In 1805, the same year Lewis & Clark set out on their expedition to explore the west, Caleb Fulkerson journeyed north from a settlement in New Jersey in search of fertile farmland. He staked out a piece of land on the western slopes of Seneca Lake. To mark his claim, he stuck his walking stick, a black willow branch, into a spring on the land.

The branch took root and over the years grew into a great tree. He used the wood from that tree to make coffins for himself and his wife Deborah, and they’re buried in the small family plot on the hill behind this location.

Fast forward to the 5th generation and 1960. Grapes had been grown on the farm since the 1830s, but it wasn’t until a blight wiped out the raspberry industry in the 1960s that Roger Fulkerson began expanding grape plantings.

Roger’s son Sayre Fulkerson graduated from Cornell University in 1975 with a degree in pomology (the study of fruit production) and worked at Glenora Wine Cellars. In 1979 he bought the Jensen Juice plant from Glenora and began selling grape juice to home winemakers.

Sayre and his wife Nancy opened Fulkerson Winery in 1989; he now serves as Winemaker. They have continued to expand the farm’s grape juice production, attracting a loyal and growing following of home winemakers.