"So the water line in the winery was about up to here," said Mark Snyder, of Red Hook Winery.
It will be a long time before Mark Snyder doesn't walk into his winery at the edge of a pier in Red Hook without thinking about what happened a year ago.
"I just assumed it was over. It was complete devastation from both the winery side and the tasting room side," Snyder said.
Barrels were left floating around and 100 were sent out to sea.
About 90% of the inventory was lost.
"I think no one expected the amount of damage," Snyder said.
Not to mention that the machinery was ruined, but it's harvest time now and the winery is forging ahead.
"This is how they did it in the old days so that's one way to figure it out until you have a crusher, Sandra's the crusher," Snyder said. After Superstorm Sandy, they thought about closing up shop, but the community literally poured in to help.
"The community outreach and support was so overwhelming we felt it was our responsibility to at least try, which we did," Snyder said.
They are now back in action with the first crush, and supporting grape growers throughout, because all the wine made at Red Hook Winery is made from New York grown grapes.
"We have at least 70 different wines," Snyder said.
In the tasting room you can sample those wines or buy bottles to take home.
"What we're hoping is people come to Red Hook get exposed to people like Joe McCary, McCary Vineyards, and then go visit and support McCary vineyards as well," Snyder said.
The spirit of community is something that has buoyed this winery throughout the past year.
"We look at the Statue of Liberty where we crush grapes every day and immigrants overcame a lot more hardship than a stupid Hurricane, so it was inspiring for all their support," Snyder said.
If you're interested in checking out the Red Hook Winery, tastings start at $5 and bottles of wine go for $18 and up.
For more information please visit: https://www.redhookwinery.com/
