New Owner Of Saratoga Winery In Wilton Says Changes Will Be Subtle Ones, Not Major

BY CHRISTINE GRAF

After almost three years of serving as general manager of Saratoga Winery, Anne Brill has assumed ownership of the business.

She and her husband, Andrew, purchased the winery from Rich and Tara Nimmo for $1.4 million on June 15.

Saratoga Winery is located at 462 Route 20 in Milton, just 10 minutes west of downtown Saratoga Springs.

The winery’s tasting room serves handcrafted wines made on the premises with New York state grapes. They also serve local craft beers, spirits from Saratoga Courage Distillery, and cocktails. Food offerings include wood-fired pizzas, appetizer, salads, and sandwiches.

Brill grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met her husband while they were both students at Skidmore College. After graduating, they settled in Chicago but chose to get married in Saratoga.

“We came back to look at venues in 2011, and this was in the height of the economic turn down,” she said. “But Saratoga was still thriving, and we were amazed and impressed by how much the town had grown. In 2014, we decided we wanted to live here full-time.”

After relocating the following year, Brill was hired as event director at The Mansion at Saratoga, and Andrew became the manager of Wheatfields restaurant on Broadway. In 2020, both were furloughed as a result of the pandemic.

When restaurants began opening again, a friend told Brill about a general manager position that was available at Saratoga Winery. A short time later, she interviewed for the job.

“It was a great fit, and I started working at the winery as the general manager in November of 2020,” said Brill. “And then in June of 2021, the owners approached me and told me that they planned to sell the business. They were telling me as a courtesy because I was the general manager.”

After learning that the Nimmos planned to put the winery on the market, Brill told them that she and Andrew might be interested in purchasing it. By that time, Andrew was working in his current position at Mazzone Hospitality.

According to Brill, the transaction took two years to complete.

“It took so long because there was a lot of negotiating back and forth due to size and magnitude of the deal. I also had to teach myself everything there is to know about high stakes business transactions and how to buy a business.”

Although the Brills purchased the business together, Andrew is not involved in day-to-day operation of the winery.

“It’s my baby. He’s supporting me these first few weeks as we get settled in and the accounts switched over, but he’s going to stay with Mazzone,” said Brill. “I’ve been running it for almost three years, so I’m just going to continue to do that but with a lot of added stress and responsibility. It’s going really well, and we’ve gotten great response and feedback from community.”

Brill said that she does not intend to make any major changes to the business.

“It’s been a little difficult to explain to people that we aren’t going to be making any drastic changes. During the more than two years that I’ve been running it, I’ve already implemented so many changes.”

She hired a new chef, revamped the drink program, and revamped the wedding and event program.

“We’ll be making small improvements, and we will be putting our own little stamp on things. We will also be open to feedback from community, but we have such a great business already, and we don’t want to reinvent the wheel.”

Brill plans to focus on booking more weddings and events. The venue can host events of up to 150 people.

“I will also be working to improve the overall customer service experience, improving the food, improving the drinks. There’s always room for improvement,” she said.

Saratoga Winery operates with a staff of between 20 and 30 employees depending on the time of the year. There are several positions that are currently available.

The company website is www.thesaratogawinery.com.

Long Term Care Continued From Page 10

and dealing with it up front can be extremely freeing.

When planning, we should consider:

• Caregiving. Let your loved ones know your preferences. Do you want to be home, in assisted living, etc?

• Health-related decisions. Designate who has authority to discuss your medications and treatment and inform your physicians.

• Finances. Find out what the costs of different types of services may be where you retire. Take inventory of your assets, income, legacy planning goals, and any debt obligations.

• Legal matters. Make sure you have a living will, a trust, a durable power of attorney and healthcare proxy and be sure your attorney is also in tune with your wishes and desires.

Above all, planning starts with a conversation. Some of the most important conversations about your care are not the easiest, however, the easiest time to discuss the topic is when you’re healthy and not yet in need of long-term care.

Remember, it’s never too early to address longterm care and the sooner you do it, the sooner you’ll have that peace of mind.

Fingerpaint Building

Continued From Page 1 the office or continue to work remotely, the majority opted to work from home. On any given day, there were only about 10 people working on site.

According to Mitzen, it no longer made sense to pay a $40,000 a month mortgage on a near-empty building.

Guys Like Me Have to Show Up, Step Up, and Give Others a Hand Up.”

“My book talks about how folks like me have to do more to give people a hand up. It’s only been out about six weeks, but it’s already done well,” he said.

According to Mitzen, a native of Voorheesville, Business for Good has numerous projects in the works throughout the Capital Region.

We’d

“It worked out well, and my wife and I plan to use the proceeds (from the sale of 395 Broadway) in our foundation, Business for Good. So, it will ultimately be pumped back into the community.”

Mitzen and his wife, Lisa, established their non-profit after selling a portion of Fingerpaint to a private equity firm in 2020. Headquartered in Saratoga, Business for Good works in underserved communities, investing in people to build better businesses, stronger communities, and a more equitable world.

Mitzen delves into his philanthropic journey in his new book, “Wealthy and White: Why Rich

Interior Designs

Continued From Page 2

she said.

“Why do people select me for their projects in stead of someone who wasn’t gone for eight years?” she said. “I think it comes down to people trust those people they like to work with. I take a lot of pride in humanizing this process and in listening to my clients, because I design for them and not for myself,” said Gerace-Skinner.

“There is so much branding and stylization

“We just helped launch the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce. We’re helping several people of color grow their businesses in Albany. We’ve got two restaurants going into downtown Voorheesville that are going to donate all of the profits to youth sports. We’re opening up a Hattie’s location where Lombardo’s used to be in downtown Albany. There’s no shortage of need for what we are doing.”

The Mitzens work with Business for Good’s team of 20 employees to determine what projects to fund. They choose projects that align with their mission and are likely to have the biggest impact in the community. To date, they have supported over 150 businesses and community organization.

Mitzen said he is hopeful that the work that they are doing will motivate others to give back.

“Hopefully, it will inspire other people. Even if they don’t have the financial resources, there’s a lot that we can all do to help the people who have sort of been left behind.” of looks today, but design is a blend,” she said. “Clients come to me because they don’t want that singularity. They want their house to be unique.”

Not every designer is a perfect fit for every customer, but Gerace-Skinner said there is enough talent and enough work for everybody.

The current staff includes a second designer, Diane Meyer, whose career overlapped with Gerace-Skinner’s at Stickley. There is an assistant designer, a purchaser/operations manager, and an opening for a second assistant.

Visit interiordesignsatelier.com for more information.

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