Bully Hill Vineyards
Encyclopedia
Bully Hill Vineyards is a vineyard
and winery
located in Hammondsport
, New York
, United States
, in the Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area
.
on location and in 1970 Bully Hill Inc. was established. Walter represented the third generation of his family to be involved in grape
growing and wine making, a family endeavor since 1878. Bully Hill was one of the first small estate wineries in the Keuka Lake
area since Prohibition
. During Prohibition the winery sold grape juice in small wooden barrels. A label was placed on the barrel giving explicit instructions on how the juice would turn into wine if precautions weren't taken.
In 1982 they filed the trademark 'Space Shuttle Rose'. This was contended by NASA
whose action was denied by the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board in 1987.
In July of 1977, after a merger with Coca-Cola Co., the Taylor Wine Co. sued Walter Taylor to stop him from using his last name. U.S. District Court Judge Harold P. Burke agreed with the complaint. His instructions were that Bully Hill was enjoined from "using the word Taylor or any colorable imitation thereof in connection with any labeling, packaging materials, advertising, or promotional material for any of defendant's products." The Taylor name was then blotted out wherever it appeared on Bully Hill products.
During the court battle, sales at Bully Hill Vineyards climbed from $650,000 in 1977 to more than $2 million in 1980. Visitors at Bully Hill vineyards increased 25% after Walter went on a media campaign to spread word of his believed injustice.
Walters appeal was ruled that the injunction was "too broad." The court said Walter could use his signature "on a Bully Hill label or advertisement if he chooses, but only with appropriate disclaimer that he is not connected with, or a successor to, the Taylor Wine Co."
However, because of the attention Walter had received, Taylor Wine Company lawyers argued that Walter was violating the spirit of the injunction itself. Judge Burke, On October 5, 1979, made the injunction permanent.
“Judge Burke then ordered Bully Hill to adhere to a list of 11 stipulations detailing what Walter could say, and how and when he could use his name. For example, the judge said that the lettering and size of Walter's signature could be "no larger than one-fourth the size of the lettering of the Bully Hill Vineyards Inc. trademark on the same label, advertisement, side, surface, or page." He also ordered that within 30 days of his decision, Bully Hill had to deliver to Taylor Wine all prohibited labeling and advertising "for destruction." ”
November 8, 1979 Walter drove four miles from Bully Hill to Taylor Wine Company to return the labels and other marketing products amid several spectators who were cheering him on. He threw a parade, despite not having a permit, and then threw a party at Bully Hill.
Walter was upset "I remembered when all those farmers demonstrated in Washington, they let loose a bunch of goats, and all the guards were running around after them. So I got a goat and it saved my life. That's when I decided to laugh at the whole thing, to laugh at life."
He then famously stated that "They took my name and heritage, but they didn't get my goat."
Until his death Walter Taylor would often say things like, "Just call me Walter S. Blank," or "Yes, I'm the owner of Bully Hill, but I can't tell you where I came from."
Many of his own drawings are still used as labels today.
Bully Hill is the official wine of:
Bully Hill also has an extensive history in NASCAR
, mainly involving sponsorship of cars and the actual race sponsors themselves at Watkins Glen International, which is close to Bully Hill. Most of its history is with NEMCO Motorsports
and driver Ron Fellows
, though it has been featured on racing machines since 1997.
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
and winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
located in Hammondsport
Hammondsport, New York
Hammondsport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. The village is named after its founding father.The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath, New York....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area
Finger Lakes AVA
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario. The Finger Lakes encompass eleven glacial lakes, but the area around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA...
.
History
In 1920, the Taylor Wine Company needed room to expand as well as consistent sources of electricity and water. The Winery was moved to a location two miles outside of Hammondsport and the original property, where Bully Hill sits today, was sold to a Lloyd Sprague. In 1958, Greyton H. Taylor and Walter S. Taylor bought back the property from Sprague and established Bully Hill Farms. Greyton and Walter began converting the Native American grapes on the land to French-American hybrid grapes, pioneering those varieties in New York State. Over the next 12 years Walter and Greyton slowly built a wineryWinery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
on location and in 1970 Bully Hill Inc. was established. Walter represented the third generation of his family to be involved in grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
growing and wine making, a family endeavor since 1878. Bully Hill was one of the first small estate wineries in the Keuka Lake
Keuka Lake
Keuka Lake is an unusual member of New York's Finger Lakes because it is Y-shaped, instead of long and narrow. Because of its shape, it was referred to in the past as Crooked Lake...
area since Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
. During Prohibition the winery sold grape juice in small wooden barrels. A label was placed on the barrel giving explicit instructions on how the juice would turn into wine if precautions weren't taken.
In 1982 they filed the trademark 'Space Shuttle Rose'. This was contended by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
whose action was denied by the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board in 1987.
The Goat
In May of 1970 Walter Taylor was fired from the Taylor Wine Company. He and Greyton Taylor founded Bully Hill that same year. When Greyton passed in 1971 Walter inherited his shares of ownership in Bully Hill. Walter founded the first wine museum in America and began to criticize other New York State wine makers for using out of state grapes in their products. This enraged other wine makers and rumors began to circulate that Walter had ‘gone off the deep end’. Walter then went on a tour to defend his product and against the rumors that he had gone insane. He called it the tour of “Johnny Grapeseed”.In July of 1977, after a merger with Coca-Cola Co., the Taylor Wine Co. sued Walter Taylor to stop him from using his last name. U.S. District Court Judge Harold P. Burke agreed with the complaint. His instructions were that Bully Hill was enjoined from "using the word Taylor or any colorable imitation thereof in connection with any labeling, packaging materials, advertising, or promotional material for any of defendant's products." The Taylor name was then blotted out wherever it appeared on Bully Hill products.
During the court battle, sales at Bully Hill Vineyards climbed from $650,000 in 1977 to more than $2 million in 1980. Visitors at Bully Hill vineyards increased 25% after Walter went on a media campaign to spread word of his believed injustice.
Walters appeal was ruled that the injunction was "too broad." The court said Walter could use his signature "on a Bully Hill label or advertisement if he chooses, but only with appropriate disclaimer that he is not connected with, or a successor to, the Taylor Wine Co."
However, because of the attention Walter had received, Taylor Wine Company lawyers argued that Walter was violating the spirit of the injunction itself. Judge Burke, On October 5, 1979, made the injunction permanent.
“Judge Burke then ordered Bully Hill to adhere to a list of 11 stipulations detailing what Walter could say, and how and when he could use his name. For example, the judge said that the lettering and size of Walter's signature could be "no larger than one-fourth the size of the lettering of the Bully Hill Vineyards Inc. trademark on the same label, advertisement, side, surface, or page." He also ordered that within 30 days of his decision, Bully Hill had to deliver to Taylor Wine all prohibited labeling and advertising "for destruction." ”
November 8, 1979 Walter drove four miles from Bully Hill to Taylor Wine Company to return the labels and other marketing products amid several spectators who were cheering him on. He threw a parade, despite not having a permit, and then threw a party at Bully Hill.
Walter was upset "I remembered when all those farmers demonstrated in Washington, they let loose a bunch of goats, and all the guards were running around after them. So I got a goat and it saved my life. That's when I decided to laugh at the whole thing, to laugh at life."
He then famously stated that "They took my name and heritage, but they didn't get my goat."
Until his death Walter Taylor would often say things like, "Just call me Walter S. Blank," or "Yes, I'm the owner of Bully Hill, but I can't tell you where I came from."
Many of his own drawings are still used as labels today.
Facilities and distribution
Growing from a small winery with a limited number of employees, Bully Hill Vineyards offers over 40 different selections of wine and now produces over 200,000 cases of wine each year. They are the second largest producer of wine in New York State. Bully Hill features an on-site restaurant, wine shop, two gift shops and the New York State Wine Museum of Greyton H. Taylor and Walter S. Taylor Art Gallery. Visitors are offered tours and wine tastings throughout the year, weather permitting. Bully Hill wine is distributed in some 30 states.Sponsorships
As of June 29, 2011, Bully Hill sponsors four professional sports teams.Bully Hill is the official wine of:
- The Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
- The Buffalo SabresBuffalo SabresThe Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
- The Boston BruinsBoston BruinsThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
- The Elmira JackalsElmira JackalsThe Elmira Jackals are an ice hockey team that play in the ECHL. Their home games are played in First Arena in Elmira, New York and they refer to themselves as "the beasts of the east"...
Bully Hill also has an extensive history in NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
, mainly involving sponsorship of cars and the actual race sponsors themselves at Watkins Glen International, which is close to Bully Hill. Most of its history is with NEMCO Motorsports
NEMCO Motorsports
NEMCO Motorsports is a NASCAR team that is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. After a two-year hiatus, NEMCO Motorsports fielded full time entries in both the Cup and Nationwide Series in 2009 with driver Joe Nemechek. It carried the number 87 in both Cup and Nationwide. The team ran...
and driver Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows is an accomplished Canadian SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA, and American Le Mans Series driver, and a NASCAR Road course ringer.-Early career:...
, though it has been featured on racing machines since 1997.