A facial plastic surgeon and his wife spend five years trying to turn their hilltop estate in rural Chatham, NY into a vineyard and event venue — the story of one rich couple hijacking a historic community. What starts as a wedding venue dream becomes a wine tasting room scheme, complete with a January traffic study, unmapped wetlands, and 150 bottles of wine masquerading as a commercial operation. The community fights back.
The Wine Wars | Podcast
Episode One: The Grapes of Wrath: A Plastic Surgeon, a Vanity Vineyard, and the Dirt-Road Rebellion o Columbia County
Episode One: The Grapes of Wrath: A Plastic Surgeon, a Vanity Vineyard, and the Dirt-Road Rebellion o Columbia County
A Small Town Versus the Plastic Surgeon Come Vintner. The Wine Wars, Episode One.
The Wine Wars | Podcast
What happens when a plastic surgeon with deep pockets buys a historic corner of the Hudson Valley — and calls it a vineyard? In Columbia County, New York, neighbors say the grapes were never the point. Behind the pastoral branding, they allege, was always something else: a full-scale commercial wedding venue in the middle of a quiet rural community. What followed was years of zoning battles, stonewalled records requests, and a town leader caught between a powerful newcomer and the residents demanding answers. Powell House Press has been pulling the thread from the beginning — and now we're telling the whole story.
What happens when a plastic surgeon with deep pockets buys a historic corner of the Hudson Valley — and calls it a vineyard? In Columbia County, New York, neighbors say the grapes were never the point. Behind the pastoral branding, they allege, was always something else: a full-scale commercial wedding venue in the middle of a quiet rural community. What followed was years of zoning battles, stonewalled records requests, and a town leader caught between a powerful newcomer and the residents demanding answers. Powell House Press has been pulling the thread from the beginning — and now we're telling the whole story.
