The Martin Family, owners of Montezuma Winery, Idol Ridge Winery, and Fossenvue Wines, is excited to welcome their new Assistant Winemaker, Alex Bienvenue.  

Alex brings years of experience in the wine industry as a Winemaker at Glendale Ridge Winery in MA and a Vineyard Manager at Thousand Islands Winery in NY. His passion for winemaking stems from his love of growing his own food and cooking. At the age of 21, his wife gifted him a winemaking kit and he was “instantly hooked”. He took this new passion and has now turned it into a dream career in the wine industry. 

Alex is eager to work with new equipment in the wine cellar and to dive more into sparkling wine production. Recently, the Martin family purchased a new sparkling bottling line, allowing them to produce and bottle a larger range of sparkling wines. He will be working alongside Head Winemaker, Phil Plummer, who has been with the Martin family for almost 13 years. 

Plummer states: “From the moment Alex applied for our Assistant Winemaker position, I was convinced that he’d be the right fit for our team. In even a brief conversation with him, his passion and curiosity for all things wine becomes obvious, and his practical winemaking experience at Glendale Ridge has allowed him to hit the ground running at a very chaotic time of year. It’s an overused cliche, but I’m a big believer that “iron sharpens iron.” With the addition of Alex, our team got a lot sharper.” 

As harvest is in full swing, Alex and Phil are busy crushing grapes as they come in. A few varieties that have already been harvested include Marquette, Pinot Gris, and DeChaunac. They still await Traminette, Riesling, and more.  

Martin Family Wineries & Distilleries will be releasing their first wine of the 2022 vintage with their Marquette Nouveau this coming November which will be available at all of the Martin family locations. They will be raising their glass to the 2022 harvest and to their newest member, Alex. Cheers!