Things have been a bit busy here at LENNDEVOURS headquarters… but for all the right reasons. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the direction in which I want to take this blog and speaking with a lot of people in New York’s various wine regions about a variety of related projects as well.

One thing that you’ve no doubt noticed is the addition of more contributors. Well, I’m very excited to announce yet another contributor (two actually) from the Finger Lakes Region, Tom Higgins.

Tom began his wine journey working at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards in Hector, NY in high school.  After stints in the technology sector, Tom returned to the wine industry, working in New York, France and California. Currently, he works for Atwater Estate Vineyards in Hector, NY and he and his wife are in the process of starting their own winery, Heart & Hands Wine Company, located in Union Springs, NY. 

Tom will be writing about the Finger Lakes grape harvest a couple times a week for the next month or so. From there, I’m hoping he’ll stay on and write about the fun of starting a new winery and also offer commentary on the Finger Lakes region.   

He won’t be doing all of this blogging on his own, however. He’ll be joined by Fíon, his dog. Fíon (pronounced FEE-OWN) began her life deep in the heart of Oklahoma. A
longing to return to her native climate as a Greater Swiss Mountain
Dog, led her to fly north to the cooler environment of the Finger
Lakes.

A bit on the shy side when initially meeting people, her
pleasures include guarding her family, playing with other dogs, and
chasing moving animals (and rolling in dead ones). She’ll bring the unique vineyard-dog perspective to Tom’s harvest reports.