CHENANGO FORKS, NY – A wine, beer, and spirits tasting room is thriving since it’s opening in Chenango Forks late last year.
Madrona Tasting Room first opened their doors on black Friday of 2020, and they haven’t looked back.
The tasting room is located at the old Black Bear Winery location on County Road 1 in Forks and offers a wide variety of adult beverage options.
The facility features a rotating list of New York-based wineries, breweries, and distilleries for people to sample through flights, enjoy a full glass, and even purchase to take home.
Madrona’s Site Manager Amanda Lee says the idea for the place came about through experiences at other locations for both her and owner Rob Schuerch, and that the reception has been above her expectations.
“It has been insane. We’ve been so successful, and we can not thank everybody enough because everybody has been in every day. Everybody has been very appreciative about the COVID guidelines too. So, we were a little nervous at first with the pandemic. But, like I said, everybody has been absolutely amazing,” says Lee.
Currently, Madrona is featuring guest taps from Talking Cursive Brewery out of Syracuse, as well as Thousand Islands Winery along the St. Lawrence River in Alexandria Bay.
For Thousand Islands Assistant Wholesale Manager Eddie Colon , his passion for wine made it an easy decision to partner with Madrona.
“Me personally, I’m a wine enthusiast. So, I love to see New York thrive when it comes out there to the wineries, breweries, distilleries, stuff like that. We’re kind of rock stars with what we do in the world compared to other different wineries as well. The great varieties we grow in New York State and stuff like that. So, for a place to highlight exactly that, and put New York on the map, is huge. It’s huge,” says Colon.
As for Talking Cursive’s Paul Zemba and Andrew Brooks, they see this as an opportunity to extend their reach and get their local products out to a larger community.
“It’s just a great place that wants to support local businesses. We’re all about working with the community and that kind of thing,” says Brooks.
“It’s been absolutely great to build up our community, and just kind of give local places our local feel by using local ingredients,” says Zemba.
Madrona is currently open Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 8, Saturday 12 to 8, and Sunday 10 to 6.
For more information, you can visit MadronaNY.com.
