| Walter
Stephen’s
Taylor
grandfather,
Walter
Taylor,
at age
21 came
to Hammondsport
from
Halsey
Valley,
near
Owego,
N.Y.
He took
over
a vineyard
on Bully
Hill,
from
a man
named
Streeter;
the
Vineyard
consisted
of 7
acres
of land
and
a little
cabin,
which
were
paid
for
in 3
years.
Just
down
the
road
were
the
vineyards
of George
Chapman;
he had
a daughter
named
"Addie".
Walter
Taylor
had
purchased
a new
80 acre
farm
in 1880
just
up the
road
¼
mile
from
the
Chapmans
where
he continued
his
wine
making
and
grape
growing.
During
this
time
Walter
Taylor
and
Addie
Chapman
became
man
and
wife
and
created
five
children;
all
of whom
were
born
on Bully
Hill.
The
children
were:
Fred
C.,
Flora,
Clarence
W.,
Lucy,
and
Greyton
H. Taylor.
In
1890,
Walter
felt
that
his
father,
George
Taylor,
who
was
living
in
Halsey
Valley,
could
help
him,
so
he
built
a
new
home
in
front
of
the
Winery
and
his
mother
and
father,
George
Taylor
and
Maria,
moved
in.
The
Family
was
now
complete.
For
years
they
toiled
in
a
primitive
fashion
on
the
Rural
Vineyard
carpeted
mountain,
but
life
was
happy.
The
Wine
barrels
were
filled
with
new
wine
and
the
horses
took
the
product
to
the
town
of
Hammondsport,
which
is
two
miles
from
Bully
Hill,
and
1000
feet
lower
in
elevation.
From
Hammondsport,
the
wine
was
shipped
by
steamboat,
22
miles
of
Keuka
Lake
to
Penn
Yan.
From
there
the
wine
was
taken
by
canal
to
Seneca
Lake,
thence
to
the
main
Erie
Canal
and
finally
to
New
York
City
where
Walter
Taylor
had
already
made
the
sales.
By
1920
the
winery
was
rapidly
expanding
and
the
Taylor
Family
began
buying
Native
grapes
from
local
Vineyardists.
The
Taylor
Family
winery
#1
was
becoming
too
large
for
the
original
site,
which
lacked
water
and
electrical
power.
Transportation
was
also
becoming
a
problem.
My
grandfather
therefore
purchased
the
old
Columbia
Wine
Co.
#2
which
was
more
accessible
being
only
two
miles
west
of
the
Village
of
Hammondsport.
Walter
financed
the
purchase
of
Taylor
Winery
#2
by
selling
the
original
site
atop
Bully
Hill
to
Lloyd
Sprague
in
1929.
The
Family
moved
into
Hammondsport
and
all
worked
at
Taylor
Winery
#2.
As
the
years
progressed,
the
Family
built
the
most
successful,
profitable,
modern,
well
known
Winery
in
the
World
that
provided
great
industrial,
viticultural,
and
economic
growth
for
Steuben
Co.
and
New
York
State
as
well.
By
the
mid
1950’s
the
Taylor
Winery
had
become
an
industrial
leader
and
the
second
largest
employer
in
Steuben
County.
However,
by
1958
it
became
obvious
that
there
was
no
way
to
control
the
quality
of
the
Family
Wines
because;
outside
of
Walter
S.
Taylor
there
were
not
any
siblings
interested
in
the
Wine
business,
and
outsiders
who
were
loaded
with
incompetence,
greed,
and
jealousy,
had
started
to
unravel
the
hard
work
and
honest
philosophy
of
the
founder.
So
Walter
S.
Taylor
bought
back
The
Original
Taylor
Wine
Co.
#1
from
Lloyd
Sprague
in
1958
on
Bully
Hill,
giving
Mr.
Sprague
and
his
wife
life-time
use
of
the
Family
farm
house.
The
Taylor
Winery
#2
at
Hammondsport,
in
the
late
60s
and
early
70s
employed
over
800
people,
with
an
additional
600
of
whom
were
local
grape
growers.
Responsible
leadership
increased
its
sales
to
over
$60
million
dollars
a
year.
However,
during
this
time,
Walter
S.
Taylor
and
Greyton
H.
Taylor,
and
a
few
loyal
workers
and
friends
such
as
Richard
Vine,
Paul
Russel,
Gerold
Whaley,
Herman
Wiemer,
Albert
Valero,
Connie
Cook,
Ann
Bailey,
Robert
Stanley,
Vic
Bates,
Archie
Barnes,
Philip
Wagner,
Fred
C.
Taylor,
brother
of
Greyton
Taylor,
Jill
and
Joylyn
Record,
Mrs.
Greyton
H
Taylor,
Bob
Heller,
Daniel
McLaughlin,
Philip
C.
Learned,
William
Shill,
and
Jeff
Heath,
committed
themselves
to
perserving
the
family’s
heritage.
In
May
1970,
Walter
S.
Taylor
son
of
Greyton
H.
Taylor
and
the
grandson
of
the
founder,
was
fired
from
Taylor
Winery
#2,
because
he
and
his
father
wanted
honesty
and
integrity
of
wine
labeling,
superior
grape
varieties,
higher
quality
wines
and
the
self
worth
of
the
individual
increased.
A
totally
unique,
revolutionary,
and
advanced
product
was
introduced
in
1967
on
Bully
Hill,
using
the
Original
Secret
Wine
Formula,
handed
down
through
5
generations
of
their
life’s
work;
in
order
to
accomplish,
all
these
things
and
more;
besides
protecting
the
Family’s
World
Wide
Heritage
of
great
Wine
making/Viticulture.
The
rebuilt
foundations
of
Original
Winery
#1,
on
Bully
Hill,
became
the
cornerstone
of
our
new
concept
called
the
“Pursuit
of
Excellence”
as
we
must
fulfill
the
natural
desire
of
humans;
for
“Goodness
instead
of
Evil”.
Due
to
the
wine
Industry’s
desire
for
paranoia,
greed,
and
lack
of
interest
in
the
consumers
health/security;
dark
forces
moved
secretly
in
concert
illegally
to
destroy
forever
the
Family’s
Purity
of
Purpose
regarding
its
World
Leadership
in
Wine;
while
others,
in
adjacent
facilities,
producing
Wine,
concentrated
on
Deception,
and
the
Cult
of
Omission.
Predictably
local
Politicians,
Religious
icons,
and
Village
Leaders
sold
our
beautiful
area
down
the
river
to
Foreign
invaders,
and
scavengers
while
our
Family
pulled
the
wagons
around
for
the
final
Battle
of
Bully
Hill.
Fighting
a
rear
guard
action,
we
escaped
the
closing
entrapment
while
traveling
back
up
the
long
steep
mountain
road,
taking
the
Family
History,
its
Spirit,
and
Traditions
to
the
Original
lofty
high
Vineyard
terraced
Estate
of
the
Grandfather,
overlooking
beautiful
clear
Lake
Keuka.
The
Taylor
Family
never
sold
their
name
to
anyone,
nor
did
Walter
S.
Taylor
fight
his
Family
during
this
lonely
and
dangerous
pilgrimage.
Bully
Hill
Vineyards
during
this
time,
at
the
Original
Taylor
Winery
#1
operated
separately
telling
everyone;
who
they
were,
and
where
they
came
from;
with
honesty
and
integrity.
Their
goal
was
building
a
strong
relationship
with
the
public
that
permits
us
to
exist;
because
they
felt
that
a
Product
is
the
Extension
of
a
Persons
Soul.
The
Taylor
Winery
#2
during
1970
to
1977,
was
controlled
by
the
Board
of
Directors,
Officers,
and
Stockholders.
The
Taylor
Winery
#2
was
sold
to
The
Coca
Cola
Company
of
Atlanta,
Ga.,
in
1977,
by
efforts
of
Lincoln
First
Bank;
Nixon
Hargraves
law
firm
of
Rochester,
N.Y.;
The
Board
of
Directors
and
Officers
of
The
Taylor
Wine
Co.
and
the
Stockholders.
Suddenly
behemoth
attacks
Original
Taylor
Winery
#1
at
Bully
Hill
Coca
Cola
sues
Walter
S.
Taylor
and
his
Family
in
1977
(CIV-77-349),
in
order
to
forever
eliminate
their
ability
to
tell
Humans:
(1)
Where
they
came
from.
(2)
Who
they
were.
(3)
To
use
the
word
[
Taylor
].
(4)
They
had
been
given
the
secret
Taylor
Wine
Family
recipes;
passed
on
form
generation
to
generation.
(5)
That
Bully
Hill
was
the
Original
Taylor
Wine
Company
#1.
In
1981
in
Rochester,
New
York,
the
[black
mark]
was
ruled
that
it
meant
Taylor
by
the
United
States
Federal
District
Court.
Coca
Cola,
a
multi-billion
dollar
international
Colossal,
like
Goliath
fighting
David;
had
his
native
country,
The
United
States
of
America,
order
him,
in
1981,
without
trial,
and
court
reporters;
to
be
held
in
Contempt
of
Court.
He
was
ordered
by
Federal
Judge
Harold
P.
Burke
to
pay
a
$11,000
dollar
fine
to
Coca
Cola
…
and
was
ordered
to
publicly
destroy
all
Paintings,
Art
Work,
Poetry,
and
Promotional
Materials,
that
told
others
about
Walter
S.
Taylor
and
his
Heritage,
that
had
the
illegal
and
Offensive
statements
on
them;
even
if
they
were
the
Honest
Truth.
Many
of
these
items;
which
included
some
of
the
Original
Taylor
Familys
historical
documents,
Paintings
and
Art
work
of
the
Owner
of
Bully
Hill,
Walter
S.
Taylor
had
to
be
delivered
along
with
The
Body
of
his
Family”
to
Coca
Cola’s
Taylor
Wine
Company’s
#2
Main
Office
at
Hammondsport.
The
United
States
Federal
Court
also
ordered
that
any
Human,
that
told
this
story,
would
also
be
Guilty
of
the
same
Crime
forever.
Enter
the
unobvious
Goat.
Walter
S.
Taylor
placed
a
drawing
he
did
of
his
goat
on
The
Wine
Labels,
overcoming
tragedy
with
a
statement.
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