Photo: Orange County, N.Y. Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Jean Jaques, a French immigrant, planted grapes in Washingtonville, Orange County, and made his first wine in 1839. The business later took the name Brotherhood, and it claims to be the oldest continuously operating winery in the United States.
Making it through Prohibition
When Prohibition shut down most of the industry in 1920, Brotherhood kept going by producing sacramental wine for churches, which was legal. When Prohibition ended in 1933, the winery already had its cellars and equipment in place.
The cellars
The winery’s underground cellars, dug by hand, are among the largest in the country and are the centerpiece of tours. The property has a tasting room and hosts events through the year.
The Hudson Valley wine region
Brotherhood is part of the Hudson River Region wine area, one of the oldest grape-growing areas in the country. Dozens of smaller wineries, cideries and distilleries now operate across Orange, Ulster, Dutchess and Columbia counties, many of them clustered along the Shawangunk Wine Trail.
The winery changed owners over the years and now draws visitors from the New York metro area looking for a day trip.
