LaBelle Winery News

LaBelle Winery Owners Purchase Brookstone Events & Golf in Derry, New Hampshire

by Michelle Thornton

Dec 09, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 9, 2020
LaBelle Winery Owners Purchase Brookstone Events & Golf in Derry, New Hampshire

CONTACT:
Michelle Thornton
Director of Marketing
LaBelle Winery
345 Route 101
Amherst, NH 03031
(603) 672-9898
michelle@LaBelleWinery.com
LaBelleWinery.com

Derry, New Hampshire — Winemaker Amy LaBelle and husband Cesar Arboleda, co-owners of LaBelle Winery in Amherst and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, announce the purchase of Brookstone Events & Golf in Derry, New Hampshire.

The Brookstone property, to be renamed LaBelle Winery Derry, will undergo significant renovations beginning in December 2020 with the intention of creating a Champagne house, a market place, a wedding and event center and a restaurant.
The picturesque property is home to a large natural pond with a fountain, which acts as a focal point for the restaurant and event venue.

“We have big plans for LaBelle Winery Derry,” LaBelle says. “This stunning property, which Cesar and I fell in love with, will be a place that offers the community exceptional experiences that people of all ages can enjoy. We look forward to expanding our business to beautiful, historic Derry.

“LaBelle Winery Amherst, our flagship property, has grown exponentially since we opened in 2012. LaBelle Winery Derry will complement our Amherst operation well. It hasn’t been easy to find the perfect property and location to grow our business, but we’ve found it here,” LaBelle says.

LaBelle’s plans for Brookstone include renovating the property to give it an “artisan village” ambiance. Improvements will include updating the event center’s facade and interior with steel and wood tones, giving the building a modern yet classic look. The “village” will be home to several outdoor and indoor gathering areas, including a 9-hole par-3 golf course, which will be open to the public as well as offer memberships, and a miniature golf course. A 3-acre vineyard with an adjoining performance space, and an area for private wedding ceremonies are also planned.

Grapes varieties to be planted in the new vineyard include Itasca, Petit Pearl and Cayuga, all of which are cold-hardy hybrid grapes suited to New England’s climate. The vines will produce fruit for winemaking approximately two years from the time of planting, which is planned for May or June 2021.

LaBelle also intends to build a Champagne house, which will include a tasting room and a space where a new line of sparkling wines will be produced. “The tasting room will wrap around the production and aging experience,” LaBelle says. “It will require additional equipment and riddling racks that we don’t have space for in our Amherst location.”

The new red, white and rosé sparking wines will be made by using the French Methode Champenoise, making the Champagne house at LaBelle Winery Derry the only one of its kind in New England. The new tasting room will also showcase LaBelle’s more than 40 award-winning wines, which will be available for sampling.

Distinguishing features of the Brookstone property include its two wedding and event venues, one accommodating more than 300 guests, and the other accommodating 150. An education center, where guests can take cooking and beverage-making classes as well as many other lifestyle classes, is also planned. The education center will also be ideal for corporate use.

“Our goal is to create one of the best wedding and event venues in the area,” LaBelle says.

The updated family-friendly restaurant will have an upscale casual feel, including a 50-person private dining room. The menu will include healthy farm-to-table American cuisine and wood-fired pizzas.

LaBelle Winery Derry will also be home to a retail marketplace offering onsite shopping for take-home gourmet prepared foods, platters for catering, and LaBelle’s “The Winemaker’s Kitchen” line of culinary products such as jams, sauces, seasonings and sodium-free cooking wines. Products offered from other premier partners will include fine chocolates, cheeses, artisan breads, flowers and gifts.

Numerous flower, herb and vegetable gardens, which will provide products to be used in the restaurant and market, will also be established on the property.

The golf course, miniature golf course and event center will reopen in April 2021, with the restaurant and retail marketplace opening the following June, and the winery tasting room opening in July.

Multiple grand opening events are planned.

About LaBelle Winery:
After being inspired by a visit to a winery in Nova Scotia, LaBelle founded LaBelle Winery in 2005 at Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, New Hampshire. In 2008, she and Arboleda moved the winemaking operation to a barn behind their home in order to expand production. LaBelle made award-winning wines at this location until late 2012, when the operation was moved to its current location in Amherst. In addition to the winery, LaBelle’s Amherst location includes a restaurant, a wedding and event venue, an art gallery, a retail store and tasting room, and an on-site vineyard.

LaBelle Winery’s Portsmouth tasting room and retail store opened in September 2017.
LaBelle Winery Derry is located at 14 Route 111, Derry, New Hampshire.
LaBelle Winery Amherst is located at 345 Route 101 in Amherst, New Hampshire.
LaBelle Winery Portsmouth is located at 104 Congress St. Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Visit LaBelleWinery.com for directions and hours of operation.
For questions regarding LaBelle Winery Derry, including event rental inquiries, email info@LaBelleWinery.com.

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