In January 2020 Dan and Jacqui Ferrari Heavens purchased the 54 acre Glorie Vineyard from Doug and MaryEllen Glorie. They have chosen a new name, Quartz Rock Vineyard, at the Nightingale Farm, to acknowledge the amount of quartz that runs throughout the property.

The view of the Hudson Valley is stunning from their hilltop.

“We’re so lucky to have this view from this property,” Jacqui said.

The couple’s backgrounds perfectly complement each other; Dan holds a degree in the brewing of beer from the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and Jacqui is a CPA and is experienced in managing bars and restaurants.

Dan grew up on a small family farm in Litchfield, Connecticut while Jacqui comes from the Bronx in New York City. They met in college at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 2003 where she was studying Business Management and Dan was involved in IT.

The couple settled in New York City but started visiting the mid Hudson Valley on day trips in 2006 and came across the Glorie Vineyard on a stop along the Shawangunk Wine Trail.

“We came here and we were just blown away by the view, but what really stood out for us was that you could really tell that for Doug and MaryEllen the farming and the fruit was the first thing and then making wine from that good fruit,” Jacqui recalled. “You could tell, just from speaking with them for a few minutes, that this was truly an authentic place where they really cared about what they were doing and the quality of what they were making. This place, in particular, was the one that we said that’s what we want to do one day; that was a dream in our heads.”

Jacqui later found out on Facebook that the property was for sale.

“I was scrolling and just saw it was for sale and told Dan,” she said. “It wasn’t the right time, we have young kids but we really wanted it and we’d do everything to make this work.”

Dan and Jacqui made arrangements to meet with the owners and spent about 4 hours talking and walking the property. He said it was a long process but in the end Dan said Doug and MaryEllen felt good about selling the property to them, knowing they would carry on their legacy.

“They put a lot of work into this place and had a vision in mind,” Dan said. “We’re not trying to change that and we’re hoping to continue on that path. Doug loved the farm and he really wanted to see everything happen here.”

Dan said they mostly use their own grapes to produce a wide variety of wines, such as semi-dry whites Valvin Muscat and Fire Light White; to sweet white wines Niagara 2021 Estate and Vidal Blanc; sweet reds like Blackjack and Candy Ass Red; sour wines called Misfits and the People’s Peach to desert wines they named Heavens Ice Cider, which won the Best Desert Wine at the Hudson Valley Wine Competition. They also make Seyval Blanc and a Chardonnay, both dry white wines, several dry red wines and dry fruit wines and a dry hard cider. Jacqui said that the quartz that is in the soil, “really gives a lot of our grapes their flinty character, all of our dry whites and some of our dry reds really have a distinct hint of flintiness in the grapes; it’s like a slate wet pebble kind of mineral finish.”

Presently, they produce about 1,400 cases of wine a year but are expecting 2022 to yield even more.

Dan credits Jacqui as the brains behind making the entire operation work, “while I create chaos on the farm and she tries to organize it.” But Jacqui is quick to say that Dan, “is responsible for everything that’s growing out there.”

In the few years the couple has owned the farm they say it was the right move for them. Dan said, “It’s fabulous but it’s a lot of hard work. Some things were expected and some things we didn’t know to expect, but we’re having fun and the kids like it. The community is great and the local wineries and local farms have all been supportive. It’s really a community here.”

The couple continue to grow apples, pears, peaches, currents and soon, apricots and plums will join the roster. But Dan said the more they learn about farming the more it seems akin to gambling. They quickly came to understand the cruel vagaries of weather after losing a significant portion of their fruit crop to a freeze in May in their first year. Dan said eight acres of pears only produced 6 pieces of fruit that year, but laughed saying, “they were good though.”

Dan put in a plug, saying they are looking for help but cautioned there is a lot to do. Jacqui enjoys meeting all of the people who stop by to sample and talk about their wines.

Jacqui’s parents, Gary and Anne, also moved up to live on the farm and help out by babysitting their grandchildren.

The Vineyard is open on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will soon add back Fridays starting at 2 p.m.

“We really want this to be a place where you come to get excellent wine but you also are in a beautiful, welcoming environment,” she said. “You can come out and spend the day and be relaxed. We also have a tasting room and a beautiful rustic barn that we rent out for events.”

Dan said they are excited to be a part of the Marlborough community and welcome people to come up and enjoy the wine and the view.

“We’re doing our best to make the best quality wine here,” he said, but added that the view is so perfect, there is no way they are going to touch it.

For more information the vineyard can be reached at 845-236-3265 or online at quartzrockvineyard.com.