Seema Mukherjee said ever since she was a child, she always dreamed of retiring on a vineyard. While she doesn't plan on retiring for a while, she achieved one half of her dream when she and her husband purchased Heartstone Farm and Winery in Columbia.Decades ago, Heartstone started as a farm that grew cattle and crops, but expanded over the years to be 56 acres and have a winery and tasting room, ...
Seema Mukherjee said ever since she was a child, she always dreamed of retiring on a vineyard. While she doesn't plan on retiring for a while, she achieved one half of her dream when she and her husband purchased Heartstone Farm and Winery in Columbia.
Decades ago, Heartstone started as a farm that grew cattle and crops, but expanded over the years to be 56 acres and have a winery and tasting room, the previous owners told CTMQ in 2019. After visiting the vineyard for the first time and "falling in love" with it, Mukherjee decided she no longer wanted to wait until she was retired to own a vineyard. Mukherjee and her husband purchased the winery in late February for $978,000 and she now heads the business.
The previous owners, Walter and Nancy Tabor, are staying on for a year and helping Mukherjee learn how to make wine, she said. Heartstone offers a variety of different wines, including pinot noir, pinotage and strawberry rhubarb wines, according to its website. The vineyard is part of the Connecticut Wine Trail, which occasionally offers an event where guests can visit members on the trail with a passport book and earn prizes. She added that aside from the property, she also purchased rights to the business from the past owners as well as additional wine-making equipment for around $200,000.
"This is something I couldn't have started in my old retirement age because it's a lot. I guess everything happens for a reason, and I started at the right time. So at least now I can have everything in place," Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee added that she aims for the winery and vineyard to be a "place of solace" for guests to relax and escape their troubles. The owner added that she is expanding the vineyard's hours to be open year-round. Previously, it was only open from May through November, according to Mukherjee.
"I want guests to be able to take a breath, just unwind, feel relaxed, feel the love and feel all the positive things around them, be more appreciative towards nature, things like that," Mukherjee said. "Everyone is so self-engrossed in either our work or our family, among the hustle and bustle, we've forgotten to take time for ourselves."
Mukherjee also said that she is planning to offer more wine-tasting events and music in the near future.
"We have a lot of plans for the summer," Mukherjee said. "I remember when I sat (at the vineyard) a couple of evenings back and just feeling that breeze and the lights were twinkling, and just being able to take in that fresh air and enjoy the glass of wine and listen to some music that actually was very soothing. I think that to be able to share with someone you love, nothing beats that."
March 13, 2025
Digital Producer