Being stewards of the environment is a responsibility that comes with a cost for many in agriculture. In the Finger Lakes, a rainy summer that’s produced a lot of runoff has highlighted the importance of water quality. For one vineyard owner, the cost of protecting the environment far outweighs the cost of not doing so.

It is a wine tour of a different kind. People are on a wagon ride to see what’s happening at Boundary Breaks Winery, on the east side of Seneca Lake, which Bruce Murray opened in 2017.

“It’s a good spot,” said Murray of Lodi. “The climate’s right, the lakes here moderate the weather conditions, so we just turned out to have made the right call at the right time, I think.”

This tour is not as much about what’s grown here, but rather about protecting the vast waterway at the bottom of the hill.

“The lake is really what makes this area what it is,” said Murray. “And if we don't take care of the lake, then I think we'll see a different kind of outcome here.”

For vineyard owners, that means controlling erosion and runoff. Good grapes come from sloping ground, says Murray. That means growers must be very careful about how grapes are planted, which cover crops are planted, and how they handle storm drainage.

“So this area has recently been cleared for expansion of the vineyard, and there was definitely some erosion issues,” said Chris Creelman of the Seneca County Soil and Water Conservation District. 

The farm tour attracted those with an interest in both agriculture and water quality in the Finger Lakes. Catch basins collect and filter water during the storms Murray says are becoming more and more prevalent.

“The thing that's more of an issue now than anything else is the severity of the storms that we're seeing,” he said. “Back in 2018, we saw about seven and a half inches and five hours, that created a lot of turmoil here. It also showed that a lot of the way we have been doing business in the past isn't the right way to do business in the future.”

Preventing runoff is “staggeringly expensive,” says Murray, who initially spent about $400,000 on drainage infrastructure before he even opened. Catch basins can also run into six figures to build.

“The average farmer is not in a position to build these things just at the drop of a hat,” he said.

That’s why partnerships with agencies like the Seneca County Soil and Water Conservation District are important — to help secure state and federal funding tied to climate change, and to help protect water critical to the continued success of an entire region.

“I know in the end, doing all this is supposed to allow us to make better wine. And, you know, so far, so good,” said Murray. “It’s in everyone’s best interest.”