Bully Hill Vineyards facts for kids
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| Industry | Winery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Urbana, New York |
| Products | Wine and merchandise |
Bully Hill Vineyards is a special place in Urbana, New York, near Hammondsport, New York. It's a vineyard and winery located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region. This area is famous for growing grapes and making wine.
Contents
The Story of Bully Hill Vineyards
How It All Started
Back in 1920, a company called Taylor Wine Company needed more space and better access to electricity and water. They moved their winery, and the land where Bully Hill Vineyards is today was sold to a person named Lloyd Sprague. During a time known as Prohibition, when making and selling alcohol was against the law, the winery sold grape juice. They even put special instructions on the barrels, warning people how the juice might turn into wine if they weren't careful!
Becoming Bully Hill
In 1958, Greyton H. Taylor and Walter S. Taylor bought the property back from Mr. Sprague. They named it Bully Hill Farms. These two pioneers started changing the types of grapes grown there. They switched from native American grapes to French-American hybrid grapes, which was a new idea for New York State at the time. Over the next 12 years, Walter and Greyton slowly built the winery. Walter was the third generation of his family to be involved in growing grapes and making wine, a tradition that started in 1878. Bully Hill was one of the first small, family-owned wineries in the Keuka Lake area after Prohibition ended.
In May 1970, Walter Taylor left the Taylor Wine Company. He and Greyton Taylor then officially started Bully Hill Vineyards that same year. When Greyton passed away in 1971, Walter became the full owner of Bully Hill. Walter was very passionate about his work. He opened the first wine museum in America. He also spoke out against other New York State winemakers who were using grapes from outside the state. This made some people upset, and rumors spread that Walter was acting strangely. To show he was fine, Walter went on a tour to defend his products and himself. He called it the "Johnny Grapeseed" tour.
The Name Battle
In July 1977, after the Taylor Wine Company joined with Coca-Cola Co., they sued Walter Taylor. They wanted him to stop using his last name, "Taylor," for his winery. A judge agreed with them. The judge said Bully Hill could not use the name "Taylor" on any labels, ads, or other materials for their products. So, the name "Taylor" had to be covered up wherever it appeared on Bully Hill products.
During this legal battle, something interesting happened: sales at Bully Hill Vineyards actually went up a lot! Visitors to the winery also increased by 25% after Walter Taylor talked about the case in the news. Walter tried to appeal the decision, saying the order was too strict. The court said he could use his signature on a label, but only with a clear message that he was not connected to the Taylor Wine Company. However, because of all the attention Walter received, the Taylor Wine Company's lawyers argued he was still breaking the rules.
On October 5, 1979, the judge made the order permanent. The judge gave Bully Hill a list of 11 rules about how Walter could use his name. For example, his signature could be no larger than one-fourth the size of the "Bully Hill Vineyards Inc." name on the label. The judge also ordered Bully Hill to give all the forbidden labels and advertising materials to the Taylor Wine Company for destruction. On November 8, 1979, Walter Taylor drove to the Taylor Wine Company to return the labels. Many people cheered him on. He even held a parade and then a party at Bully Hill!
Walter was upset but decided to find humor in the situation. He famously said, "They took my name and heritage, but they didn't get my goat." He meant that even though they took his name, they couldn't take his spirit or his unique way of doing things. Until he passed away, Walter would often joke, "Just call me Walter S. Blank," or "Yes, I'm the owner of Bully Hill, but I can't tell you where I came from." Many of his own drawings are still used as labels on the wines today.
In 1982, the vineyard tried to trademark a wine called 'Space Shuttle Rose'. NASA, the space agency, challenged this, but the trademark board allowed Bully Hill to use the name in 1987.
What Bully Hill Offers Today
Bully Hill Vineyards started small, but it has grown a lot! Today, they offer more than 40 different kinds of wine and produce over 200,000 cases of wine each year. They are the second-largest wine producer in New York State.
When you visit Bully Hill, you can find an on-site restaurant, a wine shop, and two gift shops. They also have the New York State Wine Museum of Greyton H. Taylor and the Walter S. Taylor Art Gallery. Visitors can take tours and enjoy wine tastings throughout the year, depending on the weather. Bully Hill wine is sold in about 30 different states across the country.
Sports Sponsorships
Bully Hill Vineyards loves sports! As of 2022, they sponsor five professional sports teams and nine minor league teams.
They are the official wine for:
- The Buffalo Bills (football team)
- The Buffalo Sabres (hockey team)
- The Nashville Predators (hockey team)
- The Carolina Hurricanes (hockey team)
- The Boston Red Sox (baseball team)
Bully Hill also has a long history with NASCAR racing. They have sponsored race cars and even races themselves at Watkins Glen International, a famous racetrack close to Bully Hill. They have been involved in various racing series since 1997.
