Sarah Firshein, Eric Gillin
Published: May 27, 2012 New York Times
Sarah Smith Firshein, the daughter of Dr. Evelyn Smith and Dr. Stephen I. Firshein of West Hartford, Conn., was married Saturday to Eric Jonathan Gillin, the son of Robert C. Gillin of Randolph, Mass., and the late Sandra L. Gillin. Rabbi Steven J. Mason officiated at Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, Conn.
Click to read full story Featured in "Connecticut Cottages & Gardens"
April 2012| Saltwater Farms Vineyard, Stonington | "Flight Tested"
by Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave

Connecticut Cottages and Gardens just released its April issue with a glowing article on the vineyard written by noted wine & spirits columnist, Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave. Please click the link below to read the article.

Click to read full story Jennifer King and Dominic Viglione
May 6, 2011 | Saltwater Farms Vineyard, Stonington | photography by Steve DePino, Kris Rae Photography, Middletown
by Nicole Wise, The Connecticut Bride

Having met at work (CIGNA in Hartford), Jennifer King, a medical underwriter, and Dominic Viglione, a client manager, kept discovering mutual "favorite things" on their way to falling in love. After Dominic's surprise proposal on a weekend in Washington, D.C., they began their search for a wedding site flexible enough to accommodate a celebration of as many of their favorite things as possible. They visited Saltwater Farms Vineyard early on and, says Jenn, though they looked elsewhere they kept coming back to it. "It had everything we wanted, including being sort of a blank slate that we could make our own. The details were very important to us."
Click to read full story SWF Featured on WCVB TV 5 Boston "Stonington, Ct, A taste of France"
Tank Away: Segment Two



SWF Featured in Southern New England Weddings Magazine: Destination Edition
Adeline and Grace Photography

The Accidental Oenophile
From the Skadden “Alumni” News

After spending more than three decades at Skadden, partner Michael Connery (NY/Labor and Employment/’75) felt somewhat trepidatious about his 2006 retirement. He hardly considered himself the type to spend his afternoons by the pool or winters in Florida.

Instead, Michael turned his attention to a 108-acre parcel of land in Stonington, Connecticut, he had happened upon in 2001. The property, a mixture of fertile soil and salty tidal lands off the Fisher Island Sound in the southeast corner of the state, featured an airplane hanger and a working runway. When he saw the property, Michael had no idea what he would do with it, but he knew he had to buy it.

“How many people can say they own an airport?” he thought.
Click to read full story.

Romancing the Vine
By Michelle Bodak Acri
Connecticut Magazine | Published: October 2010
Like surprises? Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington has a big one in store for you. This coastal vineyard, set on some 100 panoramic acres bordered by green tidal marshes and the blue views of the Sound, is a beauty, no doubt. Its centerpiece, however, is an unlikely one: a World War II-era airplane hangar. The retro-chic hangar with its silvery milled aluminum exterior, original interior wood sheathing and massive timber trusses has been converted into an airy winery. Bring your glasses out onto the terrace for a toast as you drink in the vineyard views. Finding Wine Amid Marshes
By CHRISTOPHER BROOKS
The New York Times | Published: October 15, 2010
Contrary to the idealized concept of a winery set among rolling hills of volcanic substrate, Saltwater Farm Vineyard is on flat land surrounded by a briny tidal inlet. And unlike the chateau-style production plants of Napa, Sonoma and the Loire Valley, Saltwater holds its tastings in a converted airport hangar, with a grass landing strip nearby.
Click to read full story. The Connecticut Wine Trail: Eighth Stop
by Harriman Real Estate
Wallingford Wired | Published October 14, 2010
Our eighth stop on Connecticut’s Wine Trail, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, is located at this picturesque address, on 100 or so acres of tranquility bordering tidal marshes, a cove and Long Island Sound. The first thing that strikes you as you pull into the parking lot is that the building looks uncannily like a World War II aircraft hangar – because that’s what it is. Preserved and converted into a winery, the building is the natural centerpiece of the property, and it opens out onto a stone terrace, with the vineyards stretching off into views of the Sound in the distance.
Click to read full story A New Career Sprouts From Grape Vines
By DOUGLAS S. MALAN
Connecticut Law Tribune | Published: August 23, 2010
Things were coming together for Michael Connery’s plan to transition from the practice of law in the late 1990s. The New York firm he had worked at since graduating from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1975 was offering a program where attorneys could start scaling back their practice in anticipation of retirement from the law.
Click to read full story. Finding a variety of wines off the beaten path
By Ellen Albanese
Boston Globe | Published July 25, 2010
One of the most visually striking wineries is Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, housed in a 1930s airplane hangar with a vaulting roof, milled aluminum exterior, original wood sheathing, and massive timber trusses dominating the interior. Owner Michael Connery, who describes himself as “a recovering lawyer," bought the property in 2001, and opened it for tasting this year. Saltwater makes four wines — cabernet franc, merlot, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc — all from grapes grown on site.
Click to read full story East Coast Wineries
Published July 5, 2010
Carlo DeVito is the author of East Coast Wineries: A Complete Guide from Maine to Virginia.
Click to read his blog entry "Saltwater Farm Vineyards an Important New Find in Connecticut". A vineyard grows in Stonington
By Katie Warchut
The Day | Published June 12, 2010
A small, decrepit airport quietly becomes a winery and banquet facility
Nine years ago, about 100 acres of land near Stonington's Wequetequock Cove was overgrown, with a fairly decrepit airport hangar and a runway and taxiway.
Click to read full story What's News? Coast and country
By Michelle Bodak Acri
Connecticut Magazine | Published Spring / Summer 2010
A World War II-era hangar was about the only thing left on Stonington’s Saltwater Farm Vineyard (800/818-7258 or saltwaterfarmvineyard.com)—an airport in a former life—when Merrily and Michael Connery began planting a vineyard on its 108 acres back in 2003. In the years since, they’ve begun harvesting that crop and have at long last converted that hangar into a winery and event center that’s truly in a class all its own. A floor-to-ceiling interior and exterior makeover has brought the building, which opens onto terraces and can seat 200 guests, to life once again. Inside, original beams, a vaulted ceiling, assorted wine-making paraphernalia and massive picture windows add character; outside, the reclad exterior is sleek and stylish and the lush green vineyard stunningly picturesque, with far-reaching views of tidal marshes, Wequetequock Cove and Long Island Sound. Click to read full story