Here's What Visitors Taught Us

We've learned that we want to share our farm (sometimes), and that we should offer Christmas gifts.

First, because this is the internet, we offer a cat photo. A new mountain lion showed up the other day on the Kristof Farms wildlife cameras, and this one sits on its haunches and roams for food like any other kitty cat. We thought this young cougar was very cute for an apex predator:

Mostly what we wanted to share with you, though, is news of our experiment in opening up the farm to visitors. Ever since we started this wine and cider venture, we’ve had people ask if it’s open to visitors — and until recently we always said no. The family matriarch, Jane Kristof, is 92 and still walks the dogs on the farm almost every day, and she doesn’t want to run into people when she’s walking outside in her pajamas. And quiet and privacy are a wonderful aspect of farm life; we don’t want to have cars driving through at all hours.

So we hadn’t planned on tours or visits, but then people kept asking — and, frankly, we want to show off what we have here. We joke that this is The Most Beautiful Farm in the World. So we decided to experiment with a few tastings/tours to see what it would be like. On three days in November, we invited people to sign up for visits, and then on the day after Thanksgiving when our kids were here we opened the farm a fourth time and roped in the kids to help us.

And frankly it’s been fun. We love the farm and learned that we are happy to share it. Likewise, we’re proud of our wines and ciders and eager to share them with others. It’s cool to get serious wine appreciators who show up and ooh and ahh over our wines. Sometimes people think that because this is our side gig, the products will not be exceptional; what they learn is that we got into this precisely to produce world-class wine and cider, and we’re honored that reviews and contests have ratified the quality.

We were originally a bit embarrassed that our driveway is gravel and our sheep-shed-turned-tasting-room is very rustic. But visitors say they like the authenticity, and it drives home the point that our wines start with the farming (all our wines are from our own grapes) and give expression to this terroir — as we try to do in our writings as well. Our Rosé has a distinctive strawberry note, our Chardonnay has a lovely element of pear, and our Pinot Noir has notes of dark cherry that are poetic considering that for decades on this farm we grew cherries here.

So we’re going to continue with occasional tastings and tours in the spring when the weather warms and the vines come to life. We’ll post dates on our website, KristofFarms.com, and in our regular farm newsletter, which you can subscribe to free at https://www.kristoffarms.com/subscribe. Come one, come all!

Here are some photos of visitors and tastings:

It was great to have our three kids join us in hosting the tasting on the day after Thanksgiving. When we were debating whether to produce cider and wine, we had a series of family meetings and made sure our kids were fully committed to the project — and they are. (Hint: If you have adult children and are trying to find a way to make sure they call regularly, start a family business that they are deeply involved in!)

While the kids were here, we also dropped by our partners at the Carlton Winemaker Studio, where with winemaker Anthony King we sampled the 2024 wines straight from the barrel. These wines are just off the vine, so to speak, and the Pinot and Chardonnay won’t be ready for another year and half or so, but they seem wonderfully promising already. It’s exciting to taste these young wines and get a hint of the potential for great wines in 2026!

Here’s our visit to the Studio. That’s winemaker Anthony King on the right, and behind Sheryl are Gregory and Geoffrey.

One thing the visitors to our tastings told us was that they liked to give our wines and ciders as holiday presents to family and friends. So that inspired us to offer a personal video for holiday gifts of a case or more. If you give six or more bottles, the recipient will get a nice note from us. If you gift a three-pack, we’ll add a ribbon. As always, you can order at KristofFarms.com or inquire at info@kristoffarms.com, but do get your orders in early to avoid shipping delays. We’d encourage you to place orders right away. And if you’re thinking about a large number of such gifts, email us and we’ll try to work out a special deal.

Don’t the ribbons dress up the bottle?

So happy holiday season from the Kristofs and from our mountain lion, and thanks to all who came out to the farm for the tastings and tours. It has been a privilege to share this lovely farm with all of you, just as it’s a privilege to share our wine and cider with people across the country. We’re trying to self-distribute through our website, selling direct to consumer, so we’re not in many stores. But we ship to about 40 states from KristofFarms.com, so if you’re looking to dress up the holiday season, do check our our wines and ciders.

Love from all of us! From left to right, that’s: Geoffrey, Caroline, Jane, Nick, Gregory and Sheryl. And of course Connie, our Chief Security Officer, is at the bottom left. She sends you a joyous bark.