Sip, Sip, Siesta
Stomp, stomp, crush. Robibero Family Vineyards has been recognized for their ongoing annual events. On Saturday, May 5, the Robibero Winery celebrated one of their favorite holidays, Cinco De Wino. With a free glass of sangria and a grape stomping event.
The sunny fun-filled Saturday included a wine tasting of the most delicious wines — “from silky red wines to creamy whites.” Owner, Carole Robibero states that her favorite event that the winery hosts is the Grape Stomping event, “We love seeing people enjoy themselves; from seeing everyone taste our wines to walking around with red feet, it makes all the hard work worth it.”
With wine and sangria everywhere and grapes to stomp, everywhere you looked people were enjoying themselves. The live music took place in the afternoon between 2–5 PM. The winery also offered wood-fired pizza.
In 2003, owners, Harry and Carole Robibero purchased 42 acres of land on Albany Post Road in New Paltz. During that time, there was an existing winery on the prosperity. The Robibero Family had set sights on building their own winery and starting a full-time business. It wasn’t until 2007, that the family received an unexpected knock at the door. The current winery operating on the premise gave notice that they were vacating to a new location. This gave Harry, Carole and the Robibero family the opportunity to follow their passion and finally start to pursue their dreams and open their own winery.
It has been over 10 years since the winery had its grand opening. The owner, Harry Robibero, reflects. “Wow, almost 11 years. It’s crazy to me to think about. Starting this venture there have been times when we thought the combination of being sleep deprived of the long days of vigorous labor during the renovations, followed by long commutes back to Westchester, to then spend endless hours doing paperwork was never going to end.” The winery began to come together after a year or so. One of the first events that were held was their annual Grape Stomping.
Carole Robibero commented, “It definitely took a lot of manpower (and women power) to start this whole production. Not to mention, the beginning of our journey started at one of the worst economic crisis our country has seen. While everyone was saving their money, we were putting our blood sweat and tears into making this happen. Following your dream does require hard work and making difficult choices and we wouldn’t change our decision for anything. Our journey has been exciting, challenging, enlightening and humbling… and it has only just begun.”
The process wasn’t easy, but the blood, sweat, and wine were all worth it at the end.
To see what their next events, check out their Facebook page, Instagram and @RobiberoWinery
