Eastern States Exposition’s (ESE) “Agriculture is Our Culture” initiative reminds the public of the not-for-profit’s guiding agricultural mission with its “Stories from the Farm” film series. On January 13, the series concludes its 2025 run with a feature on Mineral Hills Winery of Florence, Mass.
“Agriculture is our culture,” ESE President and CEO Gene Cassidy reminds us. As a national authority on agriculture that attracts 26 states and two Canadian provinces to Western Mass. each year, it is ESE’s responsibility to give a platform to the individuals that work tirelessly to put food on our tables.
Mineral Hills Winery is owned and operated by Sue and Larry Godard and their daughter, Anna, on the fourth-generation Godard’s Red Hen Farm. The farm is nestled in the wooded back roads of Florence, Mass. At its inception, the winery produced just 50 cases of wine annually. Now, Mineral Hills produces more than 1,400 cases of wine each year.
When college sweethearts Larry and Sue met through their roommates, the connection was instantaneous. The years passed, their romance grew, and eventually so did Larry’s interest in Sue’s family’s farming and winery business.
Nowadays, they grow grapes, blueberries and apples; raise chickens; and Sue keeps bees and harvests natural honey. The Godards also enter their wines in the Northeast Gold Wine Competition at ESE each summer. During The Big E, their award-winning products can be purchased at the Eastern States Farmers Market and Wine Café at ESE in West Springfield, Mass.
“We display our wines at the farmers market at The Big E,” said Anna. “We offer tastings, and we sell by the bottle and by the glass in the wine café that’s right between the two barns. It’s a nice opportunity for us because a lot of people don’t even realize you can grow grapes in Massachusetts. It’s a good chance to teach people about what’s going on [at Mineral Hills], how we got our start and [help them] learn about the types of wines we can grow in our region.”
Interested in supporting winemakers like Sue, Larry and Anna? Consider stopping by the Eastern States Farmers Market and Wine Café to find fibrous goods, delicious wines and other New England-made products, right here in Western Mass. And be sure to watch the Stories from the Farm special on Mineral Hills Winery, which debuts January 13.