An exciting new future with Vermont Grown Wines

This is the story of three small Vermont brands, holding hands in a field of vines and trees, learning from each other, and growing together. At Eden Ciders, Shelburne Vineyard, and Iapetus Wines we’ll work together to bring the fruit of Vermont farms to your glass.

Shelburne Vineyards began when, seeing great potential in Vermont’s rugged soil and rolling hills, Ken Albert’s pioneering spirit and green thumb led him to plant a handful of hybrid grapevines behind his home in Shelburne, Vermont. His little vineyard in the woods yielded small harvests – just enough for a few bottles – but this experiment proved what was previously thought to be impossible. In 1998, he planted his first larger-scale vineyard, with the vision of bringing cold climate wine to the people of Vermont and beyond. And so, Shelburne Vineyards came to be. 

In 2008, Ethan Joseph joined the Shelburne Vineyard team. A student of natural resources at University of Vermont, he lost himself in the science, art, and mystery of wine. Now with over 10 years of guidance from Ken, plus plenty of self-education and support from his team, Ethan produces a wide variety of Vermont made wines at Shelburne Vineyard including a natural wine offshoot – Iapetus.

Our team has long felt an affinity for the land we work. We share core values. We are combining forces with the goal of creating scale that allows us to succeed in the Vermont business environment, continuing to pay employees fair wages and farmers fair prices. We’re still a small, Vermont company – now dedicated to vines and branches alike. 

Our purpose is to champion Vermont as a uniquely renowned wine and cider region. Through our collaboration, we advance cold climate wine & cider making while respecting our role as farmers and neighbors in the communities we thrive in. We love being an integral part of the fabric of our community, supporting the people in our communities as they support us. 

In addition to our cider offerings, we’re expanding our online collection to include Shelburne and Iapetus wines.

In combining our efforts, we pave the way for new co-fermentations and learning new ways to interact with our land using low intervention, sustainable agricultural practices. As Ken and Gail, founders of Shelburne Vineyard, take a step back from day to day activities and running the business Eleanor Leger will take up the role of CEO of the combined entities.

Our combined team is now 12 employees strong, all eager to work together and learn from one another in this next step of our Vermont journey. We look forward to bringing our apples and grapes together in fun new co-ferments, continuing our history of experimentation that breaks boundaries.

Thoughtful stewardship of the land is our guiding principle when creating inspiring wines & ciders with varietal expression and regional character. We see a world where Vermont has an indelible and unique place in the global wine & cider industry – a place where we embrace our unique old mountain terroir. We leverage our position of leadership to increase awareness, knowledge and appreciation of Vermont’s working landscape. We champion the vines and apples of our state, the lands that nurture them, and the people who tend them. We are on a journey to continuously improve our relationships with our environment, our customers, and our community.