The New York Wine Industry Association and its statewide membership extend heartfelt sympathy to the family of Debra Whiting, executive chef & co-owner of Red Newt Cellars Winery & Bistro in Hector, NY.  Her husband, David Whiting, and one other were injured in the car accident, on June 30, 2011, that took her life.

Deb was a key force in the new wave of restaurant and winery owners in the Finger Lakes. She led the 'buy and use local' food movement in the Finger Lakes. She developed long standing relationships with local food producers using their products as ingredients in all of her creations. Using local, cheeses, meats, vegetables, and herbs to develop her menu at the Bistro always made for an exciting and luscious visit. By using local foods and local wines her Bistro could truly be called local. One of her pet peeves was restaurants that claimed they used only local products but never carried local wines. Her cuisine was complementary to the wines made in the Finger Lakes and her restaurant offered numerous wines from producers from around the region.

We have lost a wonderful leader, mother, and friend to all of us here in the Finger Lakes. We will miss her.

HECTOR, NEW YORK - July 1, 2011 - Debra Whiting, Executive Chef & Co-Owner of Red Newt Cellars Winery & Bistro, died in a car accident last night, at the age of 52, while returning home to the Finger Lakes with her husband after a visit to friends and family in Northern Vermont. David Whiting, husband and winemaker at Red Newt Cellars, was also injured in the crash. He is currently listed in stable condition at Syracuse UpstateUniversity Hospital.

Debra was truly a passionate and inspirational culinary ambassador to theFinger Lakes region. As a member on the executive board of the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty, she took great pride in utilizing locally sourced ingredients for her ever-changing menu and building relationships with the local farmers and producers of the region. Unhampered by formal culinary training, her approach was to seek an expressive interpretation to every culinary challenge. The result was a culinary palate whose colors express Debra's devotion to the bounty and seasons of the Finger Lakes.

A native of Georgia, Debra moved to Connecticut at an early age and spent many years growing up in Lake Placid. Debra spent the first 15 years of her professional career in immunology research, having earned an M.S. in Microbiology. She was an avid runner, competing in two New York City marathons in 1988 and 1989. Debra and her husband also took great pleasure in ballroom dancing. When the Red Newt first opened Debra and David Whiting would instruct ballroom dance classes to the community. She is survived by husband David and two sons Ryan (age 27) and Brenton (age 16).

The Winery will remain open today with the Bistro re-opening tomorrow as the staff at Red Newt Cellars awaits the family's wishes. Services will be scheduled, in the meantime, the Pastors at Hector Presbyterian Church have graciously opened their doors to family and friends tomorrow from 10:00 a.m.-2:00p.m.

The Whiting and Red Newt family extends their deepest gratitude to those who have offered their support and condolences during this tragic time. The tremendous amount of love and strength goes beyond words.

Red Newt Cellars is located on the east side of Seneca Lake in the hamlet of Hector in the Finger Lakes region of New York. In addition to producing wines from east Seneca Lake vineyards, Red Newt Cellars offers innovative Finger Lakes cuisine in the Bistro by utilizing locally sourced ingredients and promoting culinary relationships between farms and restaurants. Red Newt Cellars will remain a representation of the achievements of David and Debra's longtime goal to combine their efforts and expertise in the exploration of producing, and also in creating a synergy between, regional wine and cuisine.

For more information, contact regarding bereavement:

Reverends Nancy & James Yao

Hector Presbyterian Church

5511 State Route 414

Hector, NY 14841-096

Phone: 607-546-2134

We at Red Newt Cellars and Bistro submit this for immediate release.  Debra Whiting was a Saint.  She was a mother to more than just her children and a sister to everyone she met.

She was one of the warmest and kindest people to ever come into my life.  I cannot thank her enough for what she has given me in this too short of time I've spent with her.   I hope that the local media will air this story to tell of the angel who heaven reclaimed.  She will forever be loved and missed.

Additional images can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rednewtcellars/RedNewtCellarsWebAlbum

or the Red Newt Winery and Red Newt Bistro pages will also have photos.

The Buffalo News - December 29th, 2010

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/from-our-readers/another-voice/article296263.ece

You don’t have to be an economist to know that upstate New York’s economy is struggling. All you have to do is walk down our streets, duck into our coffee shops or turn on the local news to know people are hurting. When times are tough, we need to do everything possible to help our small businesses grow and create new well-paying jobs.

One way to help New York’s upstate economy get back on its feet is to get rid of New York’s Prohibition-era laws that prevent consumers from buying wine in grocery stores. Nearly 60 percent of New Yorkers consistently say they want our leaders in Albany to pass this common- sense proposal that would create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers.

New in the mailbox yesterday from the "Last Store on Main Street":   LAST STORE ON MAIN STREET COALITION SLAMS WHOLE FOODS MARKETS FOR PLAN TO KILL NEW YORK WINE INDUSTRY.

The press release titled "COALITION ANNOUNCES BACK-TO-BACK NEW YORK WINE PROMOTIONS" is most misleading,  since it contains no mention of New York State liquor stores promoting New York wines.  Rather, the release is clearly an unfounded, scathing criticism of a great wine store that has inarguably one of the broadest selection of New York wines in New York City.

The fact is that Whole Foods Market has a long tradition of highlighting and supporting local farmers and producers, including New York State wines.  Whole Foods Market is permitted in New York to operate a single store, which is located next to the Columbus Avenue Whole Foods Market in New York City.

In response to this scathing press release, Whole Foods Market responds;  "In keeping with our company’s core values of caring for our communities and environment as well as creating ongoing and win-win partnerships with our suppliers, the New York State Wine Industry Association has no greater supporter and ally than Whole Foods Market. Our lone New York wine store, located at 98th St. and Columbus Ave. on New York City’s Upper West Side, currently offers more than 75 varieties of local New York wines."

"Buying and drinking New York wines spreads love (and money) along as many tendrils as a grapevine. From label makers and glass and bottle distributors, to metal fabricators that make state-of the-art wine tanks here in New York (not to mention families that grow the grapes and make the wines), every glass of local wine shares the wealth with our neighbors. Further, healthy vineyards keep agricultural open space safe and sound from development. We feel food about this, and exceptionally proud of our vintages. Cheers!"

Many thanks to Whole Foods Market and their continued support of the New York wines!

Some Wine With That?

You can get everything you need to make dinner in a New York grocery store, but not the wine to go with it. This is not because grocers are puritanical. They sell beer, wine coolers (a misperceived brew made with malt) and a sugary low-alcohol “wine product.” You might think it’s wine, but drink it and you will not make that mistake again.

To buy wine in New York, you have to go to a liquor store. This has been a fact of life for generations — an annoying shopping inconvenience in New York City and the suburbs, but a major hassle in many parts of upstate, where almost 600 towns have no liquor stores.

The problem is an antiquated law that, in true Albany fashion, exists to protect the interests of one powerful industry. Gov. David Paterson is the latest politician to try to fix the situation, supporting a bill to legalize supermarket wine. Mr. Paterson’s main interest is budgetary. He is eager for the tens of millions of dollars that additional franchise fees and taxes would raise.

The distributors and liquor stores, and their lobbyists, are eager to hold on to their monopoly on the wine business. They have begun a public-relations blitz to defeat the bill, arguing that it would drive hundreds of mom-and-pop liquor shops out of business and subject New York State wineries to crippling competition from big-box outsiders. We have heard this before: an impassioned but utterly cynical defense of the little guy.

What the bill would do is provide consumers more choice and the state much-needed revenue. And while some liquor stores might be in trouble, the legislation seeks to mitigate that by allowing them to sell more things, including cheese, crackers, newspapers and gift baskets. With more places to sell their products, New York wineries would be better off. Let’s toast that.