From the editor…….

Happy Anniversary to Us!

This season marks our fifth-year anniversary as a publication. It’s hard to believe, but here we are! We are celebrating the milestone in three ways:

The first, is that we are launching our partnership with the Finger Lakes Community Papers. With a goal towards sustainability, our stellar writers and editorial team continue to bring you the relevant content you’ve come to expect while the partner staff will take over our publishing tasks. They’ll also pair the Libations with two new food centric issues called Field to Kitchen Journal. (See our website for more info.)  I am always available for questions and suggestions.

The second, is that we will devote this season to celebrating legacy and pioneers in the beverage businesses of our unique region. That may take more than one or two issues, but we would like to educate our readers to the giants who planted grapes and made wine from early Finger Lakes farming history, and early brewers as well. In our first year, we featured Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery (60+ years and four generations), perhaps the most well-known and publicized pioneer (see Vol 1 No. 2 Summer/Fall issue), and we’ll be sure to revisit the Frank family for updates.

In this issue, we explore the legacies of family farmers to winemakers such as Hosmer Winery, the Stamp family of Lakewood Vineyards, the McGregors on Keuka Lake; as well as the thriving traditions of Wiemer Vineyards. In recent years, the industry has also witnessed transfer sales of several legacy wineries such as Glenora, Keuka Spring Vineyards, Heron Hill Winery, Swedish Hill Winery, Knapp Winery, and the closing last year and return to focused farming of Hunt Country Vineyards. It is a natural generational shift in local history: the giants of wine industry either transfer to new owners, pass to newer generations to thrive, or otherwise transition in focus or expansion in order to preserve and grow the Finger Lakes wine traditions. We will continue to highlight this process in our fall issue, the second of this anniversary year.

The unique community among FLX winemakers and grape growers makes space for new stars in the industry, as well. We continue to highlight these latest new operations and also the news around the lakes in our wine and brew columns.

Lastly, a team transition: Nancy Tisch, who has generously led us through the first four years as Wine Editor, steps down to focus on her winemaking. You can always find her in the tasting room at Bet the Farm Winery (Trumansburg, NY) and on these pages while she continues to contribute to the industry through her writing. We–especially, I–cannot thank her enough for pioneering this publication with me. Phil Carstens steps up to lead the wine news team. He has penned the Harvest News Report for the past two years, among other works in this publication. And our Brew Editor, Christian Mercado Acevedo, creates a meaningful presence in this publication with a full Brews News column. Writers can contact our editors with your ideas.

So have a glass for us and all the beverage industries in 2026!

See you on the trails!

-Denice