At age fifty, mayonnaise mogul Richard Hellmann was told by his doctor that he had only six months to live and the only chance of living slightly longer would be to retire and move to the country.  At the time, Hellman’s mayonnaise empire was expanding exponentially, and he was typically over-worked and stressed keeping up with his brand’s rapid growth. In compromise, he built a summer home and hunting retreat in the Catskill Mountains about 100 miles north of New York City in 1928 and lived there until the ripe old age of 94.  Today, the property serves as a luxury retreat and sought-after wedding destination that Mindy and Chris Colloca had the pleasure of visiting on the occasion of their niece’s wedding several years ago.  The architecture served as an inspiration to the design that they adapted for the new Events Center Ballroom, Colloca Estate’s latest development project.

The story of Mr. Hellmann’s retreat resonated with the Collocas, who moved from Arizona to Central New York in favor of lifestyle.  “While my doctor never told me to start a winery, ten years ago, I was feeling the need to slow things down a bit after traveling 35 weekends a year for over a decade promoting my brand,” said, Dr. Chris Colloca, owner of Colloca Estate Winery.   Dr. Colloca invented a medical device that is currently in use by over 15,000 chiropractors in over 50 Countries throughout the World.  In their travels, the Collocas have taken advantage of visiting winery regions of the World – ranging from Argentina, South Africa, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand to name a few – each time bringing back ideas inspiring the vision for the development of their own property in Fair Haven, New York.

The new ballroom inspiration, however, comes locally.  Admiring the mountain house ballroom, the Collocas saw similarities to the post and beam construction that they had already utilized throughout their own property.  The new Events Center Ballroom will attach to the newly constructed 3,600 sq. ft. Commercial Catering Kitchen overlooking Fair Haven’s Little Sodus Bay on the Winery’s 103-acre grounds, and will be completed in time for the busy 2020 wedding season.

One of the distinct differences that the Colloca ballroom will have is its size.  The Onteora ballroom is 60’x60’ and can accommodate a maximum 180 guests.  Because the Collocas already host weddings larger than 200 people, it was necessary to increase the ballroom size to 64’x96’ nearly doubling the event space.  “We will be able to comfortably seat over 400 guests for weddings, and even more with different layout styles such as classroom seating for conferences or general admission during concerts and festivals.” said co-owner, Mindy Colloca.

The beauty, peace and tranquility of Colloca Estate Winery and its unobstructed nine-hundred feet of waterfront has grown to become one of Central New York’s most sought-after wedding venues.  Notably, the winery will host over 25 weddings and an additional 40 or so events and festivals in 2020 alone.  Bookings are commonplace over a year in advance.  Until now, Colloca Estate weddings were hosted in white tents.  Sidewalls and tent heaters enabled weddings from May through the end of October.  The addition of an indoor facility will undoubtedly increase the availability for weddings all year-round.  More visitors to Fair Haven equates with more tourism and more traffic for the area businesses.  Fair Haven and surrounding area gift shops, restaurants, B&B’s, and area pubs all benefit from more weddings and events at the winery.

Major cultural changes have occurred in the way newer generations are approaching weddings.  The traditional church wedding in the bride’s hometown has been replaced with outdoor ceremonies and receptions that offer spectacular scenery and variety over the honey glazed ham and baked ziti offerings at the local banquet hall.  According to wedding planning website, The Knot, in 2017 only 22% of weddings were hosted in religious institutions like churches, consistent with a 40% decline in church weddings in the past 20 years.  Destination weddings have become the buzz and for good reason.  Unless the couple is from the same hometown, half the guests must travel anyway.  Another popular reason for destination weddings is cost.  Hosting a wedding in major cities like New York City or Boston can be priced at double or triple what other venues may charge.

To put value in perspective, site rental fees at the Onteora property range from $12,000 - $16,000 depending on the month chosen.  This is in addition to $175.00 minimum per person food and beverage costs (including open bar).  In stark Contrast, for a 6-hour wedding ceremony and reception at the Colloca venue, the site fee is $2,500, and food and beverage with open bar is less than half the cost in comparison.  “The bride and groom could fly their families to our place in a private jet for what other places charge,” said Colloca.  Indeed, the new Events Center Ballroom will command a steeper price than what was previously charged for White tents, but the pricing is still expected to be a fraction of other venues.

The natural beauty of the Estate’s waterfront and grounds together with the First-Class venue and service at this value is sure to increase the demand for weddings at Colloca Estate Winery in the years to come.  A lodge and cabins are planned to provide accommodations for guests as the next phase of the Colloca’s vision.