We were on our way to Vermont and stopped in Newburgh, New York for a few days.
Orange County Choppers
They were not far from our campground in Newburgh, New York. It was entertaining watching them on the Discovery channel for so many years. OCC’s artistry, constant commotion, and craftsmanship was unique. We were there on a Sunday, so no factory tours, but it was incredible to view some of their bikes on display. Most of the people on the show have moved on and hopefully are successful with their new businesses.
In addition to their cafe, OCC has an indoor stage for live music, a game room, and a bowling alley.
Brotherhood Winery
Their notoriety is being America’s oldest winery, probably because of prohibition and selling wine to religious entities. Prohibition started in 1920 and lasted almost 14 years. It forbade the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol…unless for use by a church. It was legal during prohibition to make sacramental wine. Some wineries such as Brotherhood were able to weather the storm because of sacramental wine. The law did not ban private ownership and consumption. An exception to the Volstead Act was that one could make up to 200 gallons of low alcohol wine, which opened the door for home wine makers. Many California wineries/vintners did not survive. However, many grape growers did. They were still able to sell the grapes, concentrates and juice. The wine products were sold to home wine makers with a warning on the label cautioning the consumer not to add yeast or sugar to the grape juice or to leave it in a cupboard for 20 days before drinking because it “might ferment and turn into wine”. Not only did Prohibition ruin the wine industry, it changed the taste of consumers. Prior to Prohibition, dry wines outsold sweet wines. After Prohibition, Americans developed a taste for cheap and sweet “jug wine”. In 1935, the majority of California wines were sweet wines. But being Americans, the wine industry bounced back and improved. In 1975, American Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon beat out French wines in a blind taste taste judged in Paris by the French.
We took a tour of their wine cave and had a nice history lesson about the winery. Afterwards, it was time to taste. Brotherhood wines were very good. Their Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot would have difficulty competing with the same west coast varietals because of the New York climate restrictions on the maturation and structure. We enjoyed them and bought their stunning Cabernet 1839 (later found out the grapes are from Lake county California). We viewed their old wine cellar, which was locked. All we saw was a bunch of empty bottles. Someone had fun. We enjoyed our tour at Brotherhood Winery near Newburgh, New York.
Benmarl Winery
We took their winery tour which included an informative history about their winery and walked through their storage room and bottling area. Benmarl is also located close to where we stayed in Newburgh, New York. Their wines were good and we bought their Proprietor’s Reserve. They grow their own grapes, are planting new varietals, and doing well.
Newburgh, New York KOA
We were on our way to Vermont and needed a place to stay for a couple of nights. It wasn’t full, even on a weekend. The big rig sites were on a gravel parking lot. Not very private. Power, water, and sewer were great. Cable was grainy, but usable. Wifi was ok for basic surfing but not streaming. Verizon had 1-2 bars. Best thing was talking to the other travelers.
