Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 20, 2026 Changing Vines New owners uncork fresh ideas for CT's legacy vineyards cally use cold-hardy hybrid grapes — including strains developed at Cornell University and the University of Minne- sota — that can survive snowy winters while producing wines with distinctive local flavor, according to Matthieu Wheeler, a winemaker at Cassidy Hill. New vintage of buyer What makes the current wave of sales distinctive, O'Donnell argues, is who is doing the buying — and why. Traditional winery buyers, operators primarily focused on producing and selling wine, have grown cautious as margins have tightened and alcohol consumption has declined. According to Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 State of the U.S. Wine Industry report, released in January, consumer spending on wine slid from a pandem- ic-induced high of $94.4 billion in 2020 to an estimated $74.3 billion in 2025 — a five-year decline of 21.3%. As a result, O'Donnell said two new buyer profiles are emerging. The first is what he calls the "life- style capital buyer": someone who has built a successful career, often in business or technology, and wants to own a vineyard as a next chapter rather than a conventional livelihood. "It becomes a physical asset that, yes, it produces income, and that's great," O'Donnell said, "but it also produces an identity." The second is the hospitality real estate investor, who sees the vineyard not primarily as a wine production facility, but as a destination — a venue for weddings, corporate events and curated experiences where wine is only part of the fun. Briere spent 40 years at Shelby Supply and now, in semi-retirement, is channeling his energy into Cassidy Hill's sprawling campus with 8 acres of planted vines and a tasting room converted from a historic barn. The previous owners, Bob and Carol Chipkin, built the winery from a cow pasture, opening in 2008. Carol's By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com W hen Timothy Briere first visited Cassidy Hill Vineyard in Coventry last September, the harvest was underway. Community volunteers picked grapes alongside the regular crew. A food truck was parked near the log cabin tasting room. Live music drifted across what he calls "rolling meadow fields." By the time Briere — the owner of Shelby Supply Co., a Tolland-based metal fabrication and manufacturing business he has run for four decades — walked back to his car, he had made up his mind. "I felt like, looking towards retire- ment, I would like to spend my time in something that was enjoyable to me," Briere said. He purchased the 137-acre Coventry property in March for $2.82 million. Across Connecticut, vineyards and wineries have been changing hands at a clip that has caught the attention of industry experts. At least five Connecticut winery and vineyard properties have been sold since 2024, with more currently on the market, according to CoStar data and public listings. With dozens of wineries tucked across its hills, shoreline and river valleys, Connecticut has maintained a healthy wine industry for nearly half a century. Now the sector is entering a transition. Pouring out Ryan O'Donnell, an attorney at Pullman & Comley whose prac- tice focuses on the hospitality and wine industries, says the recent sales activity reflects a generational handoff. "What I think is really interesting is not just the volume or the numbers — it's what is driving the uptick," O'Donnell said. The founding generation of Connecticut farm wineries is retiring, he explained, and the next generation often isn't inclined to take over a labor-intensive, asset-heavy operation. Hilary Hopkins Criollo, president of the Connecticut Vineyard & Winery Association and owner of Hopkins Vineyard in Warren, sees the same forces at work. Her farm, which has been in the Hopkins family for more than 235 years, was among the first to obtain a Connecticut farm winery permit in 1979, when the state began allowing vineyards to sell wine directly to the public. "A lot of the wineries are fami- ly-owned, and the owners are aging or wanting to retire," she said. "There hasn't been the family interest to take it over. I think that's why some have sold." Before 1979, the state's winemakers could grow grapes and produce wine, but faced restrictions on selling directly to consumers — a barrier rooted in Prohibition-era laws. A change in state law allowing on-site, direct-to-consumer sales unlocked an industry that, despite the state's cool climate, does surprisingly well. Estimates vary on the precise size of the industry. The Connecticut Depart- ment of Agriculture in December said there are more than 45 licensed farm wineries in the state, while WineAm- erica, an industry association, puts the broader total at about 55 producers. The sector supports roughly 570 acres of vineyards and 7,830 direct jobs, and generates about $1.3 billion in direct economic output, with a broader impact approaching $3 billion when supplier and related activity are included, according to WineAmerica's latest annual report. Connecticut has two main grape- growing regions: the Connecticut River Valley and a coastal area warmed by Long Island Sound. Wineries here typi- RECENT CT WINERY AND VINEYARD SALES Cassidy Hill Vineyard 454 Cassidy Hill Road, Coventry 137 acres; sold March 2026 for $2.82 million Connecticut Valley Winery 1480 Litchfield Turnpike, New Hartford 4 acres; sold December 2025 for $650,000 (real estate only; winemaking equipment excluded) Stonington Vineyards 523 Taugwonk Road, Stonington 58 acres; sold March 2025 for $2.24 million Heartstone Farm & Winery 468 Route 87, Columbia 32 acres; sold February 2025 for $980,000 Haight Brown Vineyard 29 Chestnut Hill Road, Litchfield 9.1 acres; sold May 2024 for $750,000 Source: CoStar Timothy Briere (left), owner of Cassidy Hill Vineyard in Coventry, and winemaker Matthieu Wheeler display bottles of Cassidy Hill wine inside the fermentation room. HBJ Photo | Brian Ambrose ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CT WINE INDUSTRY CATEGORY DIRECT SUPPLIER INDUCED TOTAL JOBS 7,830 3,060 3,836 14,726 WAGES $410.9M $252.9M $290M $953.9M OUTPUT $1.3B $759.6M $897.3M $2.9B BUSINESS TAXES $449.7M CONSUMPTION TAXES $93.3M Source: WineAmerica

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