Leonard Oakes gets big reception from public as winery closes

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Leonard Oakes Estate Winery announced on Tuesday it will be closing after 16 years. The winery invited the public to come out Friday through today to purchase remaining bottled inventory. The tasting room on Ridge Road has been very busy the past two days.

The photo on top was taken at about 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The Oakes family appreciates the many people who have been to the winery the past two days, the two biggest days of the year, said Wendy Oakes Wilson, general manager for the business.

“We know this has been a special place for a lot of people,” she said on Saturday evening.

Many of the customers gave her hugs and thanked the family. Some of the customers traveled from out-of-state to be at the tasting room this weekend, in what might be its last time open.

Jonathan Oakes, the winemaker at Leonard Oakes, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday the decision to close the winery “has been excruciatingly difficult.”

He thanked Leonard Oakes’ customers for their support the past 16 years.

“We absolutely adore the community we have built with you around sharing the (fermented) fruits of our labor here in Western New York,” he wrote in the post. “While we may be on uneasy emotional footing at this time, we would absolutely cherish the opportunity to embrace our community once again. We would love a chance to look back with pride and not sorrow. To share a glass, a memory, or an embrace. To cheers for change and the positive things it may bring.”

The Leonard Oakes Estate Winery will be closing soon. The winery’s tasting room will be open from noon to 3 p.m.

The decision follows the announcement from the Oakes family that it is selling the fruit orchards in Lyndonville area after 105 years in the family.

The apple and wine business both are very challenging, especially within a family business without huge economies of scale, Oakes family members said.

Wilson said the business of the winery suffered since the Covid pandemic hit in March 2020. Although restrictions eased for people to come to the winery later that year, there has been a big drop off in people going out with friends for wine tastings, Wilson said.

Leonard Oakes continued to have some big days at the winery – during the summer for the Wednesdays on the Lawn concert series. But Wilson said the big crowds tended to only be there for events, and not regular days.

The Oakes family acquired the property of the former Winters Feed Company at 10609 Ridge Rd. in 2007 and put an addition on for the winery and tasting room. A few years later the Oakes family added a pavilion for special events.

For several years the winery held its largest event at the end of August: the Steampunk Festival that often attracted 1,000 people wearing futuristic costumes with a Victorian theme. The festival showcased Leonard Oakes’ SteamPunk Cider.

Bryan DeGraw, Jon Sherman and Marguerite Sherman spend time chatting Saturday evening in the tasting room at Leonard Oakes.

DeGraw owns 810 Meadworks, which moved to Leonard Oakes two years ago after eight years in downtown Medina. 810 Meadworks also will be closing.

DeGraw said he is grateful for the decade of making mead in Medina and appreciates another two years of making and selling mead at Leonard Oakes.

DeGraw said the alcohol industry is changing – and shrinking.

“I wanted to create a place for people to escape and find respite,” DeGraw said about the Meadworks experience. “I’m proud that we did.”

The Shermans have been steady customers of 810 Meadworks and Leonard Oakes.

Marguerite Sherman is Medina’s mayor. She said the community feels pain when long-time local businesses close. She noted Case-Nic Cookies also is closing the end of December after 29 years on Main Street.

“When the small businesses start to go it hurts,” Sherman said. “We are all families.”