Priam Vineyards
Welcome to Priam Vineyards
About
Enjoy the tasting room gallery where regional artists are displayed. Or enjoy the view and relax on the outdoor patio. Please note, picnics are welcome on the outdoor patio only, as we do not allow dining in our indoor facilty at any time. There are three levels of tastings offered in the tasting room. They vary by the number of wines included and the type of signature wine glass you keep as part of the tasting. Large groups are welcome, we ask that you reserve any group of ten or more by contacting the winery.
Location Description
Nestled in the Salmon River Watershed area.
Features
- The First Solar Powered Winery in New England.
Additional Information
- Meeting / Conference Facilities:
- Caves:
- Wedding Facilities:
- Picnic Facilities:
- Dog Friendly:
- Winery Tours:
- Wine Tasting:
- Art or Architecture:
- Organic / Biodynamic:
- Awards:
- Wine Club:
- Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:
Average Bottle Price
History
The vineyard was named in honor of Gloria’s grandfather, Andrew Priam, whose vineyard and land was taken from him during the Russian Revolution in Hungary in the early 1900′s. The name “Priam” associates back to Greek mythology, where Priam was the King of Troy, the father of Paris, and brother of Helen of Troy. Although the vineyard and winery have not existed for centuries, there are numerous, fascinating stories of the developement of the business, the vineyard, and property. It has been an ongoing adventure and it is truly a magical place!
The Team
Caroline keeps all running smoothly in the tasing room. She manages the staff, developes the events, and has been instrumental in organizing large groups for events, classes, and seminars. Caroline has years of experience in customer service as well as retail experience and is an expert at making order of chaos. She keeps the flow going throughout the year, organizes all of the public events, Summer unWINEd Concert Series, cheese & wine seminars, and even a few new ones we have coming up this year. She is the person to contact for group tastings & tours, or any question about weekend public activities at the winery.
Events Coordinator:
Detail oriented, talented, perceptive, amazing & creative problem solver, wonderful people skills, technology wizard, classy, brilliant…and those are only a few of our observations of Christine. She is a shining member of the wedding & events team, bringing a lot to the plate. We know any task she is handling will be completed beyond our & the customers expectations.
Christine is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut with an individualized major in Consumer Behavior. She purposely selected classes in multiple disciplines in order to allow her to expand upon her many areas of interest, including communications, business, and women’s studies. She loves being involved in the wedding industry. The opportunity to be a part of making someone else’s dreams come true is her ideal job. She’s a sap for engagement stories so don’t be shy!
GLORIA PRIAM
Owner & Managing Partner
Gloria grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA., and moved on to New York City to attend the Parsons School of Design. She lived in NYC for thirteen years, where she formed her own firm, Priam Design, until moving to Connecticut to take a break from city life. She continued in the marketing and advertising industry for many years until transitioning into agriculture.
In 1998 Gloria and Gary purchased the last few acres of a third generation family farm and started planting the vineyard, dedicating every hour available while working their full time jobs. They started with the intent of being growers for other vineyards in CT, but quickly escalated to a winery when they realized the quality of product being produced from their land. Gloria dedicated most of her time in 2002 through 2003 to obtaining federal and state liquor licensing and getting the barn/winery built. The winery opened in 2003 for retail sales and tastings, achieving international acclaim in their first two years by winning 24 international wine competition medals. That total has now reached beyond 85.
Gloria now manages the winery business, wholesale and retail sales, and manufacturing as a full time position, and Gary is full time enologist, heading up winemaking and management of the vineyard.
GARY CRUMP
Owner & Enologist
Gary is originally from Northern Louisiana, where he got considerable exposure to agriculture on the family farm. He is completely self taught as a winemaker. His background in petroleum engineering and agricultural has given him the understanding of chemistry and science needed to manage the winemaking and vineyards.Gary and Gloria have been members of the Ct. Vineyard & Winery Association since the start of their vineyard in 1998. Gary has also served as Vice-President of the association, a board member of the CT Farm Wine Development Council, a delegate of the New London County Farm Bureau, and was appointed to be a board member of the USDA FSA State Committee by President Obama. The CT Farm Wine Development Council is a commission that directs policy of the vineyards and wineries of the state, and is an appointment by the Governor of CT.
Gary has become very involved as a member of The CT Vineyard and Winery Association (CVWA), in pursuing legislation to enhance and further develop the wine industry in CT. He participated in writing and passing the new law affecting direct shipping for the State of CT.
Since 2001 he has: lobbied at the Capitol to establish funding for the CT Grown Program; initiated the concept of and lobbied legislation for a loan program to expand vineyard acreage throughout the state, established a supporting member program for CVWA to both build membership and legislative presence, as well as build funding for the marketing and advertising of CVWA; and was instrumental in crafting legislation to increase the deduction of vineyard and winery equipment from $100,000 to $200,000.
In 2006 he was awarded the honor of delivering the Samuel W. Johnson Memorial Lecture by the CT. Agricultural Experiment Station, contributing to a better understanding of science and agriculture.