife have started their own winery, Billsboro Winery, in Geneva. Luckily he has no wine-making facilities at Billsboro, thus he makes his wines here while he continues making Atwater's wines.
Ted's personal background has nothing to do with wine to be honest, except that he likes to say that it runs in his family as his brother-in-law was one of the founders of Glenora Wine Cellars and his niece and her husband Sayre own and started Fulkerson’s Winery. Sadly, both of these wineries are on the west side of Seneca Lake...but we won’t hold that against them!
Ted started watching his parents drink wine in Elmira, NY and he had a summer home at Glenora on Seneca, where his Grandfather Marks bought a home in 1907. After finally making it though Babson College in 1963, Ted wandered through many jobs, firings and cities, finally ending up back here in Corning and started a printing company that was washed down the river with Hurricane Agnes in 1972. In the meantime, Ted had married Evealyn Chlebowy and immediately became the father of two delightful daughters. They then had two more daughters and opened a bookstore in Corning, New York called Bookmarks. Eve passed away in 1986 to cancer and in 1991 Ted married Mary Ann Sheen who brought three more daughters with her. Between both of them, they have 15 grandchildren.
A Note from Ted:
"I can’t begin to say how much I enjoy working with all the young exciting folks here at Atwater. The wine industry here on Seneca Lake is very robust and the Finger Lakes are now being recognized as one of the outstanding wine regions in the United States. Atwater is proud to be a part of this growth and our awards for the wines made here by the “Atwater Team” are proof positive that our land here at Atwater has the best views, wines and personality in the region. Boastful and brash comments I know, and it excites me to say so, I must humbly admit! Stop in, won’t you?"