Wine Grape Productivity Tray

2020 Winner

Deirdre Heekin, of La Garagista Farm and Winery

The 2020 Wine Grape Productivity Tray, which is presented annually by ASWA to an individual or organization that has made major contributions to the sustainable growth and viability of the American wine industry, is Deirdre Heekin, of La Garagista Farm and Winery, Barnard, VT. 

Deirdre is a winegrower, former restaurant owner, author of the book of ‘The Unlikely Vineyard: The Education of a Farmer and Her Quest for Terroir’, and mentor to aspiring winegrowers.  She and her husband are farming hybrid grapes with no additions and subtractions.  They are also producing ciders in conjunction with cidery’s like Eden Cellars.  Deirdre is a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine Producer (2018, 2019 and 2020), was named one of the five “rule-breaking winemakers to know” by Food & Wine magazine 2017, a finalist for Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the Year 2017, and one of Imbibe Magazine’s 75 People to Watch 2018. 

Her passion and tireless efforts to focus on lesser known hybrid grapes and to farm responsibly and conscientiously and her contributions to East Coast winegrowing and winemaking have earned her the ASWA’s 2020 Wine Grape Productivity Tray.

2019 Winner

Anna Katharine Mansfield. – Associate Professor of Enology at Cornell AgriTech

The 2019 Wine Grape Productivity Tray, which is presented annually by ASWA to an individual or organization that has made major contributions to the sustainable growth and viability of the American wine industry, is Anna Katharine Mansfield.

Mansfield is an Associate Professor of Enology at Cornell AgriTech (formerly the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station) in Geneva, NY. She first worked in the wine industry in North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley, received graduate degrees at Virginia Tech and the University of Minnesota, and served as the first Enology Project leader at the University of Minnesota from 2001-2008. In 2007, she completed a sabbatical at l’Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin Jules Guyot at the University of Burgundy, investigating flavor sorption of natural cork closures.

Mansfield has been a member of the Cornell Enology Extension Lab since 2009, where she strives to aid regional wineries through outreach and applied research on hybrid wine phenolics and proteins, fermentation nutrition, and regional typicity.

2018 Winner

Peter Bell – Fox Run Vineyard

The 2018 Wine Grape Productivity Tray is being presented to Peter Bell for his knowledge, innovation, research, leadership and support of the American wine industry.  Peter’s generosity in helping to mentor other winemakers and consulting on problems to increase the quality of the whole Finger Lakes area is notable.

Peter Bell is the longtime winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  He was born in Boston and raised in Amsterdam, Berkeley and Toronto. 

Peter studied enology in Australia and made wine in New Zealand before landing in the Finger Lakes. He was the winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars for five years before joining Fox Run in 1995.  Fox Run Vineyards has over fifty acres of vineyards and is one of the region’s first artisanal wine producers. 

Peter is an adjunct professor in enology at Cornell University and a consultant to many wineries in the eastern United States and a mentor to many.

2017 Winner

Thomas Cosentino receives the ASWA Wine Grape Productivity Plate 2018 from Paul Tonacci.

The 2017 Productivity Tray recipient is Thomas Cosentino, Executive Director of the Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA), the statewide advocacy and promotional channel of the New Jersey wine industry. 

In that capacity, he oversees the day-to-day administrative and marketing functions of the organization and is the state’s liaison with New Jersey state government, including the Department of Agriculture, Tourism and Alcohol Beverage Control Commission.   

Among other initiatives, he helped to develop the grassroots campaign UncorkNJ, which led to the passing of the direct shipping bill in 2012 allowing in-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers and for out-of-state wineries to do so as well. 

He has worked extensively with the business community involved with New Jersey’s wine industry and created a branding campaign to build awareness of New Jersey wines.  This included television commercials, billboards, a radio show and online content, including the “At the Vineyard” TV show. 

2016 Winner

The 2016 Productivity Tray recipient was Jim Law, owner and winemaker of Linden Vineyards. He is recognized internationally, nationally, and locally for his ongoing contributions to the crafting of excellent wines on the East Coast.

Jim was an early pioneer in bringing top quality vinifera wine to Virginia, beginning in the early 1980’s. He has mentored and employed a large number of people who have gone on to become winery owners, viticulturalists, and winemakers at many of Virginia’s leading wineries.

He and his crew at Linden are constantly experimenting with viticultural and winemaking techniques to bring out the best from the terroir at their vineyard site.