Stanley Arthur "Bill" Wagner (April 10, 1927 – June 26, 2010) was an American winemaker who, in the 1970s, became one of the earliest winemakers to establish a vineyard in the Finger Lakes region of

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

, in an area that would eventually become the

Seneca Lake AVA The Seneca Lake AVA is an American Viticultural Area around Seneca Lake in Upstate New York. The wine appellation is entirely contained within the larger Finger Lakes AVA, and includes portions of Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, and Yates counties. ...

. In addition to his award-winning wines, Wagner also established a

microbrewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

that produced pilsner, lager,

ale Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typicall ...

and

stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

Biography

Wagner was born on April 10, 1927, in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. Both his parents and grandparents had been grape farmers, and he grew up in

Lodi, New York Lodi ( ) is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 1,469 at the 2020 census. The Town of Lodi is in the southwest part of the county and is northwest of Ithaca, New York. The town contains a village also named L ...

, only one-half mile from where he established his vineyards. Wagner dropped out of high to join the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but the war ended before he could see combat.Fox, Margalit
"Stanley Wagner, New York Winery Owner, Dies at 83"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 30, 2010. Accessed July 1, 2010. He became a dairy farmer after completing his military service, but by the mid-1950s he had returned to the family tradition of growing grapes. In the 1970s, Wagner lobbied on behalf of the New York Farm Winery Act of 1976 that fostered the creation of wineries in New York State.Finger, Ray
"Wagner Vineyards founder Stanley Wagner dies at age 83"
''

Elmira Star-Gazette The ''Star-Gazette'' is the major newspaper for Elmira, New York. Based in Elmira, the publication is owned by Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. ...

'', June 28, 2010. Accessed July 1, 2010. Wagner Vineyards was established in 1979, at a time when there were barely a dozen wineries in the Finger Lakes region. The winery took three years to construct, as most of the work was done by Wagner and his family. Wagner's first vintage was in 1978, and its initial varieties were white wines, such as

chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

, gewürztraminer and riesling. A 1981 review of a chardonnay in ''

'' called the wine "a rich and creamy white, full in body", with the characteristics of "some of the great white Burgundies of France". Later, Wagner Vineyards became known for its red wines, including

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

and

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

. In addition to a restaurant, Wagner opened the Wagner Valley Brewing Company in 1997, producing a range of beers including pilsner, lager, ale and stout. He opened branch locations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

and the Thousand Islands, once state law had been revised to allow such operations. In the 1990s, Wagner had worked on a study with researchers from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

measuring the levels of

resveratrol Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-''trans''-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol, and a phytoalexin produced by several plants in response to injury or when the plant is under attack by pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi. Sources ...

in the wine and printed on neck tags to let buyers know about the positives of consuming the wine and its antioxidants, but federal authorities revoked the winery's ability to identify possible health benefits. Polgreen, Lydia
"Selling New York Wine as Good . . . and Good for You (Who Knew?)"
''

'', August 26, 2003. Accessed July 22, 2010. A resident of

, Wagner died at his home there at age 83 on June 26, 2010, after what was described as a "brief illness". Wagner credited his longevity to his consumption of a glass of his own Pinot Noir every night at dinner, continuing to note that "I exercise and eat right, too. But the wine helps, no question."via ''

''
"Stanley Wagner , N.Y. vintner, 83"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', July 6, 2010. He was survived by a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Stanley 1927 births 2010 deaths American winemakers Businesspeople from New York (state) People from Elmira, New York United States Navy sailors New York (state) wine People from Lodi, New York 20th-century American businesspeople