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Vineyards

Our Unique Terroirs


At Aaronap Cellars, we believe that the rugged beauty and unique climate of New England produce wines with a character unlike any other. Our estate vineyards and orchard partners span the breadth of the Commonwealth and offer a unique sampling of the unique coastal, inland, and mountain terroirs of Massachusetts. We tend our dry-farmed grapevines as sustainably as possible with eye to letting Mother Nature guide the flavor development in the grapes. In the winery, we take a low mechanical, low impact approach to our winemaking. From the vine to the bottle, we seek to craft wines that truly exhibit the unexpected flavors of our region and are true to their roots. Innovative Wines. Distinctly Massachusetts.

Aaronap Cellars Locations

Chace Hill Vineyard

Facts in Brief

  • Location: Lancaster, Massachusetts
  • AVA: Nashoba Valley AVA
  • Terroir: Inland
  • Owned by: Aaronap Cellars
  • First Planted: 2013
  • Total Acres: 3
  • Varieties Planted: Arandell, Marquette, Itasca, Cayuga
Chase Hill Vineyard
Arandell Block Marquette Block Itasca Block Cayuga Block

Arandell Block

Marquette Block

Itasca Block

Cayuga Block

Chace Hill Vineyard is nestled amongst apple orchards in the hills above the Wachusett Reservoir in Lancaster, MA at an elevation of 400 feet (122 meters) above sea level. The Marquette and Arandell blocks were originally planted in 2013 by Frank Zoll. Aaronap Cellars assumed ownership of the vineyard in 2017 and expanded by planting the Itasca and Cayuga blocks in 2020-2023. The grapevines dig deep in moisture retentive Paxton sandy loam soils that are common across central Massachusetts (state soil!). These soils are laid down by glacial meltwater carrying ground schist, gneiss, and granite particles during the Late Wisconsin glaciation period more than 11,000 years ago. This inland climate zone is marked by a variable growing season of 140-160 days with hot and humid summers, near constant sweeping breezes, plentiful sunshine, and deep winter snows.

Coastal Vineyards

Facts in Brief

  • Location: South Dartmouth, Massachusetts
  • AVA: Southeastern New England AVA
  • Terroir: Coastal
  • Owned by: Aaronap Cellars
  • First Planted: 2005
  • Total Acres: 14
  • Varieties Planted: Chardonnay, Chardonnel, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Seyval Blanc, Cayuga, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Aromella, Muscat, Petite Pearl, Marquette, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin
Coastal Vineyards
Riesling Cabernet Franc Petit Pearl Marquette Chambourcin Pinot Gris Petite Pearl Vidal Blanc Traminette Chardonnay Marquette Aromella Seyval Blanc Chambourcin Cayuga Muscat Vignole Marquette Chardonnay

Riesling

Cabernet Franc

Petit Pearl

Marquette

Chambourcin

Pinot Gris

Petite Pearl

Vidal Blanc

Traminette

Chardonnay

Marquette

Aromella

Seyval Blanc

Chambourcin

Cayuga

Muscat

Vignole

Marquette

Chardonnay

Coastal Vineyard lies in the southeastern Massachusetts town of South Dartmouth very close to the ocean shore within the Southeastern New England AVA (American Viticulture Area).  The vineyard was originally planted by Dave Nielsen 2005-2006 on eight acres with additional expansion in 2014 to 14 acres, using the grapes in his Coastal Vineyards winery.  The vineyard sits atop Woodbridge fine sandy loam consisting of mineral rich glacial till composed of granite, flint, shale, and basalt ground during the Late Wisconsin glaciation period more than 10,000 years ago.  The coastal climate distinguishes the Southeastern AVA with prevailing sea breezes that moderate the air temperatures and provide a uniform growing season of 180 days and generally mild winters.  Aaronap Cellars began to purchase grapes from Coastal Vineyard in 2017 to expand our line of MA-grown wines with exciting new coastal terroir flavors.  In 2025, we assumed ownership of Coastal Vineyard and incorporated this special place into a our estate vineyard portfolio.

Dufresne Sugar House

Facts in Brief

  • Location: Williamsburg, Massachusetts
  • Terroir: Mountain
  • Owned by: Keith and Jacqueline Dufresne
  • First Planted: 100+ years ago
  • Total Acres: 14
  • Varieties Planted: Sugar Maple Trees
A red barn with multiple stovepips emerging through the roof. The barn is surrounded by snow and has steam billowing from the smokestacks.

Our famous Forest Gold Maple Wine is crafted from maple syrup harvested and produced by Dufresne Sugar House from the sugar maple covered slopes around Williamsburg, MA in the Berkshire Mountains.  The Dufresne family has lived in these forests and harvested maple sap to produce premium maple syrup for more than 100 years.   Part of the Appalachian Mountain system, the Berkshires represent an ideal high elevation forest area for sugar maple tree growth and maple syrup production.