Major fire destroys tasting room at Dr. Frank winery in Hammondsport

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Ithaca, 22 April 09 -- A serious fire reported to 14850 Today last night at Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinivera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport destroyed a building that housed a new tasting room, but area firefighters were able to contain the blaze and prevent damage to other nearby winery buildings. The blaze was reported at about 8:45pm on Tuesday night.

The winery says their production facility is undamaged and can continue operating, and there are two other tasting rooms that will be available for visitors. The winery is bottling wines today, and will be open to visitors for its usual tasting hours.

The late Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Cornell University professor of plant sciences who did research at Cornell's Geneva Experiment Station, also founded one of the notable wineries along the southern end of Keuka Lake. Dr. Frank helped revolutionize the Finger Lakes wine industry by successfully growing European grapes in the region that no one believed could thrive in Central New York.

Dr. Frank's winery is well known for a wide range of white and red wines, including the unusual Rkatsiteli and Lemberger varietals, and the outstanding Chateau Frank Champagne-style sparkling wines. Some of Dr. Frank's red wines are especially high in resveratrol, a compound considered key to the health benefits of drinking red wine.