Atlantis Wine Fair Celebrates the New Wave of Wine at Rose Hill Farm

Pictured: Accordion Wines founder Malou Despoux and her husband Lowell Deutschlander harvesting grapes in 2021 for the company’s first line of wines. Accordion is one of over 30 producers at the inaugural Atlantis Wine Fair.

When Katie Morton visited Montreal a couple years ago, she noticed something that stuck with her. In restaurants across the city, the sommeliers weren’t treating Quebec wine as a novelty or a token local offering—they were excited about it. They knew the producers. They talked about the vineyards. They poured bottles from their own backyard with the same enthusiasm they brought to wines from France or Italy.

It raised a question for Morton, a sommelier at Eliza and the chief buyer at Kingston Wine Co.: Why wasn’t the same thing happening in New York?

That question became the seed for Atlantis Wine Fair, a first-year celebration of New York wine taking place July 19 from 12-4pm at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook. The event will gather more than 30 producers from across the state—including Accordion Wines, Wild Arc, La Fermentora, Eminence Road, C. Cassis, Behemoth, Barbichette, and Usonia—for an afternoon of tastings, conversation, and a broader look at where the state’s wine culture is headed.

For Morton, Atlantis isn’t simply about pouring local bottles. It’s about creating a meeting place for producers and consumers at a moment when New York wine is evolving quickly. “I think my biggest question is: If we live in New York, do we drink New York wine? And if not, why?” Morton says.

Her own path into wine began in Washington State, where she saw firsthand how consumer perception could shape an entire industry. Later, while training as a sommelier in New York City and working with European wines, she became fascinated by regions where lesser-known grapes weren’t considered strange—they were simply part of the landscape.

That perspective helped shape Atlantis’s inclusive approach. Alongside grape wines, the fair will feature cider, co-ferments, and other fermented beverages, reflecting the creativity happening across New York’s agricultural landscape. To Morton, those categories belong in the same conversation. “I think it’s about uplifting ciders and co-ferments to be considered on the same level as wine,” she says. “Beverages that can be enjoyed with a meal and can be as complex and as interesting as wine can be.”

One of the biggest shifts Morton sees happening is the growing embrace of hybrid grapes—varieties bred to thrive in colder, wetter climates like the Northeast. While hybrids have historically carried baggage among some wine drinkers, a new generation of producers is proving they can make expressive, compelling wines.

She points to Usonia’s Pompliano Purple—a Finger Lakes red made entirely of Sabrevois, a hybrid grape—as the kind of bottle that can change minds. “When I tasted it with my colleagues at Kingston Wine Co., we all kind of stopped and looked at each other and said, ‘Whoa, is this Beaujolais?’” Morton says.

The event will take place outdoors among the orchards and fields of Rose Hill Farm, with guests able to sample more than 50 wines, ciders, and other beverages. A panel discussion led by Sam Hewitt of Shattered Wine will focus on young farmers and producers building the next chapter of New York wine. Food will be available from Oyster Party and Sira Ulo.

Ultimately, Morton hopes Atlantis helps strengthen connections between the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Long Island, and the wider Northeast—and gives drinkers a chance to rethink what’s possible close to home.

“There are people who are so curious and so determined, to keep showing up and keep trying new things,” Morton says. “Without that sense of determination and curiosity and problem solving, I don’t think New York wine would be where it is now.”

And where is that? “New York wine is world-class,” Morton says.

Atlantis Wine Fair takes place on July 19 from 12-4pm at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook. Tickets are $36.50.