Rolling Hills Estate Winery Debuts First Public Wine Release in the Champlain Valley of New York

Westport, NY, May 13, 2026 --(PR.com)-- After years of quiet vineyard development and private releases, Rolling Hills Estate Winery is releasing its wines to the public for the first time, offering an early look at one of New York’s newest American Viticultural Areas.

Founded in 2017 in the Champlain Valley of Northeastern New York, the winery has focused on cultivating next-generation varietals still largely unexplored in the broader wine world. Its inaugural release includes wines crafted from Marquette, Petite Pearl, and La Crescent grapes that are helping shape the future of northern viticulture while offering winemakers unusual freedom to define style, structure, and expression.

For Director of Winemaking Kyle Mizuno, the region’s appeal was an opportunity to work without an established blueprint. “These varietals are still evolving in terms of how they are understood and expressed,” Mizuno said. “That creates an opportunity to explore something new while staying grounded in thoughtful winemaking. These grapes tell the story of this region in a way that’s entirely their own.”

A graduate of UC Davis, Mizuno spent years working alongside a group of Napa Valley winemakers that included Philippe Melka, the late Michel Rolland, Heidi Barrett, and Aaron Pott -- contributing to wines that earned numerous 90-plus ratings. He moved to the Champlain Valley as part of a personal and professional shift toward helping build the identity of an emerging region.

Surrounded by the Adirondack, Green, and Taconic Mountain ranges, and bordering majestic Lake Champlain, the area’s climate provides conditions well suited to these next-generation varietals. Rolling Hills says its goal is not to replicate more established wine regions, but to help define what this region can uniquely produce through its soils, climate, and growing conditions.

Alongside the inaugural release, the winery is introducing the Genesis Circle, a reimagined approach to the traditional wine club - designed around access, experience, engagement, and taste, rather than tiers and transactions. Members receive access to limited-availability wines, barrel tastings, food-and-wine gatherings, and conversations with the winemaking team throughout the year.

According to the winery, the membership was designed to create a closer connection not only to the wines themselves, but also to the ongoing evolution of the Champlain Valley as an emerging wine-growing region to watch.