Melissa Wiley / Business Insider
- The oldest continuously operating winery in the United States is a 1.5-hour drive from Manhattan and features a sprawling wine cave.
- Named after a 19th-century Utopian community in the Hudson Valley, Brotherhood Winery sold "medicinal" wine during Prohibition and attracted 10,000 cars per day in the early days of wine tourism following World War II.
- Having grown up in the tri-state area, I was wary of the fact that I had never heard about this winery before, but at the same time was intrigued by its history.
- My verdict: If you enjoy wine and stepping back in time, you'll enjoy Brotherhood.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On a scale of wine connoisseur to knows nothing about wine, I fall into the "seeks out vineyards and appreciates good wine, but couldn't tell you the difference between caramel and chocolate wine notes" category.
I've been to Long Island's North Fork, on some fancy private tours and tastings in Napa and Sonoma with an ex-boyfriend (that's a story for another time), and to quite a number of vineyards in northern Virginia and Charlottesville.
Amid talk of wine caves during the Democratic National Debate last month, I decided to see if there were any wine caves in the New York area. I stumbled upon Brotherhood Winery in a Google search - and immediately wondered why I hadn't heard of it before.
Not only does it have a wine cave, but it's also recognized as the oldest continuously operating winery in the United States and is credited with the birth of American wine tourism. Founded in 1839 by a cobbler, it later adopted the name of a Utopian society and managed to stay open during Prohibition.
Here's what it's like to visit the oldest winery in the US.