1 minute read
Wine to ‘please all palates’
from Outlook 2023
by repubnews
’Hamp couple turns dream into reality
By JANICE B EETLE
Special to The Republican
Larry Godard grew up in a big Italian family in Springfield, surrounded by lots of aunts and uncles. Every Sunday, they gathered at his grandparents’ home on Orchard Street, where his grandfather made wine and stocked it in barrels in the cellar. Godard developed a deep appreciation for the tradition — and the tastings. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst on the GI Bill in 1979, Godard and his wife,
Sue, moved to the Hudson Valley of New York, where vineyards were plentiful.
“That’s where the germ of the idea started,” says the owner and inspiration for Mineral Hills Winery in Northampton. “We thought wineries were pretty cool. You go on a tour. You end up in the tasting room. You get a glass of wine. We liked it a real lot.”
That many years ago, “No way did we think we were ever going to go for it,” Godard says.
But in 2009 the couple began pressing wine made from the blueberries and apples on their property.
Now their own winery is pretty cool. You can go on a tour. You can do some tasting, sitting outside under the pavilion, at a high-top table, in an Adirondack chair or around the fire pit. People say they like it a real lot.
“We set ourselves up to not be pretentious,” Godard says. “We want to please everyone. We have 15 different wines.”
For two years in New York state, Godard worked as a systems programmer for