About Barnstormer Winery
With a passion for great wine, ethical farming and hospitality, we established Barnstormer Winery in 2013 to embody these ideals. Located in a historic barn with roots stemming back to the early 1800′s, we have made significant renovations to preserve the integrity and atmosphere of this Seneca Lake gem. We produce around 4,000 cases of wine each vintage from eight vineyards located along the shores of Seneca Lake AVA. We also have a three acre “home farm vineyard” on the winery estate, which spans across 16 acres. Our cozy barn tasting room provides a warm atmosphere to try sample and enjoy various flights of our wines, 5 for $12 or $16. We do recommend reservations for your group of up to 10 guests. On sunny weekends starting Memorial Day, we will be opening our Hangar Bar & Pavilion, along with our (3) Cabanas on our property overlooking the vineyards for wine service by the glass.
We are currently offering 20 wines from the 2020 – 2022 vintages. Barnstormer focuses mainly on dry red wines, Rieslings and dry rosés but we also craft some specialty wines like our Nosedive Port and Late Harvest Riesling. Being a small production winery, we only produce a limited number of cases each vintage. Be sure to check out our Aviator’s Wine Club if you’d like to become and pickup or shipping member, along with access to free tastings (for you +1 guest), pickup parties and additional discounts! AWC Members get exclusive access to limited production and reserve wines.
Want to stay on property? We just listed a two person / dog friendly Secluded Vineyard Cabin, which you can rent through Air BnB.
Our team, below, looks forward to hosting you during your next visit to the Finger Lakes. We are family and dog friendly as well. Cheers!
Scott Bronstein
Proprietor
Proprietor Scott Bronstein moved to Napa Valley in pursuit of a career in the wine business after graduating from University at Buffalo with a degree in BA & Marketing. After spending over two years developing events and hospitality for Castello di Amorosa Winery in the Diamond Mountain AVA of Napa, Scott was ready to venture out on his own. The Finger Lakes, as it does with many, drew Scott back to his home state where he began work on Barnstormer Winery in 2012 while finally opening in the Fall of 2013. Scott runs the business operations at Barnstormer assisting with wine production, vineyard development, marketing, compliance handling, accounting etc. With a focus on small production, high quality wines, Scott intends to keep this model well into the future while building on the customer experience and developing a portion of the 16 acres of estate property into vineyards, a new production facility and eventually an events venue. One of Scott’s driving passion’s in the wine industry is traveling to explore new cultures, culinary and wineries around the world, including “old world” regions rich with grape growing history.
Kelly Van Scoyk
General Manager & Wine Club Manager
Wine Club & Office Manager, Kelly Van Scoyk, has been with Barnstormer going on eight years! Kelly handles all tiers of our Wine Club Membership at Barnstormer, runs excellent wine tastings for our guests, handles wine cellar and library tracking, is now our wine tasting reservations lead person, manages lots of administration work (the list is long as she will tell you!) and maintaining the high level of hospitality and professionalism that our customers have come to enjoy and expect from their time at Barnstormer. Kelly is an amazing team player who leads by example and jumps into every new project head first as her involvement and responsibilities keep growing each year. While not at Barnstormer, Kelly’s secret talent is gardening (enough to feed a small village each year) and being an awesome mother to her children. After spending 16 years working for Wegmans, she decided to dive into the world of Finger Lakes wine and enjoys a wide range of dry rosés, rieslings and dry reds (Blaufränkisch especially). Kelly completed her WSET 2 certification in 2021 and was promoted to General Manager of Barnstormer in 2024.
Taylor Stember
Head Winemaker
Taylor graduated from UC Davis in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Enology. Following the grape harvest season and winemaking jobs Taylor started traveling and working across the Americas, Europe, and the Southern Hemisphere. During this time she saw lots of different wine regions with vastly unique climates, cultures, and wine making styles. Learning from so many different winemakers was invaluable and furthered her passion and excitement for the craft. After falling in love with cooler climate wine making she moved to the Finger Lakes in 2020 to work as a harvest cellar hand at Red Newt Cellars. She then took a full time job at Anthony Road Wine Co. as the Assistant Winemaker for the 2021 year before joining the Barnstormer team in 2022.
Molly Hoke
Hospitality & Events Manager
Molly originally hails from “Wild and Wonderful” West Virginia but has made her way to the Finger Lakes from the Virginia wine world. After receiving her BA in Journalism in 2016, and her MA in Social Justice Studies in 2018 both from George Mason University, Molly stumbled into the hospitality industry and never looked back. Molly spent five years fostering her passion for people by managing Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, Virginia, while helping out with their second location in Santa Barbara, California. During her time there she managed the tasting room, special events, wine club operations, reservations, and was happy to help with punch downs during harvest season. Her favorite part of wine is wine shared with others, and cultivating moments for folks that linger beyond the last sip. Molly excitedly brings her love of wine and people to Barnstormer as the Hospitality Manager and looks forward to seeing you in the Barnstormer Tasting Room! Molly will also be heading up our Events Department, so come host your next celebration or wedding here with us at Barnstormer.
Arthur Carichner
Lead Tasting Room Associate
Art had an illustrious 34 year teaching career that gave him amazing opportunities to meet people from all over the world. After Art retired, he joined the Barnstormer team over eight years ago and is our longest tenured employee! His dynamic passion, ability to educate and worldly knowledge all translate into wonderful wine tastings for our guests. In addition to pursuing additional wine education through courses and tastings, Art prides himself on his attention to detail and is very active with the landscaping of the winery grounds. You can find Art in the tasting room most Fridays and Sundays during the busy season, so stop on by and enjoy a wine tasting that you’ll be sure to remember. It has been an absolute pleasure having Art join our team and he intends to stay on for many more years to come! Art completed his WSET 2 certification in 2021.
Madisun Edmond
Hospitality Specialist & Lead TR Associate
Recently graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a degree in English, Madisun joined us in the summer of 2022 eager to learn about the world of wine and all the Finger Lakes has to offer. What sealed the deal for her was our lovely Bailey (our winery cat) ushering her in on her first day of training. Madisun works in the tasting room and has a passion for maintaining the aesthetics of our space and making sure things look their best. She loves to chat about her pets, her newest hobby that week, and most of all her nieces. When she’s not at Barnstormer, she’s at home playing with her three young nieces (you might spot her wearing a best friend’s necklace dedicated to them!). Madisun also plays a role with our on-site events, ensuring no detail is left overlooked. Be sure to stop by and enjoy an educational wine tasting with Madisun next time you visit Barnstormer!
Bailey
Resident Barn Cat & Lead Mouser
We figured Bailey needed a place here as well, our resident barn cat. Scott adopted Bailey from a local shelter in the spring of 2013, shortly after purchasing the barn. Bailey is an expert hunter and helps keep the critter count to a minimum but she is also a loving and affectionate greeter (for the most part) to our winery guests. Her favorite catch is chipmunk and her one lazy eye only adds to her general legend. Bailey has been known to stick her paw into a glass of wine to sample the quality, so keep an eye on her if she is around. Bailey has the largest fan base here, by far. She is 12 years young and going strong.