A winery 30 years in the making

Robert Pool finally took some of his own advice.

After performing research for more than 30 years to determine which type of grapes to grow in the Finger Lakes, Bob took the plunge and started Billsboro Winery. The winery, on Route 14 just a few miles south of Geneva, is named after the hamlet of Billsboro, which, according to Bob, was the hometown of a Scotch Irishman who purchased the land in the early 1800's. (In its heyday, it reportedly even had its own post office and train stop.)

What prompted Bob and his wife, Jennifer Morris, to purchase a place on a few acres outside of Geneva in 1998 anyway?

After all, they are both natives of California and always thought they would go back there. Bob attended the University of California at Davis on a scholarship to study enology (the study of wine and wine making). In 1962, he earned his bachelor's; in 1969, a master's degree in food science, also from Cal-Davis. Then, Bob came East to Cornell University for more study.

He thought that he would be out East only until he earned his doctoral degree in pomology (the science of fruit cultivation), then he would head back to sunny California.

But a funny thing happened on the completion of his degree in 1974. Bob was offered a assistant professorship in viticulture with Cornell. It was during what he describes as a pretty exciting time for the grape and wine business in the Finger Lakes.

"When I came East, the majority of (Finger Lakes) wine sales were for dessert wines," Bob says, adding that there was a lot of research going on, but not many students.

He took the job, recognizing that wine had great potential in the area and that Dr. Konstantin Frank (founder of Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport) brought considerable knowledge about growing grapes in cold climates to the region.

Through the years, Bob has worked with different grape varieties as well as clones of specific grapes to determine which are best suited to the Finger Lakes climate. In 1988, he became a full professor at Cornell, in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.

Bob's vision for developing Billsboro Winery is built upon what he has learned through the years. He began planting a variety of vinifera grapes in 2000. His plan was to add vines each year until he had enough grapes to produce approximately 3,500 cases of wine. Until the vines began to bear fruit, he intended to use some of the grapes produced at the experiment station or by other growers to make his wine.

The execution of his vision turned out to be more daunting than Bob had anticipated. It wasn't possible to do those two jobs side-by-side.

"I can't have a big vineyard and still be a professor," Bob says.

Bob plans to continue teaching classes for now. His dream vineyard, based on years of research, will have to wait until he can devote more time to the winery business.

Until then, Billsboro does have some really wonderful wines to sample.

The nonvintage white Eclectsia is a blend of several white grapes including Chenin Blanc, pinot gris and chardonnay. The wine has lots of fruit and spice flavors with clean, lingering fruit finishes.

The 2001 Cabernet Franc is very fruit-forward, with some oak taste.

"Our research showed how well 'cab franc' adapted here," Bob says.

Billsboro has two 2001 pinot noirs. They are both good, but the reserve simply has more of a supple feel in the mouth, and tastes of plum and dark cherry.

Perhaps my favorite from my visit was the nonvintage red Eclectsia. It is a blend of cabernet franc, syrah and sangiovese. It is a rich wine with a full, rounded feel in the mouth. What a treat.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears each Thursday on the Twin Tiers Life Food Page. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: jrichards@stargazette.com