OVID — Sheldrake Point Winery in Ovid in Seneca County plans to use its new 7,000-square-foot geothermal wine-production facility this fall as it “continues to build upon its sustainability initiatives.”

“With construction nearing completion,” the winery held an official unveiling of the building on Aug. 25, per a news release issued that same day.

In response to a CNYBJ inquiry, the business declined to disclose the cost of the project or how it financed the effort.

Several firms worked on the project, according to a blog post on the project on the winery’s website. Some of the firms involved included Conley & Son Excavating Co., Ltd. of Seneca Falls; Moravec Construction Services of Ithaca; Morton Buildings of Homer; NP Environmental of Utica; Pleasant Valley Electric of Ithaca; and Vance Metal of Geneva.

The winery, located at 7448 Country Road 153 in Ovid, has 20 employees in a mix of full- and part-time roles, Kyle Anne Pallischeck, marketing and sales manager at Sheldrake Point Winery, said in an email.

Project purpose

The previous facility, used for winemaking since 2001, was outfitted with solar panels in 2004 which powered the entire building. However, most winemaking activities happened on an outdoor crush pad, with tanks “exposed to the elements year-round.” 

Breaking ground on the new building in the spring of 2017, the company chose to move wine production indoors to a geothermally heated and cooled facility. The winery could then make wine “in an environment that is closer to a true cellar by taking advantage of the desirable temperature of the earth.”

“Our shift to geothermal heating and cooling, in addition to our existing solar-panel installation, represents our commitment to increasing efficiency, decreasing waste, and finding sustainable solutions to meet our growing needs,” David Wiemann, vineyard manager, said in the release.

As the cost and availability of renewable energy changes, it is “important” that the winery take steps to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels,” Chuck Tauck, owner of Sheldrake Point Winery, said.

“Geothermal energy is very well suited to the wine industry, when the differential between ground temperature and the cool confines of a winery environment create really meaningful efficiencies. We believe in doing what we can to harvest such efficiencies and reduce our dependence on conventional energy,” said Tauck.   

SYRACUSE. — Destiny USA and Syracuse University Athletics are hoping they can attract a lot of visitors to Central New York.

The organizations on Sept. 10 announced a “multi-year strategic tourism partnership designed to drive travel and tourism to Central New York and Onondaga County.”

The partnership involves what the participants contend are “two of the region’s largest travel and tourism destinations — Destiny USA and Syracuse University,” per a Destiny USA news release.

Both organizations say they’re “joining efforts to bring in millions of travelers and tourists from around the world to experience the best of Central New York.”

Under the partnership, Destiny USA’s Embassy Suites hotel becomes the “Official Hotel of Syracuse Athletics” through the 2021 sports season.

The designation seeks to help “enhance the guest experience” for traveling shoppers, Orange fans, alumni, and visiting sports teams. It includes “exclusive” ticket bundles; special Destiny USA attraction packages; and game-day amenities like shuttle rides to and from the Carrier Dome for hotel guests.

“I think what we did is combine two great brands that are vital to this region,” John Wildhack, Syracuse University Director of Athletics, said in speaking with reporters after the event at Destiny USA.

He noted that 26 million people visit Destiny USA annually and “part of their experience” can be attending athletic events at Syracuse University. 

Under the partnership, both sides can reach out to Orange fans and fans of visiting teams to make them aware of the Embassy Suites hotel and Destiny USA. 

“It’s a marketing partnership that I think both parties will benefit from and I really think the region will benefit from this as well,” said Wildhack.

When CNYBJ asked Wildhack how long both sides had discussed the partnership, he noted that the discussion continued for a couple months and it became evident that both organizations wanted to move forward with it. 

“It really wasn’t that hard from there to get it done,” said Wildhack. 

Their partnership also “enhances” cross-collaborative marketing efforts both on and off the field to “package and market” Syracuse Athletics game-day events with Destiny USA activities. Those include the summer and winter fun pass, Tykes Tuesday events, and holiday shopping.

Stephen Congel, CEO of Pyramid Management Group, LLC, told CNYBJ the partnership includes benefits for hotel guests, such as ticket packages, and transportation to and from the Carrier Dome, and for attracting guests to Syracuse and Onondaga County. 

Destiny will be “leveraging their marketing platform and our marketing platform to reach out to alumni, to visiting fans, to visiting schools, visiting teams, and figure out how we can better package and market to get people to come from further away and stay longer,” says Congel.

The new partnership also involves working with Visit Syracuse to sell the Central New York region to outer markets and with travel and tourism partners both in New York, the U.S., Canada, and worldwide.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney says that any effort that attracts more tourists and economic activity will generate more sales-tax revenue for the county and can help keep a lid on property-tax bills for Onondaga County residents. The county uses both property taxes and sales taxes to fund the budget, and Mahoney’s latest budget proposal projects a 9 percent increase in sales-tax revenue compared to a year ago.

 “It’s really an economic-development project for us because the money that spins off from all the tourists that come that are shopping here and dining here and attending a game here, those sales-tax dollars go in to fund your county budget and prevent you from having to pay more property taxes,” Mahoney told CNYBJ after the event.