By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent
Frederick Frank, the president of Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars, said this morning that the loss of a spill-over tasting room to fire does not change day-to-day business.
"We're open today for tastings. We're bottling wine today. Nothing has changed. We'll be taking part as planned in the wine trail event this weekend," Frank explained.
He does not know the cause of the massive fire that destroyed the new tasting room building, but he praised the firefighters from Hammondsport and other departments who responded quickly last night. "They did outstanding work, and we can't say enough how much we appreciate it. They made sure the fire was contained. It only affected one building, and there was no other damage."
Frank said he was frustrated by what he called "numerous erroneous reports" in regional media "that said the entire winery had burned down. It hasn't. It's important to make sure the truth is reported, and the truth is that we're going to be fine. We're excited to see visitors to our tasting rooms today, just as we always are."
Fred - Sorry to hear this. Looks like nobody got hurt which is a good thing. Glad to hear you're moving forward already. Let us know if we on L.I. can be of any help.
Posted by: R. Olsen-Harbich | April 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM
I remember Fred giving me a sneak peek of the tasting room right before it opened. Sad to see that part of the infrastructure is destroyed, but happy to find out that they are still open for business and the vines and staff are OK.
Kathleen
Posted by: Kathleen Lisson | April 22, 2009 at 01:44 PM