National Register of Historic Places

Pleasant Valley Wine Company

Rheims, Steuben County, New York
Listed
November 18, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80002773

About this property

Pleasant Valley Wine Company, also known as Great Western Winery, is a historic winery complex located in the Hamlet of Rheims in the Town of Urbana in Steuben County, New York. The complex consists of nine historic buildings constructed of fieldstone. The five oldest structures were built in the 1860s and are in the Italianate style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The winery has the largest plantings of Chardonnay and Riesling in New York. Established on March 15, 1860, by Charles Champlin and 12 other investors, the winery is the first bonded winery in the United States; bonded winery #1. The winery produced Isabella and Catawba initially, expanding into sparkling wine production in 1865, earning the Pleasant Valley the nickname "the Reims of America." The on-site post office used the postmark "Reims, NY" until 1945. During Prohibition, the winery survived by making sacramental and medicinal wines. After Repeal, the winery was sold several times, including the Taylor Wine Company in 1961, and inclusion in the sale of Taylor to Coca-Cola in 1977. Coke sold the winery to Joseph E. Seagram & Sons in 1983, which sold the winery to Vintners International in 1987. In 1995, the winery was purchased by the Doyle family. Pleasant Valley Wine Company - Great Western Champagne, Finger Lakes Wine website

Location

Rheims, Steuben County, New York
42.40151, -77.25381

Categories

INDUSTRYARCHITECTUREAGRICULTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Germania Wine Cellars
Industrial
0.3 mi
Younglove, Timothy M., Octagon House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Mallory Mill
Industrial
1.5 mi
Hammondsport Union Free School
Early Republic
1.6 mi
Pulteney Square Historic District
Listed
1.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Pleasant Valley Wine Company listed on the National Register?

Pleasant Valley Wine Company was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Pleasant Valley Wine Company?

Pleasant Valley Wine Company is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Pleasant Valley Wine Company?

The period of significance for Pleasant Valley Wine Company is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Pleasant Valley Wine Company?

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