Western NY must sip: Winery of Ellicottville

Over the summer, one of my nearest and dearest childhood friends opened a winery in Ellicottville, N.Y.

Psssst … Joe and I got married in Ellicottville in September 2009. Sam Sheehy and his father-in-law, Dominic Spicola, opened the Winery of Ellicottville on Monroe Street in the village just one year later.

Had it been open for our wedding, you can bet our bridesmaids and groomsmen would have enjoyed wetting their whistles here.

I love how bright and happy these wine bottles look hanging in the window, especially against the white snowy landscape that is Western New York in February.

Ellicottville is a tiny ski town nestled in the hills about 40 minutes from where I grew up. Chances are if you’re not from Western New York or Upstate New York, you’ve never heard of it. Unless of course you attended the Bardi nuptials. In 2008, The New York Times wrote a lovely travel piece about the town: The Ski Town That Aspen Used to Be Like. They called it quaint and “downright down home,” which sounds about right.

This is Beth (Sam’s wife) pouring a taste of vino for Sarah — one of my other nearest and dearest childhood friends, who 12 years ago inadvertently named this blog Lance. (See sidebar.)

That’s Beth and Sam above. We’ve known each other since we were kids. I grew up riding up and down Langford Road on the back of Sam’s moped. Beth and I grew up playing clarinet together in band. Now these two kids are married with a little strawberry-haired boy and an E’ville winery. I’m so proud of them.

Although there are a handful of tables and chair, the winery is not designed to be a cafe. It does however, house a full apartment and meeting room upstairs. The meeting room would be perfect for a small bridal shower or birthday party. The apartment offers a cozy place for the new business owners to crash — just in case. Like I said, Ellicottville is 40 minutes from where I grew up and where Sam and Beth still live.