Beyond the Vine

Time and testing in the vineyard business can produce a grower confident enough in his skill set to share what he’s learned with others. It’s a way to serve colleagues, expand the business and build up an industry that’s close to your heart.

Matt and Carre Doyle, who started growing grapes near Hammondsport in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State in 2009, have set on this course with an infectious energy. Together with about 15 full-time employees, plus 10-20 seasonal staff, the Doyles take loving care of more than 1,000 acres of vines planted on the shores of Keuka and Seneca Lakes. Some are owned, some leased, and the rest “operated” with custom services.

Landowners seeking assistance from the Doyles choose a la carte from an impressive list of services, everything from business consultation on acquiring a vineyard, planting a new one, or better managing the one you own, to viticulture tasks such as trellis repair and installation, pruning, tying, brush mowing, drainage repair and installation, wildlife management, custom harvesting and more—the whole gambit.

Growing grapes and hay on three separate farms is still the primary focus of the Doyles’ business, but the management division has grown to account for 20% of their revenue. They are the premier service provider in the region.

Time away provides perspective
Matt and Carre both grew up in the Finger Lakes, with Matt’s family a part of the wine industry. After completing an Agribusiness Management and Economics degree at Cornell University, Matt gained hands-on experience at Estancia Estates vineyards in Soledad, California, then worked as the East Coast Vineyard Manager at Constellation Wines US in Canandaigua, New York, for seven years. Vineyard management was a common concept on the West Coast; Matt and Carre seized the
opportunity to put it into practice back home once they launched their own enterprise.

Today Matt oversees the entire operation from the ground up—a hands-on approach—and Carre excels at big picture visioning, public relations, marketing and packaging. She homeschooled their children while also handling the office administration in the early years. Together they generally look at 10-year increments when planning business strategy, and the next five years are pegged for continued growth.

The Doyles praise their great crew and treat them like family. “We work together toward the same goals,” says Matt, “to grow a great crop and get it all sold. We try to make this a fun place to work.”

To watch the employees josh each other and laugh easily together is to see this value realized. The Doyles’ four kids mix in, too, familiar with the guys and similarly proud of the vineyard’s accomplishments. Jake, Gabrielle, Zach and Noah have grown up in the vines and at least one has expressed some tentative interest in the business succession.

“We have been clear about the commitment, devotion and stress we have experienced bringing the business this far,” says Carre. “Any of the kids who want to come back here will need to actively choose it. They should explore all their options and perhaps work elsewhere first.”

Most growers’ kids learn from an early age that agriculture involves a delicate balance of risk and reward. For example, one challenge with growing grapes is marketing: you contract with a buyer in November or December, but don’t know what you’ll be paid till August when it’s clear how big the crop is. Further, any number of weather, disease, or pest threats can pop up during the growing season. And there’s little control over how much wine the consuming public will buy.

Says Carre, “There was a (killing) frost in 2023, a drought in 2022, and in 2024 we had the biggest crop ever but the wine market’s soft.” There’s also an alarm sounding about confirmed sightings in New York State of a pest called the Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive species that poses a threat to vineyards.

“A lot of what is planted is more than 100 years old,” explains Matt, “and it takes four to five years to put new vines into production, so it’s not like we can change anything quickly that will give us more control over these issues.”

It’s easy to see how adding the vineyard management piece to their business model provides some financial stability for the enterprise.

Logistics training key to outside services success
With as many as 20 different clients with diverse needs scattered up and down the shores of two lakes, Doyle Vineyard Management (DVM) needs one captain to steer the boat, and that person is Will Goodrich. He also grew up in the Finger Lakes but spent time as a crew supervisor for up to 30 workers in the Oklahoma oil fields before he returned to his roots. A pastoral call to his home church was his primary reason for coming back East but he realized he had skills he could also apply in an entirely different setting. He’s been with Doyle for four years.

“I grew up 10 miles from here and drove by vineyards all the time,” says Goodrich. “I had no idea what management of them entailed. I didn’t know what makes a good vineyard.” That was then.

Now as farm manager for Doyles’ Keuka farm and coordinator for all outside services, Goodrich interacts daily with landowners, staff, as well as clients. He has gotten a feel for the yearly production cycle and tries to be as efficient as possible utilizing all the equipment and people scattered in every direction. Harvest season is especially intense. A lot of planning goes into who does what, so a couple of big whiteboards in his office help him keep everything straight. West to East, the crew can travel as much as 2½ hours to cover all their clients’ territory. 

“My favorite part of the job is data analysis,” he says. “We develop our rates based on the cost of maintenance, labor, equipment operation, ownership and distance traveled. It’s a lot of recordkeeping.”

Mike Hurley owns Shale Creek Vineyard and is one of DVM’s clients. He bought 12.5 acres of vineyards 11 years ago and hired them to help him rip out all the old grape varieties and plant new viniferas. 

“We’re small scale,” he explains, “so it’s just not cost effective for us to buy all our own equipment and hire enough people to manage (the vineyard tasks). Every year we do a little bit more by ourselves, but Doyle operates on such a large scale they have a lot of resources. The key components (of production and harvest) have to happen when they have to happen; I trust them to get it done at a fair price.”

Hurley appreciates the personal relationship he’s developed with Matt and Will. 

Hurley’s daughter and son-in-law now utilize all of Hurley’s grapes in their winery venture, called Living Roots Wine & Co.

Tractors by the dozen
 An impressive fleet of New Holland equipment paints the landscape blue. Says Matt, “We try to keep a modern fleet to help accomplish tasks in a timely manner. The tractor models with SuperSteer™ are very versatile, and work well for all our jobs.” The SuperSteer front axle allows sharper and faster turns for easier maneuvering in the tight spaces between rows of vines.

More than twenty T4 specialty tractors, purpose built for the demands of vineyards and orchards, plus several older vineyard tractor models make up the core of the equipment line. A PowerStar™ 75 tractor with cab and loader, a compact track loader, plus a Discbine® disc mower-conditioner, rake and Roll-Belt™ 450 round baler complete their New Holland equipment line-up.  

In the immediate future, the Doyles are grooming Goodrich to become the Operations Manager so Matt and Carre will begin to have some freedom to step away from the business from time to time. But first, there’s another harvest to bring in.

Scholarship rewards exemplary character
In 2019 the Doyles established an annual $500 award for two graduating high school seniors called the Champion of Character Scholarship. It honors students who exemplify DVM’s core beliefs of quality, respect, teamwork, integrity and personal responsibility. These values serve as the compass for all of DVM’s actions and behaviors as an organization. Recipients are seniors at Hammondsport Central School or are the son/daughter of a current employee. 

Qualifying students must demonstrate exceptional character through academic merit, outstanding attitude, service to others, uprightness, and leadership. It demands a will to succeed no matter the circumstances, builds excellence, and is the real foundation of all worthwhile success. For these reasons, the Champion of Character Scholarship is considered highly selective and an extraordinary honor to receive.