Hartford Business Journal

26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 18, 2026 THE LISTS Connecticut's wineries (1) Ranked by tons of grapes produced in 2025, then visitors Winery Tons of grapes produced 2025/ acres planted/ total acres/ Visitors in 2025/ employees statewide Bottles of wine produced 2025/ varieties of grapes grown Tasting room/ public tours/ CT Wine Trail member/ private events Head of winery/ year founded 1 Hopkins Vineyard 25 Hopkins Road, Warren 06777 860-868-7954 • hopkinsvineyard.com 3,425 30 80 40,000 15 60,000 Corot Noir, Chardonnay, Lemberger, Saperavi, Cabernet Franc, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Riesling, Zweigelt, Cayuga White Yes Yes Yes Yes Hilary H. Criollo President & owner James Baker Winemaker 1979 (2) 2 Sunset Meadow Vineyards 599 Old Middle St., Route 63, Goshen 06756 860-201-4654 • sunsetmeadowvineyards.com 115 40 489 17,000 20 N/A Chardonnay, Cabernet France, Merlot, Cayuga, Riesling, Vidal, Seyval, St Croix Yes Yes Yes Yes George Motel President 2001 3 Jones Winery 606 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Shelton 06484 203-929-8425 • jonesfamilyfarms.com 105 15 (3) 500 28,000 25 78,000 Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Muscat Ottonel, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir Yes Yes Yes Yes Joe Patrick Winemaker Jamie Jones Owner 2004 4 Jonathan Edwards Winery 74 Chester Maine Road, North Stonington 06359 860-535-0202 • jedwardswinery.com 100 20 48 50,000 20 120,000 Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Traminette Yes Yes Yes Yes Jonathan Edwards Winemaker 2001 5 Saltwater Farm Vineyard 349 Elm St., Stonington 06378 860-415-9072 • saltwaterfarmvineyard.com 25 12 100 25,000 4 20,000 Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Chardonnay No No Yes Yes Jessica Davis Manager 2003 6 Cassidy Hill Vineyard 454 Cassidy Hill Road, Coventry 06238 860-498-1126 • cassidyhillvineyard.com 25 10 137 10,000 17 N/A Cayuga, Seyval, Vidal, Frontenac, La Crescent, St. Croix, Catawba, Sabrevois, Marquette, Chambourcin, Traminette Yes Yes No Yes Tim Briere Owner 2008 (4) 7 Hawk Ridge Winery 28 Plungis Road, Watertown 06795 860-274-7440 • hawkridgewinery.net 23.24 9 58 20,000 45 35,192 Cayuga, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Chambourcin, Seyval, Traminette, Jupiter Yes No Yes Yes Jeff McHugh General manager 2017 (5) 8 Stonington Vineyards 523 Taugwonk Road, Stonington 06378 860-535-1222 • stoningtonvineyards.com 23 10 58 25,000 13 N/A Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc Yes Yes Yes Yes Ann Houston Owner & president 1989 9 Arrigoni Winery & Cidery 1287 Portland-Cobalt Road, Portland 06480 860-342-1999 • arrigoniwinery.com 20 7 300 35,000 12 N/A Cayuga, Vidal, Chardonnay, Sauv Blanc, Marquette, Cabernet, Riesling, Cabernet Franc Yes Yes No Yes Rosanna Singer Brand manager 2012 Source: Each winery via survey and ctwine.com as of Q2 2026. Notes: N/A = Not available. (1) Wineries that responded to HBJ's survey are included. (2) Farm founded in 1787. (3) Additional 20 acres of blueberries. (4) Vineyard planted in 2002. (5) Year winery opened; farm and vineyard were founded in 2012. -Compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher, research@nebusinessmedia.com CONNECTICUT'S WINERIES (1) Ranked by tons of grapes produced in 2025, then visitors Rigorous review Jayne Kelly, chief commercial banking officer at Naugatuck- based Ion Bank, said her insti- tution's environmental review requirements remain as rigorous as ever. All commercial proper- ties used as collateral for loans above $1 million will still require at least a "Phase I" environ- mental review by a licensed environmental professional. Phase I reviews examine records and site conditions for signs of historic contamination that could require additional investigation, she said. If concerns arise, lenders may require a "Phase II" review involving physical sampling and testing. Kelly said banks still require extensive environmental due dili- gence to ensure properties used as collateral do not create future environmental liability, particu- larly in the event of foreclosure. John Carusone, president of the Bank Analysis Center, said regulators reviewing large commercial loans will expect lenders to offload environmental liability to borrowers. "Banks are not in the business of accepting liability for hazardous materials," he said. Still, Carusone said the state's new release-based system should encourage more commercial real estate lending activity because it aligns Connecticut more closely with neighboring states. Emerging legal questions Sam Haydock, a principal with engineering, architecture, environ- mental and surveying firm BL Cos., said lenders are increas- ingly consulting attorneys earlier in commercial real estate deals because of uncertainty surrounding the new rules. For example, contamination uncovered during lender-required environmental testing can trigger obligations for property owners to report findings to state regulators. Haydock predicted fewer owners will voluntarily investigate environ- mental conditions before putting properties on the market as a result. "Under the old system, there just was less obligation to report," Haydock said. Buyers and lenders are likely to become the primary drivers of envi- ronmental investigations, he added. "The due diligence and the investi- gations are really now driven by the market and not so much by a seller or an owner wanting to see what they have," Haydock said. Derek Ezovski, president of West Hartford-based ORMS, said Connecticut's shift away from the Transfer Act should simplify environ- mental due diligence for lenders, partic- ularly on properties that may have triggered extensive reviews under the old system. ORMS, which stands for Outsourced Risk Management Solu- tions, specializes in environmental risk management and due diligence for commercial real estate lenders. Ezovski said the Transfer Act often required extensive and costly testing on properties with only limited signs of potential contamination, sometimes turning relatively modest reviews into proj- ects costing as much as $75,000 to $100,000. Ezovski said the new framework gives lenders more flexibility to tailor environmental reviews to the risks of a specific transaction. Shaun Dwyer, senior vice presi- dent of commercial lending with regional and multistate lender PeoplesBank, said his organiza- tion already approached envi- ronmental review in Connecticut similarly to how it handles loans in Massachusetts, which already used a release-based system. Even under the prior system, Dwyer said lenders relied on envi- ronmental reviews, guarantees, escrows and reserves to protect against contamination risks, so underwriting practices are unlikely to change significantly under the new law. Instead, Dwyer said the larger impact could come from improved marketability for properties that previously carried Transfer Act stigma simply because of historic industrial uses, rather than evidence of contamination. "I think what it probably will do is you'll start seeing maybe a few more transactions being out in the marketplace because of this," Dwyer said. That increase in deal flow could help unlock redevelopment opportunities for older industrial and commercial sites that previ- ously faced added scrutiny or diminished buyer interest under the Transfer Act, he added. Banks emerge Continued from page 25 Derek Ezovski Sam Haydock

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