East Shore Vineyard is a carefully cultivated 11-acre estate with over 8,250 vines perched on the shores of Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain’s 6.8 trillion gallons of water creates a microclimate that makes the surrounding Champlain Valley an ideal place to grow grapes. Since our Vineyard is just a few hundred feet away from the shores, we take full benefit of the micro-climates advantage.

Our soils are well-drained sandy loam over shale – a blend of soils in which grapes thrive. Our soils and micro-climate create a Terroir reminiscent of some of Northern Europe’s finest grape growing regions. Founders Bob and Linda Livingstone planted the first vines on Grand Isle in 2000 with Ben Durant and other Families.

Our first harvest was in 2002 when twenty-five people helped us pick 4.5 tons of grapes in one day. We sold our grapes commercially to Shelburne Vineyard until 2007 when we were finally ready as a vineyard to make and sell our own wine. We spent the next year getting all of the approvals necessary to open and started selling our wine in 2008. But as we well know, growing grapes, like any agricultural business, has its ups and downs.

In August of 2007, a wind and hailstorm came through Grand Isle and devastated the vineyard. We lost our grape harvest, had to cut the vines down to the ground because of damage, and replant all our vines. So we went from harvesting grapes to buying grapes and juice from the Finger Lakes in New York.

For those of you familiar with our wines, this is the origin of both our Traminette and Cabernet Franc wines. Our first vintage of Traminette won a double gold medal in the 2009 Tasters Guild International Wine Judging Event and our Cabernet Franc won a bronze medal. In 2008 ESV produced 1600 bottles; 2009 – 6000 bottles; 2010 – 15,500 bottles; 2011 – 29,000, and hit a high of 35,000 bottles in 2012. 2013 we have pulled back our production a bit, choosing to focus more on building our Vermont-grown grape varieties. Now our vineyards just need to catch up, and they will as our vines mature and reach their optimal production. 

Meet our Vineyard Partners

Hosmer Vineyard & Winery in New York

It is too cold in Vermont to grow some of our grape varietals, specifically our Cabernet Franc and Traminette.  Fortunately, our friend Cameron Hosmer in the Finger Lakes can grow these varieties.   

Cameron and his wife Maren started planting grapevines in the late 1970s on the property of their family’s summer home on Cayuga Lake.  The farm has grown to over 60 acres of premium wine grapes.  Cameron and Maren also have their own winery and make, among other wonderful wines, award-winning Rieslings. 

Welcome To Our Tasting Room

Our Tasting Room and Wine Bar are located at the top of the Church Street Market Place, Vermont’s largest pedestrian-only open-air shopping district. The Tasting Room is the perfect stop in Burlington for a wine tasting,  wine by the glass, and Vermont-made appetizers. Our rotating selection of Vermont-made cheese boards and chocolate pairings can make each visit unique and allows returning friends to enjoy our quality wines with many pairing options. 

Avilable Wines For Tastings And For Sale By The Bottle

Whites

Traminette: Slightly spicy, off-dry white wine that harkens back to its gewürztraminer roots; citrus blossom on the nose, tropical fruit on the palate that finishes with a brisk, very clean acidity.          

La crescent: Sweet white wine that has deep apricot and peach flavors with a crisp, balanced finish. This is a cold-hardy grape that thrives on our 11-acre estate. 

Reds

Cabernet Franc: Medium-bodied, highly aromatic red, with a plum cherry start, and tobacco finish with a distinctive, tangy “old world” feel. 

Marquette: Made from grapes grown in Vermont.  This Marquette is marked by notes of black cherries, spice, and a hint of leather. This is a cold-hardy grape that thrives on our 11-acre estate. 

St. Croix: A juicy fruit-driven red wine that is medium-bodied and zesty. Bright acidity complements the flavors of ripe cranberries, red currants, black raspberry & pepper. Some say St. Croix reminds them of the wines of Beaujolais.   

Ice Wine

Vidal ice wine: Canadian grapes picked at the coldest moment of a winter’s night. Each frozen grape produces just one drop of this magical nectar. Serve ice cold with dessert or as a dessert. Vidal ice was 36 Brix at harvest,  and 16% rs the following fermentation.