ABOUT PREJEAN WINERY

The People

A winery is a complex of businesses, it is a farm, a manufacturing plant, a wholesale supplier and a retail store. Each requires a different set of skills and all requires collaboration and people. The people at Prejean Winery have over a hundred years of collective experience in grape growing and winemaking.

Our winemaker, Jim Zimar, is a journey man in every sense of the word. He started in the wine business as a teenager, picking rocks out of vineyards, picking grapes and bundling up grape canes, after which he vowed he would never step foot in a vineyard again. He has hardly left since. He went on to be a tour guide at both Great Western and Bully Hill eventually moving into the cellar. He was briefly the vineyard manager at Plane’s Vineyards and has been Winemaker at Prejean Winery ever since, his first vintage being 1986.

Todd Saltsman, our vineyard manager, grew up in vineyards, playing in them and eventually working in them for the past 29 years. He worked (and played) in many historic Finger Lakes vineyards, like the Gold Seal Vineyards, in Hector and the Taylor Vineyards in Hammondsport Working with Jim Zimar, Todd ensures that our vineyards produce the highest quality grapes possible.

Elizabeth Prejean began her wine career commuting on week-ends from Connecticut to the Finger Lakes to help in the vineyards. When the winery was opened she helped run the tasting room, office and was the entire wholesale sales force traveling all over New York selling and in most cases delivering wine to retailers and restaurants. Most of her sales trips are behind her but she still runs the tasting room and shares office duties with her son Tom.

Tom Prejean worked on and off in the vineyards from the beginning returning, full time in 1989. He does a little bit of everything from helping out with bottling, crush, to working in the tasting room and office. Luckily he has plenty of people working for him who really know what they’re doing including his wife Amy who helps in the tasting room and with the many regulatory issues that plague our tiny business.

Our tasting room staff will make your visit educational, entertaining and memorable.