Page 18 - Valley Table- Winter 2025

Klocke Estate
Just outside of Hudson, this Columbia County distillery and dining
venue tempts with artisanal brandy, vermouth, and more.
BY ALESSIA ANTONUCCI
a
t Klocke
Estate,
Columbia
County’s new luxury “soil-
to-glass” distillery and
dining destination, timing is
everything. As the website
proudly states, “We believe
that making fine brandy is a
celebration of time and place.”
This guiding philosophy is
a foundational throughline
that’s evident in every aspect
of the property, from its
sustainable land cultivation
and brandy distillation
practices all the way down to
its name—Klocke comes from
the Dutch word for clock.
The 160-acre farm is located
in Claverack, just 10 minutes
east of Hudson. A ribbon-
cutting ceremony marked its
grand opening this past July,
but Klocke Estate’s origin goes
back much further—starting
as only a seedling of an idea
in founder and CEO John
Frishkopf’s mind more than 30
years ago.
Frishkopf grew up in Boston,
but it was his 10 years spent
living in Europe that initially
sparked his love of brandy. “I
had always been interested in
winemaking,” he recalls, “and
it was through my passion for
wine that I became fascinated
with brandy.”
While based in Vienna, he
visited regions like Tyrol and
Wachau that specialize in eau
de vie, a clear brandy made
from distilled fruits. Then
he moved to Prague, where
he learned to make eau de
vie from friends who crafted
apricot brandy in their homes.
“It was basically moonshine,
but with a very strong cultural
history dating back to the
1700s,” he says.
When he returned to the
U.S., Frishkopf moved back
to the Northeast and started
thinking about opening a
winery of his own. But the
more he researched the idea,
the less it appealed to him.
“There are some great
wineries in the Finger Lakes
region, but it’s really tough to
do, and there are just so many
wineries now,” he observes.
This realization sparked a new
idea—the one from which
Klocke Estate was born.
“Then I thought, well, what
about brandy? What about
distillation?”
From there, it wasn’t a matter
of if, but where. He found that
New York, and the Hudson
16 Valley Table | December 2024 – February 2025
Valley in particular, would
provide an ideal climate for
distilling. “The Hudson Valley
was like that perfect Venn
diagram of fantastic apples and
great microclimate for brandy
grapes,” he shares. “So when
we found this property, it was
off to the races.”
The Klocke Estate grounds
were purchased in January
2018 as a wild and empty plot
of land with endless potential.
Construction started in 2019
and continued through the
pandemic. After four years, $21
million, and over 120 different
vermouths sampled, it’s all
starting to pay off.
Klocke Estate is now
fully operational, with a
12,000-square-foot distillery
and hospitality venue, and 60
acres of sustainably farmed
vineyards, apple orchards, and
botanical gardens. All of the
processing, aging, distilling, and
bottling is done on-site, with
additional fruits and botanicals
being sourced from nearby
farms as needed. The venue
is already serving and selling
three of its own spirits: Brevis
White Vermouth, Brevis Sweet
Red Vermouth, and Klocke
Estate Apple Brandy, with both
sweet and sour cherry eau de
vies soon to come.
What makes Klocke spirits
stand out? The secret starts
with the barrel room. Located
toward the bottom of the
property, its timber frame was
made and assembled by a local
woodworker. Clay and lime
soil floors and walls made of
straw bales coated in plaster
allow maximum breathability.
“One of the most important
things when making brandy is
the barrel,” Frishkopf explains.
“We use new French oak and
neutral barrels. Most of the oak
flavor has been extracted, so as
the brandy is aging, it breathes
slightly over the years, and that
PHOTOS BY ALESSIA ANTONUCCI